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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1 – 10 have been examined.
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, 4 – 6, and 9 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Ohji et al. (7,766,118). In regard to claims 1 and 6, Ohji discloses a fastening structure for a vehicular mounting system, the fastening structure comprising a mount core including an inner core and coupled to a vehicle body by being fixed thereto (Fig. 1, item 14), and a center bolt protruding in an upward direction from the inner core (Fig. 1, item 32), and a support bracket mounted on the inner core, fastened to the mount core using the center bolt, and coupled to a powertrain of a vehicle by being fixed thereto (Fig. 1, item 10), the center bolt configured to pass through an inside of the support bracket (Fig. 1), wherein a mounting seating surface on which the support bracket is seated is formed on an upper surface of the inner core (Fig. 1, upper portion of item 14), and the mounting seating surface includes a counterforce angle formation portion (Figs. 1 and 3, item 60).
In regard to claim 6, the recitation regarding the fastening structure being attached to “a power electronics module” is considered to be a recitation of intended use. It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
In regard to claims 4 and 9, Ohji discloses wherein, when an external force is applied toward a lateral direction in which the counterforce angle formation portion is formed, or when a combined external force is applied toward the lateral direction and the upward direction, the mounting seating surface is configured to guide a load to be distributed toward a direction of a tensile force through the counterforce angle formation portion (column 8, line 52 to column 9, line 3).
In regard to claims 5 and 10, Ohji discloses wherein, when a combined external force is applied toward a lateral direction in which the counterforce angle formation portion is formed and a downward direction, the mounting seating surface is configured to guide a load to be distributed by a surface contact with the counterforce angle formation portion (column 8, line 52 to column 9, line 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 3 and 7 – 8 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: Ohji et al. (7,766,118) discloses a vehicular mounting system similar to the instant invention; however Ohji, either alone or in combination, neither discloses nor suggests a vehicular mounting system wherein (in regard to claims 2 and 7) the mounting seating surface is formed to be inclined in a direction in which a load is input at a front end thereof, and (in regard to claims 3 and 8) wherein the support bracket includes a mounting area, the support bracket being mounted on the inner core through the mounting area, and wherein the mounting area includes a through-hole through which the center bolt passes, and an inclination member that is formed in a manner that corresponds to the counterforce angle formation portion. These limitations, in combination with each and every other independent claim limitation, are not shown in the currently cited prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Takahashi (CN106555836) discloses an anti-vibration device;
Kyun (KR20190047297) discloses a variable dynamic engine mount;
Seok (KR20230017481) discloses a fastening structure of an engine mount.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN DANIEL WALTERS whose telephone number is (571)272-8269. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8 am - 5 pm (PT).
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/JOHN D WALTERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613