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 4/14/2026. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4-7, 12, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US patent 6161336 to Ziv-Av (hereinafter Ziv-Av) in view of US patent 8984810 to Bortoluzzi (hereinafter Bort).
Regarding claim 1, the sliding door apparatus is shown in Ziv-Av in figures 4-6D with
a sliding door apparatus, which is provided at a lateral side (figures 6A-6D) of a chassis cab (van body column 6 lines 17--22) of a vehicle to slide (figures 6A-6C) in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and configured to open (figures 6C and 6D) or close (figure 6A) an opening formed in the chassis cab, the sliding door apparatus comprising:
sliding rails (figure 5 rails with tracks 30 and 32) provided on at least one of upper (rail with track 30) and lower (rail with track 32) portions of the chassis cab, extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and each being curved rearward (figures 6A-6D) toward a cab frame (frame 12 defining opening for door) provided at a lateral side of the chassis cab; and
a door (14) configured to be slidable along the sliding rails (rails with tracks 30 and 32) and positioned so that upper-end surfaces thereof are positioned without a level difference from an upper-end surface of the chassis cab in a state in which the doors are not slid (figure 6A, door flush with cab) , and so that the upper- end surfaces thereof protrude outwardly from the upper-end surface of the chassis cab in a state in which the doors are slid (figure 6C, door to exterior of cab).
However, Ziv-Av does not teach the rails being a pair of rails or the door being plural doors.
Plural doors on pairs of rails are shown in Bort in figures 1-8 where two doors (2a and 2b) move on a pair of rails (11 and 20), wherein the pair of rails includes an internal rail (20) and an external rail (11) located more towards the exterior than the internal rail (20), and the internal rail (20) is curved and includes a larger curvature than the exterior rail (11). When provided to Ziv-Av having upper and lower rails there would be a pair of upper rails and a pair of lower rails to evenly support the movement of both doors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sliding door system of Ziv-Av with the plural doors and pair of rails of Bort because plural or pairs of doors provided the known benefit of allowing for access to different portions of the cab and thereby more of the cab than a single door and the pairs of rails provided the known benefit of supporting a pair of doors for flush closing movement (similar to the flush closing movement of Ziv-Av but for two doors).
Regarding claim 4, the door (14) includes a door arm sliding assembly (arm with 40 in figure 4) provided on the lower portion and configured to be coupled to or decoupled from (arm connects to hinge 20, hinge 20 disconnects to allow pivoting movement figure 6D or connects for sliding movement figure 6C, further taught column 8 lines 16-62) the door (14) in Ziv-Av.
Regarding claim 5, the arm sliding assembly (arm with 40 in figure 4) including a door arm (portion with 40) and a door arm bracket (horizontal portion figure 4 connecting to 18 and 20) configured to be fixed or released (hinge 20 disconnects to allow pivoting movement figure 6D or connects for sliding movement figure 6C, further taught column 8 lines 16-62) from the door (14) in Ziv-Av.
Regarding claim 6, a door roller (40) is provided on the lower surface of the door arm and contacts with and rolls along the sliding rail (rail with track 32) in Ziv-Av.
Regarding claim 7, the door (14) include a handle that operates the door (14) to slide or not slide (column 8 line 63-column 9 line 14) in Ziv-Av.
Regarding claim 12, the doors (2a and 2b) include first (2a) and second (2b) doors wherein the first door (2a) slides to overlap (figures 7-8) the second door (2b) in Bort.
Regarding claim 14, the door (14) includes a protrusion (annotated figures 6A-6D below) engaging a hole (not shown, protrusion pin-like so engages hole) on a door frame (portion engaged by the protrusion) on the cab frame and the protrusions are selectively inserted (figures 6A-C) in Ziv-Av.
PNG
media_image1.png
430
706
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ziv-Av and Bort as applied to claim 7 (as well as claims 1, 4-6, 12, and 14) above, and further in view of US patent 5370428 to Dreifert (hereinafter Dreifert).
Regarding claim 8, Zi-Av includes a mechanism for releasing the door (14) from the slide arm actuatable by a handle (mechanisms for locking sliding or swinging movement only taught in column 8 line 16-column 9 line 14), however, Ziv-Av does not go into details of the mechanisms.
A sliding bar connection mechanism is shown in Dreifert in figures 1-14 where sliding bar (21) that can fix (pin 80 engages hole, solid lines figure 14) or release (pin 80 out of hole, dashed lines figure 14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sliding door system of Ziv-Av, having the plural doors and pair of rails of Bort, with the sliding bar connection mechanism of Dreifert because sliding bar connectors were known connectors in the wing art and provided the benefit of easy connection and disconnection as well as multiple connection points for secure connection.
Claim(s) 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ziv-Av, Bort, and Dreifert as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Admitted Prior Art.
Regarding claim 9, Ziv-Av is silent as to the connection between the handle and the connection mechanisms.
Examiner acknowledges applicant’s acceptance of examiner’s Official Notice that cable handle connections were old and well known. As no arguments rebutted this fact it is now considered admitted prior art.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sliding door system of Ziv-Av, having the plural doors and pair of rails of Bort and the sliding bar connection mechanism of Dreifert, with the cable handle connection because cable handle connections were well-known, readily available, and easy to use as well as allowing to connection of the handle to a variety of mechanisms making for an adaptable connection useable in multiple situations/configurations.
Regarding claims 10 and 11, the bar (21) includes a pin (80) inserted into a pinhole (figure 14) in Dreifert.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ziv-Av and Bort as applied to claim 12 (as well as claims 1, 4-7, and 14) above, and further in view of Admitted Prior Art.
Regarding claim 13, when provided with the two doors of Bort, doors arm assemblies (arm with roller 40 in figure 4) would be provided on both doors (similar to arms 3 in Bort) in Ziv-Av. However, Ziv-Av is silent as to a stopper on the door arm.
Examiner acknowledges applicant’s acceptance of examiner’s Official Notice that stoppers were old and well known in the art. As no arguments rebutted this fact it is now considered admitted prior art.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sliding door system of Ziv-Av, having the plural doors and pair of rails of Bort, with the known stoppers because stoppers provided the known benefit of limiting movement of doors and thereby preventing the doors from bumping into things at the end positions of movement that could cause damage to the door or thing bumped into (for example the second door in Bort).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16, 19, and 20 are allowed.
Claim 15 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In regards to applicant’s arguments directed to the drawing, specification, and claim objections, examiner notes all previous issues have been resolved.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually with respect to claim 1, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
In regards to applicant’s arguments directed to claim 16, claim 16 (and claim 15) have been reconsidered and upon review examiner agrees that the combination of reference does not read over the claimed limitations.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE A KELLY whose telephone number is (571)270-3660. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anita Coupe can be reached at 571-270-3614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CATHERINE A KELLY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
Prosecution Insights