DETAILED 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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-13, and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakano (EP 2,020,311).
As best depicted in Figure 10, Nakano is directed to a tire construction comprising a plurality of area partition portions 10 or 13 and one or more identification portions or marks 8 that make each of the plurality of areas partitioned by the plurality of area partition portions be uniquely identifiable. See the modified figure below.
PNG
media_image1.png
652
804
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claims 2 and 3, a radial extent or length of said area partition portions can be on the order of 0.5 times a tire section height (exemplary tire has a tire section width of 11 inches or approximately 275 mm and such would correspond with a tire section height of at least 200 mm) and such is considerably greater than the disclosed with between 0.2 and 5.0 mm for said area partition portions.
As to claims 4 and 13, when reference character 10 simply corresponds with the claimed area partition portions, the claims are satisfied since such components have a height H3 between 0.2 and 2.0 mm as measured outward from a sidewall surface 2a (Figure 3).
With respect to claims 7, 8, 16, and 17, Figures 20 and 21 depict the presence of equally spaced, linear area partition portions 10.
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Figure 10 depicts the presence of 3 identification parts and greater than 6 areas that are partitioned by said area partition portions 10 or 13b (every space between adjacent partition portions 10 or 13 can be viewed as an “area”- at least 14 are depicted in Figure 10).
As to claim 10, identification portions or marks 8 protrude outward from a tire surface 2a by a distance H1 between 0.2 mm and 1.5 mm.
With respect to claims 11 and 19, Figure 10 depicts the presence of equally spaced marks 8, wherein said marks are different from one another (seen to correspond with “different appearances”).
Regarding claim 12, any number of area partition portions can be arbitrarily selected so as to result in thew claimed arrangement. See the modified figure below.
PNG
media_image2.png
652
798
media_image2.png
Greyscale
In such an instance, a distance or interval between the area partition portions identified above increases when moving from left to right in the modified figure. Also, respective markings or identification portions are formed with the same rubber and thus can be broadly viewed as having “the same appearance”. It is emphasized that any combination of area partition portions can be arbitrarily selected so as to define a plurality of areas having different circumferential extensions.
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(s) 5, 6, 14, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano and further in view of Ono (JP 08156501).
As detailed above, Nakano teaches a tire construction comprising a plurality of area partition portions and a plurality of marks or identification portions. In such an instance, though, Nakano is silent with respect to the use of different hues or light emitting materials to form the aforementioned portions.
In any event, it is extremely well known and conventional to include such materials in tire constructions having decorative assemblies on the sidewall, as shown for example by Ono. More particularly, Ono states that (a) an ornamental effect is promoted in the evening when using light emitting materials and (b) thermo paints (results in different hues) provide a desired visual recognition. It is emphasized that any number of designs are conventionally used in sidewall assemblies, including those comprising a multitude of colors (corresponds with a desired aesthetic effect that fails to impart a mechanical function to the claimed tire construction).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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, Katelyn Smith can be reached at 571-270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 June 9, 2026
Prosecution Insights