DETAILED ACTION
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
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ando et al. (JP2016007966).
Regarding claim 1, Ando teaches “A vehicle upper structure comprising:
a hatchback door (see Ando, Figure 1, Annotation Set 1); and
a rail garnish covering a roof side rail, wherein the rail garnish includes:
a base provided along the roof side rail, and having a rear end which extends to a region proximate a front end of the hatchback door in a closed state (see Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 1); and
a wall extending downward from a rear end of the base (see Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 1), and
an upper end portion of a rear side surface of the wall is inclined forward in a front-rear direction of the vehicle toward a lower side (see Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 1).”
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Ando, Figure 1, Annotation Set 1
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Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 1
Regarding claim 2, Ando teaches “The vehicle upper structure according to claim 1, wherein a lower end portion of the rear side surface of the wall is inclined rearward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle toward a lower side (see Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 1).”
Regarding claim 3, Ando teaches “The vehicle upper structure according to claim 2, wherein a position of the lower end portion of the rear side surface of the wall in the front- rear direction of the vehicle is at the same position as a position of the upper end portion of the rear side surface of the wall in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, or is at a rear side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle than the position of the upper end portion of the rear side surface of the wall in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (see Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 2).”
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Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 2
Regarding claim 4, Ando teaches “The vehicle upper structure according to claim 2, wherein the rear side surface of the wall is curved along a trajectory of movement of the front end of the hatchback door due to opening or closing of the hatchback door (Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 3).”
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Ando, Figure 7, Annotation Set 3
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ando et al. (JP2016007966), in view of Kamimura et al. (US 10889329 B2).
Regarding claim 5, Ando teaches all of the limitations of the claims, as applied to claim 1 above, except for “the rail garnish is made of a resin.”
However, Kamimura teaches “the rail garnish is made of a resin (see Kamimura, Abstract).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to form the rail garnish assembly as taught by Ando out of resin as taught by Kamimura, in order to maximize weather durability and impact resistance of the rail garnish, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The cited reference also discloses rail garnish assembly:
Maeda Yuuji (JP H0240622 U) discloses a similar arrangement where the rail garnish wall follows the swing trajectory of the door
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACK R CATALANO whose telephone number is (571)270-0470. The examiner can normally be reached Monday Friday, 8 a.m. 5 p.m. ET..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (571) 272-5109. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JRC/
/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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