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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on July 1, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-3 and 8-11 are currently pending. Claims 4-7 have been canceled. Claims 1, 8 and 10 have been amended.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bard et al. (US 8177179) (hereinafter Bard) in view of Grundmann et al. (US 7004042) (hereinafter Grundmann).
Regarding claim 1, Bard teaches a vehicular air conditioning system, comprising:
an outdoor air sensor (outside temperature sensor) configured to detect outside temperature of the vehicle (see column 1, lines 25-32), wherein the outdoor air sensor includes a sensor body portion (sensor body) (14) having a sensing portion (portion where end segments 22,23 are located) and a terminal portion (upper end portion of sensor body 14) (see Figure 1), a fixing portion (locking elements) (16, 17) installed integrally with the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14) so as to fixedly assemble the sensor body portion to the vehicle body (see column 3, lines 10-26).
However, Bard does not explicitly teach a correct assembly guide portion configured to guide the sensor body portion so that the sensor body portion can be correctly assembled to the vehicle body at a predetermined angular position when the sensor body portion is fixed and assembled to the vehicle body, wherein the correct assembly guide portion includes a correct assembly groove formed at an angular position of a fixing hole of the vehicle body, and a correct assembly protrusion formed on the sensor body portion so that the correct assembly protrusion can be fitted and coupled to the correct assembly groove, wherein the correct assembly protrusion is formed so that when the sensor body portion is correctly assembled into the fixing hole of the vehicle body at a predetermined angular position, the correct assembly protrusion is aligned with and fitted to the correct assembly groove to permit assembly of the sensor body portion into the fixing hole of the vehicle body, and when the sensor body portion is incorrectly assembled into the fixing hole of the vehicle body at a position offset from the predetermined angular position, the correct assembly protrusion is misaligned with the correct assembly groove to restrict assembly of the sensor body portion into the fixing hole of the vehicle body, [[and]] wherein the system further comprises a foreign substance entry preventing portion configured to prevent foreign substances from entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side, wherein the foreign substance entry preventing portion includes a foreign substance blocking plate formed on an outer surface portion of the sensor body portion between the sensing portion and the terminal portion to block foreign substances entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side, wherein the foreign substance blocking plate is configured to be injection-molded integrally with the sensor body portion when the sensor body portion is manufactured by injection molding, wherein the foreign substance blocking plate is formed at a predetermined interval from the fixing hole of the vehicle body, and wherein the foreign substance blocking plate blocks foreign substances passing through the fixing hole of the vehicle body and entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion.
Grundmann teaches a correct assembly guide portion (encoding recess) (21) configured to guide the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) so that the sensor body portion can be correctly assembled to a vehicle body at a predetermined angular position when the sensor body portion is fixed and assembled to the vehicle body, wherein the correct assembly guide portion includes a correct assembly groove (encoding recess) (21) formed at an angular position of a fixing hole (bore) (1) of the housing, and a correct assembly protrusion (encoding element) (5) formed on the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) so that the correct assembly protrusion can be fitted and coupled to the correct assembly groove (encoding recess) (21), wherein the correct assembly protrusion (encoding element) (5) is formed so that when the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) is correctly assembled into the fixing hole (bore) (1) of the vehicle body at a predetermined angular position (see Figures 1-4), the correct assembly protrusion is aligned with and fitted to the correct assembly groove to permit assembly of the sensor body portion into the fixing hole of the vehicle body (see Figures 1-4 and Abstract, column 1, line 52 through column 2, line 7, column 3, lines 30-37, column 4, lines 8-12 and lines 42-57), and when the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) is incorrectly assembled into the fixing hole of the vehicle body at a position offset from the predetermined angular position, the correct assembly protrusion (encoding element) (5) is misaligned with the correct assembly groove to restrict assembly of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) into the fixing hole (bore) (1) of the vehicle body (see column 4, lines 42-57),
