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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1-7 are 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 1 recites the limitation "the web or central wall" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding Claim 3, lines 6-7 recite, “for some the wings of the side-rail partition and for the others the reinforcement walls”. It is unclear as to what “some of the wings” or “other of the wings” is referring to. It appears that the invention has two branches which are folded to form two wings, and two of the branches of the cross are folded to form two of the reinforcement walls, where the branches are perpendicular to each other before forming. For the sake of examination, it has been treated as such.
Regarding Claim 6 recites the limitation "the inner beam" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2, 4, 5 and 7 are rejected as being based upon a rejected base claim.
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(s) 1, 2 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kurogi (US 8,720,984).
Regarding Claims 1 and 7, Kurogi discloses a motor vehicle body including a side-rail partition 5 intended to be mounted in an inner side rail 2 of a motor vehicle body, said side-rail partition consisting mainly of a U-shaped part (Fig. 3) whose wings 11, 12 (Fig. 3) extend perpendicularly with respect to a web or central wall 13 of the side-rail partition, wherein it additionally has at least one reinforcement wall 14a, 14b (Fig. 3) extending from the central wall 13 between the edges of the wings of the side-rail partition.
Regarding Claim 2, the side-rail partition 5 has two reinforcement walls 14a, 14b, thus conferring on the partition a box shape with a bottom consisting of the central wall 13 of the side-rail partition, side-rail partitions consisting of the wings 11, 12 of the side-rail partition and the reinforcement walls.
Regarding Claim 5, Kurogi further comprises a floor (Fig. 7), two inner side rails 2 respectively consisting of a U-shaped profiled element whose web or central wall is fixed along a longitudinal side of the floor (Figs. 3 and 7), the wings of the U-shaped profile defining an upper wall 2a and a lower wall 2b of the inner side rail, said lower and upper walls being able to have fastening orifices of rectangular shape (at X in Fig. 1), cross-members 37, 38 for carrying seats extending transversely on the floor between the inner side rails (Fig. 7), and a side rail 1 mounted in an inner side rail at each cross-member, consisting mainly of a U-shaped part whose wings extend perpendicularly to the web or central wall of the side- rail partition, said side-rail partition 5 being mounted on the inner side rail (Fig. 1) so that the wings of said U-shaped part extend transversely into the inner side rail, between the lower and upper walls of said inner side rail (Fig. 1) and perpendicular to the central part and to said upper and lower walls of said inner side rail, wherein the side-rail partition 5 is a side-rail partition according to claim 1, said side-rail partition 5 being mounted in the inner side rail 2 with its central wall 13 bearing against the central wall of the inner side rail (Figs. 1 and 2), the wings of the side-rail partition extending transversely between the lower and upper walls of the inner side rail (Fig. 2) while the at least one reinforcement wall of the side-rail partition extends against an upper or lower wall of the inner side rail (Fig. 2) and, when said top and/or bottom wall of the inner side rail has a fastening orifice, said reinforcement wall has a hole of complementary shape and dimensions to said fastening orifice (at X in Figs 1 and 2).
Regarding Claim 6, the side rail components and the partition are attached via welding (column 5, lines 18-36).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kurogi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Watanabe (US 2006/0097533).
Regarding Claim 3, Kurogi does not appear to disclose the fabrication of the box shaped partition. Watanabe discloses a partition for use in a vehicle rail member 2, wherein the partition 1 is obtained by cutting a metal blank (paragraph 0028) in the form of a cross having at least three branches (Fig. 3) around a central part 11, said branches being folded by folding around the central part of the blank constituting the central part 11 of the side-rail partition to form two wings 13 of the side-rail partition and at least one reinforcement wall 14, 18. Before the effective filing date of the present application, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use the stamping method of Watanabe to form the metal part of Kurogi as a well-known, simple and cost effective fabrication method for parts used throughout the automotive industry.
Regarding Claim 4, the branches of Kurogi (11, 12, 14a, 14b) and the branches of Watanabe (12, 13, 14) comprise protruding parts to fasten to other branches when in the vehicle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited art relates to side rails, sills or rockers for vehicles and their respective reinforcements (partitions or bulkheads).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON S DANIELS whose telephone number is (571)270-1167. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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/JASON S DANIELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612