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 .
This communication is in response to application No. 18/730,327, filed on 7/19/2024. Claims 1-10 are currently pending and have been examined. Claims 1-4, 6-7 and 10 have been rejected as follows. Claims 5 and 8-9 are objected to.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
In Figure 5, “30C” is not mentioned in the specification. It appears that this should be labelled “300”.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: same as the objection to the drawings above, the reference character “30C” is not mentioned in the description.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuyuki (JP H0459542U).
Regarding claim 1, Tsuyuki discloses an encapsulation structure (mounting structure, Figure 8), comprising a main body (car body panel 2, Fig. 8) provided with an engaging cavity (below 2, Fig. 8) therein, and the main body being provided with a first assembling hole (25, Fig. 8) in communication with the engaging cavity; a decorative member (lamp body 1, 11, Fig. 8) provided with a buckle (71, Fig. 8), wherein an outer side of the buckle (71, Fig. 8) is provided with a limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8), the buckle has a squeezed state and a recovered state, when the buckle (71, Fig. 8) is squeezed to enable the buckle to switch from the recovered state to the squeezed state (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2), the limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8) is capable of passing through the first assembling hole (25, Fig. 8), when the limiting protrusion enters the engaging cavity (see annotated Figure 1 below) from the first assembling hole (25, Fig. 8), the buckle (71, Fig. 8) switches from the squeezed state to the recovered state (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2), and the limiting protrusion abuts against an inner wall (see annotated Figure 1 below) of the engaging cavity; and an active member (73, Fig. 8) provided on a side of the main body (2, Fig. 8) away from the decorative member (1, 11, Fig. 8), wherein the active member (73, Fig. 8) is movably matched with the main body (2, Fig. 8) and at least partially extends into the engaging cavity, and the active member (73, Fig. 8) is capable of moving relative to the main body and squeezing the buckle (71, Fig. 8), so that the buckle switches from the recovered state to the squeezed state (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2). As broadly claimed, reflective glass lamp 11 is interpreted as a decorative member on a “main body” car panel 2 as no further structure ties these elements to a vehicle glass plate trim.
Figure 1:
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Figure 2:
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Regarding claim 2, Tsuyuki further discloses wherein the buckle (71, Fig. 8) comprises at least two elastic buckling bodies (71, 72, see annotated Figure 1 above), all of the elastic buckling bodies are provided with the limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8), the at least two elastic buckling bodies are spaced apart, when the buckle is in the squeezed state, the elastic buckling bodies are elastically deformed, and a distance between the limiting protrusions on the at least two elastic buckling bodies decreases (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2), when the limiting protrusions enter the engaging cavity (see annotated Figure 1 above) from the first assembling hole (25, Fig. 8), the elastic buckling bodies are reset, the buckle switches from the squeezed state to the recovered state, and the distance between the limiting protrusions on the at least two elastic buckling bodies increases (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2).
Regarding claim 3, Tsuyuki discloses all of the claimed limitations of the invention as claimed in claim 2 above, and further discloses wherein an end face of an end of the active member (73, Fig. 8) configured to extend into the engaging cavity is provided with a groove (see annotated Figure 1 above), the active member moves in a direction close to or away from the buckle (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2), a side of the limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8) close to the active member is a first contact surface (see annotated Figure 2 above), the first contact surface is an inclined surface or an arc surface, when the active member (73, Fig. 8) moves in the direction close to the buckle, different limiting protrusions (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8) extend into the groove (see annotated Figure 1 above), respectively, a groove wall of the groove contacts the first contact surface (see annotated Figure 2 above) and exerts a force on the limiting protrusions, so that the limiting protrusions are squeezed, the buckle switches from the recovered state to the squeezed state (translation page 6, lines 50-53 to page 7, lines 1-2), and the distance between the limiting protrusions on the two different elastic buckling bodies (71, 72, see annotated Figure 1 above) decreases.
Regarding claim 4, Tsuyuki discloses all of the claimed limitations of the invention as claimed in claim 3 above, and further discloses wherein a side of the limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8) away from the active member (73, Fig. 8) is a second contact surface (see annotated Figure 2 above), the second contact surface is an inclined surface or an arc surface, and a distance between the second contact surface and the elastic buckling bodies (71, 72, see annotated Figure 1 above) gradually decreases in a direction away from the active member.
Regarding claim 6, Tsuyuki discloses all of the claimed limitations of the invention as claimed in claim 3 above, and further discloses wherein when the limiting protrusion (angled side of 71, 74, Fig. 8) is located in the engaging cavity (below 2, Fig. 8; see annotated Figure 1 above), the first contact surface abuts against the groove wall of the groove (see annotated Figure 2 above).
