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 § 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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji et al. (KR 20160007849 – hereinafter Ji, references to machine translated copy attached) and Chronister (US 2012/0214408 A1 – hereinafter Chronister).
Regarding claim 1, Ji discloses a door trim module (Fig. 1), comprising: a door trim (Fig. 1); and a USB jack (Fig. 2; page 2 – USB port 106), wherein: the door trim includes a bulging part bulging toward a vehicle cabin side (Fig. 1), the bulging part having an upper surface (Fig. 1 – upper surface of housing 101), a lower surface (Fig. 1; page 2 – lower surface of housing 101), and a storage part (Fig. 1 - a storage part storing smartphone 50); the storage part is recessed from the upper surface and is configured to house at least a portion of a smartphone in an internal space thereof (Fig. 1 – recessed from the upper surface of housing 101 to house a portion of smartphone 50); the USB jack is positioned near the bulging part (page 4; Fig. 2).
Ji does not disclose the USB jack is positioned below the bulging part and the bulging part defines a connection hole extending in a vertical direction to connect the internal space to a lower space of the bulging part such that the connection hole allows a USB cable to be inserted thereinto.
Chronister discloses a USB jack is positioned below a storage part and the storage part defines a connection hole extending in a vertical direction to connect the internal space to a lower space of the storage part such that the connection hole allows a USB cable to be inserted thereinto (Fig. 1).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to incorporate the layout of the storage part and the USB jack taught by Chronister into the storage part of the bulging part taught by Ji to achieve better routing of the cable.
Regarding claim 2, Ji also discloses the door trim includes a protrusion projecting downward from the lower surface of the bulging part (Fig. 1; Fig. 3). Chronister in view of Ji also discloses the USB jack is formed on the bulging part (Fig. 1 – the storage part is part of the bulging part taught by Ji); and the USB jack is open toward a rear side, or a rearward lower side of a vehicle (Fig. 5 – at least toward a rear side).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 3, Ji also discloses a portion of the bulging part on the vehicle cabin side of the internal space is a pull handle configured to be gripped by an occupant (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Chronister also discloses a bottom wall of the storage part includes a recess downwardly recessed therefrom (Fig. 5); and an upper opening, which is an opening of the connection hole on an internal space side, is formed at a bottom surface of the recess (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 5, Chronister also discloses a plate is formed separately from the bottom wall of the storage part to be mounted on the bottom wall, wherein the plate has a hole having a smaller diameter than the upper opening of the connection hole and at least one slit extending radially outward from the hole (Figs. 1, 2, 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Ji and Chronister do not disclose the plate is made of an elastic resin.
Official Notice is taken that using an elastic resin to make interior parts of a vehicle is well known in the art.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to use an elastic resin to make the plate taught by Ji and Chronister for taking advantage of a plastic resin due to its low cost and easiness to make.
Regarding claim 6, Chronister also discloses a first groove is formed in a side wall of the storage part to allow a portion of the USB cable to be filled thereinto (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 7, Chronister also discloses a wall surface of the first groove includes a first projection projecting into the first groove (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 8, Chronister also discloses the wall surface of the first groove includes a second projection projecting into the first groove (Fig. 5); the wall surface of the first groove includes a first surface part and a second surface part facing each other in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the first groove (Fig. 5 – the opposite side walls of the groove); and the first projection is formed on the first surface part and the second projection is formed on the second surface part such that positions of the first projection and the second projection in the longitudinal direction of the first groove are different from each other (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 9, Chronister in view of Ji also discloses the door trim includes a cable housing below the USB jack (Fig. 5 – in view of Ji disclosing the storage part is part of the door trim).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 10, Chronister in view of Ji also discloses a second groove is formed on the door trim at a position below the USB jack and above the cable housing to allow a portion of the USB cable to be filled within the second groove (Fig. 5 – in view of Ji disclosing the storage part is part of the door trim).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 11, Chronister also discloses a wall surface of the second groove includes a first projection projecting into the second groove (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 12, Chronister also discloses the wall surface of the second groove includes a second projection projecting into the second groove (Fig. 5); the wall surface of the second groove includes a first surface part and a second surface part facing each other in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the second groove (Fig. 5 – the opposite side walls of the groove); and the first projection is formed on the first surface part and the second projection is formed on the second surface part such that positions of the first projection and the second projection in the longitudinal direction of the second groove are different from each other (Fig. 5).
The motivation for incorporating the teachings of Chronister into the door trim module taught by Ji has been discussed in claim 1 above.
Conclusion
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/HUNG Q DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484
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