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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 06/09/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Motohashi (U.S. 2018/0056763A1).
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiba et al. (U.S. 2019/0193534A1), in view of Motohashi (U.S. 2018/0056763A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chiba et al. disclose a vehicular back door (100, fig. 1 and para 0026), comprising:
a first panel (15, fig. 4) that is made from resin (para 0009: “a resin outer panel”; para 0026: “resin back door 100”; also refer to para 0028);
a second panel (20) that is made from resin (refer to para 0028) and that includes a recess (space between 15 and 20; i.e., inner space from 20 towards 15) that is open toward the first panel (15; see fig. 4);
a first adhesive (51; refer to para 0036) that joins together the first panel (15) and the second panel (20; see fig. 4); and
a bracket (as broadly claimed, the bracket can be the combination of 70, 44L, 44K) that is a separate member from each of the first panel and the second panel (as shown in fig. 4), and that is disposed inside the recess (as shown in fig. 4),
wherein: the bracket (70, 44L, 44K) is sandwiched between the first panel (15, fig. 4) and the second panel (20);
the vehicular back door (100, fig. 1 and para 0026) further comprises:
a second adhesive (50, fig. 4) that joins together the bracket (70, 44L, 44K) and the first panel (15; examiner notes that the claim is broadly recited. The claim does not require an adhesive in contact with both the first panel and the bracket and joining them together. The claim only requires that the adhesive holds or joints the bracket and the first panel. The entire structure in fig. 4 is connected to each other. Therefore, while adhesive 50 is not directly in contact with panel 15, it joints the bracket with the outer panel 15 by reason of them being connected to each other to form a single body structure), and a third adhesive (50, fig. 4) that joins together the bracket (70, 44L, 44K) and the second panel (20).
However, Chiba et al. fail to teach that the second adhesive and the third adhesive are linked to the first adhesive outside the recess. Examiner has interpreted “linked” to mean that they are all connected to each other or form one single body.
Motohashi teaches a vehicle backdoor (see fig. 1) comprising a first panel (see annotated fig. 6 below) and a second panel (see annotated fig. 6 below) comprising a recess (as shown in fig. 6 below). A first adhesive (72) and a second adhesive (74) linked together outside the recess (as shown in annotated fig. 6 below).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the adhesive system of Chiba et al. to include/link the first, second, and third adhesive connecting the bracket to the first and second panel such that the connection extends outside the recess, as taught by Motohashi t., to further enhance or reinforce the bonding of the outer panel to the inner panel to the bracket.
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 YANICK A AKARAGWE whose telephone number is (469)295-9298. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Coy can be reached at (571) 272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YANICK A AKARAGWE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3672
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