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)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 51. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 21, the coupling bosses. The drawings show the first and second derivative elements 21a and 21b, but does not label the general element 21. 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 § 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.
Claim 5 is 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 describes a "circumferential length of a circle drawn while the connecting protrusion rotates around the driving shaft is two times a length of the connecting hole”. The claim language is considered indefinite as it does not clearly define what the “circumferential length” is referring to, therefore rendering the dimension unclear. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted to mean that the circumference of the driving shaft is twice the length of the connecting hole.
Claim 7 is 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 7 discloses that the guide frames are to “extend in a vertical width direction”. The claim language is considered indefinite since it uses contradictory terminology, as a “vertical width direction” is not really possible. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted to mean that the guide frames extend vertically, and are spaced apart in the width direction of the bumper.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. In the specification of the instant application (Pg. 3, Ln. 14-15; Pg. 11, Ln. 11-13) the limitation of claim 5 is referenced, but is not further described or explained, thus lacking supporting language.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-4, and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fukutomi et al. (JP Patent Application 63103776 A), henceforth Fukutomi.
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Figure 1 from Fukutomi
Regarding claim 1, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) comprising:
a pair of guide frames (guide plate 4, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) including guide holes (guide groove 6, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) and installed inside a front bumper (front bumper 2, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above);
a skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) connected to the guide holes inside the front bumper and supported by the guide frames (Pg. 4 of the provided PDF printout, last paragraph on page);
a first link (first link 17, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) of which one end is rotatably connected to a rear surface of the skirt (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, third paragraph from the top);
a second link (second link 16, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) of which one end is rotatably connected to the other end of the first link and the other end is connected to a vehicle body (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, third paragraph from the top; and Pg. 6, first paragraph);
and an actuator (motor 12, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) configured to rotate the second link (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, fourth and fifth paragraph from the top), wherein the skirt is configured to reciprocate upwardly and downwardly along a trajectory provided by the guide holes as the second link rotates around the other end of the second link as a rotation shaft (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, sixth paragraph from the top, Pg. 6, first paragraph).
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Figure 2 from Fukutomi
Regarding claim 2, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) further comprising
a loader (loader, as shown in provided annotated Fig. 2 above) which connects the actuator and the second link (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, second and fourth paragraphs from the top), wherein one end of the loader is connected to a driving shaft (worm gear 13, in provided annotated Fig. 2 above) of the actuator (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, second paragraph from the top), and the other end of the loader passes through and is connected to the second link to transmit power of the actuator to the second link (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, fifth paragraph from the top, pin can be seen connecting to second link in provided annotated Fig. 2 above).
Regarding claim 3, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the second link (second link 16, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) includes a connecting hole extending in a longitudinal direction of the second link (as can be seen where the pin is in shaft 15 in the link in provided annotated Fig. 2 above), the other end of the loader (loader, as shown in provided annotated Fig. 2 above) includes a connecting protrusion (the pin as part of the loader in provided annotated Fig. 2 above) to be inserted into the connecting hole (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, third paragraph from the top), and the loader rotates around the driving shaft such that the connecting protrusion slides along the connecting hole (Pg. 5 of the provided PDF printout, second paragraph from the top, and last paragraph on page).
Regarding claim 4, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the one end of the second link (second link 16, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) vertically reciprocates between the guide frames (guide plate 4, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) as the second link rotates around the other end of the second link as the rotation shaft in a state in which the connecting protrusion is engaged with the connecting hole (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 2 above, where the links are rotated clockwise; Pg. 6 of the provided PDF printout, first paragraph on the page).
Regarding claim 6, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
a length of the second link (second link 16, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) is greater than a length of the loader (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 2 above, where the link length is longer than the diameter of the loader).
Regarding claim 7, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the guide frames (guide plate 4, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) are disposed to extend in a vertical width direction of the front bumper to be parallel to each other (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 3 below; Pg. 4 of the provided PDF printout, fourth paragraph from top);
and each of the guide holes (guide grooves 5 and 6, in provided annotated Fig. 3 below) has a slot shape having a predetermined width and a predetermined length (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 3 below; Pg. 4 of the provided PDF printout, fourth paragraph from the top).
The “predetermined width and a predetermined length” of the guide grooves is not explicitly taught by Fukutomi, but it is an inherent part of the design of the guide grooves.
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Figure 3 from Fukutomi
Regarding claim 8, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) includes coupling bosses (guide pins 8 and 9, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above) to be inserted into the guide holes (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 3 above; Pg. 4 of the provided PDF printout, last paragraph on the page).
Regarding claim 9, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the coupling bosses (guide pins 8 and 9, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above) include a pair of first coupling bosses (guide pin 9, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above) and a pair of second coupling bosses (guide pin 8, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above; the provided annotated Fig. 3 shows one such pair of coupling bosses, which is present on the opposite side as well as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) which protrude in both side directions from a rear surface of the skirt (as can be seen in provided annotated Fig. 3 above; Pg. 4 of the provided PDF printout, last paragraph on the page).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukutomi et al. (JP Patent Application 63103776 A), henceforth Fukutomi.
Regarding claim 5, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) but does not directly disclose wherein
a circumferential length of a circle drawn while the connecting protrusion rotates around the driving shaft is two times a length of the connecting hole.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to use these dimensions for the recited elements in relation to each other, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 10, Fukutomi teaches a vehicle active air skirt (front spoiler 7, in provided annotated Fig. 1 above) wherein
the first coupling bosses (guide pin 9, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above) are positioned on an upper portion of the skirt;
and the second coupling bosses (guide pin 8, in provided annotated Fig. 3 above) are positioned at a lower level than the first coupling bosses.
Fukutomi does not disclose that the first coupling bosses are “positioned on an upper portion of the skirt” or that the second coupling bosses “are positioned at a lower level than the first coupling bosses”. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make one of pairs of coupling bosses positioned higher than the other pair, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have rearranged the coupling bosses from Fukutomi to have one pair higher than the other so that the guide frame can be moveable along the grooves with different height coupling bosses so as to not hit the bumper when it moves forward.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daniel G Chen whose telephone number is (571)272-9669. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (571) 272-5109. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D.G.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/VIVEK D KOPPIKAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3612
April 20, 2026
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