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 .
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, 2, 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2006-111076.
Regarding claim 1, JP 2006-111076 discloses:
A vehicle lower body structure, comprising:
a left and right pair of rockers (52; Figs. 1 and 4 below) provided on respective sides, in a vehicle width direction, of a vehicle lower body and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction (as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 below);
a left and right pair of front side members (14; Figs. 1 and 4 below) provided at a front side, in a vehicle front-rear direction, of the rockers (52; Figs. 1 and 4 below) and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 below);
a cross member (reference numerals 54 and 58; annotated Fig. 4 below) extending in the vehicle width direction (as can be seen in Fig.4 below), interconnecting front end portions of the left and right pair of rockers (52; see annotated Fig. 4 below), and interconnecting rear end portions of the left and right pair of front side members (14; see annotated Fig. 1 below); and
a dash panel (64; Figs. 1 and 4 below) disposed on a rear side, in the vehicle front-rear direction, of the cross member (54, 58; as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 below), mechanically fastened to the cross member (54, 58; as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 below) via fasteners (24; Fig. 1 below; as disclosed in para. [0059], lines 1-3), and partitioning a vehicle cabin interior from a vehicle cabin exterior (as shown in Fig. 1 below).
Regarding claim 2, JP 2006-111076 discloses:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 1, as explained above, wherein the cross member (reference numerals 54 and 58; annotated Figs 1 and 4 below) is configured to have a closed cross-sectional structure (as circled in annotated Fig. 1 below) as viewed from the vehicle width direction (as can be seen in Fig. 1 below).
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Regarding claim 3, JP 2006-111076 discloses:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 2, as explained above, wherein:
the cross member includes a dash upper cross member (54, 58; Figs. 1 and 4 above) positioned on an upper side and a dash lower cross member (20; Figs. 1 above and Fig. 2) positioned on a lower side in a vehicle vertical direction (as can be seen in Fig. 1 above),
each of the dash upper cross member (54, 58; Figs. 1 and 4 above) and the dash lower cross member (20; Figs. 1 above and Fig. 2) has a closed cross-sectional structure (as circled in annotated Fig. 1 above), and
when the dash panel is fastened to the dash panel by fasteners (24; Fig. 1 above; as disclosed in para. [0059], lines 1-3) the dash panel is disposed at a position between the dash upper cross member and the dash lower cross member (as can be seen in annotated Fig. 1 above) and with an alternative interpretation, the dash panel is fastened at a position between the dash upper cross member and the dash lower cross member in that the top of lower bolt 24 in Fig. 1 above, i.e., the fastening point, is between the dash upper cross member and the dash lower cross member.
Regarding claim 6, JP 2006-111076 discloses:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 1, as explained above, wherein a lower end portion of the dash panel (64; Fig. 1 above) is joined (as disclosed in para. [0056], lines 4-6) to a floor panel (66; Fig. 1 above) configuring a floor inside the vehicle cabin (as can be seen in Fig. 1 above).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2006-111076
in view of Tanaka US 7,997,366.
Regarding claim 4, JP 2006-111076 discloses:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 3, as explained above, except wherein sound insulating members are provided between the cross member and the dash panel.
Nonetheless, Tanaka discloses a vehicle dash panel (3; Fig. 9) which is supported by a transversely extending (Fig. 8) reinforcement (10; Figs. 8 and 9), i.e., cross member, where sound absorbing material 8 is provided between the cross member and the dash panel. See col. 3, lines 11-13.
A person of ordinary skill in the art is someone presumed to have known the relevant art at the relevant time. The Tanaka reference is considered to be relevant art in that the Tanaka reference is in the same field of endeavor, namely that which pertains to vehicle dash panel connections for vehicles, as the JP 2006-111076 reference.
Therefore, it 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 to provide a sound insulating member between the cross member and the dash panel of JP 2006-111076 as taught by Tanaka with a reasonable expectation of success to suppress noise from the engine compartment.
In addition, MPEP section 2144.04 VI B provides legal precedent that can be used in the examination of claims as a source of supporting rational. Namely, that the mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
Therefore, it 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 to provide the vehicle body structure of JP 2006-111076, as modified by Tanaka, with a plurality of such sound insulating members with a reasonable expectation of success since it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced and there ould be no new or unexpectred results in this instance.
Claims 1, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tatsuwaki et al. US 9,873,460 in view of JP 2006-111076.
