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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mu (US 2024/0157877 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Mu discloses an automatically resettable rearview mirror convenient to assemble (Figs. 1-4), comprising:
a mirror housing (paras 22 and 24 “mirror housing 1”),
a first connecting member (paras 22 and 24 “connecting groove 3”),
a second connecting member (paras 22 and 24 “resetting mechanism 4”), and
a clamping mechanism (paras 22 and 24 “mounting portion 6”),
wherein a side edge of the mirror housing is connected to the first connecting member (Fig. 2, see 1 and 3 are connected),
the first connecting member (3) and the second connecting member (4) are vertically connected through a resetting mechanism (Fig. 2 and para 22 “41, resetting housing; 42, hollow rod; 421, sector notch; 43, protruding block; 431, second through hole; 432, sector block; 433, sliding groove; 44, groove, 45, first spring; 46, first screw rod; 47”),
the resetting mechanism enables the first connecting member to perform circumferential resetting on the second connecting member (4) so as to restore an original included angle between the mirror housing (1) and a vehicle body (para 24 “… after collision, the mirror housing 1 is driven to be automatically reset by resetting force of the flexible member. The resetting housing 41 is transversely connected to a rotating mechanism 5, such that the mirror housing 1 and the resetting mechanism 4 may rotate in an axial direction of the rotating mechanism 5 to form visual angles of different angles”), and
the clamping mechanism (6) is rotationally connected to a side surface of the second connecting member (4).
However, the prior art is silent on whether the clamping mechanism is rotationally connected to a side surface of the second connecting member by 360°.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date make the clamping mechanism that is rotationally connected to a side surface of the second connecting member by 360° for the purpose of obtaining excellent breakaway and vibration mitigation, if the mirror is bumped accidentally such as during cleaning or sudden braking, the clamping member rotates smoothly around the joint rather than snapping the rigid mounting arm.
Regarding claim 2, the automatically resettable rearview mirror convenient to assemble
according to claim 1, wherein the second connecting member comprises a connecting housing (Fig. 2, “resetting housing 41”), the connecting housing (41) is vertically provided with a through hole (Fig. 4 and column 25 “second through hole 431”), a side wall of the through hole extends outwards to form a limiting step (Fig. 4 and para 25 “protruding block 43”), and a lower end surface of the limiting step is uneven (Fig. 4 and para 27 “a plurality of sector blocks 432 are arranged at the positions, corresponding to the sector notches 421, in the second through hole 431, and the sector blocks 432 gradually become small from a bottom to a top. Moreover, sliding grooves 433 are symmetrically provided in a side wall of the second through hole 431”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims are allowable at least for the reason that the prior art does not teach or reasonably suggest wherein a lower splicing block extends transversely from a lower end of the side wall of the connecting housing, the lower splicing block is provided with a lower arc groove, an upper end surface of the lower splicing block is detachably connected to an upper splicing block, the upper splicing block is provided with an upper arc groove, and the upper arc groove and the lower arc groove are spliced to form a spherical groove in an enclosed manner as set forth in the claimed combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Olson (US 2024/0092266 A1) discloses a rearview mirror having a clamping mechanism.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUNCHA P CHERRY whose telephone number is (571)272-2310. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 7am to 3:30pm.
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, Pinping Sun can be reached at (571) 270-1284. 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.
9/14/2026
/EUNCHA P CHERRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
Prosecution Insights