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.
Claim(s) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue (JP20210011091).
It is considered that as best understood the limitations of the claims are met, or at most the reversal of certain locations is disclosed by Inoue. In the event that the reversal of the locations is the intended orientation this is considered to be merely a rearrangement of the parts and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
With respect to claim 1 Inoue discloses a soundproof member which covers an object having a concave unit on an outer surface thereof, comprising:
A sound absorbing body (34 in figure 3) being a plate shaped member made of foamed resin and comprising a first surface which has a convex unit accommodated in the concave unit of the soundproof member and covers an outer surface of the object, a second surface which is a surface opposite to the first surface and a circumferential side surface which connects the first surface and the second surface and is an inclined surface that slopes so that the first surface falls within a projection range of the second surface when viewed from the second surface side; and
A cover body (12 in figure 3), being a concave member made of foamed resin and comprising a bottom unit which covers the second surface of the sound absorbing body and a side wall which stands upright from an outer edge of the bottom unit toward the first surface side of the sound absorbing body so as to slope outward in a surface direction of the sound absorbing body, and surrounds the circumferential side surface of the sound absorbing body , where
A plurality of fitting concave units (see figures 4) that open outward in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body and communicates in a thickness direction of the sound absorbing body are provided at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction on the circumferential side surface of the sound absorbing body, and
A plurality of fitting convex units (see figures 4) that protrude inward in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body and continues in the thickness direction of the sound absorbing body are provided at positions facing the plurality of fitting concave units in the circumferential direction on an inner surface of the side wall of the cover body.
With respect to claim 2 Inoue further discloses (see again figures 1-3) wherein an inner side surface of the fitting concave unit is parallel to the thickness direction of the sound absorbing body, and on an outer side surface of the fitting convex unit is parallel to the thickness direction of the sound absorbing body.
With respect to claim 3 Inoue further discloses wherein the sound absorbing body is a rectangular plate shaped member (see figure 3, the plate ius rectangular then bent);
And the fitting concave unit is provided on each of the two circumferential side surfaces adjacent in a circumferential direction of the sound absorbing body (see again figures 3 and 4).
With respect to claim 4 Inoue further discloses wherein the sound absorbing body is a rectangular plate shaped member and
The fitting concave unit is provided on each of the two circumferential side surfaces that are disposed on opposite sides in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body (see again figures 3 and 4).
With respect to claim 5 Inoue further discloses wherein a length between outer side surfaces of the two fitting convex units disposed on opposite sides in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body is set smaller than a length between inner side surfaces of the two fitting concave units disposed on opposite sides in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body (see again figures 3 and 4).
With respect to claim 6 Inoue further discloses a soundproof member which covers an object having a concave unit on an outer surface thereof comprising:
A sound absorbing body (34) being a plate shaped member made of foamed resin and comprising a first surface which has a convex unit accommodated in the concave unit of the soundproof member and covers an outer surface of the object, a second surface which is a surface opposite to the first surface and a circumferential side surface which connects the first surface and the second surface and is an inclined surface that slopes so that the first surface falls within a projection range of the second surface when viewed from the second surface side; and
A cover body (12 in figure 3), being a concave member made of foamed resin and comprising a bottom unit which covers the second surface of the sound absorbing body and a side wall which stands upright from an outer edge of the bottom unit toward the first surface side of the sound absorbing body so as to slope outward in a surface direction of the sound absorbing body, and surrounds the circumferential side surface of the sound absorbing body , wherein
A plurality of sound absorbing side fitting convex units that protrude outward in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body or a plurality of sound absorbing side fitting concave units that open inward in the surface direction of the sound absorbing body are provided at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction on the circumferential side surface of the sound absorbing body (see figures 3 and 4),
And
A plurality of cover side fitting concave units that open inward in a surface direction of the cover body and fit opposite the sound absorbing side fitting convex units or a plurality of cover side fitting convex units that protrude outward in the surface direction of the cover body and fit opposite to the sound absorbing side fitting concave units are provided in the circumferential direction on an inner surface of the sidewall of the cover body.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kobayashi (US20240331675) discloses a soundproofing cover; Kato (US12098714) discloses a soundproofing cover for a motorized device; Misulia (US20220225020) discloses a vibration damping acoustic member; and Lowry (US20180267897) discloses a sound reducing shroud.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FORREST M PHILLIPS whose telephone number is (571)272-9020. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571) 272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FORREST M PHILLIPS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837