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 . 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.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in the Czech Republic on August 20, 2021. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the CZPV 2021-390 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(h) and 37 CFR 1.84(u) because Figures 12 and 13 each include multiple views under a single label, and therefore the views are not “clearly separated from one another”. Further, “[t]he different views must be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals”.
The drawings are objected to under 37 1.84(h) because Figures 8 and 9 (see reference character “4”), Figures 11 and 12 (see reference character “4”), and Figures 12 and 13 (see reference character “4”) include a reference character which spans between the respective drawings, and therefore, the drawings are not “clearly separated from one another” as required.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “4” has been used to designate different structures (see Figure 1 vs. Figure 2, and Figure 5).
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "4" and "6" have both been used to designate the same structure in Figure 4.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because at line 3, “at least two segments” should read --the at least two segments--, as best understood by the Examiner.. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2017/0234349 (Cheng).
Regarding claim 1, Cheng discloses an assembly (300) for non-detachable connection (see paragraph [0005]) of plastic parts for a car (see especially Figures 7-8B, wherein reference characters for certain parts can be found in Figures 1-3B), the assembly comprising:
a plastic first part (320; see paragraph [0077], lines 1-4),
a plastic second part (340; see paragraph [0077], lines 1-4), and
at least one set of pairs of complementary fastening elements (162, 164, 182, 184), wherein one element (162, 182) from each pair of complementary fastening elements is rigidly connected to the first part (see Figure 7A), and another element (164, 184) from each respective pair is rigidly connected to the second part (see Figure 7B), and
wherein one of said elements from each pair of complementary fastening elements is at least partially inserted into the second element from the same pair (see Figure 8B),
wherein a first (162, 182) of said elements from each pair of complementary fastening elements comprises a protruding portion (1624, 1824) and a slot (1626, 1826) dividing the protruding portion into at least two segments (1622a, 1622b, 1822a, 1822b), each segment being defined by at least one side wall of the segment, and a second element (164, 184) from each respective pair comprises a recessed portion (formed inside 1644, 1844) defined by at least one side wall of the recessed portion and a partition (1642a, 1842a) extending into the recessed portion (see Figures 3A, 3B, 8A, and 8B),
wherein in each pair of complementary fastening elements the protruding portion is inserted into the recessed portion and the partition is inserted into the slot (see Figure 8B),
wherein one element (162, 182) from each pair of complementary fastening elements comprises in a side wall of the segment, or in a side wall of the recessed portion, a protrusion (1628a, 1628b, 1828a, 1828b), and another element from the same pair comprises in a side wall of the segment, or in a side wall of the recessed portion, a recess (1646a, 1646b) complementary in shape to the protrusion (see Figures 1A, 2A, 2B, and 8B),
wherein the protrusion and the recess connect the two elements from the pair by engaging the protrusion in the recess (see Figures 1A, 2A, 2B, and 8B, and paragraph [0055]).
Regarding claim 2, Cheng discloses in each pair of complementary fastening elements, the partition (1642a, 1842a) on one element (164, 184) from the pair preloads and mutually pushes apart at least two segments (1622a, 1622b, 1822a, 1822b) of the protruding portion (1624, 1824) of another element from the pair separated by the slot (1626, 1826; see paragraphs [0065]-[0066]).
Regarding claim 3, Cheng discloses the set of pairs of complementary fastening elements (162, 164, 182, 184) comprises at least two pairs (see Figures 7A and 7B), wherein for any two pairs the partition from one pair is rotated relative to the partition from the other pair about an axis parallel to a direction of insertion of the partition (1642a, 1842a) into the corresponding slot (1626, 1826; see Figures 7A and 7B, where respective pairs are rotated based on their position on the first 320 or second 340 part).
Regarding claim 4, Cheng discloses the set of pairs of complementary fastening elements (162, 164, 182, 184) comprises at least two pairs (see Figures 7A and 7B), wherein for some two pairs the partition from a first pair has a different cross-section than the partition from a second pair wherein the slot (1626, 1826) in at least the first pair has a shape complementary to the shape of the partition (1642a, 1842a) in the first pair and non-complementary to the shape of the partition from the second pair (see Figures 7A and 7B, where respective pairs extend at different distances along an axial direction, therefore having different cross-sections).
Regarding claim 5, Cheng discloses the first part (320) and the second part (340) are placeable to exactly one mutual position in which the partition from each pair of complementary fastening elements (162, 164, 182, 184) can be inserted into a complementarily shaped and oriented slot of some pair of complementary fastening elements (see Figures 7A and 7B).
Regarding claim 6, Cheng discloses at least one of the first part (220) and the second part (240) is a component for a car lamp (see the embodiment of Figures 4-6B).
Regarding claim 7, Cheng discloses the first part is a lens holder (220) and the second part is a lamp lens frame (240; see the embodiment of Figures 4-6B, where the body 240 of the vehicle 200 can be said to be the lamp lens frame, while the frame can be said to be a lens holder).
Regarding claim 8, Cheng discloses the partition (1642a, 1842a) in at least one pair (162, 164, 182, 184) passes across the recessed portion (formed inside 1644, 1844) and divides it into at least two segments (see, e.g., Figure 3A, where one segment can be said to be to the left side of 1642a, and another segment can be said to be on the right side).
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.
In the interest of compact prosecution, the following alternative interpretation of claims 6 and 7 is provided:
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng in view of US 2015/0285455 (Sudahl).
Regarding claim 6, Cheng discloses the assembly for non-detachable connection of plastic parts of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose at least one of the first part (320) and the second part (340) is a component for a car lamp.
Sudahl teaches it is known in the art of quick-connecting plastic part assemblies (see paragraph [0019]) comprising first (21) and second (20) parts having complementary fastening elements (22, 23) to utilize said assembly in a system where at least one of the first part and the second part is a component for a car lamp (see Figure 3) to provide a system that is easy to install (see paragraph [0004]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the assembly of Cheng such that at least one of the first part and the second part is a component for a car lamp, as Sudahl teaches it is known in the art of quick-connecting plastic part assemblies comprising first and second parts having complementary fastening elements to utilize said assembly in a system where at least one of the first part and the second part is a component for a car lamp to provide a system that is easy to install.
Regarding claim 7, Sudahl teaches the first part (21) is a lens holder and the second part (20) is a lamp lens frame (see Figure 3).
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) 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 Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
February 4, 2026