xhDETAILED 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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character 310 has been used to designate both a “cross member” (Fig. 3) and a “center side member” (Fig. 5). 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. 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 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 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shida (JP 3804141 B2). [Note that prior art references are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 1, Shida teaches a vehicle frame assembly [Shida Paragraph 0009: “frame structure that is sufficient to form an input transmission system that connects the load input point of the lower base portion of the center pillar and each side portion of the pair of front and rear cross members.”] comprising: a plurality of vehicle body cross members disposed at a vehicle body floor of a vehicle and extending in a width direction of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4 and 5]; a vehicle body side sill disposed outside the vehicle in an outward direction of the vehicle body cross members, connected to the vehicle body cross members, and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 1]; and a support member comprising extension ends extending in multiple directions from a center of the support member, each of the extension ends connecting at least one of the plurality of vehicle body cross members to the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 9], wherein the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the vehicle body side sill, and the support member are connected to one another so as to define a load path for a lateral collision of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4, 5, 1, and 9; Paragraph 0008: “the input load is distributed and distributed to the pair of front and rear cross members via the reinforcement”].
Regarding Claim 6, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the vehicle body side sill, and the support member are connected to the vehicle body floor of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 2, 4, and 5; Shida Paragraph 0016: “4 and 5 are arranged on the floor panel 2”].
Regarding Claim 7, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein, among the extension ends of the support member, two of the extension ends obliquely extend from the center thereof and are connected to two adjacent vehicle body cross members, and another of the extension ends extends outwards and is connected to the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 9, 11, 12, 4, 5, and 1].
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Takahashi (US 10513295 B2). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 2, Shida teaches cross members connected to an inner surface of the vehicle body side sill but does not teach surface contact. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of vehicle body cross members is connected to an inner surface of the vehicle body side sill in a state of being in surface contact therewith [Fig. 1, Reference Characters: 134 (support member, one side extending forward, one side extending rearward), 122 (cross member), and 106 (side sill); Takahashi Paragraph 38: “the intermediate connecting member 134 is in surface contact with the intermediate cross member 122”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, surface contact between the plurality of cross members and the sill in view of Takahashi. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Takahashi because this would have achieved the desirable result of maintaining stability in the structure, as recognized by Takashi [Takashi Paragraph 10: “the frame-shaped frame member is constituted by the rocker panels, the front cross member, and the rear cross member, and thus the shape of the vehicle lower portion structure can be stably maintained.”].
Regarding Claim 3, Shida teaches a chassis frame but does not teach a battery pack. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a chassis frame disposed at a lower portion of a vehicle body, the chassis frame being disposed in an inward direction of the vehicle and being configured to mount a battery pack thereon [Takahashi Figs. 1 and 3, Reference Characters 104 and 120; Takahashi Paragraph 9: “A frame-shaped frame member may be constituted by the rocker panels, the front cross member, and the rear cross member.”; Takahashi Paragraph 12: “In plan view (as seen in the arrow A1 direction in FIG. 3), at least one battery pack 120 is mounted inside the frame member 104.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, a chassis frame disposed in an inward direction of the vehicle in view of Takahashi. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Takahashi because this would have achieved the desirable result of absorbing energy, as recognized by Takashi [Takahashi Paragraph 35: “deformation-based energy absorption is reliably performed without deformation of the energy absorbing member 118 being inhibited.”].
Regarding Claim 4, Shida teaches a chassis frame but does not teach mounting portions. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 3, wherein the chassis frame comprises a plurality of mounting portions extending outwards, and wherein each of the vehicle body floor and the plurality of vehicle body cross members are fastened to a corresponding one of the plurality of mounting portions using a bolt so as to be connected to the chassis frame [Takahashi Fig. 2, Reference Characters 114 (typ), 112 (typ); Takahashi Paragraph 8: “The frame member 104 has a rear cross member 108 and a front cross member 110 extending in the vehicle width direction, and the rear cross member 108 and the front cross member 110 are respectively disposed on the rear side and the front side of the frame member 104. The respective rear ends of the rocker panels 106 and both ends of the rear cross member 108 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by rear connecting members 112. The respective front ends of the rocker panels 106 and both ends of the front cross member 110 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by front connecting members 114.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, a bolt in view of Takahashi. It should be noted that while Takahashi is silent regarding the means by which the cross members are fastened to the mounting portions, the use of a bolt would effectively fasten these components, such fastening being a part of Takahashi’s design; further, a bolt could be used in Takahashi’s invention without changing Takahashi’s cross member and mounting portion designs. It should be further noted that, as a reason for featuring a bolt instead of an alternative fastening means has not been provided in the disclosure of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to feature the claimed arrangement, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, as a matter of design choice, yielding the same predictable results, since such a modification is a change of location or parts. The rearranging of parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding Claim 5, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 3, wherein the chassis frame is detachably coupled to the plurality of vehicle body cross members and the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 14 (typ); Shida Paragraph 0021: “Brackets 11a and 12a formed in an inverted L-shaped cross section and bent in an inverted L shape at the ends of these front and rear legs 11 and 12 are respectively the upper surfaces of the corresponding second cross member 4 and third cross member 5, and are fastened and fixed by bolts and nuts 14 to the side surfaces.”].
