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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II. (claims 5-20) in the reply filed on 7/21/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that an undue search burden does not exist since the scope of claim 5 falls within the scope of claim 1. This is not found persuasive because although the scopes may at least partly overlap, they do not entirely overlap. Essentially, the breadth of scope for claim 1 is far more extensive than that of at least claim 1 and it is the difference in breadth that warrants the restriction. Accordingly, claims 1-4 have been withdrawn from further consideration by the Office.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hollingshead et al. (US 5,566,510).
The Hollingshead et al. reference discloses a sealing assembly for a vehicle comprising a division post 10 with a division post flange (see cross section in Figure 3), a door frame 12 with a door frame flange (see cross section in Figure 6), a first fastener (at 72 in Figure 6) and a seal disposed over the division post flange and the door frame flange (see inboard and outboard seals 36,38), as claimed.
Claims 18-20 are allowed.
Claims 6-17 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art of record, with the Hollingshead et al. reference being the closest prior art device, alone or in combination teach Applicant’s invention of a vehicle/vehicle sealing assembly inclusive of details regarding the seal overlapping tapered portions of the division post flange and door frame flange, the seal being disposed over a first fastener or quarter panel flange or the division post forming a unitary structure with a quarter window backer, as claimed. To modify the closest prior art to have such limitations would involve teachings gleaned only from the instant application for patent.
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/STEVEN O DOUGLAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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