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 .
Preliminary Amendment
Receipt of the preliminary amendment filed 09/24/2024 is acknowledged. This amendment cancelled claims 1-12 and added claims 13-28 and amended the abstract and specification.
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 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 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (CN 204821929 U; Machine Translation of Description ‘MTD’).
With respect to claim 13, Chen discloses a frame structure comprising: a head pipe (4); a main frame (22, 24) extending rearward from the head pipe (4); and a seat frame (21, 25, 23, 6) disposed above (fig. 1) the main frame (22, 24) and supporting a seat (fig. 1), wherein the seat frame (21, 25, 23, 6) includes a through hole ((Modified fig. 5, see below) that passes through a region within a front-rear width and a vertical width of the seat frame (21, 25, 23, 6) in a left-right direction in a side view, and wherein a grip portion (Modified fig. 5, see below) that follows an upper edge of the through hole (Mod. Fig. 5) is formed in a flat shape extending in a front-rear direction. (Figs. 1-7, MTD paragraphs 8-29.)
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Grip Portion)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Through Hole)]
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With respect to claim 14, Chen discloses the grip portion (Mod. Fig. 5) is formed in a plane shape extending in a vehicle width direction (figs. 1-3). (Figs. 1-7, MTD paragraphs 8-29.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Fang (CN 202320658 U; Machine Translation of Description ‘MTD’).
With respect to claim 24, Chen is silent regarding a cover member. Fang teaches of a cover member (37, 57) for covering the seat frame from outside in the left-right direction (figs. 1, 6). (Figs. 1-6, MTD paragraphs 38-40.) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the cover structure as described in Fang into the invention of Chen with a reasonable expectation of success in order to makes the components reliable, the outer shape of the box regular, smooth and clean, and the appearance beautiful. (MTD paragraph 10.)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-22 and 25-27 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. Claim 15 includes the limitations of an inner peripheral wall (27) surrounding a hole internal space (25b) of the through hole over the entire periphery of the through hole (25a), wherein the inner peripheral wall (27) is formed by a peripheral wall rib (27a) extending in the left-right direction over the entire periphery of a peripheral edge of the through hole (25a), and wherein a portion (28a) of the peripheral wall rib that forms the grip portion is formed to be thicker than a portion (27a) of the peripheral wall rib that forms another portion. (Fig. 6.) The closest prior art, Bailey (GB 2401088 A) discloses a different thickness of the grip portion as opposed to another portion (fig. 1) but does not disclose the details of the inner peripheral wall nor the peripheral wall rib. Claim 25 includes the limitations of the cover member includes a cover through hole forming portion (38) that forms a cover through hole (38a) that overlaps the through hole (25a) of the seat frame in a side view, and wherein the cover through hole forming portion (38) includes an inclined portion (38b) that is inclined from a side of the through hole (25a) of the seat frame toward an outer side surface of the cover member (35a) on an outer side in the left-right direction so as to be widened with respect to the through hole (25a) in a side view toward the outer side in the left-right direction. The closest prior art Fang (CN 202320658 U) does not disclose an inclined portion. Claim 26 includes the limitations of the cover member includes a cover through hole forming portion (38) that forms a cover through hole (38a) that overlaps the through hole of the seat frame in a side view, and wherein the cover through hole forming portion includes an upper surface cover portion (38c) that covers the grip portion of the seat frame. (Fig. 11.) The closest prior art Fang (CN 202320658 U) does not disclose an upper surface cover portion that covers the grip portion of the seat frame.
Claim 28 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 28 includes the limitations of the seat frame includes a through hole forming portion (25) that forms a through hole (25a) that passes through a region within a front-rear width and a vertical width of the seat frame in a left-right direction in a side view, wherein the through hole forming portion includes an inner peripheral wall (27) surrounding a hole internal space of the through hole over the entire periphery of the through hole, and wherein a grip portion (28a) of the inner peripheral wall (27) that follows an upper edge of the through hole (25a) is formed in a flat shape extending in a front-rear direction by at least one of the seat frame and the cover member. The closest prior art, Chen (CN 204821929 U) does not disclose grip portion of the inner peripheral wall that follows an upper edge of the through hole is formed in a flat shape extending in a front-rear direction by at least one of the seat frame and the cover member.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Miao et al. (CN 208715389 U) discloses a similar grip arrangement with a head pipe, main frame, seat frame and grip portion. (Fig. 1.) The references cited on the PTO-892 form disclose similar features of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES A ENGLISH whose telephone number is (571)270-7014. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Saturday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason Shanske can be reached on 571-270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES A ENGLISH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614
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