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 .
The following final office action is in response to the reply filed May 18, 2026.
Drawings
The drawing correction filed May 18, 2026 has been approved.
Claim Objections
The claims are objected to because recitations such as “the first connection portion” on line 17 of claim 1 bring the clarity of the claims into question because it is unclear if the applicant is referring to the first connecting potion set forth above or is attempting to set forth another portion in addition to the one set forth above.
The claims are objected to because recitations such as “a concave bulb” on lines 2-3 of claim 9 bring the clarity of the claims into question because it is unclear if the applicant is referring to the concave bulb set forth above or is attempting to set forth another concave bulb in addition to the one set forth above.
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 1-4, 6-8, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maass (US 2001/0034976). Maass discloses a sealing strand 3 (fig. 2) for sealing a gap (labeled below) between a fixed structure 1b (fig. 2) and a moveable structure 1a (fig. 2), the gap having a gap dimension in a first direction (labeled below) and extending in a second direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction, the sealing strand comprising:
a carrier section (labeled below), and
a sealing section 6 (fig. 2),
wherein the carrier section includes a fastening portion 6a adapted to attach the sealing strand 3 to the fixed structure 1b,
the carrier section includes a first connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged adjacent to the fixed structure 1b, and includes a second connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged distant from the fixed structure 1b,
the sealing section 6 includes a surface sealing portion (labeled below) that is connected to the first connecting portion and to the second connecting portion of the carrier section and forms a convex bulb (labeled below) adapted to contact an inner surface 1c of the moveable structure 1a,
the carrier section includes a base portion (labeled below) from which the fastening portion 6a extends in the first direction,
the first connection portion extends from the base portion into the gap,
the surface sealing portion includes a concave bulb (labeled below) that is arranged between the convex bulb and the first connecting portion and is located in the area of the gap, when seen in a third direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and
a gap sealing lip (labeled below) is connected to the first connecting portion and is adapted to contact an edge portion of the fixed structure which faces the gap (claim 1);
wherein the carrier section includes a support portion (labeled below) that extends from the base portion of the carrier section, the second connecting portion is arranged in a region of a free end of the support portion (labeled below) (claim 2);
wherein the support portion is adapted to overlap the gap, as shown in figure 2, and a part of the moveable structure 1a, when seen in the third direction which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction and to the second direction (claim 3);
wherein the surface sealing portion is adapted to not contact an edge 1d of the moveable structure 1a which faces the gap at least when the movable structure is open (claim 4);
wherein the fastening portion 6a of the carrier section includes a web portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be inserted into a web portion receptacle (labeled below) of the fixed structure (claim 6);
wherein the web portion comprises at least one of: sealing lips that are configured to seal the web portion against the web portion receptacle, or
locking lips 7b (fig. 2) that are configured to lockingly engage into locking steps 8a, 8b formed by the web portion receptacle (claim 7);
wherein the carrier section and the surface sealing portion form a closed hollow as shown in figure 2 (claim 8);
wherein the fastening portion 6a is adapted to be attached to the fixed structure 1b by a molded portion (note that the fastening portion 6a only need to be capable of being attached to the fixed structure by a molded portion, the claim does not actually require a molded portion) (claim 11).
With respect to claim 12, the limitations of claim 12 have been treated as product-by-process limitations and, as such, are anticipated by the product as set forth above.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maass (US 2001/0034976). Maass discloses a sealing strand 3 (fig. 2) for sealing a gap (labeled below) between a fixed structure 1b (fig. 2) and a moveable structure 1a (fig. 2), the gap having a gap dimension in a first direction (labeled below) and extending in a second direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction, the sealing strand comprising:
a carrier section (labeled below), and
a sealing section 6 (fig. 2),
wherein the carrier section includes a fastening portion 6a adapted to attach the sealing strand 3 to the fixed structure 1b,
the carrier section includes a first connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged adjacent to the fixed structure 1b, and includes a second connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged distant from the fixed structure 1b,
the sealing section 6 includes a surface sealing portion (labeled below) that is connected to the first connecting portion and to the second connecting portion of the carrier section and forms a convex bulb (labeled below) adapted to contact an inner surface 1c of the moveable structure 1a, and
the surface sealing portion includes a concave bulb (labeled below) that is arranged between the convex bulb and the first connecting portion and is located in the area of the gap, when seen in a third direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and
the surface sealing portion is adapted to not contact an edge 1d of the moveable structure 1a which faces the gap at least when the moveable structure is in the open position.
