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 § 102
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 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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by GB-1068499 (GB’499).
Re: claim 1. GB’499 shows in figure 1 a suspension device comprising: a pair of leaf springs 16, 17 which extend in a front-rear direction, are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction as shown, are attached to a vehicle body, and are configured to support an axle 12, 13; and a torsion bar 31 which extends in the front-rear direction, and of which one of a front
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end portion and a rear end portion or particularly rear end portion is supported by the axle 12, 13 in a state where movement in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is restricted, wherein one of a front end portion and a rear end portion of the leaf spring or particularly the front end is connected to the vehicle body to be rotatable around an axis extending in the left-right direction at element 23, and the other of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the leaf spring or particularly the rear end portion is connected to the vehicle body to be swingable in the front-rear direction around an axis extending in the left-right direction at element 19, and the other of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the torsion bar 31 is supported by the vehicle body via the leaf spring as shown to be movable in the front-rear direction by being slidable through element 35 as broadly recited in a state where movement in the left-right direction is restricted by bearings which generate some level of restrictive frictional force.
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB’499 in view of GB-1582697 (GB’697).
Re: claim 3. GB’499 shows in figure 1 wherein a transverse cross-sectional shape of an outer peripheral surface of the torsion bar is a shape, but is silent with regard to the cross-sectional shape being a polygon shape, or an oval shape or an elliptical shape elongated in the left-right direction.
GB’697 teaches in the paragraph beginning “Each torsion bar 1, 7, and 18” the use of a torsion bar having cross-section that is polygonal or circular (oval) shape.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the cross-sectional shape of the torsion bar of GB’499 to have been polygonal or circular (oval), in view of the teachings of GB’697, in order to provide fewer stress concentrations since there are no corners in the case of a circular or oval cross-section and to provide a shape that is marked by ease of manufacturing since it is relatively easier to machine flat surfaces in the case of a polygonal cross-section.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KR-20180019788, JP-2016525040, CN-205097829, DE-102009028540, and JP-2004098874 teach the use of similar suspension devices with a pair of front-rear extending leaf springs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELODY M BURCH whose telephone number is (571)272-7114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30AM-3PM, generally.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at 571-272-7124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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mmb
June 21, 2026
/MELODY M BURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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