CTNF 18/847,952 CTNF 97643 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-4, 6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US-5042544-A to Dehasse (“Dehasse”) . Regarding Claim 1, Dehasse (embodiments of Figs 1-10b, wherein “invention of includes modifications variations of invention e.g. combination of embodiments” Col 6, lines 39-44) discloses an airless tire (“deformable nonpneumatic tire”, Col 1, lines 44-45, Fig 1 ) comprising: a plurality of spokes ( 3 “deformable structure”, formed by a plurality of 30 “slender elements”, “forming a zig-zags”, Col 3 lines 26-38, Fig 9a ) having elasticity ( “deformable elastic”, Col 3 lines 31 ) and provided radially ( Annotated Fig 9a “AF9A ”) from an outer circumferential side (radially outer side of 2 “cap”) of a wheel ( Col 3 line 20 ) coupled to a vehicle (Col 1 line 8-10) toward an inner circumferential side ( radially inner side of 1 “base”) of a tread ( 20 ) that comes into contact with a road surface ( implicit function of wheel tread ) ; and an intermediate ring (intermediate 1 and 2 are rings formed by a plurality of 32 “auxiliary elements”, Col 5 lines 40-43, two rings shown in Fig 9a) having elasticity ( “deformable elastic”, Col 3 lines 31 ) and provided to connect to ( Col 5 lines 40-43, Fig 9a ) the plurality of spokes between the wheel and the tread, each of the spokes having a bent portion ( each of 30 are bent [BRI: inclined, at angle to radial direction ; Col 3 , lines 67-68, Col 4 lines 1-2, AF9A ) between an end portion ( end of 30 adjacent to 1, see “dot” AF9A ) on the wheel side and an end portion ( end of 30 adjacent to 2, see “dot” AF9A ) on the tread side , the bent portion bending (BRI: inclined angled, Col 3 , lines 67-68, Col 4 lines 1-2, AF9A ) with respect to a direction ( see dashed line “a direction of line between endpoints of spoke” is inclined at a predetermined angle greater than 0with respect to a radial line, AF9A ) connecting these end portions, the intermediate ring being connected to (Col 5 lines 40-43, AF9A) the bent portion, wherein each of the spokes has a plurality of bent portions ( described above ) , and the bent portions each have a minor angle ( between radially adjacent pairs of 30 decrease radially outward, Fig 9a; being equivalent meaning to “angles α, β decrease radially outward” Col 4 lines 53-60, Fig 1a, embodiment of Fig 9a, including decreasing angles α, β of embodiment of Fig 2) that is formed to decrease from the end portion on the wheel side to the end portion on the tread side. PNG media_image1.png 446 432 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 2, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1, wherein the spokes are formed in a zigzag shape when viewed in a direction of a rotation axis of the tire (as described in paragraph 4 of this document, AF9A) . Regarding Claim 3, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate ring comprises a plurality of intermediate rings ( two as described in paragraph 9 of this document, AF9A ) , and bent portions of the spokes connected to a same intermediate ring are formed so as to bend in a same direction (as shown Fig 9a), with respect to a circumferential direction of the tire. Regarding Claim 4, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate ring comprises a plurality of intermediate rings, and bent portions of two spokes adjacent in a circumferential direction of the tire and connected to a same intermediate ring are formed so as to bend in opposite directions (as shown Fig 9a), with respect to the circumferential direction of the tire. Regarding Claim 6, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1,wherein the direction connecting the end portion on the wheel side and the end portion on the tread side in each of the spokes is provided to incline in a circumferential direction of the tire by a predetermined angle exceeding 0 with respect to a radial direction of the tire (as described in paragraph 4 of this document). Regarding Claim 8, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1,wherein the intermediate ring comprises an even number of intermediate rings (as described in paragraph 4 of this document, two rings Fig 9a) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dehasse as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20210362542-A1 to Bohn (“Bohn”) . Regarding Claim 7, Dehasse discloses the airless tire according to claim 1 having in intermediate ring of a material of polyurethane [polyester] with a tensile modulus of 50 MPa, Col 5 lines 64-68, Col 6 lines 17-25), but does not disclose wherein the spokes have a bending rigidity that is set to a value greater than that of the intermediate ring . Bohn discloses a non-pneumatic tire (Fig 1) having bent spokes (300) between and inner ring (100) and an outer ring (400) wherein the spokes are of a material with a high tensile modulus ( between 600 MPa and 3000 MPa, Para 13, 24). The difference between the disclosure in the claimed invention and the prior art, is that the prior art does not disclose the airless tire and the teaching of the tire having the spokes are of a material with a high tensile modulus, in a single combined apparatus. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the airless tire of Dehasse and the teaching of the tire having the spokes are of a material with a high tensile modulus of Bohn to modify the airless tire such that the spokes are formed of a material having a high tensile modulus (like Bohn: between 600 and 3000 MPa, thus greater than the tensile modulus of the intermediate ring of Dehasse), with the motivation to have spokes with improved intrusivity and fatigue resistance (Bohn Para 21, 23-24, having an expectation of equivalent function and a reasonable expectation of success . 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : Laskowitz (US-20170334245-A1, US-20190263177-A1), Iwase (JP-2009035050-A, US-20100200131-A1, ), Cron (US-20190337329-A1), Parfondy (US-20160288569-A1), Iwamura (US-20170113490-A1), Boyer (US-20110126948-A1), Manesh (US-8109308-B2), Song (KR-101855373-B1), Hwang (US 20210039439 A1), Miyamoto (JP-2014118116-A), Yang (CN-107839403-A), Kiyokazu ( JP-H01311902-A), Raskowitz (JP-2019518639-A) and Kioke (JP-2015113079-A) disclose one or more of: a vehicle wheel having one or more of: a tread, a nonpneumatic tire with spokes having a zig-zag shape formed by bent/inclined/angled portions directed at predefined angles, spokes extending between inner, intermediate and outer rings . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EVA LYNN COMINO whose telephone number is (571)270-5839. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30. 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, Joe Morano can be reached at 571-272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /EVA L COMINO/Examiner, Art Unit 3615 /S. Joseph Morano/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/847,952 Page 2 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/847,952 Page 3 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/847,952 Page 4 Art Unit: 3615 Application/Control Number: 18/847,952 Page 5 Art Unit: 3615
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