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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Figs. 2 and 5 have reference numerals that are smaller than 1/8”. See 37 CFR 1.84(p)(3).
The line quality in all figures is poor, thus not meeting the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(L). Note that the drawings must be viewed in the USPTO Patent Center in order to see this problem. See example provided below. The drawings contain grayscale elements, which cause image degradation in the USPTO electronic filing system. Drawings must be entirely bi-tonal, containing only black or white color values.
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Numeral 21, which is mentioned in the specification, is not present in the drawings.
A lead line in Fig. 2 does not have a corresponding numeral. See illustration below.
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Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The title contains phrase, such as “for a smoothing vehicle glazing,” which are unclear and non-standard language. The title is also repetitive and unnecessarily long.
The following title is suggested: “Flexible electrical connection for movable vehicle glazing.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to claim 1, the phrase “having a curved lateral shape on itself to the connection with said upstream connector and with said downstream connector” is unclear. The word choice of “on itself to the connection” is grammatically confusing. It is simply not clear what this phrase means. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as if the flexible ribbon cable has some kind of curvature that matches a curvature within the upstream connector and the downstream connector.
Additionally, in claim 1, the term “curved lateral shape” is unclear. The drawings do not seem to show a true curvature at C and C’ in Figs. 2 and 5. There is a V-angle indicated by the letter alpha, but this angle appears to join two flat surfaces. There is no visible curved surface. Claim 1 will be interpreted as if it requires the ribbon cable to be non-flat in the area of the upstream and downstream connection.
With regard to claim 3, the phrase “curved longitudinally” is indefinite for the same reasons as discussed above with regard to claim 1 and the phrase “curved lateral shape.” The drawings do not appear to show the receiving surface being curved. Instead, the receiving surface is a notched V-shape with flat surfaces.
With regard to claims 4 and 12, the phrase “said curved lateral shape has, seen in cross section, a general V-shape” is contradictory, as a V-shaped is not a curved shape, in the typical understanding of the word “curved.” Collins Dictionary defines the term “curved” as denoting a “smoothly bending surface,” which is different than a V-shaped notch.
With regard to claim 5, the preamble of this claim is worded in a confusing manner, rendering it difficult to ascertain whether the term “The vehicle glazing” actually has antecedent basis. It is also difficult to ascertain whether the claim is directed to “a system” (line 2) or to a “vehicle glazing” (line 1).
With regard to claims 10 and 16, it is unclear what is meant by “an essential component of a direction of translation of said glass pane,” because of the term “essential component.” This claim will be interpreted to mean that the flexible ribbon cable must extend in a direction that at least has a component that is parallel to the direction of travel of the glass pane.
Additionally, with respect to claim 16, it is unclear how this claim further limits claim 10. Claim 16 seems to introduce the phrase “each flexible ribbon cable,” which implies the existence of more than one cable. However, the additional flexible ribbon cables are never positively introduced.
Claims 2, 6-9, 11, and 13-15 are rejected based on their dependence upon rejected claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ushiyama et al. (US 8,247,921, hereinafter Ushiyama).
With regard to claim 1, as best understood, Ushiyama discloses a flexible electrical connection (100) for a vehicle glazing (note that the claim is merely directed to an electrical connection, and does not positively recite the vehicle glazing. Ushiyama discloses a sliding vehicle door 130, indicating that Ushiyama’s electrical connection is at least capable of being attached to a vehicle glazing in the same manner that it is attached to the door) movable in translation relative to a bodywork element (120) of said vehicle, said flexible electrical connection having, along its length, an upstream connector (121, 122) attachable to an inner element (i.e. one of the sides of element 120) fixed to said bodywork element (120) and a downstream connector (131, 132) attachable to a glass pane of said glazing (again, neither the glass pane or the glazing is positively recited, and Ushiyama’s connector 131/132 is capable of being attached to a vehicle glazing), the flexible electrical connection comprising a flexible ribbon cable (110, “the flat cable”) comprising at least one conductive wire and/or at least one conductive strip (the flat cable 110 conducts electricity and thus must comprise either a conductive wire or strip) and having a curved lateral shape on itself to the connection with said upstream connector and with said downstream connector (see annotated Figs. provided below).
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With regard to claim 2, Ushiyama discloses that said upstream connector (121, 122) and said downstream connector (131, 132) each comprise a receiving surface (i.e. the curved surfaces of elements 122 and 132) which is in contact with said flexible ribbon cable and which is curved laterally (see Figs. above).
With regard to claim 3, Ushiyama teaches that said receiving surface (122, 132) of said upstream connector and/or said downstream connector is curved longitudinally and terminates at a proximal end by a flat part (see Fig. provided below. Note that the term “proximal” is not defined in the claim relative to any reference).
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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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 5-11, 15, and 16 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ushiyama in view of Snider et al. (US 2018/0227986, hereinafter Snider).
With regard to claims 5 and 7, Ushiyama fails to disclose a glass pane, a system configured to allow mobility of said glass pane in translation relative to a bodywork element of said vehicle and at least one flexible electrical connection according to any one of claim 1, wherein said downstream connector is attached to said glass pane. Instead, Ushiyama discloses a sliding door, and that the downstream connector is attached to the sliding door.
Snider teaches a vehicle window having a sliding glass pane (20), where a flexible electrical cable (30) is connected to the glass pane at the downstream end (see elements 28 and 36 in Fig. 2).
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have modified Ushiyama such that the flexible electrical connector was attached to a sliding glass pane, rather than a sliding door, with a reasonable expectation of success given that the teachings of Ushiyama are generally useful for relatively slidable panels in vehicles, and Snider shows that sliding glass panels can utilize similar flexible connectors to that of Ushiyama to achieve predictable results.
With regard to claims 6 and 9, Ushiyama in view of Snider teaches that the glass pane includes a heater or a lightening/darkening system (Snider teaches a “heating or defogging” system, see paragraph 0026).
With regard to claims 8 and 15, Ushiyama in view of Snider is silent as to the flexible ribbon cable having, along its length, a fold having a radius of curvature between 0.2 and 20.0 mm, or between 5.0 and 15.0 mm. However, Ushiyama does mention that the fold in the cable should be “larger than the tolerance” (column 3, lines 1-3).
It would have been considered obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have modified Ushiyama in view of Snider such that the fold in the cable had a radius of curvature between 5.0 and 15.00 mm, given that Ushiyama teaches that the radius of the bend is a result effective variable, and it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.05, Section II).
With regard to claims 10 and 16, as best understood, Ushiyama in view of Snider teaches that the flexible ribbon cable extends along its length in a direction parallel to an essential component of a direction of translation of said glass pane (see Ushiyama, “opening direction” and “closing direction” in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively).
With regard to claim 11, Ushiyama teaches that the inner element (120) is an interior guide for said flexible ribbon cable (the inner element 120 at least provides mounting and routing for the ribbon cable, and thus constitutes an “interior guide,” given that the claim contains no description of what the “guide” function consists of).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 12-14 are 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E FULLER whose telephone number is (571)272-6300. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30AM - 5:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tara Schimpf can be reached at 571-270-7741. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT E FULLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676
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