DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Applicant’s Preliminary Amendment, filed 12/12/2024, has been entered. Claims 8-14 are pending with claims 1-7 being currently cancelled (Preliminary Amendment) and claims 8-14 being currently added (Preliminary Amendment).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(l). The drawings must be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black (except for color drawings), sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined. The weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. This requirement applies to all lines however fine, to shading, and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views. Lines and strokes of different thicknesses may be used in the same drawing where different thicknesses have a different meaning.
The drawings do not have satisfactory reproduction characteristics. The drawings appear to be multi-generation copies The lighter figure lines, the leader lines, and many of the numbers appear digitized and thus not solid.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 8 (line 2), 11 (line 2), 13 (line 2), and 14 (line 5) each recite the phrase “in particular”. These recitations are indefinite as it is not clear what the phrase “in particular” includes or excludes (i.e. can other structure or shape, or coupling be used). It is not clear if the phrase “in particular is a requirement or a suggestion.
Claim 14, line 4, recites “particularly preferably”. This recitation is indefinite as it is not clear what the phrase “particularly preferably” means in terms of the metes and bounds of the claim. It is not clear if the phrase “particularly preferably” is a requirement or a suggestion.
Claims 12 and 14 recite the term “preferably”. These recitations are indefinite as it is not clear what the term “preferably” requires. It is not clear if the phrase “preferably” is a requirement or a suggestion and therefore, it is unclear if the limitations following the term preferably are necessary or not.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the strike plate" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears that perhaps claim 10 should depend from claim 9 and not claim 8.
Dependent claim 9 does not act to cure the deficiencies of parent claim 8 and are thereby rejected for at least the same rationale.
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 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 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Honing (US 20200317149).
Regarding claim 8: Honing discloses a bumper crossbeam 9, 10, for a motor vehicle (Fig. 5; [0002], [0029]). Honing discloses that the bumper crossbeam extends in the motor vehicle transverse direction and has a hollow profile 12 in cross section (Fig. 5; abstr.; [0001], [0002]). Honing discloses a cross section that is closed at least in longitudinal sections and that a reinforcement plate 13, 18 is inserted into a central longitudinal section (Fig.5; [0030]). Honing discloses that the reinforcement plate is coupled on one side in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle to a front wall 11 of the hollow profile and has a distance oriented in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle to a rear wall 16 of the hollow profile and the front wall in the region of the coupled point has a formation oriented in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle, which corresponds to at least 80% and less than 120% of the distance (Figs.5-6; [0030]).
Regarding claim 9: Honing discloses that the hollow profile is designed as a hat profile with a strike plate 1.1 (Figs. 5-6).
Regarding claim 10: Honing discloses that the strike plate is designed as a front wall of the hollow profile and is arranged pointing forward in the motor vehicle longitudinal direction (Figs. 5-6).
Regarding claim 11: Honing discloses that the reinforcement plate is profiled in cross section, in particular is U-shaped or V-shaped or is W-shaped (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 12: Honing discloses that the reinforcement plate extends in the transverse direction of the motor vehicle over a length between 10 and 50%, preferably between 20 and 40% of the length of the bumper crossbeam (Figs. 5-6).
Regarding claim 13: Honing discloses that the reinforcement plate is coupled, in particular welded, to the front wall in longitudinal sections (Fig. 6; [0008], [0027], [0031]).
Regarding claim 14: Honing discloses that the coupled wall has two outwardly curved beads oriented in the motor vehicle longitudinal direction, which extend in the motor vehicle transverse direction at least in the area of the reinforcement plate, preferably over at least 70%, preferably more than 80%, particularly preferably in the motor vehicle transverse direction of the length of the hollow profile, in particular extend overlapping the crash boxes at least in some sections (Figs. 5-6, 10).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TARAS P BEMKO whose telephone number is (571)270-1830. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 (EDT/EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Coy can be reached on 571-272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Taras P Bemko/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3672
7/7/2026
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