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
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 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, 2, 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipate by IMAI et al. (CN 107074186; for the rest of this action all citations will be with reference to corresponding English application US 2017/0210333). IMAI et al. discloses a gas generator comprising: a cylindrical housing main body (10) that contains a combustion chamber (S1) where a gas generating agent (60) is accommodated; a holder (31, 33) assembled to an opening end in an axial direction of the housing main body: an igniter (32) including an ignition portion including a squib cup where an ignition agent is loaded and a terminal pin connected to the ignition portion, the igniter being held by the holder while the ignition portion is located on a side of the combustion chamber and the terminal pin is located opposite to the side of the combustion chamber; and a restriction portion (62) that restricts a degree of opening of the squib cup in cleavage of the squib cup at time of activation of the igniter, wherein the restriction portion is formed from a coil spring accommodated in the combustion chamber to surround the ignition portion at an end on a side of the holder such that one end abuts on the holder and/or the igniter and the other end abuts on the gas generating agent (Fig. 12).
Claim 2. The gas generator according to claim 1, wherein the end of the coil spring on the side of the holder is in contact with the ignition portion or arranged in proximity to the ignition portion at a prescribed clearance. (Fig. 12)
Claim 4. The gas generator according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring elastically biases the gas generating agent toward a side opposite to a side of the igniter. (Fig. 12)
Claim 5. The gas generator according to claim 4, wherein a pressing portion (62b) that presses the gas generating agent is provided at the other end of the coil spring.
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over IMAI et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Riley et al. (US 5,636,865). IMAI et al. discloses the claimed gas generator including a portion of the coil spring that surrounds the ignition portion is cylindrical but does not disclose wherein the coil spring increases in diameter along the axial direction of the housing main body with distance from the ignition portion, however Riley et al. does. Riley et al. teaches a coil spring that surrounds an ignition portion wherein the coil spring increases in diameter along the axial direction of the housing main body with distance from the ignition portion (Fig. 2) The claim would have been obvious because the substitution of one known element for another would have yielded the predictable results of firmly pressing the spring between the gas generating material and the holder.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Applicant's submission of an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the timing fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) on 3/9/26 prompted the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 609.04(b). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE CLEMENT whose telephone number is (571)272-6884. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Troy Chambers can be reached at 571.272.6874. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHELLE CLEMENT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
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