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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 – 3 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/01/2025 and 07//17/2025 were filed before the first office action. The submission is 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.
Claims 1 – 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stahlhut et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0098556 A1).
Regarding Independent Claim 1, Stahlhut discloses a wiper device (wiper arm assembly, 10) comprising: an arm head (mounting head, 12) fixed to a swing shaft (via opening, 24; Paragraph [0023]); an arm shank (wiper arm, 14) having a base end side (right side in Fig. 1) rotatably mounted to the arm head (12); and a wiper blade mounted to a tip side (end, 42) of the arm shank (14) and wiping a wiping surface (Paragraph [0025]), wherein the arm head (12) comprises: a pair of head-side sidewall parts (sidewalls, 26 and 27; Fig. 6) respectively oriented toward one side and the other side in a wiping direction of the wiper blade a (Fig. 5); a head-side linkage part (axle, 30) provided between the pair of head-side sidewall parts (26 and 27; Fig. 6) and extending in the wiping direction of the wiper blade (Fig. 5); and a first head-side abutment surface (locking member, 38) and a second head-side abutment surface (cylindrical bearing surface, 31) each provided at the pair of head-side sidewall parts (26 and 27; Fig. 6) and respectively disposed on two sides of the head- side linkage part (30) in a long-side direction of the arm head (12: Figs. 5 and 6), and the arm shank (14) comprises: a pair of shank-side sidewall parts (side walls, 48 and 49; Fig. 5) respectively oriented toward one side (side of 48; Fig. 5) and the other side (side of 49; Fig. 5) in the wiping direction of the wiper blade (Fig. 5) and respectively opposed to the pair of head-side sidewall parts (26 and 27; Fig. 5); a shank-side linkage part (seating surface, 56; Fig. 8) provided between the pair of shank-side sidewall parts (48 and 49; Fig. 5), extending in the wiping direction of the wiper blade (Annotated. Fig. 4 and Figs. 5 and 8), and linked to the head-side linkage part (30); and a first shank-side abutment surface (ribs, 51; Fig. 8 – side of 48) and a second shank-side abutment surface (ribs, 51; Fig. 8 – side of 49) each provided at the pair of shank-side sidewall parts (48 and 49; Fig. 5), respectively disposed on two sides of the shank- side linkage part (seating surface, 56; Fig. 8) in a long-side direction of the arm shank 14), and respectively abutted against the first head-side abutment surface (38) and the second head-side abutment surface (31) in the wiping direction of the wiper blade (Paragraph [0025]).
Regarding Claim 2, Stahlhut discloses the wiper device (wiper arm assembly, 10) wherein the first shank-side abutment surface (ribs, 51; Fig. 8 – side of 48) and the second shank-side abutment surface (ribs, 51; Fig. 8 – side of 49) are respectively provided at a first protrusion and a second protrusion (ribs; Figs. 7 and 8) which protrude from the shank- side sidewall part (48 and 49) toward the head-side sidewall part (26 and 27; Figs. 5 and 7 – 8).
Regarding Claim 3, Stahlhut discloses the wiper device (wiper arm assembly, 10) wherein the first head-side abutment surface (38) is disposed between the head-side linkage part (30) and the wiper blade in the long-side direction of the arm head (12), and at least a part of the first head-side abutment (38) surface on a wiper blade side is disposed at a position farther from the wiping surface than the second head-side abutment surface (38 – in an assembled position, the locking member, 38 is rotated to insert into pocket, 54, thus surface 38 is further away from the wiping surface than 31 as shown in Fig. 4).
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Conclusion
Art made of record, however, not relied upon for the current rejection is as follows: JP 5645284 B1 to Ouchi teaches a wiper arm (1) has a head cover (4) for covering sides of an arm head (2). An engagement protrusion (19) is extended alongside wall (23) of the head cover and arranged in a side wall of the arm head. The engagement protrusion fits with a protrusion engaging part (27). The protrusion engaging part is formed with an opening part, which surrounds outer periphery of the engagement protrusion. A step part i.e. level difference part (18), is arranged in an edge part of a hollow part i.e. recessed part (17). The engagement protrusion is equipped with an inclination part (19A).
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Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Monica Carter whose telephone number is (571) 272- 4475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday Friday, 8 a.m. 5 p.m. ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Marivelisse Santiago Cordero can be reached at 571-272-7839. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MONICA S CARTER/
Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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