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 and Application
This non-final election is in response to the election of invention received by the office on 09 December 2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 16-20 are withdrawn as non-elected.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 09 December 2025.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7, 8, & 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/0203508 TO Dikovsky et al. (‘508 hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, ‘508 teaches a method for manufacturing a wire harness, comprising: Step 5110: printing an insulation carrier by a 3D printing process (Fig 4A item 30); Step S 120: laying at least one conductor on the insulation carrier (Fig 4A item 35); and Step S 130: printing an insulation layer on the insulation carrier by a 3D printing process, to make the conductor be enclosed between the insulation carrier and the insulation layer (Fig 4A items 50).
Regarding claim 2, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein the method is used to manufacture a wire harness having n layers of conductors, where n is a positive integer greater than 1; and the method further includes: Step S140 after Step S130: repeatedly performing Steps S120 to S130 for (n-i) times to obtain a wire harness having n layers of conductors; wherein, the insulation carrier in Step S120 that is repeatedly performed each time is the insulation layer printed in Step S130 that is performed most recently (Fig 4C).
Regarding claim 3, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein in Step S 120, laying at least one conductor on the insulation carrier comprises: sequentially or synchronously laying a plurality of conductors on the insulation carrier in a preset arrangement (paragraphs 0077-0085).
Regarding claim 4, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness further comprising: Step S 125: electrically connecting designated different conductors among the plurality of conductors in a same layer by means of crimping or welding (paragraph 0026).
Regarding claim 7, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein the step of laying the conductor in Step S120 is started before the step of printing the insulation carrier in Step 5110 is completed; and the step of printing the insulation layer in Step S130 is started before the step of laying the conductor in Step S120 is completed (Fig 6 S3-S6).
Regarding claim 8, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein in Step S 120, the conductor is pre-formed by a 3D printing process (Paragraph 0077).
Regarding claim 15, ‘508 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness comprising: Step S200 after Step S 130: printing a wire harness seal on the outermost insulation carrier and/or the outermost insulation layer by a 3D printing process (paragraph 0158 and 0159).
Claim(s) 1-3, & 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/0108677 to Mark et al. (‘677 hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, ‘677 teaches a method for manufacturing a wire harness, comprising: Step 5110: printing an insulation carrier by a 3D printing process (Fig 37, item 1800); Step S 120: laying at least one conductor on the insulation carrier (paragraph 0247); and Step S 130: printing an insulation layer on the insulation carrier by a 3D printing process, to make the conductor be enclosed between the insulation carrier and the insulation layer (paragraph 0247 – 0249).
Regarding claim 2, ‘677 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein the method is used to manufacture a wire harness having n layers of conductors, where n is a positive integer greater than 1; and the method further includes: Step S140 after Step S130: repeatedly performing Steps S120 to S130 for (n-i) times to obtain a wire harness having n layers of conductors (Fig. 34); wherein, the insulation carrier in Step S120 that is repeatedly performed each time is the insulation layer printed in Step S130 that is performed most recently (Paragraph 0249).
Regarding claim 3, ‘677 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein in Step S 120, laying at least one conductor on the insulation carrier comprises: sequentially or synchronously laying a plurality of conductors on the insulation carrier in a preset arrangement (Fig. 26).
Regarding claim 8, ‘677 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein in Step S 120, the conductor is pre-formed by a 3D printing process (Fig 26).
Regarding claim 9, ‘677 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein the conductor is a conductive wire; and in Step S 120, the conductive wire is laid on the insulation carrier by a wire feeder (Fig. 33, paragraphs 0246-0247).
Regarding claim 10, ‘677 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness wherein the conductor is a conductive wire with a shielding layer (paragraph 0293 and Fig. 49G).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 5, 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘508 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/0329069 to Daugherty et al. (‘069 hereafter).
Regarding claim 5, ‘508 does not teach a cooling pipe. In the related art of wire harness assembly, ‘069 teaches that it is known to manufacture a wire harness comprising: Step S126 after Step S 120: laying at least one hollow cooling pipe on the insulation carrier (paragraph 0027) for the benefit of conducting fluid through the wire harness. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘069 for the benefit of conducting fluids through the harness assembly.
Regarding claim 11, ‘508 does not teach a connecting terminal. In the same field of endeavor, wire harness manufacture, ‘069 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness comprising: Step S160 after Step S130: crimping or welding a connecting terminal to a tail end of the conductor, to allow electrical connection between different wire harnesses or between a wire harness and an electrical appliance by plugging connection between the connecting terminals thereof (Fig 1 items 22) for the benefit of providing secure connection to other elements of a larger assembly. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘069 for the benefit of providing secure connection to other elements of a larger assembly.
Regarding claim 12, ‘508 does not teach printing a sheath. In the same field of endeavor, wire harness manufacture, ‘069 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness comprising: Step S170 after Step S160: printing a sheath at the tail end of the conductor by a 3D printing process, with the connecting terminal being accommodated in the sheath, to allow the plugging connection between the connecting terminals in the sheaths through plugging connection between the sheaths (Fig 1 items 28, 30, 22) for the benefit of producing a wire harness with appropriately positioned terminals. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘069 for the benefit of appropriately positioned terminals.
Regarding claim 13, ‘508 does not teach a sealing connector. In the same field of endeavor, wire harness manufacture, ‘069 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness further comprising: Step S180 after Step S 126: printing a sealing connector at a tail end of the hollow cooling pipe by a 3D printing process, wherein the sealing connector is used to be connected to an air pump or a water pump to allow cooling gas or coolant to circulate in the hollow cooling pipe (paragraph 0027 and Fig. 1 item 28) for the benefit of conducting fluid through the wire harness. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘069 for the benefit of conducting fluids through the harness assembly.
Regarding claim 14, ‘508 does not teach printing a wire fastener. In the same field of endeavor, wire harness manufacture, ‘069 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness comprising: Step S190 after Step S 130: printing a wire fastener on the outermost insulation carrier and/or the outermost insulation layer by a 3D printing process (Fig 2 items 32) for the benefit of supporting the wire harness in a larger assembly. . It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘069 for the benefit of providing secure attachment to other elements of a larger assembly.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘508 as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0110889 to Naoyuki Toyoda (‘889 hereafter).
Regarding claim 6, ‘508 does not teach making interlayer connection by punching vias. In the same field of endeavor, additively manufacturing wire harnesses, ‘889 teaches the method for manufacturing a wire harness further comprising: Step S150 after Step S 140: electrically connecting predetermined different layers of conductors among the n layers of conductors by punching a hole in the insulation layer and pouring a conductive material into the hole (paragraph 0263) for the benefit of forming interlayer connections. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘508 with those of ‘889 for the benefit of forming interlayer connections.
Conclusion
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/JPR/Examiner, Art Unit 1743
/GALEN H HAUTH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1743