Regarding claim 7, Tsuyuki discloses all of the claimed limitations of the invention as claimed in claim 3 above, and further discloses wherein an inner diameter of the groove (see annotated Figure 1 above) is less than or equal to a diameter of the first assembling hole (25, Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 10, Tsuyuki further discloses a vehicle (translation page 1, lines 1-3) comprising the encapsulation structure (mounting structure, Figure 8) of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 8-9 is 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:
The primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter in claim 5 is the inclusion of limitations defining the combination of the active member with a stop protrusion and the structure supporting it (applicant’s Fig. 5-7) where “the active member is rotatably provided in the second assembling hole, the end of the active member configured to extend into the engaging cavity is a push end, the push end is externally provided with a flange surrounding a position of the push end, the inner wall of the engaging cavity comprises a first wall and a second wall arranged oppositely, a communication point between the first assembling hole and the engaging cavity is located on the first wall, a communication point between the second assembling hole and the engaging cavity is located on the second wall, the inner wall of the engaging cavity is provided with a stop protrusion, a distance between the stop protrusion and the second wall is greater than a thickness of the flange, and the flange is provided with a notch allowing the stop protrusion to pass through.” The closest prior art of Kanie et al (US Patent No. 10,100,860) discloses a snap release with flexible arms (310, Fig. 24 ) and a movable member (306, Fig. 24) with catch and the closest prior art of Tsuyuki (JP H0459542U) as described above do not disclose the limitations of claim 5. Applicant’s stop protrusion causes the active member to be limited between the limiting protrusion and the second wall and cannot move freely when engaged. Separation of the decorative member from the main body due to accidental touch on the active member can be prevented, thus ensuring stability of the engagement between the decorative member and the main body. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claim, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record.
The primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter in claim 8 is the inclusion of limitations of a second sealing member in which the second sealing member “being arranged on the side of the main body away from the decorative member, and the second sealing member being arranged around the active member”. The closest prior art of Tsuyuki (JP H0459542U) discloses a first sealing member (39) arranged between the decorative member 11 and the main body 2, but does not disclose a second sealing member arranged as defined by claim 8 on the side of the main body away from the decorative member and around the active member. A reference with such a seal would destroy the base reference of Tsuyuki. Applicant’s sealing members arranged in this way improve the sealing performance of the encapsulation structure, prevents water seepage, and reduces noise reduction. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claim, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record.
The primary reason for indication of allowable subject matter in claim 9 is the inclusion of limitations that define the main body in which the main body includes “an encapsulation, a glass plate, and a reinforcing member, the encapsulation is connected to an edge of the glass plate and the reinforcing member, respectively, the reinforcing member and the decorative member are located on two sides of the encapsulation, respectively, the engaging cavity and the first assembling hole are both arranged on the reinforcing member, the encapsulation is provided with an avoiding hole corresponding to the first assembling hole, and the buckle passes through the avoiding hole and the first assembling hole sequentially and extends into the engaging cavity.” The closest prior art of Hirota (WO 2011/089650) discloses an encapsulation structure in Figure 3-4 that has a main body (20, 30) with first & second assembling holes (21, 31) in communication with an engaging cavity, a buckle (10) having protrusions (14a/14b), buckling bodies (elastic legs 13a/13b) and an “active member” (cylindrical jig 41); however Hirota does not disclose a main body including a glass plate, reinforcing member, avoiding hole and decorative member as claimed. The closest prior art of Cai et al. (CN 108437910) discloses an encapsulation structure in Figure 3 that has a main body (2, 5) with a first assembling hole in communication with an engaging cavity, a decorative strip member (3) with a buckle (4) having protrusions (41, Fig. 4), and an “active member” (52, Fig. 3 & 5). Elements (41) are of a shape that would cause them to flex/squeeze when being inserted. Cai et al. further discloses the encapsulation is connected to an edge of a glass plate (1) and a reinforcing member (5). However, Cai et al does not expressly disclose that “the limiting protrusion abuts against an inner wall of the engaging cavity” of claim 1 or the avoiding hole of claim 9 where “the engaging cavity and the first assembling hole are both arranged on the reinforcing member, the encapsulation is provided with an avoiding hole corresponding to the first assembling hole, and the buckle passes through the avoiding hole and the first assembling hole sequentially and extends into the engaging cavity.” Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claim, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hick (US 2023/0356577) in Figure 2 and Katoh (US Patent No. 4,291,076) in Figure 5B disclose vehicle window trims with buckles; however, they do not expressly disclose an “active member” as claimed for assembly and disassembly of the encapsulation structures.
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/D.L.E./Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/AMY R WEISBERG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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