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 1-3, 5, 8-12, 14, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wolf et al. (US Patent 9,669,807).
Re claim 1, Wolf et al. discloses a vehicle vent curtain comprising an inlet (11, figure 1) for enabling air to enter the vent curtain; a first branch (17, figure 1) for directing air flow to an external side of a vehicle, a second branch (16, figure 1) for directing air at a wheel and brake, at a front end of a wheel well (2, figure 1), both branches being open so that flow simultaneously enters the wheel well from the second branch and passes over a brake cooling the brake and the air flow from the first branch passes to the external side of the vehicle for enhancing aerodynamics during brake cooling (see column 1, lines 61-67).
Re claim 2, the first branch includes an outlet having an elongated rectangular configuration (29, figure 3).
Re claim 3, the first branch has an overall rectangular configuration in cross section (as seen in figure 3).
Re claim 5, the second branch has an outlet (24, figure 3) with an elongated configuration (the branch itself is elongated).
Re claim 8, the second branch has an overall L-shape configuration with a short leg (as seen in figure 3) having an outlet (24, figure 3).
Re claim 9, an end of the short leg includes the outlet angled with respect to its body to exit air flow toward a wheel well (see figure 1 which shows the angling of 16 toward the wheel well).
Re claim 10, Wolf et al. discloses a vehicle including a vent curtain comprising a front fascia (3, figure 1) including an opening (11, figure 1); an inlet (37, figure 1) on the air curtain adjacent the opening for enabling air flow to enter the air curtain, a first branch (17, figure 1) for directing air flow to an external side of a vehicle; a second branch (17, figure 1) for directing air at a wheel (1, figure 1) and brake (9, figure 1), at a front end of a wheel well, both branches being open so that flow simultaneously enters the wheel well from the second branch and passes over a brake cooling the brake and the air flow from the first branch passes to the external side of the vehicle for enhancing aerodynamics (see column 1, lines 61-67).
Re claim 11, the first branch includes an outlet having an elongated rectangular configuration (29, figure 3).
Re claim 12, the first branch has an overall rectangular configuration in cross section (as seen in figure 3).
Re claim 14, the second branch has an outlet (24, figure 3) with an elongated configuration (the branch itself is elongated).
Re claim 17, the second branch has an overall L-shape configuration with a short leg (as seen in figure 3) having an outlet (24, figure 3).
Re claim 18, an end of the short leg includes the outlet angled with respect to its body to exit air flow toward a wheel well (see figure 1 which shows the angling of 16 toward the wheel well).
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 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolf et al. (US Patent 9,669,807).
Wolf discloses all the limitations of the claims, as applied above, except for the outlet having a larger height dimension than the cross section of the first branch.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a vehicle vent curtain, such as that disclosed by Wolf, to have the outlet have a larger height dimension than the cross section of the first branch since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claims 6, 7, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolf et al. (US Patent 9,669,807) in view of Gibson (US Patent 9,487,251).
Re claims 6 and 15, Wolf et al. discloses all the limitations of the claim as applied above, except for the second branch having an overall rectangular configuration in cross section.
Gibson et al. teaches a second branch (48, 1-3) having an overall rectangular configuration in cross section.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a vehicle vent curtain, such as that disclosed by Wolf et al., to have the second branch have an overall rectangular configuration in cross section, as taught by Gibson et al., in order to better fit the device in a vehicle which includes less transverse space for its mounting.
Re claims 7 and 16, Wolf et al. in view of Gibson disclose all the limitations of the claims, as applied above, except for the outlet having a larger height than the cross section of the second branch.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a vehicle vent curtain, such as that disclosed by Wolf in view of Gibson above, to have the outlet have a larger height dimension than the cross section of the first branch since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references all disclose vehicle venting mechanisms.
US Patent Application Publication 2015/0345578 discloses a bifurcated ducting system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason S Morrow whose telephone number is (571)272-6663. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m..
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/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
June 13, 2026
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