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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 10, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Japan (Japanese Patent Publication H0735192U).
Re claim 1, Japan discloses a vehicle comprising a vehicle body (1, figure 2), a door (the door is shown in figure 1) coupled to the vehicle body and comprising a door end portion extending in a length direction of the vehicle body (the door end portion closest to 1B in figure 3), and a side outer panel mounted on an outside of the vehicle body (see the annotated figure below), the side outer panel comprising a storage side (see the annotated figure below) bent toward an inside of the vehicle body to define a storage space (14, figure 2).
PNG
media_image1.png
555
611
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Re claim 2, the storage space is defined between the door end portion and the storage side in a state in which the door is closed. See the annotated figure below.
PNG
media_image2.png
555
611
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Re claim 10, a drainage passage (14B) is provided on the side outer panel and configured to exhaust water to the outside of the vehicle body.
Re claim 14, Japan discloses a method for providing a storage space in a vehicle, the method comprising providing a door (the door is shown in figure 1) comprising a door end portion (the door end portion closest to 1B in figure 3) that extends in a length direction of the vehicle, and providing a side outer panel (see the annotated figures above) mounted on an outside of the vehicle, the side outer panel comprising a storage side bent toward an inside of the vehicle to define the storage space (see the annotated figures above).
Re claim 15, the storage space is defined between the door end portion and the storage side in a state in which the door is closed (see the annotated figures above).
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.
Claims 11-13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Japan (Japanese Patent Publication H0735192U) in view of Ostertag et al. (US Patent 11,772,566).
Japan discloses all the limitations of the claims, as applied above, except for an outer weather strip being configured to seal between the door end portion and the side outer panel, an inner weather strip configured to seal between an inner end of the side outer panel and the door, and a lower weather strip configured to seal between a lower portion of the vehicle body and a lower portion of the door.
Ostertag et al. discloses an outer weather strip (the vertical portion of 72, shown in figure 3, which extends along the door opening in figure 1) configured to seal between a door end portion and a side outer panel, an inner weather strip (the vertical portion of 71, shown in figure 3, which extends along the door opening in figure 1) configured to seal between an inner end of the side outer panel and the door, and a lower weather strip (the lower portion of either 72 or 73 that extends along the horizontal portion of the vehicle door opening) configured to seal between a lower portion of the vehicle body and a lower portion of the door
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify a vehicle, such as that disclosed by Japan, to have an outer weather strip being configured to seal between the door end portion and the side outer panel, an inner weather strip configured to seal between an inner end of the side outer panel and the door, and a lower weather strip configured to seal between a lower portion of the vehicle body and a lower portion of the door, as taught by Ostertag et al., in order to keep water out of the interior of the vehicle and damaging it.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9 and 16-19 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 primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in claims 3-9 and 16-18 is the inclusion in the claims of the limitations directed to a pillar portion mounted inside the side outer panel and the side inner panel. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose vehicle storage compartments.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason S Morrow whose telephone number is (571)272-6663. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m..
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, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (517) 272-5109. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
February 20, 2026
Prosecution Insights