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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, an upper end of the door side weather strip being in contact with the door outer parting seal when both the first door and the second door are closed must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim 9. No new matter should be entered. Additionally, a width of the door inner parting seal being formed to become smaller toward an end portion of the door inner parting seal in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim 10. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because the section lines should be labeled so as to indicate the figure which shows the view taken along the section line. For example, the section line I-I in figure 1 should be changed to --3-3-- or -III-III-- so as to indicate that figure 3 shows the view taken along the section line. Also see sections lines II-II through V-V. Note that the specification will need to be amended so as to agree with the drawing changes.
The drawings are objected to because figures 3-6, 9 and 11 require the proper cross sectional shading as set forth in MPEP 608.02(IX), the relevant portion of which has been reproduced below.
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Finally, the drawings are objected to because they fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(l) since the lines, numbers, and letters are not sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined as to give the drawings satisfactory reproduction characteristics. See the examples set forth in the annotated figure 11 below.
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Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: “20bof” on line 2 of paragraph 52 appears to be a typographical error.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because “is in contact with the second end of the first door” on lines 4-5 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear when the third end is in contact with the second end of the first door. Note that the third end of the second door only comes into contact with the second end of the first door when the first and second doors are closed.
Claim 2 is objected to because “the door inner parting seal a gap” on lines 3-4 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is grammatically incorrect. Is the applicant attempting to set forth that the door inner parting seal seals a gap?
Claim 2 is objected to because “the door inner parting” on line 5 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear whether or not the applicant is referring to the door inner parting seal set forth above.
Claim 3 is objected to because “a portion” on line 2 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear what element of the invention has the portion to which the applicant is referring.
Claim 6 is objected to because “an upper portion of the second door” on lines 3-4 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear how the upper portion of the second door differs from the upper end of the second door set forth on lines 2-3 of claim 6.
Claim 18 is objected to because “door” on line 2 appears to be a typographical error. Did the applicant mean to recite --doors--?
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-5, 10-13 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masumoto (US 8360504) in view of JP 4402550.
With respect to claim 1, Masumoto discloses a vehicle door with a sealing structure, the vehicle door comprising:
a first door 1 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), wherein the first end is hinge-connected, as shown in figure 7, to a vehicle (labeled below);
a second door 2 having a third end (labeled below) and a fourth end (labeled below), wherein the third end is in contact with the second end of the first door 1, as shown in figure 9, and the fourth end is hinge-connected to the vehicle as shown in figure 7;
a door side weather strip 11 (fig. 9) installed on the first door 1 and in contact with the third end (labeled below) of the second door 2; and
a door inner parting seal 20 installed on the second door 2 and in contact with the first door 1, wherein the door inner parting seal 20 is positioned more inside the vehicle than the door side weather strip 11 as shown in figure 9.
Masumoto is silent concerning a door outer parting seal.
However, JP 4402550 discloses a door outer parting seal 11 installed on a second door 1 (note the second door 1 of JP 4402550 is the rear door just like the rear door 2 of Masumoto), wherein the door outer parting seal 11 is adjacent to and in contact with an outer surface of a first door 2 (note that the parting seal 11 is in contact with the hem of the door 2 which forms the outer surface of the door 2; wherein a door side weather strip 20 is positioned more inside the vehicle than the door outer parting seal 11 as shown in figure 6.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Masumoto with a door outer parting seal, as taught by JP 4402550, with a reasonable expectation of success to help prevent air, water and debris from passing between the front and rear doors of the vehicle.
With respect to claim 2, Masumoto, as modified above, discloses that when both the first door 1 and the second door 2 are closed, the door outer parting seal 11, the door side weather strip 11, and the door inner parting seal 20 a gap (labeled below) between the second end of the first door 1 and the third end of the second door 2, and the door outer parting seal 11 (from JP 4402550), the door side weather strip 11, and the door inner parting 20 are positioned sequentially from the outside to the inside of the vehicle with intervals.
