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
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 and 13-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kimura (EP 3566886).
As best depicted in Figures 2A and 2B, Kimura is directed to a runflat assembly comprising a plurality of circumferentially extending section parts 3 and a connector member or band 5 that is designed to interconnect said parts into an annular configuration. More particularly, Figure 2A depicts the assembly in a loosened or relaxed state and Figure 2B depicts the assembly in a fastened or tightened state. Kimura further states that the band length can be adjusted by including a fastening mechanism or retraction mechanism (Paragraphs 37 and 38). Lastly, regarding claim 1, the band like member is simply positioned within through holes 4 of said section parts and as such, it is configured to be releasable from said section parts.
Regarding claim 2, band 5 is described as being any number of materials, including flexible metal (Paragraph 37).
With respect to claim 3, the band of Kimura can be broadly viewed as a cable (claims fail to structurally distinguish a cable from the band of Kimura).
As to claims 13-16, section parts 3 of Kimura can be viewed as including a body and at least one wing as depicted below, wherein respective wings are connected to the body over the entire circumferential extent of the section parts. With specific respect to claim 16, the body and the wings are foams, such as polyurethane (Paragraph 24), and foams are recognized as being “resilient” materials.
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With respect to claims 17 and 18, any axial extent of foamed body 3 can be viewed as the claimed “body” and the remainder of the foamed bodies on each side can be viewed as first and second wings. For example, an axial extent of the body can be arbitrarily selected as extending just outside holes or openings 4 and the remainder of the foamed bodies can be viewed as the claimed wings (which would be present within the rim of wheel well).
Claim(s) 1-3, 12-15, 17, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lust (WO 01/87646).
As best depicted in Figures 5 and 6A-6C, Lust is directed to a runflat assembly comprising a plurality of circumferentially extending section parts (support bands 12), a first and second connector members (bolt 24) that are designed to interconnect said parts into an annular configuration, and first and second worm gear mechanisms 28 (claimed retraction mechanism) that adjusts an operable length of said connector members (Page 15, Lines 15-26 and Page 19, Lines 10+). More particularly, Figure 6b depicts the assembly in a loosened or relaxed state and Figure 6c depicts the assembly in a fastened or tightened state. Lastly, regarding claim 1, the bolts are simply positioned between apertures and as such, it is configured to be releasable from said section parts.
Regarding claim 2, band 12 is formed with a relatively inextensible material (Page 15, Lines 7+) and such a material can be broadly viewed as being flexible” (claims as currently drafted fail to quantitatively define a “flexible” material in a manner that distinguishes it from the material of Lust).
With respect to claim 3, the bolt of Lust can be viewed as the claimed cable.
As to claim 12, the assembly of Lust includes first and second bolts 24, 24’.
As to claims 13-15, section parts 12 of Lust can be viewed as including a body and at least one wing, wherein respective wings are connected to the body over the entire circumferential extent of the section parts. For example, a width of the support band that corresponds with engaging portions 42 can be viewed as the claimed body (middle portion of support band in the width direction or axial direction) and the remainder of the support bands on each side can be viewed as the claimed wings.
With respect to claims 17 and 18, any axial extent of support band 12 can be viewed as the claimed “body” and the remainder of the support band on each side can be viewed as first and second wings. Lust also states that the assembly as a whole can be positioned within a wheel well (Page 18, Lines 10+).
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura.
Regarding the band member (claimed connector member), Kimura teaches the use of flexible metal, resin, fabric, or the like (Paragraph 37). There are any number of materials that are commonly used to form fabrics in the tire industry, including carbon fibers. Absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use carbon fiber to form the band member of Kimura.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura and further in view of Campbell (US 2007/0034308).
As detailed above, Kimura is directed to an assembly comprising a fastening mechanism that tightens adjacent section parts. In terms of the specific types of mechanisms, Kimura states that the mechanism is not particularly limited (Paragraph 37). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use any number of commonly used mechanisms and such includes a ratchet mechanism as required by the claimed invention. Campbell provides one example of a tire in which a ratchet mechanism is included as a contraction means (Paragraph 13 and claim 7 on Page 4). Absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a ratchet mechanism as the fastening mechanism of Kimura.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-10 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 JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 February 20, 2026