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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Comments
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 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.
Column and line (or Paragraph Number) citations have been provided as a convenience for Applicants, but the entirety of each reference should be duly considered. Any recitation of a Figure element, e.g. “Figure 1, element T should be construed as inherently also reciting “and relevant disclosure thereto”.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Nagasawa et al. (2014/0291053).
For claim 1, Nagasawa et al. disclose a front frame structure (FIG.1) for an electric vehicle, the front frame structure comprising: a front side frame comprising
a wall-shaped portion (not numbered) that has a wall shape with a dimension in a height direction from a bottom portion to an upper portion of a motor room (2) of the electric vehicle and that extends in a front-rear direction of a vehicle body of the electric vehicle in a rear region of the motor room, and
an arm-shaped portion (13a,b) that protrudes from an upper portion of a front end portion of the wall-shaped portion and that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body in a front region of the motor room;
a sub-frame (3) that is joined indirectly to a bottom portion of the wall-shaped portion (through a torque box) and joined directly a front end portion (at 13b) of the arm-shaped portion and that has an annular opening between the sub-frame and the arm-shaped portion; and
a load transmission member (17) disposed in the annular opening,
wherein the load transmission member comprises two or more diagonal members (17a-c) coupled to each other, and
wherein the load transmission member (17) is joined to at least
the front end portion (via 17a) of the arm-shaped portion,
a rear end portion (via 17c) of the arm-shaped portion, and
an intermediate portion (via 17b) of the sub-frame.
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For claim 2, a number of positions (two) at which the load transmission member is joined to the arm-shaped portion (7a,17c) is larger than a number of positions (one, at 15) at which the load transmission member is joined to the sub-frame.
For claim 3, the load transmission member (17) has a truss structure in the annular opening.
For claim 4, an upper portion of a rear end portion of the wall-shaped portion is joined to a front pillar (FIG.1) of the vehicle body.
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 513 in view of Nagasawa et al. (2014/0291053).
For claim 1, WO 513 (WO 2014-097513) discloses a front frame structure (FIG.1) for an electric vehicle, the front frame structure comprising: a front side frame comprising
a wall-shaped portion (6C) that has a wall shape with a dimension in a height direction from a bottom portion to an upper portion of a motor room of the electric vehicle and that extends in a front-rear direction of a vehicle body of the electric vehicle in a rear region of the motor room, and
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an arm-shaped portion (6A,B) that protrudes from an upper portion of a front end portion of the wall-shaped portion and that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body in a front region of the motor room;
a sub-frame (8) that is joined indirectly to a bottom portion of the wall-shaped portion and a front end portion of the arm-shaped portion and that has an annular opening between the sub-frame and the arm-shaped portion; and
a load transmission member (45) disposed in the annular opening.
WO 513 lacks the specifics of the load transmission member as recited.
Nagasawa et al. teach a load transmission member (17) disposed in an annular opening,
wherein the load transmission member comprises two or more diagonal members (17a-c) coupled to each other, and
wherein the load transmission member (17) is joined to at least
the front end portion (via 17a) of an arm-shaped portion,
a rear end portion (via 17c) of an arm-shaped portion, and
an intermediate portion (via 17b) of a sub-frame as recited.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention and with a reasonable expectation of success to have provided in place of the load transmission member of WO 513 the diagonally extending load transmission member of Nagasawa et al. in order to better attenuate crash energy.
For claim 5, a lower portion of a rear end portion of the wall-shaped portion (6C) is joined to a side sill (30) via a torque box (32) of the vehicle body.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HILARY L GUTMAN whose telephone number is 571.272.6662. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, PAUL DICKSON can be reached on 571.272.7742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HILARY L GUTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614