DETAILED ACTION
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office 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 .
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments from the response filed on 31 December 2025 have been fully considered and will be addressed below in the order in which they appeared.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 has been considered but is moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the reference combination applied in the prior rejection of record for teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aldersley et al. (US 11,933,089) in view of Suetsugu et al. (2022/0314924).
Regarding claim 1 , Aldersley et al. discloses a striker assembly for a vehicle closure panel, comprising:
a base plate (20);
a striker plate (50;
a striker (45) connected to the striker plate; and
at least one dampener (60) disposed between the striker plate and the base plate to dampen vibration of the striker assembly.
Aldersley et al. does not disclose: having a plurality of base plate fastener openings;
the striker plate having a plurality of striker plate fastener openings extending therethrough, said striker plate fastener openings being aligned with said base plate fastener openings
at least one dampener having a plurality of dampener fastener openings aligned with said base plate fastener openings and said striker plate fastener openings; wherein the aligned fastener openings, the base plate fastener openings, and the striker plate fastener openings receive fasteners that extend therethrough, the fasteners configured for operable attachment to one of the vehicle closure panel or vehicle body structure.
Suetsugu et al teaches having a plurality of base plate fastener openings;
the striker plate having a plurality of striker plate fastener openings extending therethrough, said striker plate fastener openings being aligned with said base plate fastener openings
at least one dampener having a plurality of dampener fastener openings aligned with said base plate fastener openings and said striker plate fastener openings; wherein the aligned fastener openings, the base plate fastener openings, and the striker plate fastener openings receive fasteners that extend therethrough, the fasteners configured for operable attachment to one of the vehicle closure panel or vehicle body structure for the purpose of providing assembly mounting attachment to a vehicle.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was effectively filed to modify Aldersley et al. with having a plurality of base plate fastener openings;
the striker plate having a plurality of striker plate fastener openings extending therethrough, said striker plate fastener openings being aligned with said base plate fastener openings
at least one dampener having a plurality of dampener fastener openings aligned with said base plate fastener openings and said striker plate fastener openings; wherein the aligned fastener openings, the base plate fastener openings, and the striker plate fastener openings receive fasteners that extend therethrough, the fasteners configured for operable attachment to one of the vehicle closure panel or vehicle body structure.as taught by Suetsugu et al for the expected benefit of providing additional known assembly mounting attachment to a vehicle utilizing commercially available high strengthen fasteners.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12, 13 and 16 are allowed.
Claims 2-11, 14 and 15 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:
Aldersley et al. (US11,933,089) discloses the striker assembly with the exception of :
a top plate having a plurality of top plate fastener openings aligned with said base plate fastener openings, said top plate fastener openings being bounded by fastener seats; and
wherein the at least one dampener includes a second elastomeric dampener disposed between said top plate and said first side of said striker plate, said second elastomeric dampener having a plurality of second elastomeric dampener fastener openings aligned with said base plate fastener openings,
wherein said fastener seats are configured to abut heads of fasteners having shanks configured to extend through said base plate fastener openings, said striker plate fastener openings, said first elastomeric dampener fastener openings, said top plate fastener openings, and said second elastomeric dampener fastener openings for operable attachment to one of the vehicle closure panel or vehicle body structure such that said striker is retained against separation from said base plate by a tensile strength of the shanks of the fasteners.
Claims 2-12 of the instant application appear to be non-obvious in view of the prior art available.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as it may affect the patentability of applicant’s claimed invention is listed on the attached PTO-892.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thomas L. Neubauer whose telephone number is 571.272.4864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM through 5:00 PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina R. Fulton can be reached on 571.272.7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/T. L. N./
Examiner, Art Unit 3675
/KRISTINA R FULTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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