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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sjoestroem (DE 4341693A1).
Sjoestroem discloses a vehicle comprising a chassis 3, which at the front of the vehicle comprises at least one chassis front panel (see Figure 1); a driving cab 1, which is arranged at the front of the vehicle and which is mounted on the chassis by a suspension (not shown) allowing the driving cab to move at least vertically relative to the chassis when the vehicle is driven on-road, the driving cab comprising, for the chassis front panel, a cab front panel which is disposed above and in vertical alignment with the chassis front panel, while being separated from the chassis front panel by a gap 16 permitting relative movement between the chassis front panel and the cab front panel at least vertically; and for the gap, a sealing device 20 for closing the gap, the sealing device comprising a bracket 15 which is attached to the corresponding cab front panel; and a flap 21, which is tiltably mounted on the bracket and which extends from the bracket towards the corresponding chassis front panel across the gap, the sealing device being adapted to maintain the flap in contact with the corresponding chassis front panel. The sealing device 20 comprises at least one resilient member, which is mounted on the bracket 15 and which acts on the flap so as, by tilting the flap relative to the bracket, to maintain the flap in contact with the corresponding chassis front panel, as shown in Figure 2. The corresponding gap 16 is arranged at one of the front corners, respectively left and right, of the vehicle; the corresponding chassis front panel and cab front panel are respectively corner panels; and the bracket 15 and the flap 21 are shaped curved along an angled profile of the corner panels. Two sealing devices 20 are provided and are respectively arranged at the two front corners, respectively left and right, of the vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art recited discloses common inventive concepts as the claimed present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Faye M. Fleming whose telephone number is (571)272-6672. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul N. Dickson can be reached at (571) 272-7742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FAYE M FLEMING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614