Detailed Action
The following is a non-final rejection made in response to claims received on April 30th 2025. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
The claims cited in this section are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pat. No. 8,573,122 (hereinafter referred to as “REYNOLDS SYSTEMS, INC”, “REYNOLDS”, or simply as “the reference”).
Regarding claims 1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16 Reynolds teaches an initiator head comprising:
a housing (via base 30) extending in an axial direction;
a circuit board provided in an interior space of the housing (see Figs. 4 and 5 which illustrate a circuit system designed to initiate an explosive charge 12 stationed at the center), a thickness direction of the circuit board being substantially parallel with the axial direction (as shown in Fig. 2);
a line-in terminal (44) provided on a first side of the housing in the axial direction and accessible from an exterior of the housing, the line-in terminal being in electrical communication with the circuit board;
a line-out terminal (40) provided on a second side of the housing in the axial direction opposite to the first side, the line-out terminal being in electrical communication with the circuit board; and
a ground terminal provided on a second side of the housing in the axial direction opposite to the first side; wherein the ground terminal is in electrical communication with the circuit board1.
Regarding claims 5, 11 and 19, Reynolds teaches that the exterior shape of the housing is rotationally asymmetric with respect to the axial direction (the shape of the housing is a square, which is considered to be rotationally asymmetric with respect to the axial direction).
Regarding claims 6, 12 and 18, Reynolds teaches a surface mounted component (via explosive 12) mounted on the circuit board.
Regarding claim 20, Reynolds teaches a key protrusion extending radially outward from the housing (see Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, 8, 10, 15 and 17 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.
Conclusion
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/Samir Abdosh/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
1 “It will be appreciated, however, that the second bridge pad 44 could be coupled to an electrical ground in the alternative so that the electrical energy will not have to jump the third gap. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the breakdown voltage may be applied to the return pad 62 rather than to the source pad 60 and that either the first bridge pad 40 or the source pad 60 could be coupled to an electrical ground.”; see col. 5, line 66 through col. 6, line 7