Claims 8, 9, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Kato et al. (JP 2007190992 A) (hereinafter “Kato”). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 8, Shida teaches a vehicle frame assembly [Shida Paragraph 0009: “frame structure that is sufficient to form an input transmission system that connects the load input point of the lower base portion of the center pillar and each side portion of the pair of front and rear cross members.”] comprising: a plurality of vehicle body cross members disposed at a vehicle body floor of a vehicle and extending in a width direction of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4 and 5]; a vehicle body side sill disposed outside the vehicle in an outward direction of the vehicle body cross members, connected to the vehicle body cross members, and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 1]; a support member comprising extension ends extending in multiple directions from a center of the support member, each of the extension ends connecting at least one of the plurality of vehicle body cross members to the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 9], wherein the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the vehicle body side sill, and the support member are connected to one another so as to define a load path for a lateral collision of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4, 5, 1, and 9; Paragraph 0008: “the input load is distributed and distributed to the pair of front and rear cross members via the reinforcement”], but does not teach a center side member.
Kato teaches a center side member disposed at the center of the support member and connecting at least two of the plurality of vehicle body cross members to each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the center side member being parallel to the vehicle body side sill [Kato Figs. 1 and 3, Reference Character 22]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, a center side member in view of Kato. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Kato because this would have achieved the desirable result of providing load transmission, as recognized by Kato [Kato Paragraph 0008 “the load which acts on a center pillar at the time of a vehicle side collision can be transmitted to a floor part via a gusset main body.”].
Regarding Claim 9, Shida teaches a vehicle frame assembly comprising an extension member but does not teach center side member. Kato teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, further comprising an extension member extending in the width direction of the vehicle and connecting the center side member to the vehicle body side sill, wherein the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the vehicle body side sill, the extension member, and the center side member are connected to one another to define the load path for the lateral collision of the vehicle [Kato Figs. 1-3, Reference Characters 42, 22, 26, and 10]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, an extension member in view of Kato. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Kato because this would have achieved the desirable result of providing a load path, as recognized by Kato [Kato Paragraph 0008: “the load which acts on a gusset main body from the center pillar at the time of a vehicle side collision can be reliably transmitted to the floor part of a vehicle via a gusset base. As a result, the deformation of the center pillar at the time of a vehicle side collision can be effectively suppressed.”].
Regarding Claim 18, Shida teaches The vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, wherein all of the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the vehicle body side sill, and the support member are connected to the vehicle body floor of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 2, 4, and 5; Shida Paragraph 0016: “4 and 5 are arranged on the floor panel 2”].
Regarding Claim 19, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, wherein, among the extension ends of the support member, two of the extension ends obliquely extend from the center thereof and are connected to two adjacent vehicle body cross members, and another of the extension ends extends outwards and is connected to the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 9, 11, 12, 4, 5, and 1].
Claims 10 and 15-17 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Kato et al. (JP 2007190992 A) (hereinafter “Kato”) and further in view of Takahashi (US 10513295 B2). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Shida and Kato teaches a vehicle frame assembly comprising a support member but does not teach a plurality of support members. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, wherein the support member comprises a plurality of support members spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and positioned in a same direction as the center side member [Takahashi Fig. 1, Reference Character 134 (typ)]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of the combination of Shida and Kato to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, a plurality of support members in view of Takahashi. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida, Kato, and Takahashi because this would have achieved the desirable result of preventing inhibition of the compression of components between the sill and the cross members, as recognized by Takahashi [Takahashi Paragraph 34: “in a case where a compressive force in the vehicle width direction acts on the energy absorbing member 118 and the intermediate connecting member 134, the intermediate connecting member 134 is easily compressed and the intermediate connecting member 134 does not inhibit compression of the energy absorbing member 118.”].
