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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Boettcher (US 2016/0229457).
Boettcher discloses:
1. A vehicle pillar comprising a one-piece pillar component with a lower portion (72) and an upper portion (74), the one-piece pillar component having a transition zone (70 up to 74) where the longitudinal extension direction of the one-piece pillar component is changed such that the lower portion and the upper portion are angled relative to each other (See Figure 1), the lower portion being connectable to a frame of a vehicle and the upper portion being connectable to a roof of the vehicle.
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14. The vehicle pillar according to claim 1, wherein the lower portion (72) and the upper portion (74) are angled relative to each other with an angle in the range 130-175°, preferably 140-170°, and more preferably 150-165°. (Figure 1 illustrates an angle of roughly 155 degrees.)
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15. A vehicle comprising the vehicle pillar according to claim 1. (Abstract)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-13 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:
As concerns claim 2, the prior art discloses the vehicle pillar according to claim 1, however fails to specify wherein the vehicle pillar having a continuous area being free of said connection points allowing movement of the one-piece pillar component and the reinforcement component relative to each other in said area.
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Neither Boettcher nor any additionally cited art of record teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combination, inter alia, wherein a vehicle pillar has a continuous area being free of said connection points allowing movement between the pillar component and the reinforcement component as such a free area would fundamentally alter the rigidity of the pillar structure.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON L LEMBO whose telephone number is (571)270-3065. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Coy can be reached on (571) 272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AARON L LEMBO/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3679
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