Ex Parte Ito et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Oct 26, 2016

13809723 (P.T.A.B. Oct. 26, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/809,723 0111112013
65565 7590 10/28/2016
SUGHRUE-265550
2100 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20037-3213
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Naoki Ito
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
Q201062 3648
EXAMINER
PATEL, DEV ANG R
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1735
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
10/28/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
SUGHRUE265550@SUGHRUE.COM
PPROCESSING@SUGHRUE.COM
USPTO@sughrue.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte NA OKI ITO and KOUICHIRO MATSUSHITA
Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Technology Center 1700
Before LINDA M. GAUDETTE, JEFFREY R. SNAY, and BRIAND. RANGE,
Administrative Patent Judges.
GAUDETTE, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Appellants1 appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's decision2
finally rejecting claims 1 and 2. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We AFFIRM-IN-PART.
The invention relates to an improved method of connecting a terminal to end
portions of wires. See Specification filed Jan. 11, 2013 ("Spec."), 3:3-6. The
steps of the inventive method include an inserting and arranging process, a heating
and melting process, and a molten-metal raising process. See id. at 3: 10-4: 1.
Figure 4(b ), reproduced below, illustrates the heating and melting process. See id.
at 7:16-22.
(
(b)
Figure 4(b) is a perspective view of heaters 31 and the arrangement of a
bundle of conductors 22 (exposed from sheaths 23 of plurality of wires 21 (see
Figure 4( c ), below)) after insertion into connection section 12 of terminal 11 (i.e.,
after an inserting and arranging process step). See id. at 5:7-8, 7:10-14.
Conductors 22 are formed of a metal material (e.g., aluminum or aluminum alloy)
having a melting point lower than the metal from which terminal 11 is formed
(e.g., copper or copper alloy). Id. at 5:24---6:1, 6:10-12. Terminal 11 includes
1 Appellants identify the real party in interest as Y azaki Corporation. Appeal Brief
filed October 6, 2014 ("App. Br."), 2.
2 Final Office Action mailed May 5, 2014 ("Final Act.").
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Application 13/809,723
connection terminal section 13 for connection, e.g., to a body panel or engine block
of an automobile. Id. at 6: 16-18. Connection section 12 has a cylindrical shape,
with an open top end (opening section 12a) and a closed bottom end attached to
connection terminal section 13. Id. at 6:1-3. During the heating and melting
process step, opening section 12a is faced upwards in a vertical direction and
connection section 12 is heated from the sides by heaters 31, as indicated by
arrows A. Id. at 7: 17-20. As a result, conductors 22 are melted within connection
section 12, and the molten metal is stored in connection section 12. Id. at 7:20-22.
Figure 4(c), reproduced below, illustrates the molten-metal raising process
step. See id. at 7:24--8:12.
<>'rrt"l'T''---- 21
1 ia I !!j ~j i l}::=~~:::~ ~B
\ i i iii .... s n
rl;J- i,u-~k~fi--·::./ ........ ···"""
l!:'.~~~ 'll'tlt1':~:::l l"~'"w•' 12
{c} l ~ L ,1 ·~ ! r" -"
~ ~ !. I Ht .. -'11'~." •)')~_;] ~ v I ~ ~ ~ ~ :1 _ .. , .. ~·c..c.. ~
\ ! \ \ a l 7\ ·1--·~w·· 1 s s
i "'ti I -~-/.'"' l ''"l 3a
..._..._ .. ...,.,.,,.. . ..,..
Figure 4( c) is a sectional view of terminal 11 during pressurization of the
sides as indicated by arrows B. Id. at 5:8-9, 7:25-8:2. Pressure is applied in a
manner that causes molten metal S in connection section 12 to rise to a level that
covers conductors 22 and the ends of sheaths 23 adjacent conductors 22. Id. at
8: 1--4. Alternatively, the level of molten metal Smay be raised to cover the ends
of sheaths 23 by lowering wires 21 or raising terminal 11, so that conductors 22
extend farther into connection section 12, displacing molten metal S. Id. at 8:4--12.
