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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In paragraph 0028, line 2, “stop lamp” is misspelled as “sop lamp”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Applicant’s Background of the invention, in paragraph 0003, describes figures 1 and 2 in connection with figure 3 which is labeled as Prior art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 6, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the upper spoiler" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is suggested the dependency of the claim be changed from “1” to “5”.
In claims 6 and 12, applicant claims the wiring harness includes, “a rigid, yet flexible cable”. The scope of what is claimed by the phrase is unascertainable. It seems that any wire is somewhat rigid along its longitudinal axis but bendable along a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. Thus, it is unclear what is or isn’t included by applicant’s claim language.
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 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by applicant’s admitted prior art in figure 3.
Re claim 1, applicant’s admitted prior art discloses a tailgate for a vehicle, comprising: a tailgate inner panel (24, figure 3); a stop lamp assembly including a stop lamp (20, figure 3) and a stop lamp wiring harness (22, figure 3) configured to provide electricity to the stop lamp, the stop lamp assembly configured to mate with the tailgate inner panel; wherein the tailgate inner panel includes a first opening (26) and a second opening (28) in communication with each other via an enclosed tunnel structure configured for receipt of the stop lamp wiring harness (see the annotated figure below).
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Re claim 2, the enclosed tunnel structure is defined by a plurality of barrier walls that define a pathway for the stop lamp wiring harness to pass through the tailgate inner panel.
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Re claim 3, the barrier walls include an upper wall and a lower wall (see the annotated figures below) that are connected to each other by a pair of sidewalls (a right side wall is shown in the figure below, but the left corresponding sidewall is not illustrated). Note that applicant specifically defines “connected to” as being “directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present”. In this case, there may be intervening elements between the structures, but they are all connected together in a coherent final structure.
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Re claim 4, an upper spoiler (14, figure 3) is connected to the tailgate inner panel (24, as shown by figure 3).
Re claim 5, stop lamp assembly includes a lower spoiler body (18, figure 3) that mates with the upper spoiler.
Re claim 6, the stop lamp wiring harness includes a rigid, yet flexible cable (22) attached to the stop lamp.
Re claim 7, the tailgate inner panel (24, figure 3) includes a body defining an elongated recess configured for receipt of the stop lamp assembly (20, figure 3).
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Re claim 8, applicant’s admitted prior art discloses a vehicle, comprising: a tailgate including: a tailgate inner panel (24, figure 3) including an upper section (36, figure 2) and a lower section (38, figure 2, note that figure 2 is described in the Background of the Invention in conjunction with the admitted prior art); an upper spoiler (14, figure 3) attached to the upper section; a lower exterior panel (34, figure 1, note that figure 1 is described in the Background of the Invention in conjunction with the admitted prior art);) connected to the lower section; and a stop lamp assembly including a stop lamp (20, figure 3) and a stop lamp wiring harness (22, figure 3) configured to provide electricity to the stop lamp, the stop lamp assembly configured to mate with the upper section (as shown in figure 3); wherein the upper section of the tailgate inner panel includes a first opening (26) and a second opening (28) in communication with each other via an enclosed tunnel structure configured for receipt of the stop lamp wiring harness (see the annotated figure below).
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Re claim 9, the enclosed tunnel structure is defined by a plurality of barrier walls that define a pathway for the stop lamp wiring harness to pass through the tailgate inner panel (see the annotated figure below).
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Re claim 10, the barrier walls include an upper wall and a lower wall that are connected to each other by a pair of sidewalls (a right side wall is shown in the figure below, but the left corresponding sidewall is not illustrated). Note that applicant specifically defines “connected to” as being “directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present”. In this case, there may be intervening elements between the structures, but they are all connected together in a coherent final structure.
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Re claim 11, the stop lamp assembly includes a lower spoiler body (18, figure 3) that mates with the upper spoiler.
Re claim 12, the stop lamp wiring harness includes a rigid, yet flexible cable (22, figure 3) attached to the stop lamp.
Re claim 13, the upper section of the tailgate inner panel includes a body defining an elongated recess configured for receipt of the stop lamp assembly (see the annotated figure below).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose vehicle lamp or tailgate constructions.
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, Amy Weisberg can be reached at (571) 270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
February 6, 2026