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
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.
Claims 1 – 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by patent document number DE 10 2011 053100 A1 to Al-Sheyyab et al. (hereinafter referred to as Al-Sheyyab).
Regarding claim 1, Al-Sheyyab discloses a bicycle frame component (bicycle element 7) made of thermoplastic composite (fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, Page 2 of Machine Translation), characterized in that the bicycle frame component comprises:
[Claim 1] multiple shells (half shell 1 and cover element 2) made of multiple thermoplastic composite laminates (laminating element, Page 3), and each one of the multiple shells having an exterior surface (the exterior surfaces of half shell 1 and cover element 2, Figs. 8 and 9);
a cavity (the interior formed by joining half shell 1 and cover element 2, See Figs. 8 and 9) surrounded by the shell and having an interior surface (the interior surfaces of half shell 1 and cover element 2); and
multiple connecting margins (adjoining sections 3a and 3b), each one of the multiple connecting margins configured to be connected to a corresponding one of the multiple connecting margins of another one of the multiple shells (overlapping and adjoining sections 3a and 3b, Page 5 of the Machine Translation);
wherein two corresponding said connecting margins (adjoining sections 3a and 3b) of each two of the multiple shells (half shell 1 and cover element 2) are overlapped and fused together by enclosing the multiple shells in molds and hot compressing the multiple shells to diffuse polymers of the two shells (this is a product-by-process limitation and, as such, does not add to the claim limitations as long as the final product is not patentably distinguishable), so the connecting margins are formed as a fusion area and the interior surface of the cavity non-overlapped by said connecting margins is smooth (See Fig. 9).
In regards to the connecting margins being fused together, Al-Sheyyab states “Such cross-sectional geometries can be produced in a particularly simple and cost-effective manner by means of forming processes known in the art and / or molding methods, and moreover have a homogeneous stress curve in the bicycle frame according to the invention.” (Page 3) In regards to the product-by-process limitation, if the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, then the claim is unpatentable, even though the prior product was made by a different process. (MPEP 2113(I));
[Claim 2] wherein each one of the multiple fusion areas has a fused protrusion (the combination of 3a and 3b, using molded laminated element 9, as shown in Fig. 9) with a thickness larger than a thickness of each one of the multiple shells (half shell 1 and cover element 2; Page 9 of the Machine Translation);
[Claim 3] wherein the thermoplastic composite laminates (laminating element, Page 3) are carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates or glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates (“The laminating element 9 consists of a plastic material which is the same or at least compatible with the thermoplastic material of the half-shell 1”, Page 5; and “the fiber reinforcement of the thermoplastic material is formed by glass fibers, carbon fibers”, Page 7); and
[Claim 4] wherein the thermoplastic composite laminates (laminating element, Page 3) are carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates or glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates (“The laminating element 9 consists of a plastic material which is the same or at least compatible with the thermoplastic material of the half-shell 1”, Page 5; and “the fiber reinforcement of the thermoplastic material is formed by glass fibers, carbon fibers”, Page 7).
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.
Claims 5 – 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Sheyyab.
Regarding Claims 5 – 8, Al-Sheyyab discloses the bicycle frame component made of thermoplastic composite as claimed in claims 1 – 4, respectively;
[Claims 5 – 8] wherein the connecting margins are overlapped to form an overlapping section having a 5 to 12 mm width. Recognizing that the width of the connecting margins (as a result effective variable) is directly correlated to the strength of the resulting component, which is a desirable characteristic, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application, to modify Al-Sheyyab’s bicycle frame component such that the connecting margins are overlapped to form an overlapping section having a 5 to 12 mm width, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation. See MPEP 2144.05 - II - Routine Optimization
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Felicia L Brittman-Alabi whose telephone number is (313)446-6512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)272-6265. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Felicia L. Brittman-Alabi/ Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/VALENTIN NEACSU, Ph.D./ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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