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
The claims stand rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as follows:
1. claim 1 over Doi (JP-02-103876-A, pub. Apr. 16, 1990) in view of
Otsuki (JP-2004-071437-A, pub. Mar. 4, 2004), as further evidenced by Sakaguchi
et al. (US 7, 121,903 B2, iss. Oct. 17, 2006 ("Sakaguchi"));
2. claim 1 over Nakamura et al. (JP-09-082377-A, pub. Mar. 28, 1997
("Nakamura")) in view of Sakaguchi; and
3. claim 2 over Nakamura in view of Otsuki, as further evidenced by
Sakaguchi.
For reference, claim 1 is reproduced below:
1. A connection method of a terminal comprising:
an inserting and arranging process of inserting and arranging, as
a bundle, conductors of a plurality of wires, which are exposed from
sheaths at end portions of the wires, into a connection section, which
has a cylindrical shape with a bottom portion and an opening section
at one side of the connection section, wherein the terminal is formed
of metal material and has the connection section;
a heating and melting process of heating the connection section
with the opening section of the connection section being faced
upwards in a vertical direction to melt the conductors within the
connection section; and
a molten metal raising process of performing an insertion of the
conductors into the connection section.
App. Br. 14 (Claims Appendix).
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Rejection ofclaim 1 over Doi in view ofOtsuki, as further evidenced by Sakaguchi3
Figures 2(a) and 2(b) of Doi are reproduced below:
Figure 2( a) is a perspective view of Doi' s method of connecting a terminal
to a wire, and Figure 2(b) is a cross sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure
2(a). Doi 7:1-2. In Doi's method, conductor 6a is placed on wire crimping
portion 3 and a force is applied using crimping tools such that covering pieces 4a
and bottom portion 2a crimp conductor 6a. See id. at 5:3-8. Portions of conductor
6a remain exposed at ends 4b and notch 7 of crimping portion 4. See Figure 2(a),
above. Device 8 is used to generate a light beam or a laser that irradiates
conductor 6a at these exposed portions. Doi 5:8-12. The irradiated surfaces melt
to form welds 9, as shown in Figure 2(b ). Id. at 5: 12-13. Doi discloses that "[i]f
there is difference in the melting point between conductor crimping portion 4 and
conductor 6a, it is also possible to melt and weld only one of them instead of
3 Appellants do not challenge the Examiner's findings with respect to Sakaguchi,
which is relied on in all three grounds of rejection for a teaching that it was
conventional in the art at the time of the invention "to utilize a bundle of
conductors 2 made of a plurality of wires 22, which are exposed from sheaths 21 at
end portions of the wires" (Final Act. 4--6, 8). See App. Br. 9, 10, 13.
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Application 13/809,723
melting both of them." Id. at 5: 17-18. Doi notes that notch 7 is provided to
increase the welding area, and that, as an alternative, an opening (through hole 2b)
on bottom 2a may be utilized for irradiation of conductor 6a. Id. at 5:21-6: 1.
Otsuki Figures 2(A)-(C) are reproduced below:
Otsuki Figures 2(A)-(C) illustrate the steps of forming electric cable
connecting section 14 of ground terminal 10. Otsuki i-f 18. As shown in Figure
2(A), a metal sheet is punched to form base plate section 13 as a continuation of
electric contact section 12. Id. i-f 10. As shown in Figure 2(B), two end edges 13a,
13b of base plate section 13 are bent into contact with each other and welded
together to form an open annular-shape. Id. Figure 2(C) shows the final structure
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
of connecting section 14 is formed by crushing the end adjacent electric contact
section 12 from above and welding to form sealed end portion 14a. Id.
