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 .
Response to Amendment
In view of the amendment, filed on October 17th, 2025, the following are withdrawn from the previous office action, mailed on July 24th, 2025.
Rejections of claims 1-4 and 16 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) are withdrawn in light of the amendments
Rejections of claims 5, 12, 13 and 17 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn in light of the amendments
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in view of the amendments, see remarks filed October 17th, 2025, with respect to the rejections of claims under have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art reference of Mizuno et al. (US 20210188082 A1) and is provided below.
New Grounds of Rejection
Claim Interpretation
Examiner wishes to point out to Applicant that claims 1-5, 12, 13, 16 and 17 are directed towards an apparatus and as such will be examined under the following conditions. The process/manner of using the apparatus and/or the material worked upon by the apparatus is/are viewed as recitation(s) of intended use and is/are given patentable weight only to the extent that structure is added to the claimed apparatus. See MPEP 2114 (II) and 2115 for further details. For apparatuses, the claim limitations will define structural limitations (See MPEP 2114-2115) or functional limitations properly recited (See MPEP 2173.05 (9)). As such, if the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Furthermore, when reading the preamble in the context of the entire claim, the recitation “a pipe for a cowl crossbar disposed inside a vehicle body” is not limiting because the body of the claim describes a complete invention and the language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention's limitations. Thus, the preamble of the claim(s) is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See MPEP § 2111.02.
Claim 1 recites “a hydraulic cylinder” in line 5. Per specification paragraphs [0082-0088] and figures 2A and 4 this limitation is understood to be a cylindrical core that forms the hollow part of the pipe.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Testa (EP 0648587 A2; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation), in view of Mizuno et al. (US 20210188082 A1; hereafter Mizuno).
Regarding claim 1, Testa discloses an apparatus for manufacturing a pipe (Fig. 4; [0003]; apparatus for manufacturing tubes), the apparatus comprising:
an extruder (Fig. 4; [0044]; extrusion station 1) configured to receive a pipe material ([0034]; molten plastic material 9) and extrude the pipe material ([0031, 0034]; 1 extrudes 9);
and a compression molding machine ([0031]; mobile pressing station 11) configured to compress the extruded pipe material and form the pipe (Fig. 5; [0003, 0044]; 11 presses the extruded 9 to form the tube), and comprising:
an upper mold (Fig. 4; [0031]; mold element 12);
a lower mold (Fig. 4; [0031]; mold element 13);
and a hydraulic cylinder (Fig. 4; [0027]; cylindrical core 7) disposed between the upper mold and the lower mold (Fig. 4-5; 7 is disposed between 12 and 13), and configured to form a hollow part at a center of the pipe material in a longitudinal direction (Fig. 4-5; [0032]; 7 forms a hollow center in the extruded 9) such that when the extruded pipe material is compressed between the upper mold and the lower mold, the pipe is formed as a singular structure (Fig. 5; [0032]; extruded 9 is compressed between 12 and 13 to form hollow tube part).
Testa does not explicitly disclose the pipe has one or more bends.
However, in the analogous art Mizuno teaches an apparatus (Fig. 6; [0022]) for manufacturing a pipe ([0029]; filler tube 30) comprising an extruder (Fig. 6; [0103]; extruder 110) and a compression molding machine (Fig. 6; [0104]; corrugation molding machine 120 presses split molds 123, 124 against the extruded material) configured to compressed extruded material to form a pipe having one or more bends ([0029]; molded filler tube 30 has one or more bent portions).
Testa and Mizuno are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of extrusion compression molding pipes. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Testa with the teachings of Mizuno to provide a manufacturing apparatus capable of forming pipes having one or more bends. Doing so would allow for the manufacture of a greater variety of pipes with one or bends, wherein the pipes would be capable of routing (Mizuno [0029]).
Regarding claim 2, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein Testa further discloses the upper mold is configured to press an upper portion of the extruded pipe material (Fig. 4-5; [0032]; 12 presses the upper portion of the extruded 9); and wherein the lower mold is configured to press a lower portion of the extruded pipe material (Fig. 4-5; [0032]; 13 presses the lower portion of the extruded 9).
Regarding claim 3, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 2, wherein Testa further discloses the upper mold comprises:
an upper body part (Marked Fig. 10; upper body part);
an upper large-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; upper large-diameter forming part) formed on a lower surface of the upper body part (Marked Fig. 10; upper large-diameter forming part is on a bottom surface of the upper body part) to form a large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; upper large-diameter forming part forms a large-diameter part of the tube);
and an upper small-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; upper small-diameter forming part) formed in a region of the lower surface of the upper body part (Marked Fig. 10; upper small-diameter forming part is on the bottom surface of the upper body part), adjacent to the upper large-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; upper small-diameter forming part is adjacent to the upper large-diameter forming part), to form a small-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; upper small-diameter forming part forms a small-diameter part of the tube) where a diameter of the small-diameter part of the pipe is smaller than a diameter of the large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; the resulting molded tube will have a small-diameter portion with a smaller diameter than a large-diameter portion);
and wherein the lower mold comprises:
a lower body part (Marked Fig. 10; lower body part),
a lower large-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; lower large-diameter forming part) formed on an upper surface of the lower body part (Marked Fig. 10; lower large-diameter forming part is on an upper surface of the lower body part) to form the large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; lower large-diameter forming part forms the large-diameter part of the tube);
and a lower small-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; lower small-diameter forming part) formed in a region of the upper surface of the lower body part (Marked Fig. 10; lower small-diameter forming part is on the upper surface of the lower body part), adjacent to the lower large-diameter forming part (Marked Fig. 10; lower small-diameter forming part is adjacent to the lower large-diameter forming part), to form the small-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; lower small-diameter forming part forms the small-diameter part of the tube).