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Shida and Kato teaches a vehicle frame comprising a chassis frame but does not teach a chassis frame configured to mount a battery pack. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, further comprising a chassis frame disposed at a lower portion of a vehicle body, the chassis frame being disposed in an inward direction of the vehicle and being configured to mount a battery pack thereon [Takahashi Figs. 1 and 3, Reference Characters 104 and 120; Takahashi Paragraph 9: “A frame-shaped frame member may be constituted by the rocker panels, the front cross member, and the rear cross member.”; Takahashi Paragraph 12: “In plan view (as seen in the arrow A1 direction in FIG. 3), at least one battery pack 120 is mounted inside the frame member 104.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of the combination of Shida and Kato to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, disposing the chassis frame inward in view of Takahashi. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Takahashi because this would have achieved the desirable result of preventing inhibition of the compression of components between the sill and the cross members, as recognized by Takahashi [Takahashi Paragraph 34: “in a case where a compressive force in the vehicle width direction acts on the energy absorbing member 118 and the intermediate connecting member 134, the intermediate connecting member 134 is easily compressed and the intermediate connecting member 134 does not inhibit compression of the energy absorbing member 118.”].
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Shida and Kato teaches a vehicle frame assembly comprising a chassis frame but does not teach mounting portions. Takahashi teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 15, wherein the chassis frame comprises a plurality of mounting portions extending outwards, and wherein each of the vehicle body floor and the plurality of vehicle body cross members are fastened to a corresponding one of the plurality of mounting portions using a bolt so as to be connected to the chassis frame [Takahashi Fig. 2, Reference Characters 114 (typ), 112 (typ); Takahashi Paragraph 8: “The frame member 104 has a rear cross member 108 and a front cross member 110 extending in the vehicle width direction, and the rear cross member 108 and the front cross member 110 are respectively disposed on the rear side and the front side of the frame member 104. The respective rear ends of the rocker panels 106 and both ends of the rear cross member 108 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by rear connecting members 112. The respective front ends of the rocker panels 106 and both ends of the front cross member 110 in the vehicle width direction are connected to each other by front connecting members 114.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, a bolt in view of Takahashi. It should be noted that while Takahashi is silent regarding the means by which the cross members are fastened to the mounting portions, the use of a bolt would effectively fasten these components, such fastening being a part of Takahashi’s design; further, a bolt could be used in Takahashi’s invention without changing Takahashi’s cross member and mounting portion designs. It should be further noted that, as a reason for featuring a bolt instead of an alternative fastening means has not been provided in the disclosure of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to feature the claimed arrangement, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, as a matter of design choice, yielding the same predictable results, since such a modification is a change of location or parts. The rearranging of parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding Claim 17, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 15, wherein the chassis frame is detachably coupled to the plurality of vehicle body cross members and the vehicle body side sill [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 14 (typ); Shida Paragraph 0021: “Brackets 11a and 12a formed in an inverted L-shaped cross section and bent in an inverted L shape at the ends of these front and rear legs 11 and 12 are respectively the upper surfaces of the corresponding second cross member 4 and third cross member 5, and are fastened and fixed by bolts and nuts 14 to the side surfaces.”].
Claims 11, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Kato et al. (JP 2007190992 A) (hereinafter “Kato”) and further in view of Imamura (JP 2020131845 A). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Shida and Kato teaches a vehicle frame assembly but does not teach door panels. Imamura teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 8, further comprising: a door upper panel disposed above the vehicle body side sill and connected to the vehicle body floor; and a door lower panel disposed below the door upper panel and coupled to the door upper panel at a portion abutting the door upper panel [Imamura Fig. 2, Reference Characters 11, 10, and 12; Imamura “Rail Storage” Paragraph 1: “As shown in FIG. 2, the rail storage portion 10 in which the lower rail 5 is housed is mainly composed of a floor panel 11 forming the floor portion of the vehicle interior and a lower panel 12 arranged below the floor panel 11.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of the combination of Shida and Kato to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, door panels as taught by Imamura. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida, Kato, and Imamura because this would have achieved the desirable result of sheltering the door arm, as recognized by Imamura [Imamura “Description of Embodiments” Paragraph 6: “for accommodating the lower rail of the sliding door”].
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Shida and Kato teaches a vehicle frame assembly but does not teach door panels. Imamura teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 11, wherein the door upper panel and the door lower panel define there between an internal space configured to receive a door arm configured to allow a sliding door of the vehicle to be opened and closed [Imamura Fig. 2, Reference Character 13]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of the combination of Shida and Kato to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, an internal space as taught by Imamura. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida, Kato, and Imamura because this would have achieved the desirable result of sheltering the door arm, as recognized by Imamura [Imamura “Description of Embodiments” Paragraph 6: “for accommodating the lower rail of the sliding door”].
