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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I claims 1-3 in the reply filed on 2/3/26 is acknowledged.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitagawa et al. (US 2019/0105870).
Regarding claim 1, Kitagawa teaches a tubular body made of a fiber-reinforced plastic (Kitagawa para 28) and used as a structural material of a vehicle (Kitagawa para 111), the tubular body comprising one or more corners (e.g. square) extending along an axis of the tubular body on an outer circumferential surface thereof (Kitagawa fig 3, 4; para 51), wherein the tubular body is a tubular laminate formed by laminating a fabric layer in which multiple fabric materials are laminated (Kitagawa para 36, 39, 44, 45), each fabric material including a fabric in which reinforcing fibers are woven and a plastic with which the fabric is impregnated (Kitagawa para 36, 44, 45); and at least one unidirectional material layers (Kitagawa para 30), each unidirectional material layer including reinforcing fibers oriented in one direction and a plastic with which the reinforcing fibers are impregnated (Kitagawa para 28, 94), the reinforcing fibers of each unidirectional material layer are oriented along the axis (Kitagawa para 31), and the unidirectional material layers include: an outer unidirectional material layer laminated on an outer circumferential surface of the fabric layer (Kitagawa para 74; fig 3); and an inner unidirectional material layer laminated on an inner circumferential surface of the fabric layer (Kitagawa para 81; fig 4).
While Kitagawa teaches both the axial unidirectional layer as each of the innermost or outermost layers, Kitagawa does not explicitly teach these as a single embodiment.
However, it would be within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the embodiments with the axially aligned unidirectional fibers to further increase axial strength of the tubing (Kitagawa para 27).
Regarding claim 2, Kitagawa teaches a fiber-reinforced tube as above for claim 1. Kitagawa further teaches that supporting non-unidirectional fabric layers may be woven (Kitagawa para 39) and would therefore have at least an embodiment where the warp or weft yarns oriented along the axis.
Regarding claim 3, Kitagawa teaches a fiber-reinforced tube as above for claim 1. Kitagawa further illustrates that a first and second sidewall may face each other in parallel (see eg figs 3 and 4) and that the unidirectional material may comprise either or both of glass and carbon fibers (Kitagawa para 32). Because the layer may comprise two different materials the first side wall would have an embodiment where both glass and carbon fibers are present and the second side will would have an embodiment where both glass and carbon fibers are present, and thus the first sidewall would posses reinforcing fibers with a higher tensile strength than the material layer of the second sidewall.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA B FIGG whose telephone number is (571)272-9882. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9a-6p Mountain.
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/LAURA B FIGG/Examiner, Art Unit 1781 3/27/26
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