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 § 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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamanishi (JP 2022131880A) in view of Kim (Pub. No. US 2021/0171113).
As to claim 1, Hamanishi discloses a vehicle wiring fixture (fig. 1) used for mounting a wiring 11 installed on a seat 20 (fig. 1), comprising a main body 40 (fig. 2) on which the wiring is mounted, wherein the main body includes a ring part 43 surrounding half or more of an outer perimeter of the wiring, a pressing flange (fig. 3, see portion connected to base portion 42a) protruding from a surface adjacent to the ring part and in close contact with the seat, and at least two elastic locking protrusions 42b protruding outward from a central portion of the pressing flange and inserted by passing through an assembly hole 35 formed in the seat to perform a locking action, and a holding part (see extension of 40 leading to holding part 41) extending in a direction of the wiring is added to the main body to support the wiring mounted on the ring part and supports the wiring to prevent sagging downward.
However, Hamanishi does not disclose a vehicle wiring fixture used for mounting a wiring installed between a pillar A and a pillar trim.
Kim discloses a wiring harness (see wiring ring 24, ¶0046) installed between a pillar A 53 and a pillar trim 22 (figs. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the vehicle wiring fixture of Hamanishi be used for mounting between a pillar A and a pillar trim as similarly taught by Kim in order to provide wire harness routing along a pillar of a vehicle.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Benoit (US 6,669,150) in view of Kim (Pub. No. US 2021/0171113).
As to claim 1, Benoit et al. discloses a vehicle wiring fixture (fig. 1, note the word vehicle is intended use and the fastener of Benoit could easy be used in a vehicle) used for mounting a wiring(para 0036) installed on a seat, having a main body on which the wiring is mounted(fig. 1, the base is the unlabeled part in which components 14 and 34 are attached), wherein the main body includes a ring surrounding half or more of an outer perimeter of the wiring (fig. 2, 14, 44), a pressing flange protruding from a surface adjacent to the ring part and in close contact with the seat(fig 2, 30), and at least two elastic locking protrusions protruding outward from a central portion of the pressing flange(fig 2, 38) and inserted by passing through an assembly hole (fig 2, 33) formed in the seat to perform a locking action, and a holding part extending in a direction of the wiring is added to the main body to support the wiring mounted on the ring part and supports the wiring to prevent sagging downward(fig 1, 12).
However, Benoit et al. does not disclose a vehicle wiring fixture used for mounting a wiring installed between a pillar A and a pillar trim.
Kim discloses a wiring harness (see wiring ring 24, ¶0046) installed between a pillar A 53 and a pillar trim 22 (figs. 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the vehicle wiring fixture of Benoit et al. be used for mounting between a pillar A and a pillar trim as similarly taught by Kim in order to provide wire harness routing along a pillar of a vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
Regarding dependent claim 2, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that disclosing wherein the holding part is provided with a guide that is forcibly fitted into a guide hole formed above the mounting hole into which a fixing part of the pillar trim is mounted by being forcibly inserted to support the wiring to prevent sagging downward. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Doshita (Pub. No. US 2014/0151116) discloses a wire harness being fixed to a vehicle using a fixing film having a ring portion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMOL H PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-7833. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30AM-6:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, TIMOTHY THOMPSON can be reached at (571) 272-2342. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AMOL H PATEL/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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