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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the radially outer surface extending obliquely outward in a direction toward the support portion and away from the axis (claim 3) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 5-6, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okada et al. (US 6,572,317).
With regard to claim 1, Okada discloses a fastener (as seen in Figs. 1-3, etc.) for connecting a first component and a second component (as seen in Fig. 5 it is capable of this intended use in the preamble), comprising: a support portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 below) being substantially plate-shaped (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.); and a first connecting portion (i.e. including the side wall and sealing portions as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 below) extending substantially along an axis of the fastener (as seen in Fig. 3 and as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 below) and comprising: a side wall portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 below) extending from an edge of the support portion in a direction away from the support portion (as seen in Figgs. 3, etc.); and a sealing portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 below) extending from an outer side of the side wall portion away from the side wall portion and toward the support portion without exceeding the support portion (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.), wherein the sealing portion extends continuously in a circumferential direction of the side wall portion (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.), and wherein the sealing portion is elastic (as seen in Fig. 3, etc. as it is disclosed as made of a resin and as seen in Fig. 5).
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With regard to claim 3, Okada discloses that the sealing portion comprises a radially outer surface and a radially inner surface (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.), wherein the radially outer surface extends obliquely outward in a direction toward the support portion and away from the axis (as seen in Fig. 3, etc. as it is inclined in such a direction), or extends substantially parallel to the axis, and wherein the radially inner surface extends obliquely outward in a direction toward the support portion and away from the axis (as seen in Fig. 3, etc. as it is inclined in such a direction).
With regard to claim 5, Okada discloses that the side wall portion extends obliquely outward in a direction away from the support portion and away from the axis (as seen in Fig. 3, etc. as it is inclined in such a direction).
With regard to claim 6, Okada discloses a second connecting portion (including 7-9) connected to the support portion (as seen in Figs. 3, etc.) and extending substantially along the axis (as seen in Figs. 3, etc.); wherein the support portion has opposing first and second sides (i.e. the top and bottom respectively), the first connecting portion is located at the first side (as seen in Figs. 3, etc.), the second connecting portion is located at the second side (as seen in Figs. 3, etc.), and the second connecting portion is configured to cooperate with the support portion to clamp the first component and the second component (as seen in Fig. 5 it is capable of such a use/has such a configuration).
With regard to claim 8, Okada discloses a fastening assembly (as seen in Fig. 5) for fastening to a second component (P1 or P2), comprising: the fastener according to claim 1 (as detailed in the rejection of claim 1 above); and a first component (the other of P1 or P2) connected to the fastener (as seen in Fig. 5) and comprising a sealing mating portion (i.e. the portion contacting the sealing portion of the fastener as seen in Fig.5), wherein the fastening assembly has a fastened state (as seen in Fig. 5) in which the sealing mating portion presses against the sealing portion to elastically deform the sealing portion (as seen in Fig. 5), thereby forming a seal between the fastener and the first component (as seen in Fig. 5).
With regard to claim 9, Okada discloses a vehicle (as disclosed in the abstract, etc.), comprising the fastener according to claim 1 (as detailed in the rejection of claim 1 above).
With regard to claim 10, Okada discloses a vehicle (as disclosed in the abstract, etc.), comprising the fastening assembly according to claim 8 (as detailed in the rejection of claim 8 above).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
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 2 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada et al. (US 6,572,317) alone.
With regard to claim 2, Okada discloses that the sealing portion comprises a base (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 above) connected to the sidewall portion (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.) and a distal end (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 3 above) away from the side wall portion (as seen in Figs. 3, etc.), and discloses that a thickness of the sealing portion decreases from the base toward the distal end (as seen in Fig. 3 as it at least tapers near the distal end).
Okada appears to be silent as to whether or not the decreasing thickness of the sealing portion is gradual from the base toward the distal end, and thus appears to fail to explicitly disclose such. However it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have modified the device of Okada such that the thickness of the sealing portion gradually decreases from the base toward the distal end as Examiner hereby takes Official Notice that the art is replete with sealing lip type portion that have a thickness that gradually decreases from the base toward the distal end. Such a modification would provide the expected benefits of reduced material usage, increased flexibility of the tip portion (e.g. allowing for more deformation and conformity with the parts to be sealed) while providing a more supportive/resilient base portion thus resulting in a better seal.
With regard to claim 7, Okada discloses that the fastener is integrally formed from a resin (i.e. plastic) material (as seen in the cross-hatching and disclosed in col. 3 lines 43-45), but is silent as to whether or not it is a thermoplastic. However it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have modified the device of Okada such the material is a thermoplastic as Examiner hereby takes Official Notice that the art is replete with such fasteners made of thermoplastics. Such a modification would provide the expected benefits of low cost, good recyclability, etc.
Additionally and/or alternatively it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have modified the device of Okada such the material is a thermoplastic as it has been held to be within the general skill in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Such a modification would have provided the expected benefits of low cost, good recyclability, etc.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provide additional examples of such sealing fasteners.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS L FOSTER whose telephone number is (571)270-5354. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (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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/NICHOLAS L FOSTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
