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 .
Miscellaneous
The Applicant has added new claim 17; therefore, claims 1-17 remain for this Office 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 1-8 and 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozlovski (US 2003/0068198) in view of Taira (US 2017/0237156).
In regards to claim 1, Kozlovski discloses of a fastening arrangement of a device housing of a device (12) on a vehicle panel (16) of a motor vehicle, wherein a device housing bears on a first side of the vehicle panel (16) and an assembly appendage of the device is inserted through an assembly opening (14) of the vehicle panel (16t), and a fastening screw protruding from the device housing into the assembly (see Figs 1-3, 6) appendage is tightened and, as a result, pulls a counterpart disposed in the assembly appendage against a second side, opposite the first side, of the vehicle panel (16), wherein provided in the device housing is a supporting element (comprised of 66, 60, 68) which, along at least one spatial direction parallel to a panel surface of the vehicle panel (16), has an external dimension which is larger than an internal diameter of the assembly opening (14, see Figs 1-2), or equal to the internal diameter, or smaller than the internal diameter by at most 20 percent, in the same spatial direction, and the supporting element (66, 60, 68) in this way transmits a force exerted by the tightening of a screw head of the fastening screw via the supporting element (66) through a housing wall of the device housing, onto the vehicle panel (16, see Figs 1-3, 6).
However, Kozlovski does not explicitly disclose of wherein the fastening screw is rotatably tightened and pulls the counterpart against the second side of the vehicle panel.
Taira discloses of fastening arrangement of a device housing (attached to base 10, see Paragraph 0026) of a device on a vehicle panel (R) of a motor vehicle, wherein a device housing bears on a first side of the vehicle panel (R) and an assembly appendage (for example 20) of the device is inserted through an assembly opening (H) of the vehicle panel, and a fastening screw (30) protruding from the device housing into the assembly appendage (20) is rotatably tightened and, as a result, pulls a counterpart (see 40) disposed with the assembly appendage (20) against a second side, opposite the first side, of the vehicle panel (R), wherein provided in the device housing is a supporting element (50) which, along at least one spatial direction parallel to a panel surface of the vehicle panel (R), has an external dimension which is larger than an internal diameter of the assembly opening (H), or equal to the internal diameter, or smaller than the internal diameter by at most 20 percent, in the same spatial direction, and the supporting element (50) in this way transmits a force exerted by the tightening of a screw head of the fastening screw (30), via the supporting element through a housing wall of the device housing, onto the vehicle panel (R, see Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have an alternative embodiment with the fastening screw being rotatably tighten to pull the counterpart towards the second side of the vehicle panel as taught by Taira for applying a pressing force to affix and secure the device housing to the vehicle panel.
In regards to claim 2, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) has a curvature, and the supporting element (66, 60, 68) has a shape coding that corresponds to a shape of an enclosure device of the device housing into which the supporting element is placed (see Figs 1-3, 6), and a convexity of the supporting element caused by the curvature points away from the vehicle panel (16, see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6).
In regards to claim 3, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) is made of a material that is harder and/or stiffer than a material of the housing wall (see Paragraph 0033), wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) is disposed between the screw head and the housing wall and for this purpose has a through opening through which a screw shank of the fastening screw is inserted (see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6).
In regards to claim 4, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein formed on the counterpart is at least one spike which on the second side of the vehicle panel (16) is pressed into a paint of the vehicle panel and/or into a metal of the vehicle panel (16) at a respective puncture site (see Figs 1-2), wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) extends opposite the respective puncture site on the first side of the vehicle panel (16) and in this way supports the vehicle panel at the respective puncture site (see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6).
In regards to claim 5, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein formed on at least one edge of the supporting element (66, 60, 68) is a tab which is inserted through a respective slot in the housing wall and bears directly on the vehicle panel (16, see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6; and Taira Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
In regards to claim 6, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein configured on at least one edge of the supporting element (66, 60, 68) is a collar which is formed by bending a periphery of the supporting element (see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6; and Taira Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
In regards to claim 7, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) is fastened to the screw head (see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6, 66, 60, 68 will be attached/fastened to the screw head; and see Taira Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
In regards to claim 8, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein a printed circuit board, PCB, of an electric circuit of the device (12) is held in the device housing by the screw head and/or by the supporting element (66, 60, 68, see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6, the antenna will have internal boards/circuitry that are supported, held in place, and attached via the screw and supporting element).
In regards to claim 10, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element (66, 60, 68) bears on a rib structure configured on the housing wall (see Kozlovski Figs 1-3, 6; and Taira Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
In regards to claim 11, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device (12) is a roof antenna module, and the vehicle panel (16) is a vehicle roof of the motor vehicle (see Kozlovski Paragraphs 0003, 0005, 0028-0030 and Figs 1-2; and Taira Title, Abstract).
In regards to claim 12, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose of a motor vehicle having a device fastened to a vehicle panel (16) of the motor vehicle, wherein the device (12) is fastened by a fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1 (see Kozlovski Paragraphs 0003, 0005, 0028-0030, and Taira Title, Abstract).
In regards to claim 13, Kozlovski discloses of a device (12), comprising a device housing and an assembly appendage disposed thereon for insertion through an assembly opening (14) of a vehicle panel (16) of a motor vehicle along a designated insertion direction, wherein a fastening screw protruding from the device housing into the assembly appendage is connected to a counterpart disposed in the assembly appendage by a thread (see Figs 1-3, 6), wherein provided in the device housing is a supporting element (comprised of 66, 60, 68) which, along at least one spatial direction transverse or perpendicular to the designated insertion direction, has an external dimension which is equal to or greater than a transverse dimension of the assembly appendage and/or than a longitudinal extent of the counterpart (see Figs 1-3, 6).
