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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2022-103884, filed on 28 June 2022.
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 11-12 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.
Claim 11 recites the limitations:
Line 5: “the bottom surfaces and/or the side surfaces”
Line 7: “the top surfaces”
There is insufficient antecedent basis for the above limitations in the claim. For examining purposes, “the bottom surfaces and/or the side surfaces” is read as “ bottom surfaces and/or side surfaces” and “the top surfaces” is read as “ top surfaces”.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ) by its dependency on claim 11.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tejma (JP 2008-058712 A)
Regarding Claim 11, Tejma (JP 2008-058712 A) discloses a silencing member comprising (10A; Para. 0016; See Fig. 3 and Examiner Annotated Tejma Fig. 5):
a first space (A);
a second space that is disposed adjacent to the first space (B next to A);
a passage that connects the first and second spaces (Passage between 21a and 21b connects A and B; Para. 0019);
a first member that surrounds the bottom surfaces and/or the side surfaces of the first and second spaces (First member 27 and 12 surrounds bottom and side surfaces, respectively, of A and B); and
a membrane-shaped second member that covers the top surfaces of the first and second spaces (Membrane second member 31 covers spaces A and B; Para. 0021-0022), and wherein the silencing member satisfies at least one of the following (1) to (3):
(1) the first member surrounds the bottom surfaces and/or the side surfaces of the first space, the second space and the passage, the second member covers the top surfaces of the first space, the second space and the passage;
the silencing member further comprises a third member that covers the first and second members,
and the third member fixes the second member to the first member by sandwiching the second member between the first member and the third member;
(2) the first member is formed from an air-permeable porous material; and the air-permeable porous material is one of foamed polyurethane, foamed polyolefins, and a fibrous material; and
(3) each of the first space and the second space has a shape of a circular cylinder (Spaces A and B formed by 17 can be cylindrical; Para. 0019).
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Examiner Annotated Tejma Fig. 5
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.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tejma (JP 2008-058712 A) in view of Hakuta (US 2020/0243058 A1).
Regarding Claim 12, Tejma discloses the silencing member according to claim 11. Tejma fails to explicitly disclose wherein the second member (32) is non-air-permeable. However, Hakuta (US 2020/0243058 A1) teaches wherein the second member is non-air-permeable (Hakuta: Second member 16 lists glass, rubber, and glass materials that are known as non-air-permeable; Para. 0369-0370; Fig. 1). Hakuta and Tejma are in similar fields comprising silencing members. Modifying Tejma with teachings of Hakuta would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention wherein the second member is non-air-permeable for the purpose of durability (Para. 0371-0372).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER B OLSON whose telephone number is (571)272-3041. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00am -4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571)270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JENNIFER B OLSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/DEDEI K HAMMOND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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