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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 10,646,911 to Alpen et al (Alpen).
Concerning claim 1, Alpen discloses a manufacturing method of a press-formed product including: a plate-shaped portion with a recessed part recessed in a first thickness direction of the plate-shaped portion; and a wall portion extending from an edge of the plate-shaped portion in a direction intersecting with the plate-shaped portion, the manufacturing method comprising:
clamping a blank (M) having a plate shape by and between a first clamping structure (160) and a second clamping structure (140), the first clamping structure (160) being on a first side in a second thickness direction, which is a thickness direction of the blank (M), the second clamping structure (140) being on a second side opposite the first side in the second thickness direction with respect to the blank;
forming the wall portion (E1 in the figure reproduced below) in the blank by performing press-forming on the blank (figure 1B, 1C) clamped by and between the first clamping structure (140) and the second clamping structure (160), the press-forming being performed by moving at least one of a first die (120) located on the first side with respect to the blank or a clamping/clamped body, which is a collection including the first clamping structure (160), the second clamping structure (140), the blank (M), and a second die (110), in a pressing direction that is parallel to the second thickness direction and that allows the first die to relatively come closer to the blank, the second die (110) being located on the second side with respect to the blank; and
forming the plate-shaped portion with the recessed part (E2 in the figure reproduced below) in the blank by performing press-forming on the blank (M) that is in the process of having the wall portion formed therein (figures 1B and 1C), the press-forming being performed by further moving the at least one of the first die (120) or the clamping/clamped body in the pressing direction so as to allow the first die and the second die to come closer to each other.
Concerning claim 2, Alpen discloses wherein the forming the wall portion (E1) in the blank includes forming the wall portion by moving the first die (120) in the pressing direction, and wherein the forming the plate-shaped portion with the recessed part (E2) in the blank includes forming the plate-shaped portion by further moving the first die (120) in the pressing direction so that the recessed part is formed in the blank by the first die (at 151) and the second die (at 131) coming closer to each other.
Concerning claim 3, Alpen discloses wherein the plate-shaped portion (M) includes a first recessed part (E2) as the recessed part and a second recessed part (E3 in the figure reproduced below) recessed more shallowly in the first thickness direction than the first recessed part (E2), and wherein the clamping the blank includes clamping the blank by and between the first clamping structure (160) and the second clamping structure (140) to thereby form the second recessed part in the blank.
Concerning claim 4, Alpen discloses wherein the clamping the blank includes clamping the blank by and between the first clamping structure (160) and the second clamping structure (140) at at least two points apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the second thickness direction, wherein the at least two points include a first point and a second point, and wherein the forming the plate-shaped portion includes forming the recessed part in the blank by moving at least one of the first die or the second die such that a part of the at least one of the first die or the second die passes through in between the first point and the second point.
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpen in view of U.S. Patent No. 10,213,819 to Ito et al (Ito).
Concerning claim 5, Alpen does not disclose the specific material being used for the blank.
Ito discloses a similar method wherein the blank is formed of a high tensile strength steel sheet (abstract).
It would have been obvious to the skilled artisan at the time of the invention to apply the method of Alpen to a blank formed of a high tensile strength steel sheet as such determination would result during routine engineering practices and experimentation. Accordingly, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. See In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). As seen in Ito it is well known to press form high tensile strength steel sheets for automotive body structures to lighten the body structure while increasing its strength (column 1, lines 11-16).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The other art cited disclose other similar methods known in the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Matthew Katcoff whose telephone number is (571)270-1415. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 8-4, Fri: Flex.
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/Matthew Katcoff/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3725 07/24/2026
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