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
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3,6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kojima et al (11,541,926, Kojima) .
The applied reference has a common Applicant with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claim 1, Kojima discloses a steering wheel (fig. 1)comprising: a substrate (60) having a surface provided with a light-emitting element(61); and a core metal(11) forming a skeleton of the steering wheel(10), wherein the substrate is arranged in contact with the core metal (fig. 6).
Regarding claim 2, the substrate is in contact with the core metal on a surface of the substrate opposite to the surface thereof provided with the light-emitting element, and is fixed with a screw to the core metal.(Col. 11, lines 41-50).
Regarding claim 3. A steering wheel (10) comprising : a substrate having a surface (60) provided with a light-emitting element(61); a core metal(10) forming a skeleton of the steering wheel (10); and a sheet-like intermediary part (63) interposed between the substrate and the core metal(FIG. 6), the intermediary part being configured as a part of a member used as a base material of the steering wheel (Figs. 6 and 9).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the substrate is in contact with the intermediary part (63) on a surface of the substrate opposite to the surface thereof provided with the light-emitting element, and is fixed with a screw to the core metal via the intermediary part. (, Fig. 6, Col. 11, lines 41-50).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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: The prior art cited of record, Kojima et al, although anticipating the limitations of claim 3, the limitations of claims 4 and 5 are not anticipated by the prior art cited of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kim et al (12,071,070) discloses a steering wheel with light sources across the top part of the steering wheel (figs. 1-3).
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/ANABEL TON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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