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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 16-21, 24-26, and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR 3044999.
FR 3044999, in reference to claim 16, discloses a bodywork component (1) for a vehicle comprising a base element (10) of fiber-reinforced plastic with base fibers (100) and a transmission element (11) of fiber-reinforced plastic with transmission fibers (110), as disclosed in section [0003] of the translation. The transmission fibers (110) are configured to enable radio signal communication through the transmission element (11) and have a higher radio signal transmissibility than the base fibers (100), as disclosed on the last 2 lines of page 2 of the translation.
In reference to claim 17, the base fibers (100) are carbon fibers, as disclosed on page 2 of the translation.
In reference to claim 18, the transmission elements (110) consist of glass fibers, as disclosed on the last line of page 2 and the first line of page 3 of the translation.
In reference to claim 19, the base element (10) and the transmission element (11) are in a substance to substance bond with one another, as disclosed on page 3 of the translation.
In reference to claim 20, the base body (10) extends over the entire bodywork length and width, as shown in Figure 1.
In reference to claim 21, the bodywork component has a length, thickness, and width. The transmission element (11) extends over the entire thickness, as shown in Figure 3.
In reference to claim 24, the bodywork component (1) is a vehicle roof or configured and designed for producing a vehicle roof, as disclosed in section [0002].
In reference to claim 25, the semifinished product for producing a bodywork component according to claim 24 comprises a semifinished base element (10) with base fibers (100) and a semifinished transmission element (11) with transmission fibers (110), as disclosed in section[0003]. The transmission fibers (110) enable radio signal communication through the transmission fibers and have a higher radio signal transmissibility than the base fibers (100), as disclosed in section [0003].
In reference to claim 26, the base fibers (100) and the transmission fibers (110) are bonded form-fittingly to one another, as disclosed on page 3.
In reference to claim 28, a vehicle has the bodywork component of claim 24, as disclosed in section [0002] and page 6 of the translation.
In reference to claim 29, the vehicle has a roof comprising the bodywork component, as disclose in section [0002].
In reference to claim 30, the bodywork component is produced by providing a semifinished product of claim 27, impregnating the semifinished product with material to form a matrix, and processing the impregnated semifinished product to the bodywork component, as disclosed on pages 4 and 5 of the translation.
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.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FR 3044999.
FR 3044999, in reference to claim 22, discloses the base element (10) has a base element volume and the transmission element (11) has a transmission element volume since each element has a height, width, and length, as shown in Figures 1-4. The size of the transmission element is only described as being larger than the antenna and a person skilled in the art will choose a size appropriately in relation to the desired receiving and/or sending performance, as disclosed on page 4 of the translation.
However, FR 3044999 does not explicitly disclose a claimed percentage of volume the transmission element volume occupies.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the transmission element volume with a size that is 10% to 80% the volume of the base element with a reasonable expectation for success to provide the desired receiving and sending performance.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FR 3044999.
In reference to claim 23, the bodywork component (1) has a total volume and the transmission element (11) has a transmission element volume since each has a height, width, and length. The size of the transmission element is only described as being larger than the antenna and a person skilled in the art will choose a size
However, FR 3044999 does not explicitly disclose a claimed percentage of volume the transmission element volume occupies.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the transmission element volume with a size that is 3% to 30% the total volume of the bodywork with a reasonable expectation for success to provide the desired receiving and sending performance.
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FR 3044999 in view of Richardson et al. (US 2018/0037703).
FR 3044999 does not disclose the semifinished product if provided as a roll product.
Richardson et al. teaches providing fibrous material as a roll product (850), as shown in Figure 8 and disclosed in paragraph [0136].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the semifinished product of FR 3044999 as a roll product, as taught by Richardson et al., with a reasonable expectation for success as an obvious expedient to facilitate shipping the semifinished product to the manufacturer.
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.
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GREGORY A. BLANKENSHIP
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3612
/GREGORY A BLANKENSHIP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612 January 16, 2026