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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group III in the reply filed on March 3, 2026 is acknowledged. Accordingly, claims 1-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 3, 2026.
Additionally, newly presented claims 28-35 are directed to an invention that is independent or distinct from the elected invention of Group III because claims 28-35 are drawn to a carrier having at least one insert fixed to the carrier body via a layer of sealant material. Claims 28-35 do not include the features of a textile layer and a polymeric material bonded to the textile material as set forth in the elected invention.
Accordingly, claims 28-35 are also withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because lead line for reference character “36” in figure 2 fails to accurately indicate the seal bead.
Figure 3 is objected to because one of the reference characters “74” at the bottom left hand corner of the carrier 21 does not have an attendant lead line.
Figure 4 is objected to because the lead line for reference character 97 fails to accurately indicate the first annular seal.
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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: “89” on line 7 of paragraph 78 and “90” on line 8 of paragraph 78. 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. 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
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “is provided” on line 2 can be easily implied and, therefore, should be deleted. Additionally, the abstract is objected to because it fails to describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details. Note that the abstract fails to mention the textile layer and polymeric material cured thereto.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because “an inner panel and an outer panel defining a door panel structure” on line 2 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear how inner and outer panels can define a single panel structure. Note that it appears that the inner and outer panels define the lower structure of the door rather than a single panel structure.
Claim 16 is objected to because “bounded by an outer periphery” on lines 5-6 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear if both the wet side and the dry side are bounded by the outer periphery or if only the dry side is bounded by the outer periphery.
Claim 16 is objected to because “configured for attachment” on line 6 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear if the carrier body or the outer periphery is configured for attachment.
Claim 16 is objected to because “said wet side and said dry side of said textile layer” on lines 10-11 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it lacks antecedent basis. Note that the applicant has only defined a dry side and a wet side of the carrier body rather than a dry side and a wet side of the textile layer.
Claim 20 is objected to because “said polymeric material” on line 1 brings the clarity of the claim into question because the applicant has defined the polymeric material as being polyurethane in claim 19 and yet refers to said polymeric material rather than the polyurethane set forth in claim 19.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 16-25 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fortin (US 2021/0300161). Fortin discloses a carrier 20 (fig. 9) for a carrier module of a motor vehicle door assembly 10 having an inner panel 18 and an outer panel 16 defining a door panel structure with the inner panel having an opening (not numbered, but comprising the opening occupied by the carrier 20) to an internal door cavity 24 between the inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16, said carrier 20 comprising:
a carrier body (labeled below) having a wet side 60 (fig. 5) and an opposite dry side 62 (see lines 1-2 of paragraph 91) bounded by an outer periphery 48 configured for attachment to the inner panel 18 to at least partially close off the opening, said carrier body having at least one insert 76 (see figures 6 and 9) fixed thereto, said carrier body including:
a textile layer 80 (fig. 11); and
a polymeric material (see lines 8-11 of paragraph 95 which set forth that the textile layer 80 is sandwiched between two layers L and then over molded with a binder material B and lines 58-59 of paragraph 95 which set forth that the binder material can be polyurethane which is a polymeric material) bonded to and cured on at least one of said wet side 60 and said dry side 62 of said textile layer 80, said at least one insert 76 being fixed to said carrier body via said cured polymeric material since the layers L are over molded with polyurethane and the insert 76 is fixed to the layers L (claim 16);
wherein said textile layer 80 is a natural fibrous (see lines 18-20 of paragraph 95 which set forth the use of natural fibers for the layer 80) non-woven layer as shown in figure 12B (claim 17);
wherein said natural fibrous non-woven layer is hemp as set forth on line 18 of paragraph 87 (claim 18);
wherein said polymeric material is polyurethane as set forth on lines 58-59 of paragraph 95 (claim 19);
wherein said polymeric material is coated over the entirety of said wet side 60 and said dry side 62 since both layers L are over molded with the polyurethane (claim 20);
wherein the at least one insert 76 is plastic as set forth on line 3 of paragraph 94 (claim 21);
wherein the at least one insert 76 includes one or more openings (labeled below) receiving the polymeric material therein (claim 22);
wherein the polymeric material forms an enlarged flange (labeled below) projecting beyond the one or more openings to mechanically lock the at least one insert 76 to the carrier body (claim 24);
wherein the at least one insert 76 is configured for mounting door hardware components 78 thereto (claim 25);
wherein the at least one insert 76 is removable from the carrier body (claim 27).
With respect to claim 23, the limitations relating to the timing of the receipt of the polymeric material have been treated been treated as product-by-process limitations and, as such, are anticipated by the product as set forth above.
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 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fortin (US 2021/0300161) as applied to claims 16-25 and 27 above, and further in view of Perez et al. (US 10029625).
Perez et al. discloses the use of the combination of a wiring harness clip 200 (fig. 2) and a fastener 201 for attaching the wiring harness clip 200 to a vehicle body component. The wiring harness clip receives a wiring harness 250 (fig. 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the fasteners 78 of Fortin with wiring harness clips and provide Fortin with an attendant wiring harness, as taught by Perez et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means for providing power to components attached to the carrier module and a means for attaching the wiring harness to the carrier module.
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The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY J STRIMBU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634