wherein the system further comprises a foreign substance entry preventing portion (flange) (18) configured to prevent foreign substances from entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side (“ A flange 18 is provided between the lockable arms 4, 9 and the contacting device 17, which further seals the housing opening after the insertion of the sensor into a housing”; see column 4, lines 33-36) wherein the foreign substance entry preventing portion includes a foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) formed on an outer surface portion of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) between the sensing portion and the terminal portion to block foreign substances entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side (see Figures 1-4), wherein the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) is configured to be injection-molded integrally with the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) when the sensor body portion is manufactured by injection molding, wherein the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) is formed at a predetermined interval from the fixing hole (bore) (1) of the vehicle body, and wherein the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) blocks foreign substances passing through the fixing hole of the vehicle body and entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) (see column 1, lines 56-67, column 2, lines 24-39 and column 4, lines 37-57).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the vehicular air conditioning system as taught by Bard with a correct assembly guide portion configured to guide the sensor body portion so that the sensor body portion can be correctly assembled to the vehicle body at a predetermined angular position when the sensor body portion is fixed and assembled to the vehicle body, wherein the correct assembly guide portion includes a correct assembly groove formed at an angular position of a fixing hole of the vehicle body, and a correct assembly protrusion formed on the sensor body portion so that the correct assembly protrusion can be fitted and coupled to the correct assembly groove, wherein the correct assembly protrusion is formed so that when the sensor body portion is correctly assembled into the fixing hole of the vehicle body at a predetermined angular position, the correct assembly protrusion is aligned with and fitted to the correct assembly groove to permit assembly of the sensor body portion into the fixing hole of the vehicle body, and when the sensor body portion is incorrectly assembled into the fixing hole of the vehicle body at a position offset from the predetermined angular position, the correct assembly protrusion is misaligned with the correct assembly groove to restrict assembly of the sensor body portion into the fixing hole of the vehicle body, wherein the system further comprises a foreign substance entry preventing portion configured to prevent foreign substances from entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side, wherein the foreign substance entry preventing portion includes a foreign substance blocking plate formed on an outer surface portion of the sensor body portion between the sensing portion and the terminal portion to block foreign substances entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion from the vehicle exterior side, wherein the foreign substance blocking plate is configured to be injection-molded integrally with the sensor body portion when the sensor body portion is manufactured by injection molding, wherein the foreign substance blocking plate is formed at a predetermined interval from the fixing hole of the vehicle body, and wherein the foreign substance blocking plate blocks foreign substances passing through the fixing hole of the vehicle body and entering the terminal portion side of the sensor body portion as taught by Grundman. One would be motivated to provide a correct assembly guide portion in order to ensure that the sensor is inserted into the fixing hole of vehicle body securely and correctly (see Grundmann, column 3, lines 38-41). One would be motivated to provide a foreign substance entry preventing portion in order to provide a better seal the connection between the sensor and the fixing hole of the vehicle body (see Grundmann, column 3, lines 27-30). One would be motivated to provide the foreign substance blocking plate is configured to be injection-molded integrally with the sensor body portion when the sensor body portion is manufactured by injection molding in order to manufacture the sensor simply and inexpensively in one piece see Grundmann, column 1, lines 56-58).
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bard in view of Grundman as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Azuma et al. (EP 2650694) (hereinafter Azuma)
Regarding claim 2, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Bard further teaches wherein the sensing portion (portion where end segments 22, 23 are located) is formed on one side of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14), the terminal portion (upper end portion of sensor body 14) (see Figure 1) is formed on the other side of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14), a portion of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14) on the sensing portion side is fitted into a fixing hole (recess) (12) of the vehicle body, and the fixing portion (locking elements) (16, 17) is configured to fixedly assemble the sensor body (sensor body) (14) portion to the fixing hole (recess) (12) of the vehicle body (see column 1, lines 25-32 and Figures 1-3b).
However, Bard as modified by Grundmann does not explicitly teach that the sensing portion on one side with respect to the fixing hole of the vehicle body faces a vehicle exterior side while the terminal portion on the other side with respect to the fixing hole of the vehicle body faces an engine room side.
