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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-8, in the reply filed on 2/19/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 9-20 are withdrawn by Applicant.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Rioufol (20100193200).
Rioufol discloses a receptacle, comprising:
Re claim 1:
a pressure seal (upper 104, i.e., fig. 6, it seals top inner surface of 60) for isolating a first pressure (i.e., pressure in a gap between upper 102 and 104) and a second pressure (i.e., pressure in gap between lower 102 and 104);
a transmission pin 100 that passes through the pressure seal;
a pressure compensation chamber 98 positioned within the receptacle 60 between the first pressure and the second pressure and having a chamber pressure sealed (via upper and lower 100) from the first pressure and the second pressure, the transmission pin 100 being partially positioned in the pressure compensation chamber (i.e., fig. 6); and
a pressure compensation device (i.e., air in the bore 98) positioned in the pressure compensation chamber for equalizing the chamber pressure with the first pressure (i.e., air in the gap - air has no pressure thus pressure in the bore 98 and the gap have equally zero pressure).
Re claim 8, the transmission pin includes a feedthrough portion (i.e., pgh. 37, pin 100 is communication line that generally includes a feedthrough) configured to be exposed to the second pressure.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rioufol.
Re claim 7, Rioufol discloses the pin 100 is communication lines (i.e., pgh. 37), but is silent on the transmission pin includes one or more of an electrical conductor or an optical fiber. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application to modify the pin of Rioufol with an electrical conductor or an optical fiber for ultrahigh speed communication (https://www.bing.com/search?q=benefit+of+ptical+fiber+line&cvid=341e05f53cb846e5a8d06ea7919a05a9&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhAMgYIBRAAGEAyBggGEAAYQDIGCAcQABhAMgYICBAAGEAyCAgJEOkHGPxV0gEJMTMzMzRqMGoxqAIA sAIA &FORM=ANAB01&PC=U531) since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art all show similar features to those of the claimed invention.
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/YONG-SUK (PHILIP) RO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676