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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains more than 150 words. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Clark et al. (US 5754664 A).
Regarding claim 1, Clark discloses a headliner (Clark, Fig. 2 and abstract) for vehicles with a speaker (S) (Clark, 21 in Fig. 7), the headliner comprising: a base material (100) (Clark, 46 in Fig. 7); and a fabric layer (200) (Clark, 47 in Fig. 7 and Col. 6 lines 1-3) wrapping a surface of the base material (100) exposed to a vehicle interior (Clark, Fig. 7, lower surface towards vehicle interior), wherein a mounting bracket (M) (Clark, 44 in Fig. 7; or mount bracket described in Col. 6 lines 13-25) is installed on a surface that is not exposed to the vehicle interior (Clark, Fig. 7, opposite and underneath the surface in contact with the fabric; mount bracket described in Col. 6 lines 13-25 will also be on the opposite surface that is not exposed) to be used in vehicles, several through-holes (110) (Clark, 64 in Fig. 7) are formed on a surface (Clark, Fig. 7, surface facing the bracket 44) of the base material (100) in contact with the mounting bracket (M) (Clark, Fig. 7), and the mounting bracket (M) is installed on the base material (100) to wrap the through- holes (110) (Clark, Fig. 7, surrounding the through holes) so that sound generated by the speaker (S) passes through the through-holes (110) and directly passes through the fabric layer (200) (Clark, Col. 6 lines 4-10, fabric layer covers the through holes; sound will be able to go from the speaker through the through holes and also directly through the fabric).
Regarding claim 3, Clark discloses the headliner of claim 1, wherein the several through-holes (110) are formed in a small-diameter hole shape (Clark, 64 in Fig. 7 and 8) or in a long slit shape, on a surface of the base material (100) facing a diaphragm (Clark, 21 in Fig. 7) in the speaker (S).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clark as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hagiwara et al. (JP 2021046157 A).
Regarding claim 2, Clark discloses the headliner of claim 1, but fails to disclose a breathable fabric.
Hagiwara teaches a breathable fabric (Hagiwara, third to the last paragraph on page 4 of machine translation).
Hagiwara is considered to be analogous art because it is in the same field of vehicle roof speaker mounting as Clark.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the headliner as taught by Clark to incorporate the teachings of Hagiwara with a reasonable expectation of success and use a woven fabric such that the fabric layer is breathable. Doing so provides a material that better transmits sound from the speaker while still hiding the speaker from view.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Clark in view of Hagiwara teaches the headliner of claim 2, wherein the several through-holes (110) are formed in a small-diameter hole shape (Clark, 64 in Fig. 7 and 8) or in a long slit shape, on a surface of the base material (100) facing a diaphragm (Clark, 21 in Fig. 7) in the speaker (S).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references that are not relied upon all disclose fabric layer covering the speaker, except where Kirejczyk (US 6536164 B1) teaches mounting bracket on an unexposed surface of a base panel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Wenwei Zhuo whose telephone number is (571)272-5564. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. EST.
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/WENWEI ZHUO/Examiner, Art Unit 3612