Otsuki Figure 3(A) is reproduced below:
~,~~
\::
r ,J '· '\
~ ( .· ·~ ·,f
,\:.""~: ••• /' • I)
Figure 3(A) illustrates the connection of electric cable w to ground terminal
10. Otsuki if 18. Insulation coating w-2 is removed from the tip of electric cable w
to expose core wire w-1. Id. if 11. Electric cable connecting section 14 is filled
with solder 20 that has been melted at a low temperature. Id. The tip and an
adjoining portion of electric cable w having insulation coating w-2 thereon are
inserted into solder 20. Id. Solder 20 is allowed to solidify, so that electric cable
w becomes anchored in ground terminal 10 via solder 20. Id.
The Examiner finds Doi discloses the invention as recited in claim 1, and
"merely differs from the claim in that it lacks the conductors having sheaths and
the connection section & the conductors being in the vertical direction during
joining." Final Act. 3. The Examiner finds Otsuki describes a terminal connection
method in which the opening section of connection section 14 is faced upwards in
a vertical direction to receive conductors W. Id. The Examiner further finds that
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
in Otsuki's method, molten solder 20 is raised to a level that covers end portions of
sheaths w-2 of wires w-1. Id. The Examiner concludes that
[i]n light of Otsuki, it would have been obvious to a person of
ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to join sheathed
conductors to the connection section in a vertical orientation in Doi
since such is an art-recognized alternative and doing so would only
have yielded [the] predictable result of forming the desired
connection.
Id. at 3--4.
Appellants argue the ordinary artisan would not have reoriented Doi' s
conductor 6a and wire crimping portion 3 in a vertical direction during the
connection step because the molten conductor would leak out of notch 7 and
proper bonding would not be attainable. App. Br. 8.
The Examiner, in response, contends Doi's disclosure of using through-hole
2b on bottom 2a of conductor crimping portion 4 evidences that leakage is not an
issue in Doi and does not prevent bonding. Examiner's Answer filed December
29; 2014 ("Ans."); 3. The Examiner relies on Figure 6A of Otsuki as evidence that
it was well known in the art to vertically orient a wire and a terminal having Doi' s
configuration during the joining process, finding Otsuki Figure 6A "is analogous to
[the] configuration taught by Doi (figs. 2-3) and merely differs in orientation." Id.
at 4. The Examiner finds
Id.
the connection section taught by Otsuki allows the cable/conductor to
be fully buried in the molten solder (figs. 4-5), so that water cannot
seep through the gap between the core wire and the insulating coating
. . . . Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated to provide a connection arrangement similar to Otsuki in
the method of Doi because doing so would produce a complete
waterproof conductor connection that protects against corrosion.
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Appellants, in their Reply Brief~ continue to assert that the one or more
openings in Doi' s wire crimping portion would prevent a molten metal raising
process, as required in appealed claim 1, in Doi' s method. 4 Reply Brief filed Mar.
2, 2015 ("Reply Br."), 4--5.
Having considered the respective positions of Appellants and the Examiner,
we are persuaded that the facts and reasons relied on by the Examiner are
insufficient to support a finding that one of ordinary skill in the art would have had
a reason to modify Doi' s method based on the teachings of Otsuki for the reasons
discussed by Appellants in the Appeal and Reply Briefs. We add the following:
The position advanced by the Examiner in the Final Office Action is that it
would have been obvious to orient Doi' s conductor 6a and wire crimping portion 3
in a vertical direction during Doi' s step of irradiating conductor 6a. See Final Act.
3. We agree with Appellants that Doi clearly describes wire crimping portion 3 as
having openings so that portions of conductor 6a are exposed to facilitate melting
by irradiation. See Doi 5:3-8; App. Br. 8. The position advanced by the Examiner
in the Final Office Action fails to explain clearly how a molten metal raising
process would occur upon insertion of conductor 6a into Doi' s wire crimping
portion 3, despite the presence of openings in wire crimping portion 3, that would
appear to prevent molten metal from being retained therein. See Spec. 7:24--8:7
(describing the molten metal raising process as raising the level of molten metal
vertically within the connection section).
