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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 23, 2026 has been entered.
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(s) 1-7, 9, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komischke (DE 102019219204, newly cited) and further in view of Shimura (US 2007/0272344, of record).
Komischke is directed to a tire construction comprising an innerliner and a sensor container attached to said innerliner with an adhesive. See modified Figure 4 below.
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Komischke further states that an innerliner surface and an attachment surface of the sensor container can be roughened in a manner that increases the surface area. This roughening corresponds with the claimed surface pattern comprising elevations. In such an instance, though, Komischke is silent with respect to the dimensions and orientation of said elevations.
In any event, the claims define an extremely broad range of dimensions that are consistent with those that are commonly used when forming toughened surfaces in the tire industry, as shown for example by Shimura (Figure 6 and Paragraph 27). More particularly, Shimura teaches elevations having a height between 0.1 mm and 2.0 mm and such corresponds with 100 microns to 2,000 microns. Thus, approximately 92% of the claimed range is taught by Shimura. It is emphasized that Shimura provides the general order of elevations used in the tire industry to increase surface area and promote bonding. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to form the elevations of Komischke with a height in accordance to the claimed invention absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results. Lastly, it is noted that Figure 6 in Shimura depicts a design in which the grooves or elevations are open along a direction in parallel to the attachment surface (consistent with known manner of forming grooves or elevations, it being recognized that the mere presence of grooves or elevations provides increased surface and promotes bonding).
With respect to claims 2 and 6, any elevation can be viewed, for example, as a post or a rib.
Regarding claim 3, Figure 6 of Shimura depicts a parallel arrangement.
As to claims 4 and 5, Shimura provides the general order of dimensions associated with surface patterns and such would be applicable to the width of the elevations and the spacing between adjacent elevations. Additionally, Shimura states that an area ratio (area with elevations as compared to area without elevations), can vary between 1.1 and 3.0 (Paragraph 28), suggesting that the exact dimensions associated with the elevations can be varied. It is further emphasized, as noted above, that the mere presence of elevations, independent of the exact dimensions, would necessarily increase the surface area and promote bonding.
With respect to claim 7, adhesive 16 is positioned between a roughened innerliner surface and a roughened attachment surface and as such, said adhesive would fill spaces between adjacent elevations.
Regarding claim 9, the claims define an extremely broad range of dimensions that are consistent with those that are conventionally associated with tire attachment modules or containers. It is further noted that the claims define absolute dimensions and it is well taken that dimensions are highly dependent on the intended use of the tire and ultimately the tire size. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use dimensions in accordance to the claimed invention absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results. Lastly, it is noted that Figures 5 and 9 disclosed exemplary embodiments in which a container dimension is varied, further suggesting a wide variety of container dimensions.
As to claim 10, Komischke refers to a pressure sensor.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-7, 9, and 10 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Katelyn Smith can be reached at 571-270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 October 9, 2026
