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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the injection molding part holding at least one functional element at a holding part of the functional element and the injection molding part forming the at least one functional element must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11, 13-25, 27-40, and 46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is not clearly understood because the new limitation “wherein the at least one injection molded part forms the at least one functional element” contradicts the originally presented limitation “the at least one injection molded part is molded at least partly onto the carrier element and holds at least on functional element at a holding part of the functional element”. How does a functional element formed by the injection molding part have a holding part held by injection molding part? Any structure meeting the new limitation will fail to meet the originally presented limitation. Any structure meeting the originally presented limitation will fail to meet the new limitation. This is a clear contradiction. The claims cannot be further evaluated.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/3/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has argued Leanza does not disclose the newly claimed limitations of claim 1. The carrier element (105) extends from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end of the body component since the carrier element is the longitudinally extending element of the body component. The longitudinal ends of the carrier element are the longitudinal ends of the body component. The applicant has argued Leanza does not disclose an injection molded part forming at least one functional element. This new limitation contradicts the preceding limitation of “the at least one injection molded part is molded at least partly onto the carrier element and holds at least on functional element at a holding part of the functional element”. There is no holding part if the functional element is formed by the injection molding part. The applicant has argued the structure of Leanza does not meet the limitation of a functional element. This term is very broad and not defined in the specification. Examples are provided that include structural components. The element in Leanza used as a functional element is a structural component.
Applicant has argued Leanza does not teach the limitation of new claim 46. The examiner cited with the previous office action several references for body components extending between vehicle pillars and having overmolded components, such as Ranga (9,580,107).
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 GREGORY A BLANKENSHIP whose telephone number is (571)272-6656. The examiner can normally be reached 7-4:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached at 571-270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GREGORY A. BLANKENSHIP
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3612
/GREGORY A BLANKENSHIP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612 July 6, 2026
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