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 .
Status of Claims
This is the first action on the merits for application 18/411,688 filed on 01/12/2024. Claims 1-8 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/12/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by BAJORAT (DE 102009044217 A1)
BAJORAT discloses:
Claim 1: A forced braking apparatus (Fig.1) for a vehicle for forcibly braking the vehicle (¶[0023]), the apparatus comprising: a discharge unit (2, 3, 6) mounted on a wheel house (¶[0020]: “In the “untriggered state”, the mats could be arranged above the wheel in a wheel arch and thus partially replace the inner fender (see Fig.) or in rolled-up form in front of the wheel) and discharging a braking net (6) to a tread (4) of a tire (1), wherein the braking net wraps around the tread and forcibly brakes the tire (¶[0026]).
Claim 2: The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge unit (2,3,6) is mounted on a rear upper portion of the wheel house (¶[0020]).
Claim 8: The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an operation button (¶0016]-brake pedal depresses, ABS/ESP system engages, and release mechanism maybe triggered. Note: the claim does not require a physical push button, thereof, brake pedal qualifies as operation button under BRI.) capable of being manipulated by a driver to operate the discharge unit ( brake mat is discharged).
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.
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BAJORAT (DE 102009044217 A1) in view of Lubinitsky (US 20130008972 A1)
Claim 6: BAJORAT does not disclose wherein the braking net comprises: an elastic plate that is formed in a thin plate shape and has elastic force; and an outer skin wrapping an outer surface of the elastic plate.
Lubinitsky teaches a mat (Fig.2) having an elastic plate (207/209) that is formed in a thin plate shape (they are planar sheet like structure see Fig.2) and has elastic force (flexible material, see ¶[0069]); and an outer skin (213/215) wrapping an outer surface of the elastic plate.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify brake mat of BAJORAT in view of Lubinitsky for improving strength, wear resistance and durability under wheel load.
Claim 7: BAJORAT as modified by Lubinitsky discloses the apparatus of claim 6, wherein the outer skin (213/215) is made of a non-slip material (an envelope from a frictional material located outside of said receptacle; see ¶[0071]) to prevent slipping when in close contact with the tread (4) of the tire (1-BAJORAT).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 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.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Reed (US 20190039584 A1) discloses the friction mat deployment device 320 may include a spool or storage bin onto which the friction mat.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lillian T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-5404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at (571)270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/LILLIAN T NGUYEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3655a