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.
Claims 1, 6-10, and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (Korean Patent Publication 20200042115).
Re claim 1, Kim discloses a bumper bracket for connecting with a vehicle body (see the annotated figure below), the bumper bracket comprising a mounting hole and a weakening portion, wherein the mounting hole is configured to connect the bumper bracket to the vehicle body (by 1211), and in a front-rear direction of a vehicle, the weakening portion is disposed in front of the mounting hole, a projection of the mounting hole in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at least partially overlaps with a projection of the weakening portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (as shown by the annotated figure below), and a structural strength of the weakening portion is lower than a structural strength of a portion of the bumper bracket other than the weakening portion (this is inherent to the operation of the device).
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Re claim 6, a side wall of the weakening portion comprises a flat surface or a curved surface (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 7, the weakening portion is integrally formed with the bumper bracket (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 8, a plurality of weakening portions including the weakening portion and disposed in front of the mounting hole (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 9, the weakening portions are disposed adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction (as shown in the annotated figure above).
Re claim 10, Kim discloses a vehicle body front end assembly comprising a bumper (1100, figure 2), a vehicle body (1200, figure 2), a fastener (1211, figure 3), and a bumper bracket (see the annotated figure above), wherein the bumper bracket comprises a mounting hole (see the annotated figure above) and a weakening portion (see the annotated figure above), the mounting hole is configured to connect the bumper bracket to the vehicle body, in a front-rear direction of a vehicle, the weakening portion is disposed in front of the mounting hole (as shown in the figure above), a projection of the mounting hole in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at least partially overlaps with a projection of the weakening portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (as shown by the figure above), and a structural strength of the weakening portion is lower than a structural strength of a portion of the bumper bracket other than the weakening portion (this is inherent to the structure of the device), the bumper is fixedly connected to the bumper bracket (as shown by figure 3), and the fastener (1211, figure 1) is configured to pass through the mounting hole to connect the bumper bracket to the vehicle body and to move from the mounting hole to the weakening portion when an external force applied to the bumper bracket is greater than a preset value.
Re claim 15, a side wall of the weakening portion comprises a flat surface or a curved surface (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 16, the weakening portion is integrally formed with the bumper bracket (as shown by the annotated figure above).
Re claim 17, the bumper bracket further comprises a plurality of weakening portions including the weakening portion and disposed in front of the mounting hole (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 18, the weakening portions are disposed adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction (as shown by the annotated figure above).
Re claim 19, Kim discloses a vehicle comprising a vehicle body front end assembly, wherein the vehicle body front end assembly comprises a bumper (1100, figure 2), a vehicle body (1200, figure 2), a fastener (1211, figure 3), and a bumper bracket (see the annotated figure above), the bumper bracket comprises a mounting hole (see the annotated figure above) and a weakening portion (see the annotated figure above), the mounting hole is configured to connect the bumper bracket to the vehicle body, in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, the weakening portion is disposed in front of the mounting hole (see the annotated figure above), a projection of the mounting hole in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at least partially overlaps with a projection of the weakening portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (see the annotated figure above), and a structural strength of the weakening portion is lower than a structural strength of a portion of the bumper bracket other than the weakening portion (this is inherent to the structure of the device), the bumper is fixedly connected to the bumper bracket (as shown by figure 3), and the fastener (1211, figure 3) is configured to pass through the mounting hole to connect the bumper bracket to the vehicle body and to move from the mounting hole to the weakening portion when an external force applied to the bumper bracket is greater than a preset value.
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.
Claims 2-5 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (Korean Patent Publication 20200042115) in view of Wang (Chinese Patent Publication 202106930).
Re claims 2 and 11, Kim discloses all the limitations of the claim, as applied above, except for a connecting portion being disposed between the mounting hole and the weakening portion, wherein the connecting portion is configured to space the mounting hole from the weakening portion, and a width of the connecting portion is inversely proportional to a crumple capacity of the bumper bracket.
Wang teaches a connecting portion (see the annotated figure below) being disposed between a mounting hole and a weakening portion, wherein the connecting portion is configured to space the mounting hole from the weakening portion, and a width of the connecting portion is inversely proportional to a crumple capacity of the bumper bracket (this is inherent to the structure of the device).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a bumper bracket, such as that disclosed by Kim, to have a connecting portion being disposed between the mounting hole and the weakening portion, wherein the connecting portion is configured to space the mounting hole from the weakening portion, and a width of the connecting portion is inversely proportional to a crumple capacity of the bumper bracket, as taught by Wang, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce the impact force acting on the vehicle body (see paragraph 0013 of the machine translation of Wang).
Re claims 3 and 12, Kim further discloses the weakening portion is strip-shaped (as shown by figure 3), and an included angle between an extension direction of the weakening portion and the front-rear direction of the vehicle is inversely proportional to the crumple capacity of the bumper bracket (this is inherent to the structure of the device).
Re claims 4 and 13, Kim further discloses a thickness of the weakening portion is less than a thickness of the connecting portion (111, figure 3 1 is a slot with zero thickness).
Re claims 5 and 14, the thickness of the weakening portion is zero (1111, figure 3), and a shape of the weakening portion comprises one of a rectangle, a trapezoid, an ellipse (it is elliptical in figure 3), a diamond, a triangle, a hexagon, or a triangle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose vehicle bumper devices.
Ballinger (British Patent Publication GB2506204A) teaches a bracket including a hole and weakening portion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason S Morrow whose telephone number is (571)272-6663. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (571) 272-5109. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
June 26, 2026
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