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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“from a base end side” in line 12 should be --from a base end side of the annular inclination portion--;
“toward a tip end side” in line 12 should be --toward a tip end side of the annular inclination portion--.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“the base end side, in line 6 should be --the base end side of the annular inclination portion,--;
“on the tip end side,” in lines 7-8 should be --on the tip end side of the annular inclination portion,--;
“the base end side, in line 10 should be --the base end side of the annular inclination portion,--;
“on the tip end side,” in lines 11-12 should be --on the tip end side of the annular inclination portion,--.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“a base end side,” in line 2 should be --a base end side of the lid portion,--
“a tip end side,” in line 3 should be --a tip end side of the lid portion,--;
“on the outer side” in line 5 should be --on an outer side--.
Claim 6 is objected to because “a base end side” in line 6 should be --the base end side--
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“the inner surface” in line 1 should be --an inner surface--;
“base end side” in line 4 should be --base end side of the annular inclination portion--.
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“in such a manner that” in line 6 should be --such that--;
“in such a manner that” in line 10 should be --such that--.
Claim 9 is objected to because “and including,” in line 4 should be --and including:--.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“an inner side of the case” in line 2 should be --the inner side of the case--;
“the outer side of the case” in line 3 should be --an outer side of the case--;
“an inner surface located” in line 4 should be --an inner surface of the annular inclination located--;
“an inner side of the case” in lines 4-5 should be --the inner side of the case--;
“an outer surface” in line 5 should be --an outer surface of the annular inclination--;
“an outer side of the case” in line 5 should be --the outer side of the case--;
“the boundary” in line 6 should be --a boundary--.
Claim 12 is objected to because “the igniter device includes,” in line 2 should be --the ignition device includes:--.
Claim 13 is objected to because “the lid portion” in line 4 should be --the closed end--.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“in such a manner that” in line 6 should be --such that--;
“in such a manner that” in line 10 should be --such that--.
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, 3-4, 7-10, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takayanagi (WO2022044910A1).
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Re claim 1:
Takayanagi discloses a gas generator (1A, hybrid gas generator - Para 29 (element 1A is interpreted as the elements included within the dotted boundary identified at element I of Modified Fig. 2 above)) comprising:
an ignition device (30, igniter assembly - Para 30) including an igniter (32, igniter - Para 41) and an igniter holding portion (31, holder - Para 41) configured to hold the igniter (32) in a state of surrounding the igniter (32)(see Fig. 2 and Para 41); and
a case (10, casing - Para 30) having a bottomed tubular shape (see Fig. 2 and Paras 31 and 33 - “…first casing 10 is made up of a first case body 11… the first case body 11 is made of a single cylindrical member with a bottom…”) and being configured to accommodate a gas generating agent (60, heat generating agent - Para 30) that combusts by an operation of the ignition device (30)(see Fig. 2 and Para 83), the case (10) including a side wall portion (11a, peripheral wall portion - Para 67) including an opening portion (11a1, first open end - Para 33) on a base end side (Modified Fig. 2 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of base end side of element 11a))(see Modified Fig. 2 above) and a closing portion (50, rupturable member - Para 30) configured to close a tip end side (11b, bottom wall portion - Para 33) of the side wall portion (11a)(see Fig. 2 and Para 34), the opening portion (11a1) being connected to the igniter holding portion (31)(see Fig. 2 and Para 53), wherein
the closing portion (50) includes:
an annular inclination portion (51, fixed portion - Para 75; annular corner portion - Para 81 (elements 51 and 53 are collectively a type of annular inclination as shown in Fig. 4 and per Paras 75 and 81)) connected to the tip end side (11b) of the side wall portion (11a)(see Figs. 2 and 4), and formed in a funnel shape (Modified Fig. 4 above - D (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element D as a type of funnel shape)) inclined to radially converge to an inner side (Modified Fig. 2 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of inner side of element 10)) of the case (10) from a base end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - E (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element E as a type of base end side of element 51, 53)) toward a tip end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - F (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element F as a type of tip end side of element 51, 53))(see Figs. 2, 4, and Modified Figs. 2 and 4), and
a lid portion (52, rupture portion - Para 61 (see Figs. 2 and 4)) connected to the tip end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) of the annular inclination portion (51, 53)(see Modified Fig. 4 above), the lid portion (52) being orthogonal to an axial direction of the case (10)(see Fig. 2) and being configured to close the tip end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) of the annular inclination portion (51, 53)(see Modified Fig. 4 above and Para 75),
in the closing portion (50), the annular inclination portion (51, 53) and the lid portion (52) are integrally formed (see Fig. 4), and
the lid portion (52) is formed to have a thickness (Modified Fig. 4 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of thickness of element 52)) smaller than a thickness (Modified Fig. 4 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of thickness of element 51, 53)) of the annular inclination portion (51, 53), except for an end portion (Modified Fig. 4 above - C (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element C as a type of end portion of element 52 connected to element 51, 53)) of the lid portion (52) connected to the annular inclination portion (51, 53)(see Modified Fig. 4 above).