The position advanced by the Examiner in the Answer, as we understand it,
appears to differ from the position taken by the Examiner in the Final Office
Action. In the Response to Argument section of the Answer, the Examiner
4 In their discussion of the rejection based on Doi and Otsuki, Appellants
inadvertently refer to Otsuki as "Nakamura." See id.
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
contends it would have been obvious to eliminate the openings in Doi's crimping
portion 3 (see Ans. 4 ("a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated to provide a connection arrangement similar to Otsuki in the method of
Doi because doing so would produce a complete waterproof conductor connection
that protects against corrosion")). The Examiner has not explained sufficiently,
however, why the ordinary artisan would have made such modification, as Doi
intentionally leaves portions of conductor 6a exposed to allow a light beam or laser
to irradiate and melt the exposed conductor 6a, thereby forming welds. See Doi
5:8-13. The Examiner has not explained how Doi's irradiation step, if performed
on a connection section that completely enclosed conductor 6a, as in Otsuki' s
method, necessarily would melt the conductor in a manner that raised the molten
metal in the connection section. See Reply Br. 4 ("Doi is also not concerned about
raising molten metal at all, let alone rising the molten metal above the sheaths of
the wires."). 5
Accordingly, because Appellants have shown persuasively that a
preponderance of the evidence on this record does not support the Examiner's
conclusion that claim 1 would have been obvious over the combination of Doi,
Otsuka and Sakaguchi, we reverse this ground of rejection.
5 We also note that Otsuki Figure 6A does not support the Examiner's assertion
that orienting Doi' s wire and terminal configuration in a vertical direction during
joining was a known alternative to the horizontal direction used in Doi's method.
See Ans. 4. Otsuki describes Figure 6A as illustrating a prior art configuration in
which a wire is caulked and crimped to ground terminal 1 by crimping barrel 6.
Otsuki i-f 2. There is no disclosure that the wire and terminal in Otsuki's Figure 6A
configuration are further fastened by a welding process as in Doi. See id.
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Rejection of claim 1 over Nakamura in view of Sakaguchi
and
Rejection of claim 2 over Nakamura in view of Otsuki
as further evidenced by Sakaguchi
Nakamura Figure 2 is reproduced below:
Figure 2 is a view of Nakamura's method of connecting a terminal to a wire.
See Nakamura ,-r 15. As shown in Figure 2, an annealed copper wire (core wire
part 11) is exposed by removing a portion of the sheath at the end of sheathed wire
10. Id. ,-r 9. Brazing metal 20, such as silver solder, is impregnated at part 12, i.e.,
a distal point of core wire part 11. Id. Part 12 is inserted in a connection section of
terminal 30 and is pressurized by welding electrode 41 of resistance welding
machine 40, as shown by the arrow. See id.
Nakamura Figure 3 is reproduced below:
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
Nakamura Figure 3 is a view of part 12 as it is held in terminal 30 during
pressurization. See id. i-f 10. Resistance heating by welding electrode 41 melts
brazing metal 20, providing a connection between strands 11 a of core wire part 11
and terminal 30. Id.
Claim 1:
The Examiner finds Nakamura's insertion of core wire part 11 under
pressurization intrinsically raises the level of molten brazing metal 20. Final Act.
5---6. The Examiner determines Nakamura, as modified by Sakaguchi to utilize a
bundle of conductors made of a plurality of wires, discloses the invention as
recited in claim 1. Id.
Appellants argue the Examiner failed to identify a teaching or suggestion of
a heating and melting process step wherein the conductors are melted within the
connection section, noting Nakamura melts a soldering agent rather than the
conductor material. App. Br. 10.
In the Response to Argument section of the Answer, the Examiner finds that
because brazing metal 20 is impregnated into conductor 11, it is part of the
conductor as a whole. Ans. 5-6. Appellants have not explained why this finding
is erroneous or unreasonable. See generally Reply Br. We find no basis in the
plain language of the claims or the Specification for interpreting the term
"conductors" as limited to a portion of a wire formed from a single material, or for
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Appeal2015-004382
Application 13/809,723
interpreting the heating and melting process step as requiring melting of the
conductors in their entireties.
