DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/20/2023 and 12/06/2024 was filed and considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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, 2, 5, 6, 9-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al., US 2025/0081372 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Kim et al. figures 1-5 and accompanying text which discloses a vehicle window assembly comprising:
. two glass cover plates 112, 114 (120)
. a display panel 111 comprising a display component 110 and a circuit board 130, wherein the display component is positioned between the two glass cover plates (figs. 4-5), the circuit board 130 is inherently connected to the display component 110 and is at least partially exposed outside the two glass cover plates (fig. 2)
. at least one bracket 1223 fixedly clamping a lower edge of the two glass cover plates (fig. 2)
. a case 121, 140 fixedly attached to the at least one bracket 122 and comprising a first housing component 121 and a second housing component 140, wherein the first housing component and the second housing component are tightly combined and enclose the circuit board 130 (figs 2-3).
Although Kim et al. do not disclose a waterproof case, Kim et al. do state that one object of the Kim et al. application is to provide a display device and vehicle having the same that may improve the watertight performance of the display device in a manner of covering a printed circuit board through a cover bracket ([0012]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to employ the Kim et al. cover case by a waterproof material for moisture protection purposes. In addition, choosing the such waterproof material for a cover case has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re claim 2, wherein the first housing component 121 and the second housing component 140 each have an upper edge, the upper edge of the first housing component and the upper edge of the second housing component clamp the lower edge of the two glass cover plates (fig. 2).
Re claim 5, wherein the waterproof case further comprises at least one waterproof sealing strip (adhesive member) arranged along at least one lateral side of the first housing component 121 and the second housing component 140 (claim 4).
Re claim 6, wherein the waterproof case further comprises a fastener extends through the second housing component and the at least one waterproof sealing strip, and the fastener is fixedly coupled to the first housing component. (fig. 2)
Re claim 9, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ at least one double-sided adhesive strip for the waterproof sealing strip, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re claim 10, wherein the first housing component comprises a backplate and a boss, the boss is disposed on the backplate and projects from the backplate, wherein the vehicle window assembly further comprises a fastener extending through the circuit board and fixing the circuit board to the boss (fig. 3).
Re claim 11, Kim et al. do not disclose a stiffness of the first housing component being greater than a stiffness of the second housing component, and the first housing component is affixed to the at least one bracket. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to employ a stiffness of the first housing component being greater than a stiffness of the second housing component, since applicant has not disclosed that each stiffness of the first and second housing component solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well using any high-strength composite material for housing superior rigidity.
Re claim 12, wherein the at least one bracket 122 comprises two brackets, the two brackets are spaced apart from each other(on two sides of the housing component), the waterproof case would positioned between the two brackets and is fixedly attached to the two brackets (fig. 2).
Re claim 13, Kim et al. further disclose a connection cable 131 can be acted as a flexible circuit board as well (fig. 2)
Re claim 14, Although Kim et al. do not disclose the waterproof case further comprises a first double-sided adhesive strip and a second double-sided adhesive strip, both of which are arranged along the lower edge of the two glass cover plates, wherein the first double-sided adhesive strip adheres between the upper edge of the first housing component and the two glass cover plates, and the second double-sided adhesive strip adheres between the upper edge of the second housing component and the two glass cover plates.
Re claim 16, wherein the first housing component 121 comprises a backplate (e.g., upper surface) and a boss (e.g., formed around aside), the boss is disposed on the backplate and projects from the backplate, wherein the vehicle window assembly further comprises a fastener extending through the circuit board and fixing the circuit board to the boss (figs 2-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 7, 8 and 15 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2297. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:00.
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/DUNG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871