Re claim 3:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein a volume of the lid portion (52) is equal to or smaller than a volume of the annular inclination portion (51, 53)(see Fig. 4).
Re claim 4:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein
the lid portion (52) includes an inner surface located on a base end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - G (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element G as a type of inner surface located on a base end side of element 52)), and an outer surface located on a tip end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - H (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element H as a type of outer surface located on a tip end side of element 52)),
the annular inclination portion (51, 53) includes an inner surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - I (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element I as a type of inner surface of element 51, 53 located radially on the inner side of element 10 (see also Fig. 2))) located radially on the inner side of the case (10), and an outer surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of outer surface located radially on the outer side of element 10 (see also Figs. 2 and 4))) located radially on the outer side of the case (10)(see Figs. 2 and 4), and
a corner (Modified Fig. 4 above - K (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element K as a type of corner)) is formed by the inner surface of the lid portion (Modified Fig. 4 above - G), the inner surface of the annular inclination portion (Modified Fig. 4 above - I), and a boundary line (Modified Fig. 4 above - C (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element C as a type of boundary line between element G and element I)) between the inner surface of the lid portion (Modified Fig. 4 above - G) and the inner surface of the annular inclination portion (Modified Fig. 4 above - I)(see Modified Fig. 4 above).
Re claim 7:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claim 1 (as described above), wherein the inner surface (51a, hollow portion- Para 75) of the annular inclination portion (51, 53) forms a curved surface with a dome shape (Modified Fig. 2 above - E (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element E as a type of curved surface with a dome shape)) swelling toward an outside (Modified Fig. 2 above - F (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element F as a type of outside of element 10)) of the case (10)(see Modified Fig. 2 above) and converging radially to the inner side (Modified Fig. 2 above - A) of the case (10) from the base end side (Modified Fig. 2 above - G (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element G as a type of base end side of element 51, 53)) connected to the side wall portion (11a) toward the tip end side (Modified Fig. 4 above - F) connected to the lid portion (52)(see Modified Figs. 2 and 4 above and Figs. 2 and 4).
Re claim 8:
Takayanagi discloses a fixing structure (Fig. 1) comprising:
the gas generator (1A (element 1A is interpreted as the elements included within the dotted boundary identified at element I of Modified Fig. 2 above)) according to claim 1 (as described above); and
a tubular portion (21, second case body - Para 36) that is an attachment target of the gas generator (1A)(see Figs. 1-2), wherein
the tubular portion (21) includes an insertion port (21a1, open end - Para 36) into which the gas generator (1A) is inserted (see Fig. 2),
the gas generator (1A) is fixed to the insertion port (21a1) in such a manner that the annular inclination portion (51, 53) and the side wall portion (11a) of the case (10) face an inner wall surface (Modified Fig. 2 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of inner wall surface of element 21)) of the tubular portion (21), while the lid portion (52) does not face the inner wall surface (Modified Fig. 2 above - J) of the tubular portion (21)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), and
the gas generator (1A) is configured in such a manner that only the lid portion (52) of the case exhibits any of deformation, rupture, burning, or melting due to a pressure generated in the case (10) when the gas generator (1A) is attached to the tubular portion (21) and operated (see Figs. 1-2 and Paras 74 and 84 (element 52 is described/shown with structure capable of performing the claimed function)).
