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
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.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20230303180 A1 in view of JP 2005075263 A.
Regarding claim 1, US 20230303180 A1 discloses a vehicle rear structure (shown in Figure 3) comprising: a roof side rail (pair of roof side rails 11 in paragraph [0049] shown in Figure 1); a pillar (rear pillar 14 in paragraph [0051] as shown in Figure 1) extending in a vertical direction (shown in Figure 1) and including one end (flange 21d in paragraph [0065] shown in Figure 2) connected to a rear wheel house (rear wheel house 50 in paragraph [0065] shown in Figure 2) and another end connected to a portion forward of a rear end portion of the roof side rail (roof side rail 11 in paragraph [0051] shown in Figure 1); and a rear framework member (rear pillar inner 25 in paragraph [0057] shown in Figure 4) positioned on a vehicle rear side of the pillar (shown in Figure 4) and including one end (lower portion 25c in paragraph [0057] shown in Figure 4) connected to the rear wheel house (rear wheel house 50 in paragraph [0057] shown in Figure 5) and another end (top end 25f of the front portion 25a in paragraph [0058] shown in Figure 4) connected to the rear end portion of the roof side rail (rear end of roof side rail 11 in paragraph [0058]).
However, US 20230303180 A1 does not show a roof side rail having a closed sectional shape.
JP 2005075263 A teaches a roof side rail (1 shown in Figure 1) having a closed sectional shape (shown in Figure 1).
Regarding claim 1, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the roof side rail of US 20230303180 A1 having a closed sectional shape, as taught by JP 2005075263 A, with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide high torsional resistance and structural capacity.
Regarding claim 2, US 20230303180 A1, as modified, discloses the vehicle rear structure (shown in Figure 1 of US 20230303180 A1) according to claim 1, wherein the rear framework member (reinforcements 22 and 23 in paragraphs [0056] shown in Figures 1 and 2 of US 20230303180 A1) extends in the vertical direction (shown in Figure 1 of US 20230303180 A1).
Regarding claim 3, US 20230303180 A1, as modified, discloses the vehicle rear structure (shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1) according to claim 2, further comprising: a rear side member (rear side member 60 in paragraph [0053] shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1); a rear end (shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1) connected to a rear end portion (shown in Figure 3 of the rear side member (rear side member 60 in paragraph [0053] shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1); and a panel (“a side out panel maybe attached to cover the rear pillar inner 25 and the plurality of reinforcements 21, 22 and 23” in paragraph [0056] of US 20230303180 A1) positioned on the vehicle rear side (rear side member 60 in paragraph [0053] shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1) of the rear framework member (reinforcements 22 and 23 in paragraphs [0056] shown in Figures 1 and 2 of US 20230303180 A1) and connected to the rear framework member (reinforcements 22 and 23 in paragraphs [0056] shown in Figures 1 and 2 of US 20230303180 A1) of US 20230303180 A1) and the rear end (shown in Figure 3 of US 20230303180 A1).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Lori Lyjak whose telephone number is
571-272-6658. The Examiner can normally be reached from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.
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If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at 571-272-5109.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Lori Lyjak/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612B
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