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
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) 1-7, 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Knorr-Bremse GMBH (WO 2010/108664).
Knorr-Bremse GMBH reference discloses a pivoting sliding door system for vehicles with a vehicle door element comprising a door leaf (3,4) and at least one guide arm 7 with door and vehicle-side portions, the door-side portion of the guide arm 7 being attached to the door leaf and the vehicle-side portion of the guide arm having connection means (9,10) designated to movably connect the vehicle door element to the vehicle 41, wherein the connection means (9,10) comprise a first connection means 17 which is designed for movable connection to a first guide rail 11 and a second connection means 18 which is designed for movable connection to a second guide rail 12, as claimed.
In regard to claims 3 and 4, see Figure 5.
In regard to claim 5, see guide arm 8.
In regard to claim 6, see non-parallel portion of rail 12 in Figure 5.
In regard to claim 7, the connection means (9,10) would broadly define carriages since they travel along the first and second guide rails (11,12).
In regard to claim 9, the door leaf (3,4) would implicitly have at least some sort of drive associated with each leaf.
In regard to claims 10 and 11, see Figure 9.
Conclusion
Claims 14-18, 20, 21 and 23 are allowed.
Claims 8, 12 and 13 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: none of the prior art of record, with the applied Knorr-Bremse GMBH reference being the closest prior art, alone or in combination, teach Applicant’s invention of a vehicle door system and a method for controlling thereof inclusive of details regarding a sensor unit with associated adjusting device and control unit configured to automatically control/change an orientation of a detection areas or inclusive of details regarding a Bowden cable attached to a carriage or a control device configured to control a drive device according to a master-slave relationship for adjustment of a first drive including a stored position offset, as claimed. To modify the closest prior art device to have such features would involve teachings gleaned only from the instant application for patent.
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/STEVEN O DOUGLAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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