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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species I in the reply filed on 9/18/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-22 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 9/18/26.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 2332161 to McIntyre in view of US Patent Application 2019/0105958 to Mochizuki.
Re: claims 1 and 4. McIntyre shows in figure 1 a dual rate spring system with a two piece crossover ring, comprising: a damper body A with an axial length and housing a damping chamber shown under element C, for example, with fluid, said damper body comprising: a plurality of ports 29 and/or 30 radially disposed about a surface of said damper body at a point along said axial length of said damper body for said fluid to move into and out of said damping chamber based in part on a position of a damping piston C within said damping chamber;
a two-piece crossover ring having an annular structure disposed about said damper body, said two-piece crossover ring comprising: an upper ring portion 43 (or in an alternate interpretation element 34) fixed in a position relative to said damper body A along said axial length of said damper body; a lower ring portion 50 (or in the alternate interpretation element 42, 61) movable in an axial direction relative to said upper ring portion; and
a cavity 48 (or in the alternate interpretation the shown opening between 34 and 42) formed by said upper ring portion and lower ring portion, said cavity filled with said fluid and in fluid communication with said plurality of ports 29, wherein a position of said lower ring portion relative to said upper ring portion changes a volume of said cavity 48, but is silent with regard to
a spring coupler for coupling a first spring with a first spring rate to a second spring with a second spring rate, wherein said spring coupler has an annular structure disposed about a surface of said damper body and is capable of sliding axially along said surface of said damper body, said spring coupler comprising: a first spring seat for receiving said first spring; a second spring seat for receiving said second spring.
Mochizuki teaches in figure 2 a spring coupler 21 for coupling a first spring 22 with a first spring rate to a second spring 2 with a second spring rate, wherein said spring coupler 21 has an annular structure disposed about a surface of a damper body 10 and is capable of sliding axially along said surface of said damper body via adjustments of element 3, said spring coupler comprising: a first spring seat or top surface for receiving said first spring; a second spring seat or bottom surface for receiving said second spring.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the shock absorber of McIntyre to have included a spring coupler for coupling a first and second spring, in view of the teachings of Mochizuki, in order to provide a means of supporting the vehicle load and maintaining ride height.
Re: claim 2. McIntyre, as modified, teaches in figure 1 of McIntyre wherein said fluid is displaced from said damping chamber to said cavity in the alternate interpretation by said damping piston C moving further into said damping chamber during a compression event, said fluid causing said volume of said cavity to expand and move said lower ring portion further from said upper ring portion.
Re: claim 5. McIntyre, as modified, is silent with regard to the relative spring rates.
Mochizuki teaches in paragraph [0032] the limitation wherein the first spring rate is less than the second spring rate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the relative spring rates of the first spring and the second spring of McIntyre, as modified, to have been the first spring rate being less than the second spring rate, in view of the teachings of Mochizuki, in order to provide a means of a softer response during one portion of suspension travel and a stiffer response during another portion of the suspension travel.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent and Patent Applications: US 2006/0225979 to Quinn, 2019/0176557 to Marking et al., and US 6296092 to Marking et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY M BURCH whose telephone number is (571)272-7114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30AM-3PM, generally.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at 571-272-7124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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mmb
September 30, 2026
/MELODY M BURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