Azuma teaches teach that the sensing portion (surface) (311) on one side with respect to the fixing hole (hole) (11) of the vehicle body (bumper) (1) faces a vehicle exterior side while the terminal portion (body part) (31) on the other side with respect to the fixing hole (hole) (11) of the vehicle body faces an engine room side (see paragraph 0033).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the outdoor air sensor as taught by the prior combination with the sensing portion on one side with respect to the fixing hole of the vehicle body faces a vehicle exterior side while the terminal portion on the other side with respect to the fixing hole of the vehicle body faces an engine room side as taught by Azuma. One would be motivated to make this combination in order to accurately measure ambient air temperature.
Regarding claim 3, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 2, Bard in view of Grundmann and Azuma further teaches the fixing portion (locking elements) (16, 17) includes a plurality of elastic hooks (spring element (15) and end segments ( 22, 23)) provided on the sensor body portion at predetermined intervals along a concentric circle centered on the sensing portion the elastic hooks (spring element (15) and end segments ( 22, 23)) are elastically deformed radially inward while being inserted into the fixing hole (recess) (12) together with the sensing when the sensing portion of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14) is fitted into the fixing hole (recess) (12) of the vehicle body, and hook portions (end segments) ( 22, 23) at the ends of the elastic hooks passed through the fixing hole (recess) (12) are restored radially outward and locked to the portion of the vehicle body around the fixing hole (recess)( 12) on the vehicle exterior side to fix the sensor body portion (sensor body) (14) to the fixing hole (recess) (12) of the vehicle body (see Bard; column 4, lines 3-21 and Figure 1-3b).
Claims 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bard in view of Grundman as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Wakabayashi (US 2010/0054303) (hereinafter Wakabayashi) and in further view of Azuma.
Regarding claim 8, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Bard in view of Grundmann further teaches the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) is formed on the outer surface portion of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) between the sensing portion and the terminal portion (see Figures 1-4).
However, Bard as modified by Grundmann does not explicitly teach the blocking plate being a disk shape and the terminal portion being on the engine room side with respect to the fixing hole of the vehicle body.
Wakabayashi teaches the foreign substance blocking plate (seal member) (30) being a disk shape on the outer surface portion of the sensor body portion (main body) (10) (see paragraphs 0049, 0060 and Figures 1- 4B).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the vehicular air conditioning system as taught by the prior combination with the blocking plate being a disk shape as taught by Wakabayashi. One would be motivated to make this combination in order to prevent inward and outward airflow through the mounting hole whereby the ambient temperature environment of the temperature sensor can be maintained constant, and therefore, an accurate temperature measurement can be implemented by the temperature sensor.
However, Bard as modified by Grundmann and Wakabayashi does not explicitly teach the terminal portion being on the engine room side.
Azuma teaches the terminal portion being on the engine room side (see paragraph 0033 and Figure 5).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the outdoor air sensor as taught by the prior combination with the terminal portion being on the engine room side as taught by Azuma. One would be motivated to make this combination in order to accurately measure ambient air temperature.
Regarding claim 9, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 8, Bard in view of Grundmann and Wakabayashi and Azuma further teaches the foreign substance blocking plate (seal member) (30) has a diameter larger than a diameter of the fixing hole of the vehicle body (see Wakabayashi; Figures 3a-4b).
Regarding claim 10, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 9, Bard in view of Grundmann and Wakabayashi and Azuma further teaches the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) is formed on the outer surface portion of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) on the engine room side (see Grundmann; Figures 1-4).
Regarding claim 11, the prior combination teaches all the limitations of claim 10, Bard in view of Grundmann and Wakabayashi and Azuma further teaches the foreign substance blocking plate (flange) (18) is formed at a predetermined interval from support ribs (arms) (4,9) of the sensor body portion (sensor body) (3) supported on a portion of the vehicle body around the fixing hole (bore) (1) (see Grundmann; Figures 1-4).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3 and 8-9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection necessitated by amendments.
Conclusion
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/JANICE M SOTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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