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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “extension portion constitutes a portion of the vehicle body” in claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the written description includes several incidences where elements of the drawings are placed in quotation marks. In some incidences the elements in quotations are alone, while others are followed by modifiers, essentially calling a single element by multiple names.
Examples of the quotations alone are at least: paragraph [0020], line 1 – “vehicle 10”; paragraph [0021], line 1 – “vehicle body 11”; paragraph [0030] lines 1-2 – “dash panel 20” and an “instrument panel reinforcement 24”; and paragraph [0035], lines 1-3 – a “steering device 36,” the “driver’s seat S” and … a “steering column 34”; paragraph [0040], line 3 – “knee airbag device 40”. Examples of the quoted elements being redefined are at least: paragraph [0028], lines 4-5 – “front pillar portion 11A” as the front pillar portion on the left side of the vehicle width direction; paragraph [0028], lines 6-7 – “the front pillar portion 11B” as the second pillar portion on the right side of the vehicle width direction; paragraph [0030], line 1 – a “cowl portion 22” as a cowl skeleton portion; and paragraph [0034] - a "support portion 24A" as a first support portion, an "extension portion 24B" as a second support portion, an "extension portion 24C" as a third support portion, an “extension portion 24D" as a fourth support portion, an "extension portion 24E", and "support portions 24F" as fifth support portions.
The sections cited above are not a complete list of instances of the quotation marks being used. Examiner suggests the Applicant review the written description for all incidences. The use of the quotation marks is unclear, and does not appear to add anything other than creating a lack of clarity. Examiner suggests deleting the quotation marks on the elements that are not redefined, and also properly defining the other elements without having to redefine the elements.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites “an extension portion that extends from the first support portion to an opposite side to the fourth support portion.” The language is unclear, and Examiner is not sure where the support portion extends from and to. From the specification, it appears that the extension portion extends from the first support portion to a side opposite the fourth portion in a vehicle width direction. Examiner suggests clarifying the language.
Claim 4 is rejected due to its dependence from claim 3.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 11,001,303 to Kong.
Regarding claim 1, Kong discloses a steering device support structure (100) comprising an instrument panel reinforcement, wherein the instrument panel reinforcement (see col. 2, lines 41-44) includes: a first support portion (141) that supports a steering column arranged on a vehicle front side of a driver's seat of a battery electric vehicle (see col. 3, lines 8-19); a second support portion (140) integrally provided with the first support portion (see Figure 1) and supported by a vehicle body of the battery electric vehicle on a vehicle upper side of the first support portion (see col. 7, lines 1-13); a third support portion (120) integrally provided with the first support portion and supported by the vehicle body on a vehicle lower side of the first support portion (see at least Figure 2); and a fourth support portion (180) integrally provided with the first support portion and supported by the vehicle body on a vehicle width direction outer side of the first support portion (see at least Figure 2).
Regarding claim 2, Kong discloses the instrument panel reinforcement is made of resin (see col. 4, lines 29-45 describing the use of various resin materials).
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, 3, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korean Patent 10-1990468 to Lee.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a steering device support structure (10) comprising an instrument panel reinforcement (see Figure 1), wherein the instrument panel reinforcement includes: a first support portion (near 200B in Figure 1) that supports a steering column (see steering column in Figure 6 and attachment to 10) arranged on a vehicle front side of a driver's seat of a vehicle; a second support portion (200A) integrally provided with the first support portion (200B) and supported by a vehicle body of the vehicle on a vehicle upper side of the first support portion (200B; see at least Figures 1, 3, and 7 showing attachments); a third support portion (300) integrally provided with the first support portion (200B) and supported by the vehicle body on a vehicle lower side of the first support portion (see at least Figures 1 and 2); and a fourth support portion (150) integrally provided with the first support portion and supported by the vehicle body on a vehicle width direction outer side of the first support portion (see at least Figure 2, connected to vehicle with 151).
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses the instrument panel reinforcement further includes an extension portion (110) that extends from the first support portion (200B) to an opposite side to the fourth support portion (150) and is supported by the vehicle body (see at least Figure 1), and wherein an airbag device (see at least paragraph 5 on page 5 of attached English translation) is supported by a fifth support portion (see near N1 in Figure 3) extended from the first support portion (200B).
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses the second support portion (200A) is supported by a cowl skeleton portion (see Figure 3 showing bolts to attach to vehicle structure) that constitutes a portion of the vehicle body, wherein the third support portion (300) is supported by a dash panel that constitutes a portion of the vehicle body (see at least paragraph 3 of page 4), wherein the fourth support portion (150) is supported by a first pillar portion that constitutes a portion of the vehicle body (see at least Figure 4 and paragraph 6 on page 4), and wherein the extension portion (110) constitutes a portion of the vehicle body (all part of vehicle; see at least Figure 1) and is supported by a second pillar portion (see end on right side of Figure 1) positioned on an opposite side to the first pillar portion in a vehicle width direction (supported by pillar of vehicle near 150 on right of Figure 1).
However, Lee fails to disclose the vehicle is a battery electric vehicle.
Kong is discussed above and is an instrument panel support structure (100) that supports a steering wheel (attaching at 140) for various types of vehicles including at least an electric battery vehicle (see at least col. 3, lines 8-19).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have used the instrument panel of Lee on an electric vehicle as disclosed in Kong with a reasonable expectation of success as it would be logical substitution to use the support on various types of vehicles. The combination would yield predictable results.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited on PTO-892 all relate to various configurations of instrument panel support structures.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tiffany L. Webb whose telephone number is (571)272-3950. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:30-5.
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, Jason Shanske can be reached at 571-270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/T.L.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3614
/JASON D SHANSKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3614
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