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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4 Dec 2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hervio et al (US 6883536).
Regarding Claim 1, Hervio et al disclose a gas tank structure (Figures 4-5; Col 1, lines 12-15). The structure comprising:
a plurality of gas tanks (20; Figure 1) arranged side by side in one direction in a state in which adjacent gas tanks are in contact with each other (Figure 1);
a plurality of lid-like members (32; Figure 4) provided in one-to-one correspondence with the gas tanks (Figure 4) and mounted at respective ends of the gas tanks (at both the front and back end shown in Figure 3), the lid-like members (32) each having a communication hole (see Annotated Figure A) communicating with an inside of a corresponding gas tank (shown in Figure 3) and a through hole (see Annotated Figure A) communicating with the communication hole and extending in a direction in which the gas tanks are arranged side by side (see Annotated Figure A);
a plurality of connection pipes (42; Figure 4) that connects adjacent lid-like members to each other with one end of the connection pipes inserted into the through hole of one of the lid-like members and another end of the connection pipes inserted into the through hole of another of the lid-like members (Figure 4); and
a seal member (46) provided at each of both ends of the connection pipes (Figure 5) to seal between the connection pipes and the lid-like members (Figure 5).
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Annotated Figure A – Hervio et al
Regarding Claim 2, Hervio et al disclose a gap (at 38a) is provided between adjacent lid-like members (Figures 4-5); and
the connection pipes (42) have a flange portion (44) that penetrates into the gap (Figure 5).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable as obvious over Hervio et al (US 6883536) in view of Mohan et al (US 20050134045).
Regarding Claim 3, Hervio et al disclose all essential elements of the current invention as discussed above but fails to expressly disclose a protruding portion that restricts a position of the connection pipes to be inserted is provided at a position facing the communication hole, of an inner peripheral wall of the lid-like members forming the through hole.
Mohan et al teach a connection pipe (8; see Annotated Figure B) with an inner peripheral wall (see Annotated Figure B) of the lid-like member forming the through hole (with Hervio et al disclosing the lid-like member 32 forming the through hole as shown in Annotated Figure A; with the equivalent structure of Mohan et al identified in Annotated Figure B) with a protruding portion (see Annotated Figure B) that restricts a position of the connection pipes (see Annotated Figure B) to be inserted (see Annotated Figure B) of an inner peripheral wall of the lid-like members forming the through hole (with Hervio et al disclosing the lid-like member 32 forming the through hole as shown in Annotated Figure A; with the equivalent structure of Mohan et al identified in Annotated Figure B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the connection pipe of Hervio et al with the protruding portion as taught by Mohan et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (the protruding portion of the inner peripheral wall of the lid like member) to yield predictable results (to secure and hold the connection pipe within the lid-like member).
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location of the protruding portion to be provided at a position facing the communication hole since rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. The motivation for doing so would be to secure the connection pipe to center and arrange the connection pipe with the gas tank and it’s communication hole.
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Annotated Figure B - Mohan et al
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the attached PTO-892 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 NICOLE GARDNER whose telephone number is (571)270-0144. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8AM-4PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, KENNETH RINEHART (571-272-4881) or CRAIG SCHNEIDER (571-272-3607) can be reached by telephone. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICOLE GARDNER/
Examiner, Art Unit 3753