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 were received on 7 Nov. 2025. These drawings are acceptable.
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.
(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) 1-2, 5-7 and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Christensen, US 2017/0260780 A1.
Claim 1: Christensen discloses a handle assembly for a vehicle door (Fig. 1), the handle assembly comprising:
a motorized flush handle ([0009]; Fig. 5) comprising:
a grip member (4) configured to cooperate with a latch mechanism to unlatch the vehicle door ([0052]), the grip member being rotatable about a horizontal axis ([0070] (the grip member is rotatable about a horizontal axis at the end 14)); and
an actuator (38) configured to move the grip member from a flush position to a deployed position ([0063]), wherein in the flush position the grip member extends flush to an external panel of the vehicle door (Fig. 10), wherein in the deployed position the grip member projects with respect to the exterior panel of the vehicle door (Fig. 12),
wherein the grip member is manually movable about the horizontal axis from the flush position to a retracted position in which the grip is retracted inside a recess of the vehicle door ([0068]) (when pushed in, the grip member moves about the axis relative to the lever 9)),
wherein the flush handle further comprises a deployment device (23) configured to permit the grip member to automatically move from the retracted position to the deployed position ([0069]).
Claim 2: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flush handle comprises an actuator lever (9) connecting the actuator to the grip member ([0063]).
Claim 5: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 2, wherein the actuator lever is rotatable about an actuator lever axis (21), the actuator lever axis being parallel to and below the horizonal axis and located closer to inside the automotive vehicle than the horizonal axis (Fig. 9).
Claim 6: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the deployment device comprises at least one deployment spring (36; [0016]).
Claim 7: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the handle assembly comprises an electronic device (proximity sensor 37 and detection means 43 correspond to an electronic device) permitting cooperation of the grip member with the latch mechanism ([0011]; [0063]).
Claim 9: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 7, wherein the grip member is manually movable about the horizontal axis towards an outside of the vehicle door, from the deployed position to an open position (Figs. 12 and 14; [0064]), and the electronic device comprises a switch (43) configured to be activated when the grip member is in the open position ([0064]).
Claim 10: Christensen discloses an automotive vehicle (Fig. 1) comprising a vehicle door (2) comprising the handle assembly according to claim 1 (claim 1 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christensen, US 2017/0260780 A1, as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Savant et al., US 2021/0108450 A1.
Claim 8: Christensen discloses the handle assembly according to claim 7. However, Christensen is silent to the electronic device comprising a sensor located on the grip, the sensor being configured to be accessible to a user when the grip member is in the deployed position and not accessible to the user when the grip member is in the flush position.
Savant teaches a handle assembly comprising a sensor ([0072]: device 6a corresponds to a sensor) located on a grip member (shown in Fig. 3), the sensor being configured to be accessible to a user when the grip member is in a deployed position (Figs. 2-3) and not accessible to the user when the grip member is in a flush position (Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the electronic device disclosed by Christensen to have a sensor located on the grip and configured to be accessible to a user when the grip member is in the deployed position and not accessible to the user when the grip member is in the flush position, as taught by Savant, in order to improve safety by preventing accidental unlocking from inertia in an accident (Savant [0013-15], [0038]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to the drawings, the specification, and the claims have overcome each and every objection previously set forth in the Non-final Office Action mailed 12 May 2025.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection has been withdrawn in light of the claim amendments.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2 and 5-10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/EGB/Examiner, Art Unit 3675 /KRISTINA R FULTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675