DELPHI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Download PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardMay 27, 20202019001744 (P.T.A.B. May. 27, 2020) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE 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 APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 14/990,237 01/07/2016 Richard J. Boyer DP-322527 7217 22851 7590 05/27/2020 Aptiv Technologies Limited P.O. Box 5052 M/C 483-400-502 Troy, MI 48007-5052 EXAMINER WONG, TITUS ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2185 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 05/27/2020 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): kandace.k.powell@aptiv.com michele.m.piscitelli@aptiv.com patent@aptiv.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte RICHARD J. BOYER and JOHN F. HEFFRON Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 Technology Center 2100 Before DANIEL J. GALLIGAN, JESSICA C. KAISER, and DAVID J. CUTITTA II, Administrative Patent Judges. GALLIGAN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1, 2, 6–10, and 12–14. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). Claims 3–5 and 11 have been cancelled. We AFFIRM and designate our affirmance as a NEW GROUND OF REJECTION under 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b). 1 We use the word Appellant to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42(a). Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Delphi Technologies, LLC, formerly Delphi Technologies, Inc. Appeal Br. 2. Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Claim 1 is the sole independent claim.2 Claim 1 is reproduced below: 1. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable assembly configured to interconnect a USB device disposed within a motor vehicle to a USB hub disposed within the same motor vehicle, said USB cable assembly comprising: a first connector configured to interface with the USB hub; a second connector configured to interface with the USB device; an active signal conditioning circuit connected to the second connector and integral to the second connector; a plurality of wire cables interconnecting the active signal conditioning circuit to the first connector, wherein the signal conditioning circuit is provided electrical power from the USB hub via two of the plurality of wire cables and wherein the USB cable assembly includes no circuitry other than the plurality of wire cables intermediate the active signal conditioning circuit and the first connector; and a housing encapsulating the second connector and the active signal conditioning circuit. 2 This Decision refers to: (1) Appellant’s Specification filed January 7, 2016 (“Spec.”); (2) the Final Office Action (“Final Act.”) mailed April 10, 2018; (3) the Advisory Action (“Adv. Act.”) mailed May 15, 2015 (4) the Appeal Brief (“Appeal Br.”) filed October 3, 2018; (5) the Examiner’s Answer (“Ans.”) mailed December 13, 2018; and (6) the Reply Brief (“Reply Br.”) filed December 18, 2018. Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 3 REFERENCES Name Reference Date Bandholz US 7,394,281 B1 July 1, 2008 Jin US 2013/0156088 A1 June 20, 2013 REJECTIONS The Examiner rejects claims 1, 2, 6–10, and 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA) and Jin.3 Final Act. 3–5. The Examiner rejects claims 13 and 14 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over AAPA, Jin, and Bandholz. Id. at 5–6. Our review in this appeal is limited to the above rejections and the issues raised by Appellant. Arguments not made are waived. See MPEP § 1205.02; 37 C.F.R. §§ 41.37(c)(1)(iv) and 41.39(a)(1). OPINION Appellant contends the Examiner erred in finding Jin teaches “a housing encapsulating the second connector and the active signal conditioning circuit,” as recited in claim 1. Appeal Br. 10–13; Reply Br. 4– 5. Specifically, Appellant argues “Jin is silent regarding any sort of housing.” Appeal Br. 12; Reply Br. 5. Appellant further argues “Jin does not identify or indicate any element within [Jin’s alleged] ‘housing’ 403 . . . as corresponding to a connector.” Appeal Br. 12; Reply Br. 5. Still further, Appellant argues the Examiner improperly relies on inherency to find that 3 The Final Rejection lists claim 5 in the rejection over AAPA and Jin. Final Act. 3. However, claim 5 has been cancelled. Appeal Br. 16. As such, we understand the rejection over AAPA and Jin to only include claims 1, 2, 6– 10, and 12. Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 4 Jin describes a housing encapsulating connectors. Reply Br. 4–5. Additionally, Appellant argues that “Appellant cannot reasonably determine which ‘element’ of the claim is believed to correspond with which element of Fig. 4 cited in the [Final Action]. In other words, Appellant is not put on notice as to the rationale behind the rejection and cannot adequately determine whether such basis is proper.” Appeal Br. 11. The Examiner finds, and we agree, AAPA teaches a “second connector.” Final Act. 3 (citing Spec. ¶ 2). Indeed, the background section of the Specification describes “an extension USB cable to connect the USB device with the USB port,” the USB port further connected to a USB hub. Spec. ¶ 2. The Examiner further finds, and we agree, Jin also teaches a “connector” that connects USB devices. Ans. 3–4 (citing Jin ¶ 55, Fig. 4). In particular, Jin describes a signal conditioner that is “differentially coupled over a differential coupling 402” to a USB 3.0 source 401. Jin ¶ 55, Fig. 4. Still further, the Examiner finds, and we agree, Jin’s “signal conditioner, such as . . . de-emphasizer 403” (Jin ¶ 55, Fig. 4) teaches “an active signal conditioning circuit” (Final Act. 3). The Examiner additionally finds that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have “understood” that Jin’s de- emphasizer 403 would have been encased in a housing, as indicated by the box in Figure 4 surrounding de-emphasizer 403. See Ans. 3; see also Final Act. 8. Further, the Examiner concludes that it would have been “obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have a housing surrounding electrical components/circuitry so that [those electrical components/circuitry are] protected.” Adv. Act. 2. Even if, as Appellant argues, “Jin is silent regarding any sort of housing” or a connector within a housing (Appeal Br. 12; Reply Br. 5), we Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 5 agree with the Examiner that it would have been obvious to use a housing to encapsulate electrical components and circuitry (Adv. Act. 2). The skilled artisan would have been well-acquainted with the use of a housing to encapsulate connectors and circuitry. For example, Bandholz describes a “computer 12[,] such as BladeCenter®” including “USB root hub 10”; such computers are known to encapsulate their components within a housing. Bandholz 2:46–48. In light of the skilled artisan’s familiarity with the use of housings to encapsulate electrical components, we agree with the Examiner that it would have been obvious to encapsulate the claimed electrical components, i.e., “the second connector and the active signal conditioning circuit,” in a housing. As the Examiner points out (Adv. Act. 2), the skilled artisan would have been motivated to do so in order to protect the electrical components from damage. For example, in a vehicle, electrical components may be unintentionally flung about when the vehicle is in motion, or the electrical components may be accidentally stepped on when passengers enter and exit the vehicle. Encapsulating the electrical components in a housing would protect the components from such damage. Furthermore, because we agree with the Examiner that including a housing to encapsulate connectors and circuitry would have been obvious (Adv. Act. 2), Appellant’s argument that Jin does not inherently disclose such a housing (Reply Br. 4–5) is unpersuasive. Even if Jin does not inherently disclose a housing that encapsulates connectors and circuitry, as discussed above, the Examiner has sufficiently shown it would have been obvious to do so. Additionally, although Appellant argues that Appellant is “forced to guess which features in the cited art the Examiner believed to disclose” the Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 6 claimed “housing encapsulating the second connector and the active signal conditioning circuit” (Appeal Br. 11–12), as our discussion above explains, each of the Appellant’s contested features is either taught by the combination of AAPA and Jin or would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the Examiner points out (Final Act. 3; Ans. 3) that Jin’s “signal conditioner, such as . . . de-emphasizer 403” (Jin ¶ 55, Fig. 3) teaches an “active signal conditioning circuit.” The Examiner also points out that AAPA, describing connecting a USB cable to a USB device (Spec. ¶ 2) and Jin, describing a differential coupler 402 (Jin ¶ 55), both teach a “second connector” (Final Act. 3; see Ans. 4). Still further, as discussed above, the Examiner concludes it would have been obvious to use a housing, as housings were known to the skilled artisan, to encapsulate the second connector and the active signal conditioning circuit. Adv. Act. 2. Appellant further contends the Examiner improperly combined AAPA and Jin. Appeal Br. 10. In particular, Appellant argues “the Examiner’s proposed rationale for combining the AAPA with Jin is merely conclusory and lacks any rational underpinning supported by the record.” Appeal Br. 10. However, the Examiner expressly stated at least two rationales in support of obviousness, which Appellant does not address. Final Act. 4; Adv. Act. 2. For example, the Examiner states one of ordinary skill in the art would have combined AAPA and Jin “in order to increase the distance of SuperSpeed USB device data transfer without compromising the integrity of signal.” Final Act. 4 (citing Jin ¶ 5). The Examiner also states that one of ordinary skill in the art would have included a housing encapsulating electrical components in order to protect those components, as discussed above. Adv. Act. 2. Appellant does not address either of those rationales, Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 7 let alone explain why either of those rationales is “conclusory” or otherwise inadequate. See Appeal Br. 10. Accordingly, Appellant provides no persuasive argument or evidence persuading us the Examiner’s rationale is improper. Accordingly, we are not persuaded the Examiner erred in rejecting claim 1 as obvious over the combination of AAP and Jin. However, because our decision affirming the Examiner’s rejection expands upon the Examiner’s reasoning by referring, for example, to Bandholz to show the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art, we designate our affirmance of the rejection of claim 1 as a new ground of rejection pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b). Further, Appellant does not argue separate patentability for dependent claims 2, 6–10, and 12–14, which depend directly or indirectly from claim 1. See Appeal Br. 9–13. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, we affirm the Examiner’s rejection of dependent claims 2, 6–10, and 12–14, also designating our affirmance as a new ground. CONCLUSION In summary: Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed New Ground 1, 2, 6– 10, 12 103 AAPA, Jin 1, 2, 6– 10, 12 1, 2, 6– 10, 12 13, 14 103 AAPA, Jin, Bandholz 13, 14 13, 14 Overall Outcome 1, 2, 6– 10, 12–14 1, 2, 6– 10, 12– 14 Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 8 TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE This decision contains a new ground of rejection pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b). Section 41.50(b) provides that “[a] new ground of rejection pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered final for judicial review.” Section 41.50(b) also provides: When the Board enters such a non-final decision, the appellant, within two months from the date of the decision, must exercise one of the following two options with respect to the new ground of rejection to avoid termination of the appeal as to the rejected claims: (1) Reopen prosecution. Submit an appropriate amendment of the claims so rejected or new Evidence relating to the claims so rejected, or both, and have the matter reconsidered by the examiner, in which event the prosecution will be remanded to the examiner. The new ground of rejection is binding upon the examiner unless an amendment or new Evidence not previously of Record is made which, in the opinion of the examiner, overcomes the new ground of rejection designated in the decision. Should the examiner reject the claims, appellant may again appeal to the Board pursuant to this subpart. (2) Request rehearing. Request that the proceeding be reheard under § 41.52 by the Board upon the same Record. The request for rehearing must address any new ground of rejection and state with particularity the points believed to have been misapprehended or overlooked in entering the new ground of rejection and also state all other grounds upon which rehearing is sought. Further guidance on responding to a new ground of rejection can be found in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure § 1214.01. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). Appeal 2019-001744 Application 14/990,237 9 AFFIRMED 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b) Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation