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.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 September 10, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 36, 37, 39 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luerken et al. (EP2565513) in view of Gutmann et al. (DE102021106038A1) and Basler-Meier at el. (DE 102015204623A1).
Regarding claim 36, Luerken et al. teaches a pressure vessel assembly, shown in figure 5, comprising a plurality of pressure vessels 2, a plurality of fixed bearings 10, wherein first longitudinal ends of the pressure vessels are held by the fixed bearings (figure 5), and a plurality of floating bearings 11, wherein second longitudinal ends of the pressure vessels, which are arranged at an opposite end from the first longitudinal ends, are held by the floating bearings (figure 5), wherein longitudinal axes of the pressure vessels are oriented parallel to one another (figure 5).
Further regarding claim 36, Luerken et al. discloses the claimed invention except for the floating bearing mount and the pin of the floating bearing. Gutmann et al. teaches that it is known to provide an assembly with floating bearing mounts (see element 11 in figure 5). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the assembly of Luerken et al. with the floating bearing mount, as taught by Gutmann et al., in order to secure both ends of the vessels together in a stable arrangement.
Basler-Meier at el. teaches that it is known to provide an assembly with a pin of the floating bearing (see figure 4). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the modified assembly of Luerken et al. with the pin of the floating bearing, as taught by Basler-Meier at el., in order to secure the floating bearing to the vessel.
The assembly of Luerken et al., as modified above, teaches a floating bearing mount (taught by Gutmann et al.), wherein the floating bearing mount (11 of Gutmann et al.) extends over the plurality of floating bearings (figure 5 of Gutmann et al.) and holds the plurality of floating bearings jointly (figure 5 of Gutmann et al.), wherein longitudinal axes of the pressure vessels are oriented parallel to one another (figure 5 of Luerken et al., figure 5 of Gutmann et al.), and wherein the floating bearings are each formed by a pin (taught by Basler-Meier at el.) attached to the second longitudinal end of the pressure vessel and by a sleeve which holds the pin (taught by Basler-Meier at el.), the sleeve being held in the floating bearing mount and receiving the pin such that the pin is axially movable relative to the sleeve (centrally disposed pin in figure 4 of Basler-Meier at el.).
Regarding claim 37, the pin (centrally disposed pin in figure 4 of Basler-Meier at el.) is a cylindrical pin and is part of a boss of the pressure vessel.
Regarding claim 39, the sleeve is in the form of a metallic receptacle (taught by Basler-Meier at el.) which is fastened in the floating bearing mount (as modified by Gutmann et al.).
Regarding claim 40, the floating bearing mount (as modified by Gutmann et al.) comprises a lower holder part and an upper holder part, and wherein the floating bearing mount is configured to be screwed to a vehicle body (see section “Use” and figure 6 of Gutmann et al.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16, 19-21, 24-32, 24 and 35 are allowed.
Claim 38 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 10, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Caspari does not teach the pin. The secondary reference of Basler-Meier at el. (DE 102015204623A1) has been applied in the rejection to modify the primary reference of Luerken et al. (EP2565513) to teach a centrally disposed pin in the floating bearing.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE NON-FINAL.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIKI MARINA ELOSHWAY whose telephone number is (571)272-4538. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 7: 00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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/NIKI M ELOSHWAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3736
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