Regarding claim 1, Tatsuwaki et al. disclose:
A vehicle lower body structure, comprising:
a left and right pair of rockers (the left rocker 16 of the pair is shown in Fig. 5 below; disclosed as a “side sill” in col. 6, lines 33-34) provided on respective sides, in a vehicle width direction, of a vehicle lower body and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction (as can be seen in Fig. 5 below);
a left and right pair of front side members (11; Figs. 5 and 6 below) provided at a front side, in a vehicle front-rear direction, of the rockers (16; Fig. 5 below) and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (as can be seen in Fig. 5 below);
a cross member (32; Fig. 5 below) extending in the vehicle width direction, interconnecting front end portions (16a; Fig. 1) of the left and right pair of rockers (16; Fig. 5 below; through left and right front pillars 13; Figs 5 and 6 below), and interconnecting rear end portions (11a; Fig. 6) of the left and right pair of front side members (11; Figs. 5 and 6 below; where such interconnection can be seen in Fig. 6 below); and
a dash panel (26; Figs. 5 and 6 below) disposed on a rear side, in the vehicle front-rear direction, of the cross member (32; Figs. 5 and 6 below; where such position can be seen in Fig. 6 below), where the dash panel is joined to the cross member, specifically, vertical panel
portion (56; Fig. 6 below) of the dash panel (26; Figs. 5 and 6 below) is joined to the cross member (32; Figs. 5 and 6 below; as described in col. 10, lines 24-28) and partitioning a vehicle cabin interior from a vehicle cabin exterior (as can be seen in Fig. 5 below).
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However, Tatsuwaki et al. do not disclose the specific manner of joining the dash panel and the cross member, namely, that the dash panel is mechanically fastened to the cross member via fasteners.
Nonetheless, JP 2006-111076 discloses a dash panel (64; Figs. 1 and 4; in paragraph 4 above) disposed on a rear side, in the vehicle front-rear direction, of the cross member (54, 58; as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 in paragraph 4 above) mechanically fastened to the cross member (54, 58; as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 4 in paragraph 4 above) via fasteners (24; Fig. 1 in paragraph 4 above; as disclosed in para. [0059], lines 1-3), and partitioning a vehicle cabin interior from a vehicle cabin exterior (as shown in Fig. 1 in paragraph 4 above).
A person of ordinary skill in the art is someone presumed to have known the relevant art at the relevant time. The JP 2006-111076 reference is considered to be relevant art in that the JP 2006-111076 reference is in the same field of endeavor, namely that which pertains to vehicle dash panel connections for vehicles, as the Tatsuwaki et al. reference.
Therefore, it 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 to join the dash panel of Tatsuwaki et al. to the cross member via mechanical fasteners as taught by JP 2006-111076 with a reasonable expectation of success which is a notoriously well-known manner of joining vehicle structural components which would involve no new or unexpected results in this instance.
Regarding claim 5, Tatsuwaki et al. further disclose:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 1, wherein:
the cross member (32; Fig. 7 below) includes open cross-sectional portions (left and right portions, where the left open cross-sectional portion of the cross member, which is open in the vehicle rearward direction is pointed out in annotated Fig. 7 below) that are open in the vehicle rearward direction as viewed from the vehicle width direction (as can be seen in annotated Fig. 7 below),
the dash panel (namely, the wheel arch portion (59; Fig. 7 below) of the dash panel (26; Fig. 5 above); where such wheel arch portion 59 is disclosed as part of the dash panel 26 in col. 10, lines 43-44) includes open cross-sectional portions (left and right portions, where the left open cross-sectional portion of the wheel arch portion of the dash panel, which is open in the vehicle forward direction, is pointed out in annotated Fig. 7 below) that are open in the vehicle forward direction as viewed from the vehicle width direction (as can be seen in annotated Fig. 7 below), and
closed cross-sections (as pointed out towards the bottom of annotated Fig. 7 below) are configured in a state in which the cross member (32; Fig. 7 below) and the dash panel (namely the wheel arch portion (59; Fig. 7 below) of the dash panel) are fastened to each other.
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Regarding claim 6, Tatsuwaki et al. further disclose:
The vehicle lower body structure of claim 1, wherein a lower end portion (61; Fig. 4) of the dash panel (26; Fig. 4) is joined to a floor panel (28; Fig. 4) configuring a floor inside the vehicle cabin (as described in col. 6, lines 55-59).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Izutsu et al. US 11,027,685 disclose a vehicle construction including a dash opanel with an associated cross member 70. See Fig. 1
Yasui et al. US 8,585,134 disclose a vehicle front section with a dash panel 6, rocker 10, and front frame side members 3. See Fig. 1
Tomita US 7,059,667 discloses a vehicle construction with a dash panel 1 and cross member 4. See Fig. 1
Watanabe et al. US 6,817,657 disclose a vehicle front construction with frame side rails 11, rocker 14, dash panel 17 and cross member 18. See Figs. 1 and 2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joseph D. Pape whose telephone number is (571)272-6664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 7 AM-3:30 PM.
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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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/Joseph D. Pape/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612