DETAILED ACTION
The preliminary amendments filed on 02/21/2024 have been entered.
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, 4-5, 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (CN111267743A).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses an in-vehicle device attachment structure comprising: a retrofit device attachment portion (100) provided in a vehicle (abstract): an intermediate base plate (200) attached to the retrofit device attachment portion (fig 1); and a retrofit device (300) attached to the intermediate base plate (fig 1).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang further discloses that the retrofit device attachment portion includes a first rail (100, left, fig 1) that supports one lateral side of the intermediate base plate and a second rail (100, right, fig 1) that supports another lateral side of the intermediate base plate (fig 1).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang further discloses that the retrofit device attachment portion includes a plurality of base plate attachment portions (groove containing bolt 220 and block 230, fig 4 ) provided at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other along a longitudinal direction of the first rail and the second rail (figs 1-4 ), and the intermediate base plate is attached to one of the plurality of base plate attachment portions (figs 1-4).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang further discloses the intermediate base plate is longer than a distance between the first rail and the second rail in a direction in which the first rail and the second rail are arranged side by side (fig 1).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang further discloses an attachment member (220) that attaches the intermediate base plate to the retrofit device attachment portion in an orientation in which attachment/removal can be performed in a horizontal direction (figs 1-6).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang further discloses that the intermediate base plate includes a base plate body and a plurality of device attachment portions (holes in 200 containing 220) provided in the base plate body (figs 1-6), and the retrofit device is attached to one of the plurality of device attachment portions (figs 1-6).
Regarding claim 9, Zhang further discloses that the retrofit device attachment portions are provided to a roof of the vehicle (abstract).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (CN 111267743 A) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Giavarini (US 20100127128)
Regarding claim 3, Zhang is silent regarding the fact that the first rail is longer than the second rail.
Giavarini teaches the first rail is longer than the second rail ([0061]).
Before the effective filling date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Zhang and Giavarini before him or her, to modify the apparatus/method disclosed by Zhang to include rails of different lengths as taught by Giavarini in order to allow the production of a wide variety of configuration ([0061]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (CN 111267743 A) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Taylor et al. (US 10800346)
Regarding claim 6, Zhang is silent regarding the fact that the first rail and the second rail are arranged side by side in a width direction of the vehicle and extend in a front-rear direction of the vehicle.
Taylor teaches the fact that the first rail (16, left, fig 1) and the second rail (16, right, fig 1) are arranged side by side in a width direction of the vehicle and extend in a front-rear direction of the vehicle (fig 1).
Before the effective filling date, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Zhang and Taylor before him or her, to modify the apparatus/method disclosed by Zhang to include the fact that the first rail and the second rail are arranged side by side in a width direction of the vehicle and extend in a front-rear direction of the vehicle as taught by Taylor in order to allow the roof panel to easily match the contours of the vehicle body (col 2 lines 39-54)
Conclusion
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
2/21/2026
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