Re claim 9:
Takayanagi discloses a gas generator (1A, hybrid gas generator - Para 29 (element 1A is interpreted as the elements included within the dotted boundary identified at element I of Modified Fig. 2 above)) comprising:
an ignition device (30, igniter assembly - Para 30); and
a case (10, casing - Para 30) accommodating a gas generating agent (60, heat generating agent - Para 30) that combusts by the ignition device (30)(see Fig. 2 and Para 83), and including,
an open end (11a1, first open end - Para 33) connected to the ignition device (30)(see Fig. 2 and Para 124),
a closed end (52, rupture portion - Para 61 (see Figs. 2 and 4)) opposite to the open end (11a1)(see Fig. 2),
a side wall (11a, peripheral wall portion - Para 67) extending from the open end (11a1) toward the closed end (52)(see Fig .2), and
an annular inclination (51, fixed portion - Para 75; annular corner portion - Para 81 (elements 51 and 53 are collectively a type of annular inclination as shown in Fig. 4 and per Paras 75 and 81)) connected to the closed end (52)(see Figs. 2 and 4) and a tip end (11b, bottom wall portion - Para 33) of the side wall (11a)(see Figs. 2 and 4), and formed in a funnel shape inclined to radially converge to an inner side (Modified Fig. 2 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of inner side of element 10)) of the case (10) from the tip end (11b) of the side wall (11a) to the closed end (52)(see Figs. 2, 4, and Para 75 (element 50 is described in Para 75 as having a cylindrical shape)),
the closed end (52) extending orthogonal to an axial direction of the case (10)(see Fig. 2) and being formed integrally with the annular inclination (51, 53)(see Figs. 2 and 4) and being provided with a thickness (Modified Fig. 4 above - A (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element A as a type of thickness of element 52)) smaller than a thickness (Modified Fig. 4 above - B (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element B as a type of thickness of element 51, 53)) of the annular inclination (51, 53), except for a boundary (Modified Fig. 4 above - C (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element C as a type of boundary between element 52 and element 51, 53)) between the closed end (52) and the annular inclination (51, 53)(see Modified Fig. 4 above).
Re claim 10:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claim 9 (as described above), wherein
the closed end (52) includes an inner surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - G (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element G as a type of inner surface facing an inner side of element 10)) facing an inner side (Modified Fig. 2 above - A) of the case (10) and an outer surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - H (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element H as a type of outer surface of element 52 facing )) facing the outer side (Modified Fig. 2 above - K (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element K as a type of outer side of element 10)) of the case (10)(see Modified Fig. 2 above),
the annular inclination (51, 53) includes an inner surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - I (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element I as a type of inner surface of element 51, 53 located radially on the inner side of element 10 (see also Fig. 2))) located radially on an inner side of the case (10), and an outer surface (Modified Fig. 4 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of outer surface located radially on the outer side of element 10 (see also Figs. 2 and 4))) located radially on an outer side of the case (10)(see Figs. 2 and 4), and
a corner (Modified Fig. 4 above - K (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element K as a type of corner)) is formed at the boundary at inner surfaces between the closed end portion (52) and the annular inclination (51, 53)(see Modified Fig. 4 above).
Re claim 13:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claim 9 (as described above), wherein an inner surface (51a, hollow portion- Para 75) of the annular inclination (51, 53) forms a curved surface with a dome shape (Modified Fig. 2 above - E (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element E as a type of curved surface with a dome shape)) swelling toward an outside (Modified Fig. 2 above - F (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element F as a type of outside of element 10)) of the case (10)(see Modified Fig. 2 above) and converging radially to the inner side (Modified Fig. 2 above - A) of the case (10) from the tip end (11b) of the side wall (11a) to the lid portion (52)(see Modified Figs. 2 and 4 above and Figs. 2 and 4).
