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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “an lower end portion” in line 3 should be “a lower end portion”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kodaira (JP 2009061818 A).
Regarding claim 1, Kodaira discloses a vehicle body rear side structure (Fig. 1), disposed in a vehicle (1 in Fig. 1), the vehicle body rear side structure comprising: a rear side frame (8 in Fig. 1), disposed on an outer side of a rear portion (Fig. 1, right outer side) of the vehicle in a width direction; a wheel house (14 in Fig. 1), disposed above the rear side frame (Fig. 1); and a rear panel (36 in Fig. 10), disposed to a rear of the wheel house (Fig. 1 and 10, 36 is behind the wheelhouse) and located on an outer side of the rear side frame (Fig. 1 and 10, further rightward and outward), wherein a lower portion (Fig. 9, lower portion near the rear panel 36) of the wheel house is composed of an extension member (23 in Fig. 9) extending from an outer wall (Fig. 9, 23 extends from the right outer wall of 8) of the rear side frame toward an outer side in the width direction of the vehicle, and the rear panel is inclined downward toward the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle (see annotated Fig. 10, part of rear panel 36 is inclined downward toward the outer side direction) and is connected to a lower portion of the extension member (Fig. 9 and see annotated Fig. 10, connected at the front end).
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Figure 1 Annotated Fig. 10 from Kodaira
Regarding claim 2, Kodaira discloses the vehicle body rear side structure according to claim 1, wherein the rear panel has a front end joint portion (see annotated Fig. 10), a front end of the front end joint portion is joined to the extension member (see annotated Fig. 10 and second paragraph on page 6 of machine translation), and the front end joint portion is joined to a wall surface (Fig. 9, rearward facing surface of 23) of the extension member from above to below (see annotated Fig. 10, front end joint portion spans in the vertical direction from above to below, therefore it joins the extension member in front of it from above to below) the vehicle.
Regarding claim 6, Kodaira discloses the vehicle body rear side structure according to claim 1, wherein the wheel house comprises a side wall (see annotated Fig. 1+11), which is located on an inner side in the width direction of the vehicle, a rear wall (see annotated Fig. 1+11), which extends from a rear end of the side wall toward the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle (see annotated Fig. 1+11), and a ridge line (see annotated Fig. 1+11), which is disposed between the side wall and the rear wall, wherein, the extension member extends to a position where a flange joined to the outer wall of the rear side frame (see annotated Fig. 1+11) and the ridge line are aligned in an up-down direction (see annotated Fig. 1+11, in Fig. 1, the flange location would be directly below the ridge line therefore aligned in the up-down direction) of the vehicle.
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Figure 2 Annotated Fig. 1+11 from Kodaira
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 7-9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The primary reason for the allowance of the claims is the inclusion in the claims of the limitations directed to the lower portion of the extension member is composed of a connection surface extending from a lower end portion of the wall surface toward a rear of the vehicle, and an outer end portion of the rear panel in the width direction of the vehicle is joined to the connection surface as claimed in claim 3; the extension member extends from a position aligned with the floor cross member in the width direction of the vehicle toward the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle as claimed in claim 7; and the wall surface of the extension member comprises a curved portion, which protrudes in a front-rear direction of the vehicle and extends in the width direction of the vehicle, and the curved portion is disposed so as to be inclined from below an inner side in the width direction of the vehicle toward above the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle as claimed in claim 8. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record.
Regarding claim 8, Kodaira discloses a floor cross member (4 in Fig. 1), disposed on an inner side of the rear side frame in the width direction of the vehicle. However, Kodaira fails to disclose the extension member extends from a position aligned with the floor cross member in the width direction of the vehicle toward the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle. Changing the location of the floor cross member is not obvious because it will change the impact behavior of Kodaira’s rear body and intrude into the rear compartment space.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references that are not relied upon all disclose vehicle body rear side structure with a wheel housing and a rear panel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Wenwei Zhuo whose telephone number is (571)272-5564. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. EST.
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/WENWEI ZHUO/Examiner, Art Unit 3612