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 .
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tsuyuzaki et al. (US 11370287 B2).
Re Claim 1, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, a bottom structure of vehicle, comprising:
a side sill (Fig. 6: 14; Para 57), disposed at outside in a width direction of vehicle and extending in a front/rear direction of vehicle;
a power unit housing (Fig. 6: 28; Para 127-129), disposed between the side sills and comprising a battery component (Fig. 6: as seen annotated; Para 127-129) inside; and
a frame (Fig. 6: 29; Para 148), connecting the side sill and the power unit housing (as seen connected in Fig. 6),
wherein an upper surface of the frame and an upper surface of the power unit housing are formed as a floor member (upper surface of the frame 29 and upper surface of the power unit housing 122 together create the floor structure as claimed).
Re Claim 2, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, the frame is fixed to a lower surface of the side sill (Fig. 4: 29 is fixed to the lower surface of the side sill), at the outside in the width direction of vehicle (as seen in Fig. 6), and
the upper surface of the power unit housing is formed higher than the upper surface of the frame in an up/down direction of vehicle (as seen in Fig. 6).
Re Claim 3, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, the frame is joined to a flange portion (Fig. 6: 127; Para 171) of the power unit housing, and the flange portion extends from inside of the power unit housing toward the outside in the width direction of vehicle (as seen in Fig. 6).
Re Claim 4, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, the frame comprises an upper frame (Fig. 6: 144; Para 176) and a lower frame (Fig. 6: 143; Para 176), and the upper frame and the lower frame are joined to form a closed cross-section (as seen in Fig. 6), and an inner end portion of the lower frame in the width direction of vehicle is joined to the upper frame at a position away from the power unit housing (Fig. 6: 158; Para 186).
Re Claim 5, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, a lower support member (Fig. 6: 151; Para 160), wherein the lower support member is connected to a lower surface of the closed cross-section of the frame and a lower surface of the power unit housing (as seen in Fig.6).
Re Claim 6, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, the upper surface of the power unit housing is joined to a floor beam (Fig. 5: 35; Para 60) extending in the width direction of vehicle, and
an end portion of the floor beam in the width direction of vehicle is joined to an upper surface of the side sill (as seen annotated in Fig. 5; claim language does not require that the floor beam is directly joined; floor beam is indirectly joined to the upper surface of the side sill by the floor panel).
Re Claim 7, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, the side sill is joined to the floor beam through a connecting member (Fig. 6: 116; Para 117),
the connecting member protrudes inward in the width direction of vehicle from the upper surface of the side sill (as seen in Fig. 6; The connecting member does protrude inward indirectly from the upper surface of the side sill).
Re Claim 9, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses, a bottom of the side sill in an up/down direction of vehicle comprises a sealing surface (as seen annotated in Fig. 5) and a fixing surface (as seen annotated in Fig. 5),
the sealing surface is located inside relative to the fixing surface in the width direction of vehicle, and at the upper in the up/down direction of vehicle (as seen in Fig. 5).
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Figure 5 of Tsuyuzaki et al. (US 11370287 B2)
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Figure 6 of Tsuyuzaki et al. (US 11370287 B2)
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuyuzaki et al. (US 11370287 B2) as applied to claims above, and further in view of Matsuda et al. (US 20200361534 A1).
Re Claim 10, Tsuyuzaki et al. discloses that the frame is disposed at an outer end portion in the width direction of vehicle, the power unit housing is disposed at a center portion in the width direction of vehicle. But Tsuyuzaki et al. does not disclose that the power unit housing has two storage portions or that the floor beam is fixed along a front end of the second storage portion.
However, Matsuda et al. teaches the power unit housing comprising a first storage portion and a second storage portion where the second storage portion is disposed further rearward than the first storage portion in the front/rear direction of the vehicle, and the upper surface of the second storage portion is formed to be higher than an upper surface of the first storage portion in an up/down direction of vehicle (as seen annotated in Matsuda et al. Fig. 3), and the floor beam (Fig. 3: 36; Para 0074) is fixed along a front end of the second storage portion (the floor beam 36 is fixed along the front end of the second storage portion as seen in the annotated Fig. 3).
Therefore, 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 the power unit housing of Tsuyuzaki et al., with the placement of the second storage portion rearward and higher than of the first storage portion and the floor beam fixed along the second storage portion, as taught by Matsuda et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to reduce the operational load while still maintaining the support rigidity.
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Figure 3 of Matsuda et al. (US 20200361534 A1)
Allowable Subject Matter
The primary reason for the indication of allowable subject matter in claim 8 is the inclusion in the claim of the limitations directed to the floor beam being joined to the closed cross-section of the frame. Such limitations, in combination with the rest of the limitations of the claims, are not disclosed or suggested by the prior art of record. The closest prior art of record, Tsuyuzaki et al., do not teach or suggest the connection of the floor beam and frame as claimed. There is no suggestion or motivation in the prior art to make such a modification to the device of Tsuyuzaki et al.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose a bottom structure of vehicle:
Lemura et al. (US 20220258620 A1) disclose a vehicle body lower structure which comprises a battery case, a side sill, and a case-mounting frame.
An (US 20220185380 A1) disclose a bottom structure of vehicle with battery case placed between the side sills and under a floor panel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASMINE J THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-8742. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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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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/JASMINE JAMES THOMAS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3612
August 13, 2026
/JASON S MORROW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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