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.
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, 2, 5, 7, and 8 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.
In claim 1, line 8, the phrase, “at least one intermediate support member which can be attached to the roof panel” (emphasis added) is indefinite. It is unclear if the limitation claims the at least one intermediate support member is attached to the roof panel or not. For purposes of examination below, the examiner has treated the limitation as requiring the at least intermediate support member be attached to the roof panel.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the plurality of intermediate support members" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobori (Japanese Patent Publication JP201504211A).
Re claim 9, Kobori discloses a roof module, comprising an intermediate support member (34a, 34b, 34c, figure 1) disposed on a side of a vehicle interior of a roof panel of a vehicle (see page 4, paragraphs 6 and 7 of applicant’s machine translation of the reference, which states “The fixation target panel 12 is a plate-like member disposed below the roof of the vehicle, and is formed of resin or the like. This fixing target panel 12 is a member also called roofing, and is attached to the lower surface side of the roof so as to cover the cabin side of the roof. The fixation target panel 12 is formed in a plate shape that covers the entire roof. The fixation target panel 12 is formed in a shape that bends appropriately according to the shape of the roof. Here, it is formed in a shape that curves toward the passenger compartment side at positions corresponding to both sides of the roof and the front of the vehicle”) ; and a roof component (the wiring module 20, 22, 30) disposed between the roof panel and a roof interior member (12), wherein the roof component is at least one of a roof-side apparatus and/or a transmission member (a wiring harness), the intermediate support member (34a, 34b, 34c) directly or indirectly supports the roof component (as shown in figure 1), and the intermediate support member includes a panel-side fixing part (the upper surfaces of 34a, 34b, 34c) fixed to the roof panel and an interior member-side fixing part (the lower surfaces of 34a, 34b, 34c) to which the roof interior member is fixed, and the intermediate support member supports the roof interior member fixed to the interior member-side fixing part while the roof interior member is attached to the roof panel (as shown by figure 2).
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobori (Japanese Patent Publication JP201504211A) in view of Kanagawa (Japanese Patent Publication S50-007607).
Re claims 1 and 2, Kobori discloses an interior member-equipped roof module, comprising a roof interior member (12) covering a roof panel (see page 4, paragraphs 6 and 7 of applicant’s machine translation of the reference, which states “The fixation target panel 12 is a plate-like member disposed below the roof of the vehicle, and is formed of resin or the like. This fixing target panel 12 is a member also called roofing, and is attached to the lower surface side of the roof so as to cover the cabin side of the roof. The fixation target panel 12 is formed in a plate shape that covers the entire roof. The fixation target panel 12 is formed in a shape that bends appropriately according to the shape of the roof. Here, it is formed in a shape that curves toward the passenger compartment side at positions corresponding to both sides of the roof and the front of the vehicle”) of a vehicle from a side of a vehicle interior; and at least one intermediate support member (34a, 34b, 34c) which can be attached to the roof panel, wherein the interior roof member is attached to the intermediate support member (as shown in figure 2), thereby being supported by the roof panel in an attaching form, and at least one of a roof-side apparatus and/or a transmission member (the wiring module 20, 22, 30) disposed between the roof panel and the roof interior member is directly supported by the intermediate support member.
Kobori does not disclose the roof interior member comprising and including a plurality of segmented roof interior members, wherein the plurality of segmented roof interior members form a continuous body continuously formed in a state of extending in different regions in the roof panel to have a shape of covering the roof panel from the side of the vehicle interior, edges of the plurality of segmented roof interior members being overlapped with each other at a boundary.
Kanagawa teaches a roof interior member comprising and including a plurality of segmented roof interior members (a, b, c, d, e, figure 1), wherein the plurality of segmented roof interior members form a continuous body continuously formed in a state of extending in different regions in the roof panel to have a shape of covering a roof panel from the side of the vehicle interior, edges of the plurality of segmented roof interior members being overlapped with each other (at the joints shown in figure 5) at a boundary.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify an interior member-equipped roof module, such as that disclosed by Kobori, to have the roof interior member comprise and include a plurality of segmented roof interior members, wherein the plurality of segmented roof interior members form a continuous body continuously formed in a state of extending in different regions in the roof panel to have a shape of covering the roof panel from the side of the vehicle interior, edges of the plurality of segmented roof interior members being overlapped with each other at a boundary, as taught by Kanagawa, in order to make the roof interior member easily replaceable if damaged (see the translation of the Kanagawa reference)
Re claim 5, Kobori further discloses a sheet-like member (the ends of 50, figure 6) is disposed between the roof panel and the roof interior member is supported by the intermediate support member (it is supported indirectly) in a planarly extending form.
Re claim 8, Kobori and Kanagawa disclose all the limitations of the claim, as applied above, except for the plurality of intermediate support members wherein the boundary between the plurality of segmented roof interior members being located between the plurality of intermediate support members.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a roof module, such as that disclosed by the combination of Kobori and Kanegawa above, to have the plurality of intermediate support members, wherein the boundary between the plurality of segmented roof interior members are located between the plurality of intermediate support members, with a reasonable expectation of success, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art and doing so would allow the device to be used with a wide variety of vehicles where such arrangement may be necessary to accommodate other structures of the vehicle. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 and 7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 10 is allowed.
The primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in claim 6 is the inclusion in the claim of the limitations directed to at least one of the segmented roof interior members and/or the intermediate support member including a movable support part position-adjustably supporting the fixing part in a direction in which the segmented roof interior members extend. . Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record. Kobori, the closest prior art of record suggests no adjustable support part as required by the claims and instead specifically gives examples of non-adjustable supporting mechanisms such as ultrasonic welding and adhesives.
The primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in claim 7 is the inclusion in the claim of the limitations directed to a positioning concave part being formed in one of the intermediate support member and the segmented roof interior members, and a positioning convex part fitted to the positioning concave part being formed in another one of the intermediate support member and the segmented roof interior members. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record. Kobori, the closest prior art of record does not teach or suggest a convex or concave positioning part and there is no suggestion in the prior art of record to modify the device of Kobori to include such a structure absent impermissible hindsight reasoning.
The primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in claim 10 is the inclusion in the claim of the limitations directed to preparing plural types of intermediate support members distinguished in accordance with presence or absence of support of a roof component and a type of roof component which is support. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record. Kobori, the closest prior art of record, does not disclose or suggest preparing plural types of intermediate support members as required by the claim language.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose vehicle roofs.
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/JASON S MORROW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
March 24, 2026
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