Appeal No. 2004-0332
Application No. 09/725,447
Implicitly granting the request, the examiner entered an answer
(Paper No. 22) and forwarded the application to this Board for
review of the rejection of claims 1, 3, 6 through 8 and 10
through 14, all of the claims currently pending in the
application.
THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a front pillar construction for an
automotive vehicle body. Representative claim 1 reads as
follows:
1. A vehicle front pillar of a substantial tubular shape
comprising:
a fore half portion oriented toward a front of the vehicle
and having at least one bent portion formed thereon so as to
serve as a shock absorbing section of said vehicle front pillar;
and
a rear half portion oriented toward a back of the vehicle
and having a reinforcing member of a closed sectional structure
attached thereto so as to serve as a high-rigidity section of
said vehicle front pillar,
wherein said at least one bent portion is spaced forward
from said reinforcing member in a longitudinal direction of the
vehicle, and during collision, said fore half portion is deformed
and said at least one bent portion is further bent by an impact
force of the collision to thereby absorb the impact force.
THE REJECTION
Claims 1, 3, 6 through 8 and 10 through 14 stand rejected
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No.
5,941,597 to Horiuchi et al. (Horiuchi).
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