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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendments submitted on 04/23/2026 have been considered and entered. Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 1-12 are pending in the present application.
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 1-6 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Setoyama (US 2015/0061202 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Setoyama discloses a vibration damping device (10) in which a first mounting member (16) and a second mounting member (18) are connected by a main rubber elastic body (20), and a separate stopper member (14) is accommodated in an accommodation recess (30) that opens in an axial direction in an inner circumference of a tubular part of the second mounting member, wherein
a retaining part (46) that protrudes toward an inner circumference is provided at an opening of the accommodation recess,
an outer shape of the stopper member (14 in figs. 5-6) is substantially quadrilateral, and lip-shaped parts (40, 42) that protrude from corner portions toward an outer circumference are provided at the stopper member,
the lip-shaped part (40, 42, 44) is located further inward than the retaining part in the accommodation recess, and the lip-shaped part (40) overlaps the retaining part (46) in axial projection (fig. 15B),
a rod insertion hole (36) through which a rod member (23) fixed to the first mounting member (16) is inserted is formed through the stopper member (14) in the axial direction, and
a pair of facing side portions (40, 42 in fig. 9), each extending in a first direction and being provided between the li-shaped parts (note the corners of each side portion (40, 42)) provided at both ends of the stopper member (14), are spaced apart in a second direction from an inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30), the first direction being perpendicular to the axial direction, and the second direction being perpendicular to the axial direction and the first direction (note that each of the facing side portions (40, 42) comprising a portion (42) that is spaced apart from the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30)).
Re-claim 2, Setoyama discloses another pair of facing side portions (38) located between the pair of facing side portions on the outer circumferential surface of the stopper member in a circumferential direction is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess.
Re-claims 3 and 8, Setoyama discloses a magnitude of curvature of the pair of facing side portions (40 in fig. 3) of the stopper member is smaller than a magnitude of curvature of a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30) that faces the pair of facing side portions.
Re-claims 4 and 9, Setoyama discloses the pair of facing side portions (40) of the stopper member are planar, and the portion of the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30) that faces the pair of facing side portions is formed of a curved surface that is concave toward the inner circumference.
Re-claims 5 and 10, Setoyama discloses the pair of facing side portions (40) of the stopper member have no partial recesses in the circumferential direction of the stopper member.
Re-claims 6 and 11, Setoyama discloses the lip-shaped part (40, 42, 44) extends continuously in the axial direction.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Setoyama (US 2015/0061202 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 12, Setoyama discloses all claimed limitations as set forth above including an overlap allowance of the retaining part of the lip-shaped part (40, 42, 44) with respect to a wall portion of the accommodation recess (30) but fails to disclose the overlap allowance is set within a range of 70% to 100% of a protrusion height of the lip-shaped part when seen in the axial direction as recited in the claim. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the filing date of the invention was made to set the overlap allowance of the retaining part of the lip-shaped part with respect to a wall portion of the accommodation recess within a range of 70% to 100% of a protrusion height of the lip-shaped part when seen in the axial direction, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art will allow to obtain the target spring characteristics and an effective vibration damping effect.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Setoyama discloses a pair of facing side portions (40, 42 in fig. 9), each extending in a first direction and being provided between the li-shaped parts (note the corners of each side portion (40, 42)) provided at both ends of the stopper member (14), are spaced apart in a second direction from an inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30), the first direction being perpendicular to the axial direction, and the second direction being perpendicular to the axial direction and the first direction. The examiner notes that each of the facing side portions (40, 42) comprising a portion (42) that is spaced apart from the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess (30). Therefore, it is clear that Setoyama discloses all of the limitations as recited in the claim and thus the rejections are proper and valid.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHBUBUR RASHID whose telephone number is (571)272-7218. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am to 10pm EST.
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, ROBERT SICONOLFI can be reached at 5712727124. 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.
/MAHBUBUR RASHID/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
Prosecution Insights