DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Applicant’s election without traverse of species A (claims 11, 12, 25 and 26) in the reply filed on 11/11/2025 is acknowledged. Accordingly, claims 1-12 and 17-26 are now pending in the application. Claims 13-16 and 27-30 are withdrawn from consideration.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
(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, 2, 4-9 and 17-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bowers et al., US 2014/0092495 A1.
Claims 1 and 23-24 are anticipated by Bowers et al. figures 1-4 and accompanying text which discloses a rear view assembly for a vehicle, the rear view assembly 12 comprising:
. a rear view device having a viewing element 26, 32 and a housing 24, wherein the rear view device is attached to the vehicle via a mounting structure M that comprising:
. a base frame 20 including an upper plate (e.g., upper portion), a lower plate (e.g., lower portion), a middle portion (e.g., portion between upper and lower portions), a first mounting portion (upper 22a) and a second mounting portion (lower 22a)
. a shaft (not shown) configured on the base frame ([0030])
. at least one fold arm 22 configured on the shaft via a power fold mechanism, the fold arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the fold arm is coupled to the shaft and the second end is coupled to the rear view device (fig. 4)
. a base cover 28 configured on the base frame 20
. an arm cover 22a configured between the base cover 28 and the rear view device (fig. 4)
. wherein the first mounting portion (upper 22a) of the base frame is mounted on the vehicle at a first mounting location (upper 20a) and the second mounting portion (lower 22a) of the base frame is mounted on the vehicle at a second mounting location (lower 20a), wherein the first mounting location is spaced apart from the second mounting location (figs 4).
Re claim 2, wherein the first mounting portion (upper 22a) is spaced apart from the second mounting portion (lower 22a), and connected to the middle portion of the base frame to form a bridge shaped structure (fig. 4).
Re claim 4, wherein each of the upper plate and the lower plate would has a shaft receiving portion that corresponding to A-axis ([0030]).
Re claims 5-7, wherein each of the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion of the base frame has a plurality of holes for screws, studs, bolts, nuts and/or combinations thereof to mount the base frame to the vehicle ([0028]).
Re claims 8-9, wherein the powerfold mechanism is configured to rotate the fold arm about the shaft for folding and unfolding the rear view device, wherein the rear view device is configured to be folded and unfolded manually ([0030]).
Re claim 17, wherein the viewing element comprises at least one mirror, at least one camera and/or combinations thereof (fig. 4).
Re claim 18, wherein length of the fold arm 22 is fixed (fig. 2-4).
Re claims 19-22, wherein the fold arm 22 is configured to extend and retract, e.g. sliding mechanism for adjusting length of the fold arm (fig. 5-6).
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.
Claims 3, 10-12 and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bowers et al., US 2014/0092495 A1.
Re claim 3, Bowers et al. disclose the claimed invention as described above except for the first mounting location is sheet metal inner reinforcement of the vehicle and the second mounting location is sheet metal patch area of the vehicle. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to locate a mounting location over sheet metal inner reinforcement and/or sheet metal patch area of a vehicle, since it has been held that locating parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Re claims 10-12 and 25-26, Bowers et al. disclose the claimed invention as described above except for the base frame 30 comprises multiple pieces including first and second pieces (supper plate, first mounting portion second mounting portion and the lower plate) and a fastener. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Bowers et al. base frame to first and second pieces and attached to each other via a fastener, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2297. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:00.
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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached at 571-272-9791. 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.
/DUNG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871