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Regarding claim 4, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 3, wherein Testa further discloses a height of the upper large-diameter forming part and a height of the upper small-diameter forming part are different from each other (Marked Fig. 10; the upper large-diameter forming part and the upper small-diameter forming part have different heights),
and wherein a height of the lower large-diameter forming part and a height of the lower small-diameter forming part are different from each other (Marked Fig. 10; the lower large-diameter forming part and the lower small-diameter forming part have different heights).
Regarding claim 16, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein Testa further discloses the compression molding machine further comprises:
wherein the upper mold forms a large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; upper large-diameter forming part forms a large-diameter part of the tube) and a small-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; upper small-diameter forming part forms a small-diameter part of the tube) by directly pressing an upper portion of the extruded pipe material (Fig. 10; 12 presses down onto the upper portion of the extruded 9);
and wherein the lower mold forms the large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; lower large-diameter forming part forms the large-diameter part of the tube) and the small-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; lower small-diameter forming part forms the small-diameter part of the tube) by directly pressing a lower portion of the extruded pipe material (Fig. 10; 13 presses up onto the upper portion of the extruded 9),
and wherein a diameter of the small-diameter part of the pipe is smaller than a diameter of the large-diameter part of the pipe (Marked Fig. 10; the resulting molded tube will have a small-diameter portion with a smaller diameter than a large-diameter portion).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Testa (EP 0648587 A2; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation), in view of Mizuno et al. (US 20210188082 A1; hereafter Mizuno) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Hawley et al. (US 6431847 B1; hereafter Hawley).
Regarding claim 5, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the extruder comprises: a first extruder ([0044]; extruder 29) and a second extruder ([0044]; extruder 30) configured to receive a polymer pipe material ([0049]; formulated plastic material).
While Testa discloses the pipe material can be reinforced with long fibers ([0052]; threads or fibers), Testa does not explicitly disclose the first extruder is configured to receive polypropylene and the second extruder is configured to receive long glass fiber.
However, the claim contains limitations (polypropylene and long glass fiber) which are directed to articles or products worked upon by the claimed apparatus. These limitations are only given patentable weight to the extent which effects the structure of the claimed invention. Please see MPEP 2115 for further details. In this particular case, the polypropylene material and the long glass fiber does not add additional structure to the device and is thus not given patentable weight.
Furthermore, Hawley teaches an apparatus (Fig. 1; apparatus 1) comprising a first extruder (Fig. 1; Col. 5, Ln. 39-43; resin supply extruder 6) configured to receive polypropylene (Col. 6, Ln. 6-8; resin can be polypropylene) and a second extruder (Fig. 1; Col. 5, Ln. 39-43; coating die 10 and conveying device 12) configured to receive a long glass fiber (Col. 5, Ln. 43-46; glass fiber supplied as strands), wherein the extruded material is supplied to a compression molding machine (Col. 3, Ln. 7-10).
Testa and Hawley are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of extrusion compression molding. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify modified Testa with the teachings of Hawley to provide the polymer pipe material is polypropylene and the second extruder is configured to receive a long glass fiber. Polypropylene and glass fibers are well-known materials employed in the manufacture of fiber reinforced composite articles and therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to select it for its intended purpose. Doing so would allow for fiber reinforced tubes to be manufacturing in a compact and efficient manner (Hawley 2nd Col., 4th ¶).
Claims 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Testa (EP 0648587 A2; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation), in view of Mizuno et al. (US 20210188082 A1; hereafter Mizuno) and Ishii (JP 2003236875 A; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation).
Regarding claim 12, Testa discloses an apparatus for manufacturing a pipe (Fig. 4; [0003]; apparatus for manufacturing tubes), the apparatus comprising:
an extruder (Fig. 4; [0044]; extrusion station 1) configured to receive a pipe material ([0034]; molten plastic material 9) and extrude the pipe material ([0031, 0034]; 1 extrudes 9);
and a compression molding machine ([0031]; mobile pressing station 11) configured to compress the extruded pipe material and form the pipe (Fig. 5; [0003, 0044]; 11 presses the extruded 9 to form the tube),
wherein the compression molding machine comprises:
an upper mold (Fig. 4; [0031]; mold element 12);
a lower mold (Fig. 4; [0031]; mold element 13);
and a hydraulic cylinder (Fig. 4; [0027]; cylindrical core 7) disposed between the upper mold and the lower mold (Fig. 4-5; 7 is disposed between 12 and 13), and configured to form a hollow part at a center of the pipe material in a longitudinal direction (Fig. 4-5; [0032]; 7 forms a hollow center in the extruded 9) such that when the extruded pipe material is compressed between the upper mold and the lower mold, the pipe is formed as a singular structure (Fig. 5; [0032]; extruded 9 is compressed between 12 and 13 to form hollow tube part).
