DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/08/2025 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 1-4 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Snider [US 6,606,252], in view of Harder [2021/0372645], Boyd [US 2003/0184988] and Kim [US 2006/0223347].
Regarding claim 1, Snider discloses a vehicular electronic device (figure 1) comprising:
a housing (102, figure 1) having an opening (figure 1) and having an internal space (an inner space hold a substrate 104, figure 1) inside of the housing;
a substrate (104, figure 1) accommodated inside the housing;
a cover (106, figure 1) coupled to the housing and covering the opening; and
wherein one or more fusion-subject protrusions (a plurality of stand-off including a plurality of holes 112a-112d disposed in the base housing, figure 1) protrude upward on the housing, and one or more coupling holes (110a-110d, figure 1) of the substrate are positioned corresponding to the one or more fusion-subject protrusions.
Snider discloses the claimed invention except for a detector mounted on the substrate, a sealing unit arranged between the cover and the housing, and one or more fusion-subject protrusions pass through the one or more coupling holes of the substrate and are fused.
Harder discloses an electronic device (figures 1-18) comprising at least one detector (a motion detector 3j/12c, figures 3 and/or 12, paragraphs 0088 and 0145) being used within the electronic device.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to mount a detector on a substrate of the vehicle electronic device of Snider, as suggested by Harder, for the purpose of detecting various aspects of the environment to enable functions of a vehicle sensor device.
Boyd discloses an electronic device (figures 1-6) comprising at least one seal unit (75, figure 6 and 6a, col. 4, lines 61-65) arranged between a cover (10, figures 1 and 6) and a base housing (20, figures 1 and 6).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add the seal unit of Boyd in the vehicle electronic device of Snider, in view of Harder, for the purpose of protecting vehicle sensor components from the environment.
Kim discloses an electronic device (figures 1-7) comprising a substrate (a PCB 4, figures 4-7) mounted on a chassis (5, figures 4-7), one or more fusion-subject protrusions (8 and/or 8 & 11, figures 4-7) protrude upward on the chassis, and one or more coupling holes (7, figures 4-7) of the substrate are positioned corresponding to the one or more fusion-subject protrusions, and wherein one or more fusion-subject protrusions pass through the one or more coupling holes of the substrate and are fused (figures 4-7, paragraphs 0009 and 0032) to the chassis.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a fusion-subject protrusion design of Kim in a vehicular electronic device of Snider, in view of Harder and Boyd, in order to quickly install a substrate assembly in an electronic device.
Regarding claim 2, Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, disclose wherein one or more hooks (a plurality of hooks disposed an outer the housing 102, figure 1) are protrusively formed on an outer surface of the housing, and one or more couplers (a plurality of couplers disposed on the cover 106 and corresponded to the plurality of hooks, figure 1) are coupled to the cover by being inserted thereinto.
Regarding claim 3, Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, further disclose
wherein the coupler comprises a coupling body (a coupling body disclosed on the cover 106, figure 1) in which a through-hole (a hole disposed in the coupling body, figure 1) into which the hook is inserted is formed, the coupling body provided on an edge of the cover (figure 1); and
a blocking portion (a hook mounted on the base housing is formed of a blocking portion, figure 1) onto which the hook inserted into the through-hole is hooked, the blocking portion being provided on one side of the coupling body.
Regarding claim 4, Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, further disclose wherein a plurality of hooks are arranged along a circumference of the housing, and a plurality of couplers are arranged along a circumference of the cover (figure 1).
Regarding claim 6, Snider, in view of Boyd and Kim, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the detector is a radar sensor or a camera sensor.
Harder discloses at least one detector is a camera sensor (paragraph 0024 and 0130).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a detector being a camera sensor in the vehicle electronic device of Snider, in view of Boyd and Kim, as suggested by Harder, for the purpose of detecting surrounding objects and/or assisting with various driving tasks.
Regarding claims 7-8, Snider, in view of Hader and Kim, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein a seating part is formed along an edge of an inner surface of the cover by recessing thereinto, and the sealing unit is seated on an inner side of the seating part, and wherein the sealing unit is O-ring formed of an elastic material in the shape of a ring.
Boyd, further discloses wherein a seating part (19, figures 1 and 6) is formed along an edge of an inner surface of the cover by recessing thereinto, and the sealing unit (75, figure 6 and 6a, col. 4, lines 61-65) is seated on an inner side of the seating part, and wherein the sealing unit is O-ring (75, figure 6a) formed of an elastic material in the shape of a ring (col. 4, lines 61-65).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a seating part in cooperation of a sealing unit in the vehicle sensor device of Snider, in view of Harder and Kim, as suggested by Boyd, for the purpose of facilitating the installation of a sealing unit between a cover and a base housing in a vehicle sensor device.
Regarding claim 9, Snider, in view of Harder and Kim, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein the sealing unit is pressed between the seating part and an edge of the housing.
Boyd further discloses wherein the sealing unit is pressed between the seating part and an edge of the housing when the cover is locked onto the base housing through a latching mechanism (12 & 22 and 13 & 73, figure 6, column 47-60).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use the sealing design unit of Boyd in the vehicle sensor device of Snider, in view of Harder and Kim, for the purpose of achieving a completely seal between a cover and a base housing in an electronic device.
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Neely [US 4,212,415].
Regarding claims 10-11, Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, disclose the claimed invention except for wherein one or more ribs are protrusively formed on a surface of the seating part to press against the sealing unit, and wherein a plurality of ribs are arranged along the surface of the seating part.
Neely discloses a stacked apparatus (figures 1-8) comprising a cover module (16, figures 1 and 5-6) coupling a base module (14, figures 1 and 5-6), wherein the cover module comprises a seating part (106, figures 1 and 5-6), and at least one sealing unit (a labyrinth seal, similar a seal 92 disposed in a groove 90 in figure 7, should disposed in a groove 104, figures 1 and 5-6, col. 3, lines 45-52) is sealed between the cover module and the base housing, wherein one or more ribs (102, figures 5-6) are protrusively formed on a surface of the seating part to press against the sealing unit, and wherein a plurality of ribs are arranged along the surface of the seating part (102, figure 4 and 5-6).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add one or more ribs on an inner groove of a seating part of Boyd, of the vehicle electronic device of Snider, in view of Harder and Kim, as suggested by Neely, for the purpose of preventing a seal from moving within a groove between a cover and a base housing of a device.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xiao et al. [CN203536535].
Regarding claim 12, Snider, in view of Harder and Kim, disclose the claimed invention except for a label attached on an outer surface of the cover; and a base plate having a central hole, the housing seated on the base plate and the base plate coupled to the cover.
Xiao et al., disclose an electronic device (figures 1-2) comprising a label (5, figure 1) being mounted on a cover (4, figure 1) of the electronic device (figure 1).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add a label on a cover of a vehicle sensor device of Snider, in view of Harder, Boyd and Kim, as suggested by Xiao et al., for the purpose of providing a unique identifier for each individual device such as a model number, a bar code and manufacture information.
Boyd further discloses a base plate (h, figures 3-4) having a central hole (figure 3), the housing seated on the base plate and the base plate coupled to the base housing (figures 3-4).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to mount an electronic device of Boyd on a center hole of a base plate and the base plate coupled to a cover of the electronic device, in the vehicle sensor device of Snider, in view of Harder, Kim and Xiao et al., for the purpose of providing additional securement for an electronic device cover and a mounting base plate, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-4 and 6-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/Hung S. Bui/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
12/24/2025