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maass as applied to claims 1-4, 6-8, 11 and 12 above, and further in view of JP 9-323545. Maass is silent concerning reinforcement web.
However, JP 9-323545 discloses a sealing strand 4 (fig. 3) comprising a reinforcement web (labeled below) arranged within a closed hollow (labeled below) and extends between a support portion (labeled below) of a carrier section 4a and a concave bulb (labeled below) of a surface sealing portion (labeled below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Maass with a reinforcement web, as taught by JP 9-323545, with a reasonable expectation of success to provide support for the surface sealing portion to increase sealing force provided by the surface sealing portion.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maass as applied to claims 1-4, 6-8, 11 and 12 above, and further in view of JP 9-323545. Maass is silent concerning a sealing lip.
However, JP 9-323545 discloses a sealing lip (labeled below) extending from the surface sealing portion (labeled below) and is adapted to contact a second sealing strand.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Maass with a sealing lip, as taught by JP 9-323545, with a reasonable expectation of success to provide an additional seal between the inner surface of the moveable structure and the fixed structure.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maass as applied to claims 1-4, 6-8, 11 and 12 above, and further in view of EP 2 607 128. EP 2 607 128 discloses a sealing strand 7 (fig. 3) comprising a carrier section 13 which is made of a material that is harder than a material of a sealing section 14 as set forth on lines 5-6 of paragraph 29 and lines 1-3 of paragraph 31.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Maass with a carrier section made of a material that is harder than a material of the sealing section, as taught by EP 2 607 128, with a reasonable expectation of success to increase the strength of the connection between the carrier section and the fixed structure while providing the sealing section with the requisite resilience to produce an adequate seal between the surface sealing portion and the fixed structure.
Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maass (US 2001/0034976) in view of WO 2022/160131. Maass discloses a sealing arrangement for sealing a gap (labeled below) between a moveable structure 1a (fig. 2) and a fixed structure 1b (fig. 2), the gap having a gap dimension in a first direction (labeled below) and extending in a second direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction, the sealing arrangement comprising:
a first sealing strand 3 for sealing the gap between the fixed structure 1b and the moveable structure 1a, the sealing strand 3 including a carrier section (labeled below) and a sealing section 6 (fig. 2),
wherein the carrier section includes a fastening portion 6a adapted to attach the sealing strand 3 to the fixed structure 1b,
the carrier section includes a first connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged adjacent to the fixed structure 1b, and includes a second connecting portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be arranged distant from the fixed structure 1b,
the sealing section 6 includes a surface sealing portion (labeled below) that is connected to the first connecting portion and to the second connecting portion of the carrier section and forms a convex bulb (labeled below) adapted to contact an inner surface 1c of the moveable structure 1a,
the surface sealing portion includes a concave bulb (labeled below) that is arranged between the convex bulb and the first connecting portion and is located in the area of the gap, when seen in a third direction (labeled below) which is essentially orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.
Maass is silent concerning a second sealing strand.
However, WO 2022/160131 discloses a sealing arrangement 2, 3 (fig. 3) comprising a second sealing strand 3 (fig. 3) that is adapted to be attached to a fixed structure 5 (fig. 3) and includes a window sealing lip (labeled below) that is adapted to contact an inner surface (labeled below) of a moveable structure 1 at a location, the location being more distant from a gap (labeled below) than a first sealing strand 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Maass with a second sealing strand, as taught by WO 2022/160131, with a reasonable expectation of success to provide an additional seal between the inner surface of the moveable structure and the fixed structure.
With respect to claim 17, Maass discloses that the fastening portion 6a of the carrier section includes a web portion (labeled below) that is adapted to be inserted into a web portion receptacle (labeled below) of the fixed structure 1b.
With respect to claim 18, Maass discloses that the web portion comprises at least one of: sealing lips that are configured to seal the web portion against the web portion receptacle, or locking lips 7a (fig. 2) that are configured to lockingly engage into locking steps 8a, 8b formed by the web portion receptacle.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 18, 2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
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 GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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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
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