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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 1, Applicant argues that,
“… Applicant has amended claim 1 to overcome the rejection. Specifically, claim 1 now recites an automobile interior trim attachment bracket having a surface that extends in a first direction, a clip arrangement portion with a clip arranged thereat, the clip extending in a second direction from the surface and being fitted into an attachment hole in the vehicle body panel, and another portion other than the joined portion, the clip portion, the contact portion, and the bridging portion, the other portion having a hole extending in the first direction beside the vehicle body panel. As seen in Figures 3, 8, and 9 of Nagamine et al., the hole disclosed by Nagamine et al. extends within the vehicle body panel 3 when attached. Further, the hole of Nagamine et al. is designed to extend within the vehicle body panel 3 to allow for elastic deformation of the mounting member 10. Applicant respectfully asserts that not only do Nagamine et al. fail to disclose the recited structure of amended claim 1, they fail to suggest it because if the hole were somehow designed to extend beside the vehicle body panel the mounting member 10 would not function as intended and the teaching would be destroyed.”
In response, Examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that Nagamine teaches the hole extending in the first direction beside the vehicle body panel as shown in the reproduced figure 4 of Nagamine with Examiner’s annotations below:
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As such, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagamine et al. (WO 2011/155457 A1 – hereinafter Nagamine, references to high-lighted machine-translated copy attached).
Regarding claim 1, Nagamine discloses an automobile interior trim attachment bracket (Fig. 8 – bracket 10) used for attaching an automobile interior trim formed into a predetermined shape (Figs. 1-2 – the trim being formed into a predetermined shape as shown in the figure) to a vehicle body panel (Figs. 8-9 – attaching an automobile interior trim 2 to a vehicle body panel 3 as shown in Fig. 1 and further described at least on page 4), the automobile interior trim attachment bracket comprising: a surface extending in a first direction (Fig. 4 – see annotations of the surface and the first direction in Fig. 4 reproduced in “Response to Arguments” above), a joined portion (Fig. 8 – a joined portion 12) being joined to the automobile interior trim (Fig. 8 – portion 12 is joined to the automobile interior trim 2 via end 2a as further described at least on page 4), a clip arrangement portion (Fig. 8 – a clip arrangement portion comprising portions 16 and 14), a clip being arranged thereat, the clip extending in a second direction from the surface (Fig. 4 – see annotation of the second direction in the Fig. 4 reproduced in the “Response to Arguments” above) and being fitted into an attachment hole in the vehicle body panel (Figs. 8-9 – portions 14 and 16 is fitted into hole 3a of the vehicle body panel 3); a contact portion (Fig. 8 – a contact portion 26) being configured to contact against the vehicle body panel (Figs. 8-9 – when fully pressed into hole 3a, the contact portion 26 is caused to contact against the vehicle body panel 3 similarly to contact 56 being in contact with body 33 as shown in Fig. 13); and a bridging portion that connecting the joined portion, the clip arrangement portion, and the contact portion to each other (Figs. 8-9 – the portion at the top of structure 10 connecting the portion 26 and portions 12, 14, and 16), another portion other than the joined portion the clip arrangement portion, the contact portion, and the bridging portion, the other portion having a hole having a predetermine shape (Fig. 8 – the hole between portion 14 and portions 12, 16) and extending in the first direction beside the vehicle body panel (Fig. 4 – see the annotation of the hole extending in the first direction beside the vehicle body panel in the Fig. 4 reproduced in the “Response to Arguments” above).
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 2-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagamine.
Regarding claim 2, see the teachings of Nagamine as discussed in claim 1 above. However, Nagamine does not explicitly disclose the automobile interior trim attachment bracket according to claim 1, wherein the automobile interior trim is configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket.
Official Notice is taken that an automobile interior trim configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket is conventional (see paragraphs [0003] and [0005] of specification of current application).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate an automobile interior trim configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket into the attachment bracket taught by Nagamine to accommodate various kinds of interior trims such as soft trims and having such a soft trim securely attached to the vehicle body.
Regarding claim 3, Nagamine discloses an automobile interior trim attachment bracket (Figs. 3-9 – bracket 10 as a mounting member) for attaching an automobile interior trim to a vehicle body panel having an attachment hole (Figs. 9-10), the automobile interior trim attachment bracket comprising: a body having a plurality of openings (Figs. 3-4 – the bracket 10 has a plurality of holes); a joined portion (Fig. 8 – a joined portion 12) configured to be joined to the automobile interior trim (Fig. 8 – portion 12 is joined to the automobile interior trim 2 via end 2a as further described at least on page 4); a plurality of clip arrangement portions (Fig. 8 – a clip arrangement portions 16 and 14) to which clips to be fitted into the attachment hole are arranged (Figs. 8-9 – portions 14 and 16 is fitted into hole 3a of the vehicle body panel 3), the plurality of the clip arrangement portions being integral with the resin body (Fig. 4); and a projection (Fig. 8 – a projection 26) located between adjacent clip arrangement portions, the projection being integral with the body (Fig. 4), the projection configured to contact against the vehicle body panel (Figs. 8-9 – when fully pressed into hole 3a, the contact portion 26 is caused to contact against the vehicle body panel 3 similarly to contact 56 being in contact with body 33 as shown in Fig. 13).
However, Nagamine does not disclose the body of the bracket is a resin body, wherein the automobile interior trim is configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket.
Official Notice is taken a resin body is well known in the art and that an automobile interior trim configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket is conventional (see paragraphs [0003] and [0005] of specification of current application).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate a resin body and an automobile interior trim configured as a soft trim having a bending rigidity lower than that of the attachment bracket into the attachment bracket taught by Nagamine for the following reasons: (1) a resin body were known to have been advantageous due to its resilient and versatile which makes it fit in applications requiring deformation and bending and (2) for accommodating various kinds of interior trims such as soft trims and having such a soft trim securely attached to the vehicle body.
Regarding claim 4, Nagamine in view of Official Notice above also discloses the automobile interior trim attachment bracket according to claim 3, wherein the resin body has a curved shape along a curve line, and each of the plurality of openings is located along the curve line (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, Nagamine also discloses the automobile interior trim attachment bracket according to claim 1, wherein the other portion has at least two holes which are spaced apart from each other by a distance (Figs. 3-4 – the thickness of the surface side 11 approximately between the left edge of hole 11b and the right edge of surface side 11a).
However, Nagamine does not explicitly disclose the distance is at least 15 mm.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the thickness of the bracket taught by Nagamine above at least 15 mm to accommodate a design size and to provide a predetermined strength for the bracket.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagamine as applied to claims 1-4 and 7 above, and further in view of Valentage et al. (US 2007/0222249 A1 – hereinafter Valentage).
Regarding claim 5, see the teachings of Nagamine in view of Official Notice as discussed in claim 3 above. However, Nagamine does not disclose the automobile interior trim is the soft trim formed of a mixture of a PP resin and a PET resin.
Valentage discloses an automobile interior trim is the soft trim formed of a mixture of a PP resin and a PET resin ([0051]-[0067] – a mixture of nylon 66/PP copolymer in a) and polyethylene terephthalate polyester resin or PET/PEI copolymer in b)).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the teachings of Valentage into the automobile interior trim taught by Nagamine for its advantages in strength, durability, and flexibility that make it suitable for automotive parts.
Claim 6 is rejected for the same reason as discussed in claim 5 above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG Q DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1116. The examiner can normally be reached IFT.
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/HUNG Q DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484