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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 31 October 2025, in which claims 1, 7, 12, 13, and 19 were amended and claims 2, 8, 15-18, and 20 were canceled, has been entered.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimers filed on 31 October 2025 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent Nos. 11,235,730 and 12,221,054 have been reviewed and are accepted. The terminal disclaimers have been recorded.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Examiner suggests changing “a headliner” to --the headliner--, and changing “a vehicle” to --the vehicle-- (lines 1-2), since these features have already been set forth in preceding claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 3-7, 10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ruedisueli et al. (US 9,004,525). Ruedisueli et al discloses an extruded airbag ramp (#200), comprising:
(claim 1) a plurality of materials, wherein at least one of the materials is a hard material for a structural portion (support portion #205) of the extruded airbag ramp and at least one of another of the materials is a tear-resistant material providing at least one attachment portion (fastening portion #224 and/or deployment member #220) suitable to operably sew the extruded airbag ramp to another predetermined part, wherein the predetermined part is a headliner (#300) of a vehicle (#12) or a panel (such as, support clip #120, roof rail #100, and/or inflatable curtain #14) of the vehicle (has the ability to operably, or indirectly, attach ramp #200 to headliner #300, support clip #120, roof rail #100, and inflatable curtain #14, at least in part by sewing ramp #200 to inflatable curtain #14; column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60; column 6, lines 57-59);
(claim 3) wherein the part is a headliner (#300) for a vehicle (#12; while not directly connected, ramp #200 is operably attached to headliner #300, at least in part by sewing ramp #200 to inflatable curtain #14; column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60; column 6, lines 57-59; figures 3-5);
(claim 4) wherein the attachment portion (such as, fastening portion #224) includes at least one fastener (support clip #120, fastening means #152, stitching) attachable to the part (support clip #120 and fastening means #152 able to be attached to roof rail #100; support clip #120 and stitching of fastening portion #224 able to be attached to inflatable curtain #14);
(claim 5) wherein the at least one fastener is at least one clip (support clip #120, fastening means #152);
(claim 6) where the plurality of materials includes at least one third material (material of deployment member #220) that is tear-resistant (column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60);
(claim 7) wherein the extruded airbag ramp is a side curtain airbag ramp (#200) and is operably connected to the part (ramp #200 is at least operably, or indirectly, connected to headliner #300, support clip #120, roof rail #100, and inflatable curtain #14; column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60; column 6, lines 57-59; figures 3-5);
(claim 10) wherein the structural portion (#205) provides predetermined amount of stiffness to eliminate an expanse of material required for strengthening substantially between the structural portion and attachment portion (fastening portion #224; has the ability to so perform, due to co-extruded construction; column 4, lines 56-65; column 5, line 61-column 6, line 41);
(claim 11) wherein the structural portion (#205) and attachment portion (#220, 224) together form a channel (#236; figures 6A, 6B; column 4, lines 10-18).
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) 9 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruedisueli et al. (US 9,004,525). Ruedisueli et al. discloses the structural portion (support portion #205) being made of a stiffer material than the tear-resistant material (flexible materials of deployment member #220 and fastening portion #224, such as thermoplastic olefinic elastomer; column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60), but does not specifically disclose durometer values of the materials, thermoplastic vulcanizate, or the attachment portion bounded by polypropylene material. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the airbag ramp of Ruedisueli et al. to include the claimed materials since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice (see MPEP 2144.07).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 19 is allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 31 October 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In regards to page 8 and claim 1, Applicant argues that Ruedisueli et al. (US 9,004,525) is silent regarding sewing an extruded airbag ramp to another predetermined part, and Ruedisueli et al. does not disclose at least one attachment portion suitable to operably sew the extruded airbag ramp to another predetermined part, wherein the predetermined part is a headliner or a panel of a vehicle. At the outset, Examiner notes that the claim language “suitable to operably sew” is functional, and the prior art only requires the ability to perform the function in order to read on this claim limitation. In addition, operable attachment between components is sufficiently broad to encompass indirect as well as direct attachment between the components. As set forth above, Ruedisueli et al. discloses an extruded airbag ramp (#200) comprising a plurality of materials, wherein at least one of the materials is a hard material for a structural portion (support portion #205) of the extruded airbag ramp and at least one of another of the materials is a tear-resistant material providing at least one attachment portion (fastening portion #224 and/or deployment member #220) suitable to operably sew the extruded airbag ramp to another predetermined part, wherein the predetermined part is a headliner (#300) of a vehicle (#12) or a panel (such as, support clip #120, roof rail #100, and/or inflatable curtain #14) of the vehicle (has the ability to operably, or indirectly, attach ramp #200 to headliner #300, support clip #120, roof rail #100, and inflatable curtain #14, at least in part by sewing ramp #200 to inflatable curtain #14; column 4, line 56-column 5, line 60; column 6, lines 57-59). Examiner’s indication of allowable subject matter in canceled claim 8 was, as set forth in the preceding final office action, wherein the structural portion of the extruded airbag ramp is sewn to the headliner of the vehicle, in combination with other features of preceding claims 1 and 7. This allowable subject matter was not incorporated into presently amended independent claim 1.
Applicant's arguments filed 31 October 2025 regarding Enriquez (US 7182366 B2) are moot since the amendment of claim 1 overcomes the prior art rejection based on Enriquez (US 7182366 B2).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA FREEDMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2442. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm.
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, 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.
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.
/LAURA FREEDMAN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3614B