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
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 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US11446998 to Kodama et al. (hereinafter referred to as Kodama) in view of JPH1086771 to Nakagawa.
Regarding claim 1, Kodama discloses
A vehicle rear structure, comprising:
a battery disposed under a deck board constituting a floor of a rear luggage room in a vehicle; (high voltage component 100 under trunk board 82, see Fig. 7)
[AltContent: textbox (Figure 7 of Kodama)]
PNG
media_image1.png
599
588
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a rear cross member which is disposed at a rear side of the battery and extends along the vehicle width direction; (rear cross member 6 “extending in the vehicle width direction”, see column 7 lines 19-20 and Fig. 7) and
a support member which is disposed at a rear side of the rear cross member and configured to support the deck board, (rear-side bracket 120; top of rear-side bracket 120 supporting left side molded tray 81 which trunk board 82 rests on, see Figs. 6-7)
[AltContent: textbox (Figure 6 of Kodama)]
PNG
media_image2.png
626
627
media_image2.png
Greyscale
the structure has a portion located directly behind the battery, and a distance is secured in the vehicle longitudinal direction between the front end of the portion and the rear end of the battery, to prevent interference of the portion with the battery even when the support member is pushed forward due to a rear-end collision to a location where the support member contacts a rear surface of the rear cross member. (distance between body-side fixing portion 132 of rear-side bracket 120 and rear of high voltage component 100; “rear-side bracket 120…is integrally formed of: a component-side fixing portion 131…and vehicle body-side fixing portions 132”, see annotated Fig. 7 and column 12 lines 23-29)
PNG
media_image3.png
598
587
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Annotated Figure 7 of Kodama
However, Kodama does not appear to expressly disclose
wherein the support member has a structure comprising a plurality of vertical ribs extending in both the vertical direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction and a plurality of horizontal ribs extending in both the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction, the plurality of vertical ribs intersecting the plurality of horizontal ribs in a forward part of the support member
Nakagawa, reasonably pertinent to the problem of requiring impact absorbing automobile structures, discloses a resin lattice structure designed for energy absorption in the panel of a pillar of a vehicle body.
Specifically, Nakagawa teaches
wherein the support member has a structure comprising a plurality of vertical ribs extending in both the vertical direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction and a plurality of horizontal ribs extending in both the vehicle width direction and the vehicle longitudinal direction, the plurality of vertical ribs intersecting the plurality of horizontal ribs in a forward part of the support member; (“The energy absorbing member is formed in a lattice shape by a plurality of vertical ribs extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of the structural member and a plurality of horizontal ribs extending in a direction intersecting the vertical ribs,” see Para. [0006] and Fig. 2)
PNG
media_image4.png
267
305
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Figure 2 of Nakagawa
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention to have modified the rear-side bracket as disclosed by Kodama with the intersecting lattice structure taught by Nakagawa to provide an additional crumple zone to protect essential vehicle components and passengers.
Regarding claim 3, Kodama further discloses:
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 1, wherein
a portion of the support member is designed to contact an upper surface of the rear cross member for allowing the support member to be supported by the rear cross member. (vehicle body-side fixing portion 132 of rear-side bracket 120 for fixing rear-side bracket to upper surface of rear cross member 6 through fastening bolt 104, see Fig. 7)
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US11446998 to Kodama et al. (hereinafter referred to as Kodama) in view of JPH1086771 to Nakagawa as applied to claim 1 above in further view of JP2020199956 to Hirakawa et al. (hereinafter referred to as Hirakawa).
Regarding claim 2, the previous combination of Kodama and Nakagawa does not teach:
wherein the structure is formed such that the front end of the portion of the structure located directly behind the battery is rearwardly recessed relative to the front end of another portion that is not located directly behind the battery.
Hirakawa, in the same field of vehicle rear structures, discloses a rear structure of a vehicle for preventing damage to a battery in a rear end collision.
Specifically, Hirakawa teaches
wherein the structure is formed such that the front end of the portion of the structure located directly behind the battery is rearwardly recessed relative to the front end of another portion that is not located directly behind the battery. (rear support member 120 with rearwardly recessed bridge member 140, see Fig. 13)
PNG
media_image5.png
429
946
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Figure 13 of Hirakawa
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention to have modified the rear-side bracket as disclosed by the previous combination of Kodama and Nakagawa with the rearwardly recessed bridge member taught by Hirakawa to increase the rigidity of the bracket.
Regarding claim 4, Kodama further discloses:
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 2, wherein
a portion of the support member is designed to contact an upper surface of the rear cross member for allowing the support member to be supported by the rear cross member. (body-side fixing portion 132 of rear-side bracket 120 for fixing rear-side bracket to upper surface of rear cross member 6 through fastening bolt 104, see Fig. 7)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nomura et al. (US9956861) discloses a battery positioned under a floor panel in a vehicle rear framework. Saeki (US11420509) discloses a battery pack mounted under a rear seat. Shiromura et al. (US9308805) discloses a battery protection vehicle rear structure. Fukazu et al. (US7688582) discloses a power supply unit disposed below a floor behind a vehicle seat. Kubota et al. (US20110011654) discloses a battery disposed underneath a floor of a vehicle luggage compartment.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COOPER W KELLOGG whose telephone number is (571)272-0279. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET, alternate Fridays off.
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, 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/C.W.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3612
/VIVEK D KOPPIKAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3612
October 5, 2026
Prosecution Insights