With respect to claim 3, Masumoto, as modified above, discloses that when both the first door 1 and the second door 2 are closed, the door outer parting seal 11 (from JP 4402550) is in contact with a portion adjacent to an outer end portion of the first door 1 as shown in figure 6 of JP 4402550.
With respect to claim 4, Matsumoto discloses that a portion (labeled below) of the second door 2 in contact with the door side weather strip 11 is formed convexly toward the door side weather strip 11 as shown in figure 9 of Matsumoto.
With respect to claim 5, Matsumoto discloses that a portion (labeled below) of the first door 1 in contact with the door inner parting seal 20 is formed convexly toward the door inner parting seal 20 as shown in figure 9 of Matsumoto.
With respect to claim 10, Matsumoto discloses that a width of the door inner parting seal 20 is formed to become smaller, as shown in figure 10 below, toward an end portion of the door inner parting seal 20 in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
With respect to claim 11, Matsumoto, as modified above, discloses that the door outer parting seal 11 (from JP 4402550) and the door inner parting seal 20 are formed convexly toward the first door 1 as shown in figure 6 of JP 4402550 and figure 9 of Matsumoto, the door side weather strip 11 is formed convexly toward the second door 2 as shown in figure 9 of Matsumoto, and when the first door 1 and the second door 2 are closed, the door outer parting seal 11 (from JP 4402550), the door side weather strip 11, and the door inner parting seal 20 are deformed to seal a gap (labeled below) between the first door 1 and the second door 2.
With respect to claim 12, Matsumoto discloses that a cross section of the second end of the first door 1 is formed to move away from the fourth end of the second door 2 toward the inside of the vehicle, and a cross section of the third end of the second door 2 is formed to be closer to the first end of the first door 1 toward the inside of the vehicle as shown in figure 9 of Matsumoto.
With respect to claim 13, Matsumoto discloses that a drainage guide groove (labeled below) guiding moisture to flow downward between the door inner parting seal 20 and the door side weather strip 11 is formed in an upper portion of the door inner parting seal as shown in figure 10 annotated below.
With respect to claim 18, Matsumoto discloses that the vehicle door is a coach door in which the first 1 and second door 2 are opened and closed in opposite directions to each other as shown in figure 7 of Matsumoto.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view of JP 6194904. JP 6194904 discloses a door inner parting seal 31 (figs. 1 and 6) formed to have an interval with a door outer parting seal 33 (figs. 1 and 6) within a predetermined distance to an upper end of a second door 10 (fig. 1), wherein the interval (labeled below) becomes smaller toward an upper portion of the second door 10.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Matsumoto, as modified above, with a decreasing interval, as taught by JP 6194904, with a reasonable expectation of success to position both the outer parting seal and the inner parting seal at the upper portion of the second door while accommodating the reduced size of the upper portion of the door.
With respect to claim 7, Matsumoto, as modified above, discloses that the door inner parting seal 20 converges into the door outer parting seal 11 (of JP 4402550) at the upper end of the second door. Note that the seals 31 and 33 of JP 6194904 converge as shown in figure 1 of JP 6194904. Additionally, the examiner is interpreting the term “converges into”, as set forth in claim 7, as to not require contact between the door inner parting seal and the door outer parting seal. As long as the door inner parting seal and the door outer parting seal converge towards one another, the door inner parting seal and the door outer parting seal converge “into” one another.
