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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 29, 2024 and September 6, 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuji et al. (US 6,786,290 B2) (hereinafter "Kuji").
Regarding Claim 1, Kuji discloses a vehicle (straddle-type four wheeled all-terrain vehicle illustrated in Figs. 1-3) comprising:
a pair of front wheels (right and left front wheels 8, Figs. 1-3, col. 3, lines 40-44);
a pair of rear wheels (right and left rear wheels 9, Fig. 1, col. 3, lines 40-44);
a saddle-style seat (“straddle-type seat 6 placed rearward of the handle 4”, col. 3, lines 44-46) positioned at an intermediate region in a width direction of the vehicle (Figure 3 shows the seat in an intermediate region in a width direction of the vehicle);
a steering shaft positioned ahead of the seat (“a bar-type handle having a steering shaft and provided forward of the seat”, col. 1, lines 46-47; steering shaft 14 shown positioned ahead of seat 6 in Figs. 1 and 3);
a radiator (“A radiator 56 is mounted substantially at the middle of the front-end portion of the vehicle body in the vertical direction”, col. 5, lines 35-37) positioned more forward than the steering shaft (Figure 4 shows radiator 56 more forward than the steering shaft 14);
an air intake portion having an air intake port, the air intake port being positioned more rearward than the steering shaft (“the intake opening 102 as the intake port of the fresh air is provided at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body”, col. 8, lines 37-39; direction of air flow as indicated by arrows in Figures 1 and 4 is positioned more rearward than at least portions of the steering shaft as shown below in annotated Figure 4); and
a windshield plate extending in the width direction of the vehicle, thereby separating a radiator region and an air intake port region (flexible plate member 33 shown in Figures 4-8 defines a part of the relay chamber 31 which “serves to relay the fresh air from the intake opening 102 to the engine or the like”, col. 4, lines 52-59), the windshield plate having a first through-hole through which the steering shaft penetrates (“The slit 76 allows the steering shaft mounted to the vehicle to be put through the steering shaft through hole 72 when the flexible plate member 33 is mounted to the vehicle body.”, col. 7, lines 11-14, Fig. 8).
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Regarding Claim 2, Kuji discloses the vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the windshield plate is composed of a plurality of parts (“As shown in FIG. 8, the flexible plate member 33 is comprised of a rectangular bottom wall portion 33a and a substantially trapezoid rear wall portion 33b”, col. 6, lines 62-65).
Regarding Claim 3, Kuji discloses the vehicle according to Claim 1, further comprising a pair of fenders (“A front fender 35 is provided as generally covering a portion of the vehicle body that is located forward of the handle 4 from above.”, col. 3, lines 64-66, Figs. 1-3) provided respectively behind the pair of front wheels, the pair of fenders being connected with each other by the windshield plate (in reference to the flexible plate member 33, “The bottom wall portion 33a horizontally extends rearwardly from the portion fixed to the cross member 2a to the rear end of the front fender 35”, col. 7, lines 26-28).
Regarding Claim 6, Kuji discloses the vehicle according to Claim 1, further comprising a prime mover (“The vehicle 1 is provided with a V-type engine 11 between the right and left foot boards 10”, col. 3, lines 50-51, Fig. 1) configured to receive air from the air intake portion (“An intake opening 102 is formed in a middle portion in the lateral direction of the vehicle body at a boundary portion between the front fender 35 and the side cover 34, for introducing a fresh air into the engine or the like.”, col. 4, lines 13-17, Figs. 1 and 4).
Regarding Claim 7, Kuji discloses the vehicle according to Claim 1, further comprising a continuously variable transmission (“A belt converter 54 is accommodated in the belt converter chamber.”, col. 5 lines 10-11, Fig. 4) configured to receive air from the air intake portion (“…an opening of the vehicle body cover through which the steering shaft passes is an intake port of a cooling air into the belt converter.”, col. 1, lines 51-53).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuji (US 6,786,290 B2) in view of Maeda et al. (US 2021/0155172 A1) (hereinafter "Maeda").
Regarding Claim 4, Kuji recites the vehicle according to Claim 1, but fails to disclose a windshield plate provided to cover the radiator from above and behind the radiator. Maeda teaches a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle (¶0033) comprising a heat shield plate 26 (Fig. 7) disposed between a radiator 31 and a dashboard 11 (Fig. 4A). Maeda further teaches an upper cross portion 23h, disposed along an upper edge 26a of the heat shield plate 26 (¶0047, Fig. 4A) that functions as part of a heat shield member (¶0059). Maeda also describes a radiator 31 consisting of a main body 31A and a fan 31B (¶0046 and Fig. 4A). Figures 4A and 4B clearly illustrate the aforementioned heat shield member, consisting of the heat shield plate 26 and the upper cross portion 23h, covering the radiator 31, consisting of the main body 31A and the fan 31B, from above and behind the radiator 31. Before the effective date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art to combine, with a reasonable expectation of success, a vehicle comprising the flexible plate member disclosed by Kuji with the heat shield member described by Maeda. The motivation would have been to guide “the air that receives the heat of the radiator 31 in a direction different from a direction toward the dashboard 11” (Maeda, ¶0047). The combination would predictably achieve the desired result.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
Regarding Claim 5, the prior art does not teach that the windshield plate further has a second through-hole through which the drive shaft penetrates. The closest reference, Maeda (US 2021/0155172 A1), teaches the vehicle further comprising a drive shaft provided at a lower position than the steering shaft and extending in a fore-aft direction of the vehicle (“A front end of the propeller shaft and a proximal portion of the drive shaft are connected to the gear box 18”, ¶0083, Fig. 4A shows the gear box 18 at a lower position than the steering shaft). However, Maeda is silent regarding either the drive shaft or the propeller shaft penetrating the heat shield plate or any part of the heat shield member. In fact, since Maeda recites “the radiator 31 and the heat shield plate 26 are located above the gear box 18” (¶0083), one can conclude that the heat shield plate does not extend as low as the gearbox, hence the drive and propeller shafts do not penetrate the heat shield member.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional art of record relates to diversion of air flow in four-wheel all-terrain vehicles with saddle-style seats in order to dissipate heat generated by the vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD OMID NEYZARI whose telephone number is (571)272-9530. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8 AM-5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMAD O NEYZARI/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
/JAMES A SHRIVER II/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3613