Re claim 14:
Takayanagi discloses a fixing structure (Fig. 1) comprising:
the gas generator (1A (element 1A is interpreted as the elements included within the dotted boundary identified at element I of Modified Fig. 2 above)) according to claim 9 (as described above); and
a tubular portion (21, second case body - Para 36) that is an attachment target of the gas generator (1A)(see Figs. 1-2), wherein
the tubular portion (21) includes an insertion port (21a1, open end - Para 36) into which the gas generator (1A) is inserted (see Fig. 2),
the gas generator (1A) is fixed to the insertion port (21a1) in such a manner that the annular inclination (51, 53) and the side wall (11a) of the case (10) face an inner wall surface (Modified Fig. 2 above - J (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element J as a type of inner wall surface of element 21)) of the tubular portion (21), while the closed end (52) does not face the inner wall surface (Modified Fig. 2 above - J) of the tubular portion (21)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), and
the gas generator (1A) is configured in such a manner that only the closed end (52) of the case (10) exhibits any of deformation, rupture, burning, or melting due to a pressure generated in the case (10) when the gas generator (1A) is attached to the tubular portion (21) and operated (see Figs. 1-2 and Paras 74 and 84 (element 52 is described/shown with structure capable of performing the claimed function)).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5-6 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takayanagi (WO2022044910A1), as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, in view of Gawlick et al. (U.S. 3,641,935).
Re claims 5 and 11:
Takayanagi discloses the gas generator (1A) according to claims 1 and 9 (as described above).
Takayanagi fails to disclose wherein an entirety of the case is made of resin.
Gawlick teaches a gas generator (Fig. 1) wherein an entirely of a case (3, synthetic resin case - Col. 3, Line 8) is made of resin (see Fig. 4 and Col. 3, Line 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modeled the gas generator of Takayanagi after that of Gawlick, thereby making an entirety of the case of Takayanagi of resin in the way taught by Gawlick, for the advantage of desirable thermal insulation (Gawlick; Col. 1, Line 74 - Col. 2, Line 4).
Re claim 6:
Takayanagi/Gawlick teaches the gas generator (Takayanagi; 1A) according to claim 5, wherein
the igniter holding portion (31) includes:
a collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element C as a type of collar)) made of metal (Para 43 - “…holder…is made of a metal member such as stainless steel or steel…”) and surrounding an outside (Modified Fig. 2 above - D (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element D as a type of outside of element 32)) of the igniter (32)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), and
a fixing portion (33, resin molded portion - Para 48) made of resin (Para 48) and interposed between the collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C) and the igniter (32)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), the fixing portion (33) being configured to fix the igniter (32) to the collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C)(see Modified Fig. 2 above and Para 48), and
a base end side (Modified Fig. 2 above - B) of the case (11) is welded to the fixing portion (33)(Paras 41 - “…Igniter assembly 30 is formed by fixing holder 31 and igniter 32 together using resin molded portion 33, and is configured as a pre-integrated part…” and Para 53).
Re claim 12:
Takayanagi/Gawlick teaches the gas generator (1A) according to claim 11 (as described above).
Takayanagi further discloses wherein the igniter device (30) includes,
an igniter (32, igniter - Para 41),
a collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element C as a type of collar)) made of metal (Para 43 - “…holder…is made of a metal member such as stainless steel or steel…”) and surrounding an outside (Modified Fig. 2 above - D (person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize element D as a type of outside of element 32)) of the igniter (32)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), and
a holder (33, resin molded portion - Para 48) made of resin (Para 48) and interposed between the collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C) and the igniter (32)(see Modified Fig. 2 above), the holder (33) is configured to fix the igniter (32) to the collar (Modified Fig. 2 above - C)(see Modified Fig. 2 above and Para 48), and
the open end (11a1) of the case (10) is welded to the holder (33)(Paras 41 - “…Igniter assembly 30 is formed by fixing holder 31 and igniter 32 together using resin molded portion 33, and is configured as a pre-integrated part…” and Para 53).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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:
Claim 10 would be allowed primarily because the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Additionally, the prior art of record does not teach “in a cross section taken along a central axis of the case, an angle formed between the central axis and an inner-surface imaginary straight line passing through the inner-surface tip end portion and the inner-surface base end portion of the annular inclination portion is smaller than an angle formed between the central axis and an outer-surface imaginary straight line passing through the outer-surface tip end portion and the outer-surface base end portion of the annular inclination portion” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 2.
Therefore, the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by one or more references.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Loren C Edwards whose telephone number is (571)272-7133. The examiner can normally be reached M-R 6AM-430PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached at (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LOREN C EDWARDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746 3/27/26
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