DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1-3 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (US 20190257123) and Toyoda (JPH07246878).
Regarding claims 1-3 and 8, Suzuki discloses a center console intended to be installed in a vehicle and comprising a box (1) comprising a stowage space (12) with access controlled by two movable flaps (20) (figs 1-3), each having closed and open positions (figs 1-12).
Suzuki is silent regarding the fact that the flaps are associated with an internal lighting device having off and on states which are controlled, respectively, by open and closed states of a control member, characterized in that said control member comprises two triggers which are associated respectively with said movable flaps, and are each capable of being placed independently in a first position which brings about said open state or a second position which brings about said closed state depending on whether said associated movable flap is in the closed or open position.
Toyoda teaches a flap (61) associated with an internal lighting device having off and on states which are controlled, respectively, by open and closed states of a control member (40), characterized in that said control member comprises a trigger (40) which are associated with the flap ([0014]-[0036], figs 1-5), and capable of being placed in a first position which brings about said open state or a second position which brings about said closed state depending on whether said associated movable flap is in the closed or open position([0014]-[0036], figs 1-5).
Toyoda further teaches that that said control member comprises a control part (52) having third and fourth positions respectively causing said open and closed states, and in that each trigger (40) comprises an element translatable (40) between its first and second positions during a change in position of said associated movable flap in order to cause said control part to switch from its third position to its fourth position, or vice versa ([0018]-[0022], figs 1,3, 4).
Toyoda further teaches that said control part is in its fourth position when one of said triggers is in its second position, regardless of the position of the other trigger ([0018]-[0022], figs 1,3, 4).
Toyoda further teaches a first part (44) on which said associated movable flap acts, and a second part (42) extending said first part and able to act on said control part ([0018]-[0022], figs 1,3, 4).
Before the effective filling date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Suzuki and Toyoda before him or her, to modify the apparatus/method disclosed by Suzuki to include the internal lighting device as taught by Toyoda in order to provide a switch-equipped lighting device having a casing in which the spread of illumination light is large, the component cost is reduced, and the labor of wiring is eliminated ([0007]).
Regarding claim 9, Suzuki further discloses said movable flaps is rotatably mounted relative to said box (figs 1-5, [0040-[0041], [0056]]).
Regarding claim 10, Suzuki further discloses a vehicle, wherein it further comprises at least one center console according to claim 1(figs 1-5, [0040-[0041], [0056]]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lunte et al. (DE102019203535A1) discloses a center console intended to be installed in a vehicle and comprising a box comprising a stowage space (1) with access controlled by a single movable flap (4) having closed and open positions and being associated with an internal lighting device (11) having off and on states which are controlled, , by open and closed states of a control member (10), wherein said control member comprises a trigger (12) which are associated y with said movable flap (abstract), and is capable of being placed in a first position which brings about said open state or a second position which brings about said closed state depending on whether said associated movable flap is in the closed or open position (abstract).
Ahmet (DE102012022714A1) teaches the use of two movable flaps (30) (fig 5) each having closed and open positions and being associated with an internal lighting device (60) having states which are controlled, respectively, by open and closed states of a control member (80), wherein said control member comprises two triggers (80 left, 80 right, fig 5) which are associated respectively with said movable flaps (abstract, fig 5), and are each capable of being placed independently in a first position which brings about said open state or a second position which brings about said closed state depending on whether said associated movable flap is in the closed or open position (figs 1-7, abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANY E AKAKPO whose telephone number is (469)295-9255. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am - 5pm.
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/DANY E AKAKPO/Examiner, Art Unit 3672
02/20/2026
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