Testa does not disclose the pipe has one or more bends and an insert bracket, disposed inside the compression molding machine to bend the pipe, comprising a first bracket coupled to an inner circumferential surface of a large-diameter part of the pipe, a second bracket spaced apart from the first bracket and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of a small-diameter part of the pipe, and a connection part configured to connect the first bracket to the second bracket.
However, in the analogous art Mizuno teaches an apparatus (Fig. 6; [0022]) for manufacturing a pipe ([0029]; filler tube 30) comprising an extruder (Fig. 6; [0103]; extruder 110) and a compression molding machine (Fig. 6; [0104]; corrugation molding machine 120 presses split molds 123, 124 against the extruded material) configured to compressed extruded material to form a pipe having one or more bends ([0029]; molded filler tube 30 has one or more bent portions).
Testa and Mizuno are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of extrusion compression molding pipes. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Testa with the teachings of Mizuno to provide a manufacturing apparatus capable of forming pipes having one or more bends. Doing so would allow for the manufacture of a greater variety of pipes with one or bends, wherein the pipes would be capable of routing (Mizuno [0029]).
Testa, in view of Mizuno, does not disclose an insert bracket, disposed inside the compression molding machine to bend the pipe, comprising a first bracket coupled to an inner circumferential surface of a large-diameter part of the pipe, a second bracket spaced apart from the first bracket and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of a small-diameter part of the pipe, and a connection part configured to connect the first bracket to the second bracket.
However, Ishii teaches an insert bracket ([0085]; inner wall member 1) to be disposed inside a mold ([0085]; second molding die 2) to form a bend in a pipe ([0103]; inner wall member 1 acts as a core inserts forming bent portion of pipe), wherein the insert bracket is coupled to an inner circumferential surface of the pipe ([0085, 0103]; inner wall member 1 is coupled to inner surface of outer wall member of the pipe) and the pipe can have enlarged diameter portions (Pg. 4; Ln. 149-160). Therefore, when forming the bend in the pipe having enlarged diameter portions one side of insert bracket ([0085]; inner wall member 1) would contact the inner circumferential surface of a normal diameter portion, corresponding to a first bracket of the insert bracket, and the other side of the insert bracket would contact the inner circumferential surface of the enlarged diameter portion, corresponding to a second bracket of the insert bracket. The two sides of the insert bracket would be connected by the middle portion of insert bracket as shown in marked figure 7d of Ishii provided below.
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Testa and Ishii are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of molding apparatuses. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Testa, in view of Mizuno, with the teachings of Ishii to provide an insert bracket, disposed inside the compression molding machine to bend the pipe, comprising a first bracket coupled to an inner circumferential surface of a large-diameter part of the pipe, a second bracket spaced apart from the first bracket and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of a small-diameter part of the pipe, and a connection part configured to connect the first bracket to the second bracket. Doing so would eliminate sharp corners from forming in the bends of the tube when forming tubes with a variety of shapes (Ishii [0010]).
Regarding claim 17, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 12, wherein Ishii further discloses the connection part extends from an end portion of the first bracket to an end portion of the second bracket (Marked Fig. 7d; connection part extends between end of first bracket to end of second bracket) and has an inclined shape (Marked Fig. 7d; connection part has inclined shape).
Testa and Ishii are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of molding apparatuses. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify modified Testa with the teachings of Ishii to provide the connection part extends from an end portion of the first bracket to an end portion of the second bracket and has an inclined shape. Doing so would eliminate sharp corners from forming in the bends of the tube when forming tubes with a variety of shapes (Ishii [0010]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Testa (EP 0648587 A2; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation), in view of Mizuno et al. (US 20210188082 A1; hereafter Mizuno) and Ishii (JP 2003236875 A; paragraph numbers correspond to previously attached English machine translation) as applied to claim 12, and further in view of Izumi et al. (US 20200016948 A1; hereafter Izumi).
Regarding claim 13, modified Testa discloses the apparatus of claim 12.
Modified Testa does not disclose the insert bracket is made of aluminum (Al).
However, Izumi teaches a molded composite vehicle component ([0029, 0034]; metal-resin composite member for vehicle with press molded fiber-reinforced resin member) comprising an aluminum insert ([0030]; metal member is aluminum).
Testa and Izumi are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the field of molded components. Therefore, it would have been obvious to the person in the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify modified Testa with the teachings of Izumi to provide the insert bracket is made of aluminum (Al). Aluminum is a well-known metal material employed in the manufacture of metal-resin composite articles and therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to select aluminum as the material for the insert bracket in order reduce the weight of the pipe while retaining its strength and rigidity (Izumi [0002]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Vipul Malik whose telephone number is (571)272-0976. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Susan Leong can be reached on (571)270-1487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/V.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754