With respect to claim 8, Matsumoto discloses that when both the first door 1 and the second door 2 are closed, an upper end of the door inner parting seal 20 is in contact with the door side weather strip 11 as shown in figure 10 of Matsumoto annotated below.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view of Kamitani et al. Kamitani et al. discloses a door outer parting seal 10 (figs. 1 and 2) comprising an anti-pinch sensor installation groove 12 in which an anti-pinch sensor S is installed is formed inside the door outer parting seal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Matsumoto, as modified above, with an installation groove and an anti-pinch sensor, as taught by Kamitani et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to prevent a person’s body part becoming trapped by the door as the door is closing.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view of Brancaleone et al. (US 7325859). Brancaleone et al. discloses a vehicle body panel 20 (fig. 3) of a vehicle (shown in figure 1 and set forth as element 10 on line 14 of column 2) in contact with an upper end 50 of a first door 12 (fig. 1) and an upper end (not numbered, but shown in figure 1) of a second door (not numbered, but comprising the rear door as shown in figure 1) has a constant cross section, as shown in figures 1 and 3, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle for at least a length of the vehicle body panel.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Matsumoto, as modified above, with a vehicle body panel in contact with an upper end of the first door and an upper end of the second door having a constant cross section, as taught by Brancaleone et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to help prevent air, water and debris from passing between the front and rear doors of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view of Brancaleone et al. (US 7325859). Brancaleone et al. discloses an upper end of a door 12, as shown in figure 3, sealed by: a glass run 26 supporting a door glass 14; a door side weather strip 40 installed on a door panel 50; and a body side weather strip 41 installed on a vehicle body panel 20 and in contact with an inner cover 30 fitted into the door panel.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide both doors of Matsumoto, as modified above, with an upper door sealing structure, as taught by Brancaleone et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to help prevent air, water and debris from passing between the front and rear doors of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle and to help prevent air, water and debris from passing between the door glass and the frames of the doors.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view of Ryu et al. (US 2015/0231954). Ryu et al. discloses a first door 10 (fig. 2) wherein lower ends of the first door 10 are sealed by: a body side weather strip (labeled below) installed on a vehicle body panel (labeled below) and in contact with a door trim (labeled below); a door side weather strip (labeled below) installed on a door panel (labeled below) and in contact with the vehicle body panel (labeled below); and a lower seal 22 installed at a lower end of the vehicle body panel and in contact with the first door.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the first and second doors of Matsumoto, as modified above, a lower sealing configuration, as taught by Ryu et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to help prevent air, water and debris from passing between the front and rear doors of the vehicle and the interior of the vehicle body.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view George et al. (US 2003/0204999). Matsumoto discloses that the first door 1 is a front door, as shown in figure 7, having a front end (labeled below as “first end”) hinge connected to the vehicle (labeled below), and the second door 2 is a rear door, as shown in figure 7, having a rear end (labeled below as “fourth end”) hinge-connected to the vehicle body.
Matsumoto, as modified above, is silent concerning the second door/rear door being hinge-connected to rotate after sliding.
However, George et al. discloses a rear door 4 being hinge connected to rotate about the hinge 3 after sliding from the position in figure 3 to the position in figure 2 as the door is closed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to mount the rear door of Matsumoto, as modified above, to pivot and slide, as taught by George et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to reduce the amount of lateral space required when the rear door is in the open position.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto in view of JP 4402550 as applied to claims 1-5, 10-13 and 18 above, and further in view George et al. (US 2003/0204999). Matsumoto discloses that the first door 1 is a front door, as shown in figure 7, having a front end (labeled below as “first end”) hinge connected to the vehicle (labeled below), and the second door 2 is a rear door, as shown in figure 7, having a rear end (labeled below as “fourth end”) hinge-connected to the vehicle body.
Matsumoto, as modified above, is silent concerning the first door/front door being hinge-connected to rotate after sliding.
However, George et al. discloses a door 4 being hinge connected to rotate about the hinge 3 after sliding from the position in figure 3 to the position in figure 2 as the door is closed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to mount the front door of Matsumoto, as modified above, to pivot and slide, as taught by George et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to reduce the amount of lateral space required when the front door is in the open position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 would be allowable if rewritten to include 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: the prior art of record, absent applicant’s own disclosure, fails to teach the entire combination of elements set forth in the claimed invention. Specifically, the prior art of record fails to teach that when both the first door and the second door are closed, an upper end of the door side weather strip is in contact with the door outer parting seal.
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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 GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY J STRIMBU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634