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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/22/26 has been considered by the examiner.
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Miyabukuro [US 2002/0067252].
As to claim 15, Miyabukuro discloses a mirror assembly for a vehicle [see figure 1], comprising: a first clam shell [3] including one or more first downlighting devices [1]; a second clam shell configured to anchor the mirror assembly to the vehicle [2]; a supporting arm [12, at bottom of figure 1] mounted to the first clam shell and the second clam shell [note that all structures are integral in figure 1, or at least indirectly mounted to each other], the supporting arm has an internal passageway for running an electrical wire [12 is a cylinder with an interior]; and a mirror head configured to be mountable to the supporting arm [13].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 are allowable over the prior art of record.
Claims 16-20 are 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: as to claim 1 and its dependent claims, the claims recite the details of a mirror assembly for a vehicle, comprising: a clam shell including one or more first downlighting devices; a supporting arm mounted to the clam shell and formed with a tubular structure having an internal passageway for running an electrical wire; a mirror head configured to be mountable to the supporting arm; and a lighting pod mounted to the supporting arm and having one or more second downlighting devices, wherein the one or more second downlighting devices are wired to an electrical connector of the vehicle through the internal passageway of the supporting arm. The cited art fails to teach or disclose a second downlight device or the electrical connector which passes through the supporting arm in combination with other claimed elements and limitations.
As to claim 16 and its dependent claims, the cited prior art fails to teach or disclose the details wherein one or more second downlighting devices are wired to an electrical connector of the vehicle through the internal passageway of the supporting arm in combination with other claimed elements and limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. alternative downlighting embodiments for a vehicle, similar to that disclose by applicant’s disclosure and claims are located in Frazier [see PTO-892], McCourt, Englander, Dubey, Englander, Branham, Clark, and Randleman.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYON GYLLSTROM whose telephone number is (571)270-1498. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jong-Suk Lee can be reached at 571-272-7044. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYON T GYLLSTROM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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