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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lejeune (US 2020/0031174).
As best depicted in Figure 1d, Lejeune teaches a tire construction comprising a plurality of display portions or textures and a plurality of non-display portions. See modified Figure 1d below.
PNG
media_image1.png
538
472
media_image1.png
Greyscale
It is further evident from Figure 2 that respective display portions are formed with a plurality of protruding elements (claimed projection portions) that extend from a base portion that is recessed with respect to said non-display portion. See modified Figure 2 below.
PNG
media_image2.png
318
634
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Lastly, with respect to claim 1, Figures 6 and 7 depict projection portions as being closed loop structures. See modified Figures 6 and 7 below.
PNG
media_image3.png
452
888
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, as depicted in Figure 2 above, said projections portions extent to a heigh that is below a surface of the non-display portion.
As to claim 3, Figure 6 depicts the inclusion of a plurality of projection portions that are identical to one another and such is seen to constitute a “congruent” arrangement as required by the claims.
With respect to claim 4, Figure 7 depicts variable spacing between adjacent projection portions and such is seen to constitute the claimed arrangement.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lejeune.
As detailed above, Lejeune is directed to a tire construction comprising a plurality of display portions and non-display portions, wherein said display portions include a plurality of projection portions. Lejeune further states that respective projection portions can have identical shapes (Figure 6) or varying shapes and distances (Figure 7). While Figure 7 fails to expressly depict an arrangement in which said display portions have a phase difference of 90 degrees, such would have been obvious in view of the general disclosure of Lejeune to include different shapes and different distances (Paragraph 74). Absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use any number of phase differences, including that required by the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 6-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lejeune as applied in claims 1 and 4 above and further in view of Parr (WO 2015002981) and/or JP 6672851.
As detailed above, Lejeune is directed to a tire construction comprising a plurality of non-display portions and a plurality of display portions, wherein said display portions include a plurality of projection portions. Lejeune further states that a wide variety shapes can be used for respective projection portions. While Lejeune fails to expressly teach the claimed geometries, it is generally well known and conventional in the tire industry to use any number of geometries (shapes, angles, etc.) for tire surface features, as shown for example by Parr (Paragraphs 33-50) and/or JP ‘851 (Figures 3-6). Thus, the prior art as a whole recognizes the known use of various shapes and various angles, including those that are insertable into one another, and such is consistent with the general disclosure of Lejeune. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use shapes and angles in accordance to the claimed invention absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results.
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 February 26, 2026