DETAILED ACTION
The following action is in response to application 18/583,762 filed on February 21, 2024.
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 § 102
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 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.
Please Note: the limitation of “a binder coating portion” has been interpreted as a portion where the claimed binder is located.
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Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda (US 9033407; please see annotated Fig. 4 above for clarity). With regard to claim 1, Ikeda teaches a car panel structure, comprising: an outer panel 16, forming an exterior of the car panel structure; and an inner panel (Fig. 4), fixed on an interior of the outer panel through a binder 66, wherein the inner panel has a recess (Fig. 4) recessed along a direction away from the outer panel, the recess has a binder coating portion 64B, and the binder coating portion is vertically offset relative to a bottom surface of the recess. With regard to claim 2, Ikeda teaches the structure, wherein: the binder coating portion 64B has a concave portion, and the concave portion is recessed in the recess along a direction away from the outer panel (Fig. 4). With regard to claim 3, Ikeda teaches the structure, wherein: the concave portion 64B is hemispherical (Fig. 4).
Claim(s) 1 and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda (US 20050082874). With regard to claim 1, Ikeda teaches a car panel structure, comprising: an outer panel 16, forming an exterior of the car panel structure; and an inner panel 18, fixed on an interior of the outer panel through a binder 32, wherein the inner panel has a recess 19 recessed along a direction away from the outer panel, the recess has a binder coating portion 30, and the binder coating portion is vertically offset relative to a bottom surface of the recess. With regard to claim 4, Ikeda teaches the structure, wherein: the binder coating portion 30 has a convex portion, and the convex portion protrudes from the recess along a direction close to the outer panel (Fig. 1). With regard to claim 5, Ikeda teaches the structure, wherein: the convex portion 30 is hemispherical (Fig. 1).
Suggestions for Applicant
In order to better distinguish between the cited prior art and the present invention, applicant may want to focus in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3C, wherein the outer and inner panels are flush and in contact with each other in the areas outside of the recess.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Seksaria (US 5124191) has been cited to show a similar structure comprising: an inner panel 14, and outer panel 12, a recess (Fig. 3; formed left and right of 16), a binder 19, and a binder coating portion vertically offset relative to a bottom surface of the recess (Fig. 1) that is convex.
Ito (US 7140673) has been cited to show a similar structure comprising: an inner panel 14, and outer panel 12, a recess (Fig. 1; formed by 18 and 20), a binder 32, and a binder coating portion 22 vertically offset relative to a bottom surface of the recess (Fig. 1) that is convex and hemi-spherical.
Ishitobi (US 7488031) has been cited to show a similar structure comprising: an inner panel 1, and outer panel 20, a recess (Fig. 2A; formed by A1 left and A1 right), a binder 127, and a binder coating portion 15 (Fig. 13B) vertically offset relative to a bottom surface of the recess that is concave and hemi-spherical (Fig. 13B).
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/ROGER L PANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
/ROGER L. PANG/
Examiner
Art Unit 3655B
February 12, 2026