DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the width narrower than a threshold width and a length longer than a threshold length of claim 3 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, 10, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xionghao (CN 209693360).
re claim 1, Xionghao discloses a surface mount gasket (100) comprising:
an upper plate (174);
a lower plate (114) arranged below the upper plate; and
a plurality of connection members (144, 156, 164) comprising a deformable material (deformation)[0077] connecting the upper plate and the lower plate, wherein one end of each of the plurality of connection members is connected to an edge of the upper plate, and another end of each of the plurality of connection members is connected to an edge of the lower plate (Fig 7), and wherein the plurality of connection members are disposed at a specified interval along the edge of the upper plate and the edge of the lower plate (Fig 1).
re claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of connection members is inclined with respect to the upper plate and the lower plate.
re claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of connection members is bent (152, 160) at least once.
re claim 10, wherein the upper plate and the lower plate are formed in one of a circle (Fig 1), an oval, and a rectangle.
re claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of connection members includes an upper vertical portion (164), a bent portion (152, 160), and a lower vertical portion (144).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xionghao (CN 209693360).
wherein each of the plurality of connection members comprises an elastic material [0107] having a thin flat plate shape (Fig 7), but does not disclose the connection member with a width narrower than a threshold width and a length longer than a threshold length.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to select the specific size of the connection member of Xionghao for fitting with the threshold, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 4, 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xionghao (CN 209693360) in view of Kawamoto et al (US 5,511,798).
The teaching as discussed above does not disclose wherein the plurality of connection members comprise a sponge, and wherein a metal coating layer is formed on an outer surface of the sponge (re claim 4).
Re claim 5, wherein the upper plate, the lower plate, and the plurality of connection members are integrally formed (Fig 1) and Xionghao recites “A wide range of materials, preferably elastically flexible and conductive materials, can be used for the gaskets disclosed herein” [0107], but does not disclose a non-conductive elastic material, and wherein a conductive coating layer is formed on an outer surface of the upper plate, an outer surface of the lower plate, and outer surfaces of the plurality of connection members.
Kawamoto et al teach the use of a non-conductive elastic material (compressible urethane foam 2, 41), and wherein a conductive coating layer (3, 42) is formed on an outer surface of the upper plate, an outer surface of the lower plate, and outer surfaces of the plurality of connection members (Figs 3-4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use nonconductive elastic material and the conductive coating layer for the gasket of Xionghao to reduce manufacturing cost.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xionghao (CN 209693360) in view of Kim (KR 101 854 318).
The teaching as discussed above does not disclose a double-sided tape disposed on an upper surface of the upper plate.
Kim teaches the use of a double-sided tape (152) disposed on an upper surface of the upper plate [0055]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include the tape with the gasket of Xionghao for bonding to the upper member.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xionghao (CN 209693360) in view of Brodsky et al (US 2016/0309625).
The teaching as discussed above does not disclose the plurality of connection members having a mesh shape.
Brodsky et al teach the use of a plurality of connection members of a gasket (308) have a mesh shape [0034] (Fig 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include the mesh with the connection member of Xionghao for EMI shielding.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG V NGO whose telephone number is (571)272-1979. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5:30 M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani Hayman can be reached at (571) 270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HUNG V NGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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