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.
Claim(s) 1 – 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rawlinson et al. (US 8,336,658 B).
As for claim 1, Rawlinson et al. disclose a vehicle lower part structure comprising: a battery case (101) disposed on a vehicle lower side of a floor panel (403); a battery supporting portion supporting the battery case; (Fig. 13) and an anchor member (1105) mounted to a vehicle upper side of the battery supporting portion in a side view.
As for claim 2, Rawlinson et al. disclose the battery supporting portion includes the floor panel (403), and a framework member (1102) mounted to the floor panel; and the battery supporting portion has a closed cross-section structure made up of the floor panel and the framework member in a side view (Fig. 13).
As for claim 3, Rawlinson et al. disclose the battery supporting portion and the battery case coupled to each other by a pair of support members (1201, 1203, 1205, 1209); and a rigid-framed structure is provided by the battery supporting portion, the pair of support members, and the battery case.
As for claim 4, Rawlinson et al. disclose the anchor member mounted to the vehicle upper side of the battery supporting portion by a fastening member (1301).
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 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rawlinson et al. (US 8,336,658 B) alone.
As for claim 5, Rawlinson et al. teach that a seatbelt anchor may be mounted to the battery support portion (see column 7, lines 33 – 38). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to mount the anchor by a fastener. Rawlinson et al. alternately disclose that the seatbelt anchor may be attached to the seat mounting assembly (1105), which would result in the seatbelt anchor being indirectly attached to the battery support portion by the fastener (1301).
As for claim 6, Rawlinson et al. do not explicitly disclose a seatbelt anchor for a rear seat. However, Rawlinson et al. disclose a battery supporting portion (1103) to which a rear seat is attached. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to attach rear seatbelt anchors in the same way as disclosed for the front seatbelt anchors.
Conclusion
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 Katy M Ebner whose telephone number is (571)272-5830. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, J. Allen Shriver can be reached at (303)297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Katy M Ebner/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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