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 § 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohlbrenner et al. (US 2022/0371664) in view of Kurokawa et al. (WO 2022/162724).
With respect to claim 1, Kohlbrenner et al. disclose the claimed vehicle front structure except for the outer panel that is disposed on an outer side of the main framework in the vehicle width direction; the instrument panel reinforcement extending in the vehicle width direction; and the linking bracket that links the main framework and the instrument panel reinforcement. Kohlbrenner et al. disclose a vehicle front structure comprising:
a main framework 1 that is die cast (“a die-cast component,” Kohlbrenner et al., paragraph [0028]) and that integrally includes a dash portion 2 disposed at a vehicle front, partitioning between inside of a vehicle cabin and outside of the vehicle cabin (as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 of Kohlbrenner et al.), and a pair of right and left front pillar portions 3/3 connected to both end portions of the dash portion in a vehicle width direction and extending in a vehicle up-down direction (as shown in Fig. 6 of Kohlbrenner et al.).
Kurokawa et al. teach a similar vehicle front structure including right and left front pillar portions 12 (as shown in Fig. 5 of Kurokawa et al.);
an outer panel 13 that is disposed on an outer side of the main framework (outer side of panel 12 which is part of the main framework) in the vehicle width direction and makes up an aesthetic surface (i.e., the viewable outer surface), and that is also fastened to the main framework (while Kurokawa et al., does not explicitly state this, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that inner and outer panels making up front pillars are welded together);
an instrument panel reinforcement 30 extending in the vehicle width direction between the right and left front pillar portions in the vehicle cabin (Kurokawa et al., abstract; Fig. 2); and
a linking bracket 40 that links the main framework (front pillar portion 12) and the instrument panel reinforcement 30 (as shown in Fig. 5 of Kurokawa et al.).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Kurokawa et al. with the vehicle front structure disclosed by Kohlbrenner et al. for the advantage of the instrument panel reinforcement which improves the strength against the load applied from the inside in the vehicle width direction of the front pillar (see top of pg. 2 of the machine translation of Kohlbrenner et al.).
With respect to claim 2, Kurokawa et al. disclose that the instrument panel reinforcement 30 and the linking bracket 40 are fastened in a vehicle front-rear direction (via fastener BT as shown in Fig. 5 of Kurokawa eta l.; and the main framework (front pillar portion 12) and the linking bracket 40 are fastened in the vehicle width direction (via welds or otherwise fastened at flanges 46 (see top of pg. 4 of the machine translation of Kurokawa et al., Fig. 5).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohlbrenner et al. (US 2022/0371664) in view of Kurokawa et al. (WO 2022/162724), as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Sekiguchi et al. (US 2025/0178673).
With respect to claim 5, Kohlbrenner et al, as modified, discloses the claimed vehicle front structure except they are silent on a front side member portion extending to a forward side in a vehicle from the dash portion. However, Sekiguchi et al., teach a similar vehicle front structure wherein a main framework (as shown in Fig. 1 of Sekiguchi et al.) includes a front side member portion 2 extending to a forward side in a vehicle. Sekiguchi et al. further discloses an embodiment where the front side member portion 2 is die cast with a dash portion (Sekiguchi et al., paragraphs [0015] and [0090]).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Sekiguchi et al. with the vehicle front structure disclosed by Kohlbrenner et al., as modified, for the advantage of the front side member portion which provides a framework and protection for an engine of the vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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 3-4 have been indicated as containing allowable subject matter primarily for the main framework, the outer panel, and the linking bracket being fastened together by fasteners.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J COLILLA whose telephone number is (571)272-2157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached at 571-270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Daniel J Colilla/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
