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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: lines 1-2 recites "the plurality of emboss surround", should read " the plurality of emboss members surround". Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4, 6, 8-10, 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WAKATSUKI et al. [JP 2014132547 A] in view of Satou [CN 109428039 A].
Regarding Claim 1, Wakatsuki discloses a base material assembly comprising: a first base material (11, Fig 1); a second base material (10), spaced apart from the first base material (11) to face the first base material (11), and coupled with the first base material (11) by a rivet member (12); and a plurality of emboss members (16) protruding from a surface of the second base material (10) to point-contact a plane of an inside surface of the first base material (11), wherein the first base material (11) and the second base material (10) are spaced apart in parallel from each other, and wherein the first base material (11) is mechanically and electrically connected to the second base material (10) through the plurality of emboss members (16). Wakatsuki does not explicitly disclose each of the plurality of emboss members are separately located on the inside surface of the second base material, and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material.
However, Satou discloses each of the plurality of emboss members (63, see Fig 7B) are separately located on the inside surface of a second base material (11A), and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members (63) has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material (25).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki as suggested by Satou to provide each of the plurality of emboss members separately located on the inside surface of the second base material, and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material. Wakatsuki suggests the truncated cone shaped emboss members (16) can be of any suitable shape and it would have been routine design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art to change the shape of the emboss members to a semi spherical one as suggested by Satou as it provides a known, suitable shape that achieves the same function that would yield predicable results.
Regarding Claim 2, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki further discloses the plurality of emboss members (33) are spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction (7A-7B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki in view of Satou as suggested by Wakatsuki to provide the plurality of emboss members spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction. Doing so would provide the contact between the base materials (10 and 11) to have a more stabilized connection as recognized by Wakatsuki.
Regarding Claim 3, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 2, Wakatsuki further discloses the plurality of emboss members (16, Fig 1-3) are spaced apart from each other to be symmetric with respect to the rivet member (12) coupled to the first base material (11) and the second base material (10).
Regarding Claim 4, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 3, Wakatsuki further discloses the plurality of emboss members (16, Fig 1-3) protrude from the second base material (10) by a predetermined height within an error range.
Regarding Claim 6, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki further discloses the plurality of emboss members (16) are made of the same material (formed protruding out of the second base material) as the second base material (10).
Satou further discloses the plurality of emboss members (63) are made of the same material (stretch formed to form a sunken part in the second base material that protrudes down) as the second base material (11).
Regarding Claim 8, Wakatsuki discloses a riveting method of a base material assembly, the riveting method comprising: preparing a first base material (11, Fig 1); preparing a second base material (10); forming a plurality of emboss members (16) on the second base material (10); spacing apart the first base material (11) from the second base material (10) so that a surface of the first base material (11) faces a surface of the second base material (10) on which the plurality of emboss members (16) are formed; moving the first base material (11) toward the second base material (10) so that the plurality of emboss members (16) point-contact a plane of the one surface of the first base material (11); and coupling the first base material (11) to the second base material (10) by riveting (Fig 1-2), wherein the coupling of the first base material (11) and the second base material (10) mechanically and electrically connects the first base material (11) to the second base material (10) through the plurality of emboss members (16). Wakatsuki does not explicitly disclose each of the plurality of emboss members are separately located on the surface of the second base material, and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material.
However, Satou discloses each of the plurality of emboss members (63, see Fig 7B) are separately located on the inside surface of a second base material (11A), and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members (63) has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material (25).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki as suggested by Satou to provide each of the plurality of emboss members separately located on the inside surface of the second base material, and wherein each of the plurality of emboss members has a semi-spherical shaped surface contacting the first base material. Wakatsuki suggests the truncated cone shaped emboss members (16) can be of any suitable shape and it would have been routine design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art to change the shape of the emboss members to a semi spherical one as suggested by Satou as it provides a known, suitable shape that achieves the same function that would yield predicable results.
Regarding Claim 9, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 8, Wakatsuki further discloses the preparing of the first base material (10) includes forming a first through-hole (17) for receiving a rivet member (12), wherein the preparing of the second base material (11) includes forming a second through-hole (18) in a location corresponding to the first through-hole (17) for receiving the rivet member (12). In another embodiment Wakatsuki further discloses the plurality of emboss members (33, see Fig 7A-B) are spaced apart from the second through-hole (39) in a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction and protrude from the second base material (30) by a predetermined height.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki in view of Satou as suggested by Wakatsuki to provide the plurality of emboss members spaced apart from the second through-hole in a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction and protrude from the second base material by a predetermined height. Doing so would provide the contact between the base materials to have a more stabilized connection as recognized by Wakatsuki.
Regarding Claim 10, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 8, Wakatsuki and Satou do not explicitly disclose after the coupling of the first base material and the second base material, checking a contact state between the plurality of emboss members and the first base material through a space between the first base material and the second base material; and determining whether a defect is generated in the riveting of the first base material and the second base material based on a result obtained by the checking.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to check the spacing between the first and second base materials as an indicator of connection/defect, as implied by Wakatsuki. The absence of a gap naturally suggests that contact has been made. This is a simple, non-destructive, and intuitive method commonly used in manufacturing to verify connection of two materials. Therefore, checking the spacing is a predictable and routine design choice, not requiring inventive skill and yielding predictable results.
Regarding Claim 12, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki further discloses the rivet member (12) includes a head (21) that contacts the second base material (10).
Regarding Claim 13, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki further discloses a thickness of the rivet member (12; head 22, see Fig 2) on an upper surface of the second base material (10) is approximately the same as a thickness of the rivet member (12; head 21) on a lower surface of the first base material (11).
Regarding Claim 14, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Satou further discloses the first base material (25) and the second base material (11a) do not contact each other except through the plurality of emboss members (63, see Fig 6A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki as suggested by Satou to provide the first base material and the second base material do not contact each other except through the plurality of emboss members. Doing so would allow for less room for error during connection reducing unwanted contact and allowing a more predictable connection without the need of deforming base materials which increases manufacturing costs as implied by Satou.
Regarding Claim 15, Wakatsuki and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki further discloses a through hole (17) of the second base material (10) is located in a center of all of the plurality of emboss members (16).
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WAKATSUKI et al. [JP 2014132547 A] in view of Satou [CN 109428039 A] in further view of Debock et al. [US 20150041211 A1].
Regarding Claim 7, Wakatsuki et al. and Satou disclose all the limitations of claim 1, Wakatsuki and Satou do not explicitly disclose the plurality of emboss members are made of a material different from the second base material.
However, Debock discloses a plurality of emboss members (protrusions 26 of insert 20) made from a conductive material equal to or higher than the conductivity of the base materials (40 and 42) to provide low resistance between the two conductive materials [0019]; thus, Debock discloses emboss member and base material made from two different materials.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wakatsuki in view of Sotou as suggested by Debock to provide the plurality of emboss members made of a material different from the second base material. Doing so would provide a stable, low resistance electrically conductive path between the conductive terminals as recognized by Debock.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is 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.
Regarding Claim 11, the prior art of record do not explicitly disclose a number of emboss members of the plurality of emboss members between the through hole in the second base material and an end of the second base material is greater than a number of emboss members of the plurality of emboss members between the through hole and a side of the second base material, along with all other limitations of claim 11 and 1.
Conclusion
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/T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834