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 § 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 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 of this title, 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchida et al. (US 5580119) in view of Ayukawa (US 20190031241) and in view of Wernig (US 3069197).
Regarding claim 1: Uchida discloses a side door structure 1, 2 (Figs. 1, 5; col. 2, lines 14-16). Uchida discloses an inner panel 3, 22 covering a vehicle-widthwise outer side extending in a vehicle body front-rear direction of a vehicle (Figs. 1-7; col. 3, lines 45-48). Uchida does not explicitly disclose that the inner panel covers an outer side of a side sill. Ayukawa discloses that an inner panel of a vehicle side door covers an outer side of a side sill 16, 18 (Figs. 1-3; [0004], [0020], [0021]). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art and the benefit of the cited art to have understood that Uchida’s door would at least partially cover an outer side of a side sill as taught by Ayukawa. As both Uchida and Ayukawa are directed to vehicle side door structures, as Ayukawa is silent regarding the side sills (rockers), as vehicles having side sills (rockers) which extend the in a vehicle body front-rear direction is a well-known in the vehicle art, and as Ayukawa explicitly teaches that at least a portion of the vehicle side door covers the side sill (rocker), it would have been within routine skill to have understood that a vehicle door is known to cover at least a portion of a side sill (rocker) in a vehicle body front-rear direction. Such a simple understanding and configuration would have been predictable with a reasonable expectation for success and with no unexpected results.
Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, discloses an outer panel joined to the inner panel at an edge part of the outer panel (Uchida - 5; Ayukawa – 70) and constituting a side door of the vehicle together with the inner panel (Uchida – Figs. 1, 5; col. 2, lines 14-16; Ayukawa – Figs. 1, 2; [0037]). Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, discloses an impact absorbing member (Uchida - 19; Ayukawa – 78) disposed in an internal space of the side door and extending in the vehicle body front-rear direction (Uchida – Figs. 2, 6; col. 3, lines 34-44; Ayukawa – Fig. 2; [0042]). Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, discloses a fixing member 10, 20 fixing the impact absorbing member to the inner panel at a position higher than a position facing the side sill (Uchida – Figs 1, 4, 6; col. 3, lines 34-44; Ayukawa – side sill position).
Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, does not explicitly disclose that the inner panel has a drain hole formed in a lower end part of the inner panel and configured to drain rainwater entering the internal space of the side door from an outside of the vehicle. Wernig discloses that the inner panel can have a drain hole 140 formed in a lower end part of the inner panel and configured to drain rainwater entering the internal space of the side door from an outside of the vehicle (Fig. 3; col. 6, lines 44-47). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art and the benefit of the cited art to have configured Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, so that the inner panel has a drain hole formed in a lower end part of the inner panel and configured to drain rainwater entering the internal space of the side door from an outside of the vehicle as taught by Wernig. As Uchida, Ayukawa, and Wernig are directed to vehicle side door structures, Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa, is silent water entering or leaving the inner side of the door structure, as it is well known that water can enter a door structure and thus must be channeled out, and as Wernig explicitly teaches the use of drains in vehicle side door structure, it would have been within routine skill to have selected a desired water channeling configuration for ridding a vehicle door of water from a finite selection of configurations suitable for channeling water rom within a door structure (i.e. seals, channels, or drain holes). Such a simple substitution/addition and configuration would have been predictable with a reasonable expectation for success and with no unexpected results.
Uchida discloses that the fixing member fixes the impact absorbing member to the inner panel at a fixing strength at which the impact absorbing member is releasable upon input of an impact load greater than or equal to a predetermined load to the side door (Figs. 2-4, 6-7; col. 2, lines 50-55; col. 3, lines 62-66).
Regarding claim 2: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the impact absorbing member has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape (Uchida – Figs. 6-7; col. 2, lines 34-36; Ayukawa – Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the impact absorbing member comprises a reinforcing plate (Ayukawa – Fig. 2 - 78F, 78G, 78H, 54C, 54D, 54E) inside of the impact absorbing member.
Regarding claim 4: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the fixing member fixes the impact absorbing member to the inner panel at a position where the impact absorbing member is allowed to fall into a space in a lower region of the side door facing the side sill (Uchida – Fig. 3; Ayukawa – teaches the side sill position).
Regarding claim 5: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that in the vehicle to which the side door structure is applied, a battery 26, 88 is mounted on a vehicle-widthwise inner side of the side sill (Ayukawa – Figs. 2, 4; [0022]).
Regarding claim 6: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the impact absorbing member comprises a reinforcing plate inside of the impact absorbing member (Ayukawa – Fig. 2 - 78F, 78G, 78H, 54C, 54D, 54E) inside of the impact absorbing member.
Regarding claim 7: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the fixing member fixes the impact absorbing member to the inner panel at a position where the impact absorbing member is allowed to fall into a space in a lower region of the side door facing the side sill (Uchida – Fig. 3; Ayukawa – teaches the side sill position).
Regarding claim 8: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that in the vehicle to which the side door structure is applied, a battery 26, 88 is mounted on a vehicle-widthwise inner side of the side sill (Ayukawa – Figs. 2, 4; [0022]).
Regarding claim 9: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that the fixing member fixes the impact absorbing member to the inner panel at a position where the impact absorbing member is allowed to fall into a space in a lower region of the side door facing the side sill (Uchida – Fig. 3; Ayukawa – teaches the side sill position).
Regarding claim 10: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that in the vehicle to which the side door structure is applied, a battery 26, 88 is mounted on a vehicle-widthwise inner side of the side sill (Ayukawa – Figs. 2, 4; [0022]).
Regarding claim 11: Uchida, as modified by Ayukawa and Wernig, discloses that in the vehicle to which the side door structure is applied, a battery is mounted on a vehicle-widthwise inner side of the side sill (Ayukawa – Figs. 2, 4; [0022]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TARAS P BEMKO whose telephone number is (571)270-1830. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 (EDT/EST).
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/Taras P Bemko/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3672
9/21/2026
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