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 .
This action is responsive to the amendment filed 9/22/2026. Claims 1-3 and 5-21 are currently pending in this application.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 9/22/2026. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 7, “a plurality of air intake unit mounting ports” should be changed to - - the plurality of air intake unit mounting ports- - for claim consistency (see, for reference, Claim 1, line 15, “a plurality of air intake unit mounting ports”). Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 17-23, filed 9/22/2026, with respect to Claims 1, 2, 5 and 6 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art rejections of Claims 1, 2, 5 and 6 have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see page 23, filed 9/22/2026, with respect to Claims 17 and 18 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues Claims 17 and 18 are “patentable on the merits of their dependencies on Claim 1”. However, it is noted that Claim 17, from which Claim 18 depends, is an independent claim which does not depend directly nor indirectly from Claim 1. Therefore, the limitations and arguments concerning the patentability of Claim 1 are not applicable to independent Claim 17.
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.
Claim(s) 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 1983-025227 (cited by Applicant on the IDS filed 2/17/2025).
Regarding Claim 17, JP 1983-025227 discloses a vehicle (Figs. 1 and 2), comprising an active air intake grille (Figs. 1 and 2) comprising: a fixed bracket (generally indicated at 2 in Fig. 1), a link bracket (6, 6'), a driving device (7), and at least one air intake unit (1, 9, 9'); the at least one air intake unit comprising a plurality of blades (1) and a plurality of blade link mechanisms (9, 9'); the link bracket being movable relative to the fixed bracket (Figs. 1 and 2), the blade being rotatably connected to the fixed bracket (Figs. 1 and 2), the blade link mechanisms being rotatably connected with the link bracket and the blades (Figs. 1 and 2), the driving device being capable of providing a driving force to drive the blade link mechanism and the link bracket moving relative to the fixed bracket (Figs. 1 and 2), so as to drive the blade to open or close the at least one air intake unit (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 18, JP 1983-025227 discloses the active air intake grille further comprises a first link mechanism (8), the first link mechanism is connected between the driving device and the link bracket (Figs. 1 and 2), the first link mechanism is capable of being extended or shortened under the drive of the driving device (Figs. 1 and 2), so as to drive the link bracket to move relative to the fixed bracket (Figs. 1 and 2), and drive the blade to open or close the at least one air intake unit through the blade link mechanisms (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 5-16 are allowed.
Claims 19-21 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art does not disclose nor render obvious an active air intake grille, including: a fixed bracket, a link bracket, a driving device, a first link mechanism and at least one air intake unit; the link bracket being rotatably connected to a first end of each of the plurality of blade link mechanisms; wherein the fixed bracket is provided with a plurality of air intake unit mounting ports, and the air intake unit mounting ports correspond to the at least one air intake unit respectively, the plurality of blades being arranged along a circumferential edge of the air intake unit mounting ports, in combination with the other elements required by independent Claim 1.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have no rationale, absent hindsight, to modify the prior art to derive the claimed invention since the above-mentioned limitations, in combination with the other claim limitations, are considered new and nonobvious improvements over the prior art.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDWIN YOUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-4781. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm (CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jacob S Scott can be reached at (571)270-3415. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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EDWIN YOUNG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3655
/Edwin A Young/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
