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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 11 - 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over I. Redeker, DE 10 2016 224160 (“Redeker”). Redeker discloses a vehicle (1) comprising:
a separate electric charging cable storage compartment (5), located outside of a passenger compartment and outside of a luggage compartment (engine compartment or tank opening) of the vehicle, wherein the electric charging cable storage compartment is accessible from an exterior of the vehicle (6) through an opening (fig. 2); and a flap (10) configured to open and close the opening of the electric charging cable storage compartment, wherein the electric charging cable storage compartment has an exterior wall that forms a flat portion of an outer lateral vehicle side wall of the vehicle. The examiner takes official notice that the tank openings found in conventional vehicles often discloses an exterior wall that forms a flat portion of an outer lateral vehicle side wall.
In reference to claims 12 – 14, Redeker further discloses [[claim 12]] wherein the vehicle is a motor vehicle with a front end (fig. 2) in front of the passenger compartment and a rear end (trunk) behind the passenger compartment, and the electric charging cable storage compartment is arranged in the front or the rear end (page 2, 4th paragraph beginning with “An expedient development …”, further the tank placement is often at the front end or rear end of a conventional vehicle);
[[claim 13]] wherein the flap is arranged in a vehicle side wall (bonnet, top side or tank) and, in a closed position, is flush with a surface of a surrounding vehicle side wall (bonnet or tank).
Claim(s) 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Redeker in view of Friedrich et al. U.S. 2023/0406414 (“Friedrich”). Redeker discloses a vehicle (1) comprising:
a separate electric charging cable storage compartment (5), located outside of a passenger compartment and outside of a luggage compartment (engine compartment or tank opening) of the vehicle, wherein the electric charging cable storage compartment is accessible from an exterior of the vehicle (6) through an opening (fig. 2); and a flap (10) configured to open and close the opening of the electric charging cable storage compartment; wherein the vehicle is a motor vehicle with a front end in front of the passenger compartment (engine or trunk). Redeker is silent to the electric cable storage compartment adjoining an end wall which separates the passenger compartment from the front end. Friedrich teaches an electric cable storage compartment (41) adjoining an end wall (fig. 1) which separates a passenger compartment (cabin) from a front end (4). One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would find modifying Redeker such that it comprised the end wall in view of the teachings of Friedrich obvious so as to provide a separation from the passenger compartment, protecting the passengers within the cabin (fig. 1 – 6).
In reference to claim 16, Redeker as modified further discloses wherein the electric charging cable storage compartment is cylindrical (fig. 2) or cuboid and is delimited circumferentially with at least one side wall and/or the flap (10).
In reference to claims 12 and 13, Redeker as modified further discloses [[claim 12]] wherein the vehicle is a motor vehicle with a front end (fig. 2) in front of the passenger compartment and a rear end (trunk) behind the passenger compartment, and the electric charging cable storage compartment is arranged in the front or the rear end (page 2, 4th paragraph beginning with “An expedient development …”); and
[[claim 13]] wherein the flap is arranged in a vehicle side wall (bonnet, top side or tank) and, in a closed position, is flush with a surface of a surrounding vehicle side wall (bonnet or tank).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 11 and 15 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.
Claim 15 was amended but was not rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and intervening claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18 – 20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Prior art references do not disclose or teach the vehicle comprising, inter alia, an electric charging cable storage compartment located in a front end below a flap; the flat portion having, on one side, a plug receptacle for an electric charging cable, the flat portion being displaceable between a use position, in which the side with the plug receptable is accessible from outside the vehicle and a non-use position, in which the side with the plug receptacle faces the [electric charging cable] storage compartment. Closest prior art references Redeker and Friedrich do not disclose those limitations.
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.”
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 KAREN BECK whose telephone number is (571)272-6212. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday from 8:30AM - 4:00PM.
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, Jason Shanske can be reached at 571-270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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KAREN BECK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3614
/KAREN BECK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614
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