Appellants also argue Nakamura's connection section 30 does not have the
cylindrical shape recited in claim 1, but has a trapezoidal (App. Br. 10) or U shape
(Reply Br. 6), i.e., open ends. Appellants thus contend the Examiner erred in
finding Nakamura's method includes a molten metal raising process because
Nakamura's connection section 30 is incapable of containing molten metal. Reply
Br. 6.
Appellants' arguments are not persuasive because they are not supported by
Nakamura's disclosure, which describes gaps between terminal 30 and core wire
part 11, and between the individual wire strands 11 a, as filled by the melted
brazing metal. See Nakamura ,-r 11; Figure 3.6 These arguments, moreover, fail to
show error in the Examiner's finding that
[a] person of ordinary skill in the art reading Nakamura would
understand and appreciate that shape of terminal 30 is NOT critical, as
long as it can effectively contain the molten material. Therefore, ...
[the] "cylindrical shape" would also have been obvious to an artisan,
as there is no persuasive evidence that [the] particular shape of [the]
terminal is significant.
Ans. 5.
In sum, Appellants have not persuaded us of error in the Examiner's
conclusion that claim 1 would have been obvious over the combination of
Nakamura and Sakaguchi. We affirm this ground of rejection.
6 To the extent Appellants' argument is based on the illustrations of terminal 3 0 in
Figures 2 and 3, we note these figures appear to be cross-sectional views and,
therefore, are not persuasive evidence that the ends of terminal 30 are open.
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Application 13/809,723
Claim 2:
Claim 2 differs from claim 1 in that the third step reads:
a molten metal raising process of performing pressurization of
the connection section from an outside to raise the molten metal
within the connection section to an upper level disposed above end
portions of the sheaths of the wires in the vertical direction such that
said end portions are covered by the molten metal.
App. Br. 15 (Claims Appendix).
The Examiner finds Nakamura is silent as to the sheaths & conductors and
the connection section being positioned in the vertical direction, and the molten
metal being raised "above end portions of the sheaths of the wires in the vertical
direction such that said end portions are covered by the molten metal" as recited in
claim 2. Final Act. 7. The Examiner relies on Otsuki for a teaching of an art-
recognized, alternative connection method in which the connection section is
oriented vertically during attachment to a wire. Id. The Examiner determines the
ordinary artisan would have reoriented Nakamura's terminal 30 and sheathed wire
10 so that a portion of the sheath adjoining core wire part 11 would be covered by
brazing metal 20 during attachment to terminal 30 as taught by Otsuki to yield a
"predictable result of forming the desired connection." Id. at 7-8.
Appellants argue the Examiner reversibly erred in finding the combination
of Nakamura and Otsuki's methods would have resulted in a step of pressurizing
the connection section from the outside to raise the molten metal within the
connection section as recited in claim 2. See App. Br. 11. Appellants argue
Nakamura applies pressure directly to core wire part 11 to achieve a sufficient
contact resistance with the connection section of terminal 30. Id.
The Examiner, in response, asserts that if Nakamura's connection section 30
were oriented in a vertical direction as described in Otsuki, insertion of core wire
part 11 into connection section 30 necessarily would raise the level of molten
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Application 13/809,723
metal. Ans. 7. The Examiner's response does rebut, however, Appellants'
argument that the Examiner has not identified a teaching or suggestion of
"performing pressurization of the connection section from an outside to raise the
molten metal within the connection section," as recited in claim 2.
Accordingly, because Appellants have shown persuasively that a
preponderance of the evidence on this record does not support the Examiner's
conclusion that claim 2 would have been obvious over the combination of
Nakamura, Otsuki, and Sakaguchi, we reverse this ground of rejection.
In sum, the Examiner's decision to reject claim 1 is affirmed. The
Examiner's decision to reject claim 2 is reversed.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this
appeal may be extended under 3 7 C.F .R. § 1.13 6( a)( 1 )(iv).
AFFIRMED-IN-PART
15