However, Kozlovski does not explicitly disclose of wherein the fastening screw is rotatably tightened and pulls the counterpart against the second side of the vehicle panel.
Taira discloses of a device, comprising a device housing (see Paragraph 0026) and an assembly appendage (for example 20) disposed thereon for insertion through an assembly opening (H) of a vehicle panel (R) of a motor vehicle along a designated insertion direction, wherein a rotatable fastening screw (30) protruding from the device housing into the assembly appendage (20) is connected to a counterpart (40) disposed with the assembly appendage (20) by a thread (see Figs 1, 2A-D), wherein provided in the device housing is a supporting element (50) which, along at least one spatial direction transverse or perpendicular to the designated insertion direction, has an external dimension which is equal to or greater than a transverse dimension of the assembly appendage (20) and/or than a longitudinal extent of the counterpart (40, see Figs 1, 2A-D, 3A-B, 4A-B, 5A-B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have an alternative embodiment with the fastening screw being rotatably tighten to pull the counterpart towards the second side of the vehicle panel as taught by Taira for applying a pressing force to affix and secure the device housing to the vehicle panel.
In regards to claim 14, Kozlovski in view of Taira disclose if the device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the device (12) is a roof antenna module (see Kozlovski Paragraphs 0003, 0005, 0028-0030 and Figs 1-2; and Taira Title, Abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 17 is allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
In regards to claim 17, the closest relevant prior art fails to disclose of the emphasized subject matter below, and including a fastening arrangement of a device housing of a device on a vehicle panel of a motor vehicle, wherein a device housing bears on a first side of the vehicle panel and an assembly appendage of the device is inserted through an assembly opening of the vehicle panel, and a fastening screw protruding from the device housing into the assembly appendage is tightened and, as a result, pulls a counterpart disposed in the assembly appendage against a second side, opposite the first side, of the vehicle panel, wherein provided in the device housing is a supporting element which, along at least one spatial direction parallel to a panel surface of the vehicle panel, has an external dimension which is larger than an internal diameter of the assembly opening, or equal to the internal diameter, or smaller than the internal diameter by at most 20 percent, in the same spatial direction, and the supporting element in this way transmits a force exerted by the tightening of a screw head of the fastening screw, via the supporting element through a housing wall of the device housing, onto the vehicle panel; wherein at least one of the assembly opening and the assembly appendage has an elongate shape with a longitudinal dimension and a transverse dimension smaller in relation to the longitudinal dimension, and the counterpart is shorter than the longitudinal dimension or a diagonal of the elongate shape and longer than the transverse dimension, and is mounted in the assembly appendage so as to be rotatable by a rotation angle in a range from 400 to 140°, wherein the assembly appendage is specified in such a way that, when the device is assembled on the vehicle, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to do so.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claims 9 and 15-16 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regards to claim 9, the prior art does not disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the assembly opening and the assembly appendage has an elongate shape with a longitudinal dimension and a transverse dimension smaller in relation to the longitudinal dimension, and the counterpart is shorter than the longitudinal dimension or a diagonal of the elongate shape and longer than the transverse dimension, and is mounted in the assembly appendage so as to be rotatable by a rotation angle in a range from 40° to 140°, wherein the assembly appendage is specified in such a way that, when the device is assembled on the vehicle panel, a rotational position of the counterpart, proceeding from an assembly position, by tightening the fastening screw changes so that part of the counterpart is rotated laterally out of lateral walls of the assembly appendage into a holding position by the tightening and bears on a detent of the assembly appendage, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to do so.
In regards to claim 15, the prior art does not disclose of the fastening arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting element is made of a material that is harder and/or stiffer than a material of the housing wall, wherein the supporting element is disposed between the screw head and the housing wall and for this purpose has a through opening through which a screw shank of the fastening screw is inserted; wherein formed on the counterpart is at least one spike which on the second side of the vehicle panel is pressed into a paint of the vehicle panel and/or into a metal of the vehicle panel at a respective puncture site, wherein the supporting element extends opposite the respective puncture site on the first side of the vehicle panel and in this way supports the vehicle panel at the respective puncture site; wherein formed on at least one edge of the supporting element is a tab which is inserted through a respective slot in the housing wall and bears directly on the vehicle panel, wherein configured on at least one edge of the supporting element is a collar which is formed by bending a periphery of the supporting element; wherein the supporting element is fastened to the screw head; wherein a printed circuit board, PCB, of an electric circuit of the device is held in the device housing by the screw head and/or by the supporting element; wherein at least one of the assembly opening and the assembly appendage has an elongate shape with a longitudinal dimension and a transverse dimension smaller in relation to the longitudinal dimension, and the counterpart is shorter than the longitudinal dimension or a diagonal of the elongate shape and longer than the transverse dimension, and is mounted in the assembly appendage so as to be rotatable by a rotation angle in a range from 40° to 140°, wherein the assembly appendage is specified in such a way that, when the device is assembled on the vehicle panel, a rotational position of the counterpart, proceeding from an assembly position, by tightening the fastening screw changes so that part of the counterpart is rotated laterally out of lateral walls of the assembly appendage into a holding position by the tightening and bears on a detent of the assembly appendage; and wherein the supporting element bears on a rib structure configured on the housing wall, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to do so. Claim 16 is also objected to as being dependent on claim 15.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-16 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
The newly applied reference to Taira discloses of a similar embodiment to Kozlovski in Fig 6; however, Taira also includes an alternative embodiment where the fastening screw (30) itself is rotatably tightened to pull the counterpart to the second side of the vehicle panel (R) as now claimed (see Figs 1, 2A-D).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason M Crawford whose telephone number is (571)272-6004. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00am-3:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Taningco can be reached at 571-272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON M CRAWFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844