Regarding Claim 14, Shida teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 11, wherein the center side member is coupled to the door lower panel so as to allow a load caused by the lateral collision of the vehicle to be transmitted to the door lower panel [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4, 5, 1, and 9; Shida Paragraph 0008: “the input load is distributed and distributed to the pair of front and rear cross members via the reinforcement”].
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Kato et al. (JP 2007190992 A) (hereinafter “Kato”), further in view of Imamura (JP 2020131845 A), and further in view of Kato et al. (US 10793195 B2) (hereinafter “Kato 195”). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Shida, Kato, and Imamura teaches a vehicle frame assembly comprising door panels but does not teach shapes that increase in width. Kato 195 teaches the vehicle frame assembly according to claim 11, wherein each of the door upper panel and the door lower panel is connected to the vehicle body side sill at a first side thereof and has a shape which increases in width moving toward a center thereof from a rear portion thereof [Kato 195 Figs. 1 and 2, Reference Character 36; Kato Paragraph 31: “the rail case 36 is provided with a bulging portion 36A bulging in the inboard direction in the front end part thereof. The bulging portion 36A progressively bulges in the inboard direction toward the front so that the rail case 36 in effect progressively increases in depth (as measured in the lateral direction) toward the front.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle frame assembly of the combination of Shida, Kato, and Imamura to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, an increasing width in view of Kato 195. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida, Kato, Imamura, and Kato 195 because this would have achieved the desirable result of providing energy absorption, as recognized by Kato 195 [Kato 195 Paragraph 53: “the vehicle body structure 1 according to the present embodiment can favorably absorb the energy of an impact load of a side crash even though the door slide rail 35 and the rail case 36 are provided in the side sill 2”].
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shida (JP 3804141 B2) in view of Takahashi (US 10513295 B2). [Note that prior art citations are italicized and enclosed in brackets.]
Regarding Claim 20, Shida teaches a vehicle [Shida Paragraph 0002: “in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, the lower side of the center pillar and the center of the side sill A structure in which a reinforcement is coupled and disposed across a side portion of a cross member coupled to the pillar standing portion in the vehicle width direction is known.”] comprising: a vehicle body comprising a vehicle body floor [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 2]; a plurality of vehicle body cross members disposed at a vehicle body floor of a vehicle and extending in a width direction of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4 and 5]; a pair of side sills disposed outside the vehicle on both sides of the vehicle, respectively, and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein each of the pair of side sills is connected to respective ends of the vehicle body cross members; [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 1 (typ), 4, and 5]; a support member comprising extension ends extending in multiple directions from a center of the support member, each of the extension ends connecting at least one of the plurality of vehicle body cross members to one side sill of the pair of side sills [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 9], wherein the plurality of vehicle body cross members, the one side sill of the pair of side sills, and the support member are connected to one another so as to define a load path for a lateral collision of the vehicle [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Characters 4, 5, 1, and 9; Paragraph 0008: “the input load is distributed and distributed to the pair of front and rear cross members via the reinforcement”]; a chassis frame disposed at a lower portion of the vehicle body in an inward direction of the vehicle and detachably coupled to the plurality of vehicle body cross members and the pair of side sills [Shida Fig. 1, Reference Character 14 (typ); Shida Paragraph 0021: “Brackets 11a and 12a formed in an inverted L-shaped cross section and bent in an inverted L shape at the ends of these front and rear legs 11 and 12 are respectively the upper surfaces of the corresponding second cross member 4 and third cross member 5, and are fastened and fixed by bolts and nuts 14 to the side surfaces.”]; but does not teach a battery pack.
Takahashi teaches a battery pack mounted on the chassis frame [Takahashi Figs. 1 and 3, Reference Characters 104 and 120; Takahashi Paragraph 9: “A frame-shaped frame member may be constituted by the rocker panels, the front cross member, and the rear cross member.”; Takahashi Paragraph 12: “In plan view (as seen in the arrow A1 direction in FIG. 3), at least one battery pack 120 is mounted inside the frame member 104.”]. It would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the vehicle of Shida to include, with a reasonable expectation of success, mounting a battery pack on the chassis frame in view of Takahashi. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Shida and Takahashi because this would have achieved the desirable result of protecting the battery by preventing inhibition of the compression of components between the sill and the cross members, as recognized by Takahashi [Takahashi Paragraph 34: “in a case where a compressive force in the vehicle width direction acts on the energy absorbing member 118 and the intermediate connecting member 134, the intermediate connecting member 134 is easily compressed and the intermediate connecting member 134 does not inhibit compression of the energy absorbing member 118.”].
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL T. WALSH/Examiner, Art Unit 3613