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 § 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.
Claim(s) 20-23, 28-29, and 32-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karlsson (US 20210053518).
Claim 20: Karlsson provides a unit (22/24, Fig.1) for installation in a motor vehicle and connecting to a component receptacle of the motor vehicle (Fig. 1,3; [0027]), comprising: a connector portion (22) for engaging in the component receptacle and fastening the unit (22/24) thereto (Fig. 1), the connector portion (22) having at least two opposing material cut-outs (30) for passing through a fastener (Fig. 1-5; [0027]), which engages through two opposing side walls of the unit (Fig. 1-5), and a sleeve component (44), which is inserted into the unit (22/24) , with a sleeve (44) arranged such that a sleeve channel (46) of the sleeve is aligned with two of the material cut-outs (Fig. 1-5), wherein the sleeve component is supported, at least in portions, on an inside of the unit on material which surrounds the material cut-outs (Fig. 1-5),
[the sleeve component produced from a sheet metal blank by cold working, in which cold working a first material portion and a second material portion of the sheet metal blank are brought together in a contact region to form the sleeve channel].
Note: The limitations in brackets recited in claim 20 “the sleeve component produced from a sheet metal blank by cold working, in which cold working a first material portion and a second material portion of the sheet metal blank are brought together in a contact region to form the sleeve channel” render the claim as a product-by-process claim. As shown above, the apparatus or structure claimed is identical to that described in the reference and is therefore anticipated by the reference because patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. See MPEP 2113.
Claim 21: Karlsson provides an end face of the sleeve (44) is supported, at least in portions, on the inside of the unit on the material surrounding the material cut-outs (Fig. 1-5).
Claim 22: Karlsson provides [the material portions of the sheet metal blank brought together by cold working to form the sleeve are connected to one another in the contact region] ((Fig. 3)).
Note: The limitations in brackets recited in claim 22 “the material portions of the sheet metal blank brought together by cold working to form the sleeve are connected to one another in the contact region” render the claim as a product-by-process claim. As shown above, the apparatus or structure claimed is identical to that described in the reference and is therefore anticipated by the reference because patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. See MPEP 2113.
Claim 23: The examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that the material portions are connected to one another in the contact region with a welded connection is known within the art and would be a known method of connecting the material portions.
Further, the limitations recited in claim 23 “the material portions are connected to one another in the contact region with a welded connection” render the claim as a product-by-process claim. As shown above, the apparatus or structure claimed is identical to that described in the reference and is therefore anticipated by the reference because patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. See MPEP 2113.
Claim 28: Karlsson provides the sleeve component (44) further comprises a web extending transversely relative to a longitudinal extent of the sleeve and integrally formed from the sheet metal blank on the sleeve (Fig. 3).
Claim 29: Karlsson provides the connector portion (22) further comprises two additional material cut-outs for passing through another fastener, which engages through the two opposing side walls of the unit, and wherein the sleeve (44) is a first sleeve, and the sleeve component further comprises a second sleeve integrally formed with the first sleeve from the sheet metal blank by cold working, and wherein the sleeve channel of the second sleeve is aligned with the two additional material cut-outs (Fig. 3).
Claim 32: Karlsson provides the first and second sleeves (44) are connected by a web of the sleeve component extending transversely relative to a longitudinal extent of the sleeves and integrally formed from the sheet metal blank on the sleeves (Fig. 3).
Claim 33: Karlsson provides the sleeve component (44) is made of aluminum alloy or steel [0029]).
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) 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karlsson (US 2021/0053518) in view of Klunder (DE102017211106; English translation relied upon for reference herein).
Claim 30: Karlsson fails to disclose the respective material portions of the sheet metal blank forming the respective first and second sleeves are cold-worked in opposite directions to one another to form the sleeves.
However, Klunder teaches respective material portions of the sheet metal blank forming the respective first and second sleeves are cold-worked in opposite directions to one another to form the sleeves (Fig. 5; [0027]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify the sleeve provided by Karlsson to be formed by cold-working the sheet metal blank in opposite directions as taught by Klunder in order to form the particular structure of the sleeve required by the applicant.
Further, it would have been obvious to modify the sleeve provided by Karlsson to be formed by cold-working the sheet metal blank in opposite directions as taught by Klunder because it is prima facie obvious to combine prior art elements by known methods to achieve predictable results (MPEP 2143 (A)).
Claim 31: Karlsson as modified by Klunder discloses the claimed invention except for the respective material portions of the sheet metal blank forming the respective first and second sleeves are cold-worked in a same direction as one another to form the sleeves. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to make the respective material portions of the sheet metal blank forming the respective first and second sleeves are cold-worked in a same direction as one another to form the sleeves, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japiske, 86 USPQ 70.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 24-27 and 34-39 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Amanda J Kreiling whose telephone number is (571)272-6091. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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/Amanda Kreiling/Examiner, Art Unit 3726 4/1/26
/JASON L VAUGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726
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