DETAILED ACTION
The following action is in response to application 18/396,468 filed on December 26, 2023.
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 .
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.
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Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sawada (US 20220073165; see annotated Figures 4 above for limitation interpretations). With regard to claim 1, Sawada teaches a cowling structure for a straddle-type vehicle, the cowling structure comprising: a front cowling 31 covering a vehicle front portion from a front side; and a pair of side cowlings @ 32 covering the vehicle front portion from lateral sides, wherein the pair of side cowlings each include: an outer cowling 32 forming an outer surface of the side cowling; and an inner cowling 40 forming an inner surface of the side cowling, and wherein the inner cowling is formed with a ventilation hole (Fig. 4) through which traveling wind passing below the front cowling blows toward a rear side. With regard to claim 2, Sawada teaches the structure, wherein the inner cowling is formed with a bulging portion (@44; Fig. 4) bulging toward an inner side in a vehicle width direction, and a lower wall of the bulging portion is inclined obliquely downward to the rear side (Fig. 4), below the front cowling 31, and wherein the ventilation hole is formed in the lower wall of the bulging portion (Fig. 4). With regard to claim 3, Sawada teaches the structure, wherein the inner cowling 40 is formed with a wind guide wall 45 (Fig. 4) configured to guide, to the rear side, traveling wind entered the ventilation hole (Fig. 4). With regard to claim 4, Sawada teaches the structure, wherein the wind guide wall 45 extends obliquely rearward to the rear side from an upper edge of the ventilation hole (Fig. 4).
Claim(s) 1 and 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakayama (US 20180093731). With regard to claim 1, Nakayama teaches a cowling structure for a straddle-type vehicle, the cowling structure comprising: a front cowling 34 covering a vehicle front portion from a front side; and a pair of side cowlings covering the vehicle front portion from lateral sides, wherein the pair of side cowlings each include: an outer cowling 32 forming an outer surface of the side cowling; and an inner cowling 42 forming an inner surface of the side cowling, and wherein the inner cowling is formed with a ventilation hole 44 through which traveling wind passing below the front cowling blows toward a rear side. With regard to claim 3, Nakayama teaches the structure, wherein the inner cowling is formed with a wind guide wall (@40; Fig. 3) configured to guide, to the rear side, traveling wind entered the ventilation hole 44. With regard to claim 4, Nakayama teaches the structure, wherein the wind guide wall (@40) extends obliquely rearward to the rear side from an upper edge of the ventilation hole (Fig. 3). With regard to claim 5, Nakayama teaches the structure, wherein the wind guide wall (@40) extends, from the ventilation hole 44, toward an inlet of an air cleaner (46; paragraph 49).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record fails to show or render obvious the structure as claimed, and particularly wherein, in a side view, an extension line obtained by extending a downstream wall surface of the wind guide wall is located below the inlet of the air cleaner, and including the remaining structure of claim 6. The present invention also particularly includes the structure wherein an accommodation space for an electrical component is formed in the inner cowling, and the wind guide wall extends to separate a flow path of traveling wind entered from the ventilation hole and the accommodation space for the electrical component, and including the remaining structure of claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kamimura (US 20060087144) has been cited to show a similar cowling structure comprising: a front cowling 50, ventilation holes 54, and guide walls 47 that project obliquely downward to the rear side and extend obliquely rearward.
Mizuta (US 10024278) has been cited to show a similar cowling structure comprising: a front cowling 32, a pair of side cowlings each having an outer cowling 4 and an inner cowling 31, a ventilation hole RTO’ formed in the inner cowling, a wind guide wall 117 extending obliquely rearward.
Naruoka (US 20210114452) has been cited to show a similar cowling structure comprising: a front cowling 45, a pair of side cowlings each having an outer cowling 41/42 and an inner cowling 44, a ventilation hole 56 formed in the inner cowling, and guide walls 41a that project obliquely downward to the rear side and extend obliquely rearward.
Ishii ‘444, Ishii ‘445 and Shimizu ‘446 have been cited to show similar publications from the same Applicant/Inventors that do not have any double patenting issues.
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/ROGER L PANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/ROGER L. PANG/
Examiner
Art Unit 3655B
February 10, 2026