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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 2-3, 7-9, 11-14, 18-23, and 25 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.
Drawings
The amendment filed 2/13/2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: a motor shaft rotational axis transvers to the pinion rotational axis in amended figure 4.
Specification
The amendment filed 2/13/2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: “the motor 320 is configured to rotate the motor shaft about a motor shaft rotational axis
320', and the gear train 322 is configured to convert rotation of the motor shaft about the motor
shaft rotational axis 320' to rotation of the pinion gear 330 about a pinion rotational axis 330' transverse to the motor shaft rotational axis 320'”.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Objections
The previous claim objections are overcome by the present amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 2-5, 7-9, 11-14, 18-23 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In regards to claims 11 and 25 “motor shaft rotational axis transverse to the pinion rotational axis” is new matter.
In regards to claim 20 “a pinion rotational axis transverse to the motor shaft rotational axis” is new matter.
Claims 2-5. 7-9. 12-14, 18-19, and 21-22 are rejected due to their dependencies on the rejected claims above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen US 20230134746 A1 (hereinafter US ‘746) in view of Huang CN 107975297 A (hereinafter CN ‘297).
In regards to claim 3, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 teaches the latch assembly of claim 1, claim 25, further comprising a bolt bar (US ‘746: 82); wherein the bolt bar is engaged with the rack member such that movement of the rack member in the first linear retracting direction retracts the bolt bar (US ‘746: see fig 2); and wherein the bolt bar is engaged with the latchbolt such that the latchbolt adopts the retracted position in response to retraction of the bolt bar (US ‘746: see fig 2).
In regards to claim 4, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 teaches the latch assembly of claim 3, further comprising a drive cam (US ‘746: 60) rotatably mounted in the tubular housing; wherein the bolt bar is configured to retract in response to rotation of the drive cam from a home position to a rotated position to thereby retract the latchbolt (US ‘746: para 20).
In regards to claim 25, US ‘746 teaches a latch assembly, comprising: a tubular housing (90 and/or 94); a rack member (80) mounted within the tubular housing for linear movement in a retracting direction and an extending direction opposite the retracting direction (see figs 4 and 5); a latchbolt (84) mounted in the tubular housing for sliding movement along a latchbolt axis extending in the retracting direction and the extending direction (see fig 2), wherein the latchbolt is biased in the extending direction (at least via 85) and engaged with the rack member such that linear movement of the rack member causes a corresponding movement of the latchbolt along the latchbolt axis (see fig 2); a pinion (71 and/or 60) engaged with the rack member such that rotation of the pinion about a pinion rotational axis (see fig 2) causes a corresponding linear movement of the rack member (see fig 3); and a motor (72) operable to rotate a motor shaft about a motor shaft rotational axis (see fig 2); and a gear train (at least 74 and 75) engaged between the motor shaft and the pinion and configured convert rotation of the motor shaft about the motor shaft rotational axis to rotation of the pinion about the pinion rotational axis, thereby causing the rack member to move the latchbolt along the sliding axis (see fig 2).
However, US ‘746 does not teach the motor shaft rotational axis is transverse to the pinion rotational axis.
CN ‘297 teaches a similar device with a motor shaft axis (axis of 3-1) transverse to a pinion rotational axis (axis of 3-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have US ‘746’s motor shaft axis transverse to the pinion rotational axis in order to allow the use of a worm gear, such as in CN ‘297, in order to allow for increased gear reduction and back drive resistance.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 as applied to claim 3-4 and 25 above, and further in view of Murphy US 20170275912 A1 (hereinafter Murphy).
In regards to claim 2, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 teaches the latch assembly of claim 25, wherein the tubular housing is sized and shaped to be received within a latch bore (US ‘746: bore for 94 and/or bore for 90 note para 60 of instant app).
However, US ‘746 does not teach the latch bore has a diameter of one inch. This is because US ‘746 does not teach any specific dimensions.
Murphy teaches a similar device (see fig 1) mounted within a latch bore having a diameter of one inch (para 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing of the invention, to have US ‘746’s latch assembly be in a one inch bore in order to provide for a well-known standard bore allowing simple assembly.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 as applied to claim 3-4 and 25 above, and further in view of Fan US 7261341 B2 (hereinafter Fan).
In regards to claim 5, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 teaches the latch assembly of claim 3, wherein the rack member is operable to push the bolt bar in the first linear retracting direction to thereby retract the bolt bar (US ‘746: para 20).
However, US ‘746 is silent on and wherein the rack member is inoperable to drive the bolt bar in the extending direction. Although this is likely the case.
Fan teaches a similar device where wherein a driving member (50) is inoperable to drive the bolt (20) bar in the extending direction (at least while the bolt is blocked (note fig 11; the spring drives to the extended position).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided US ‘746 the rack member is inoperable to drive the bolt bar in the extending direction such as in Fan in order to provide for a well-known and conventional latch bolt which would prevent back driving while latching.
Claim(s) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 as applied to claim 3-4 and 25 above, and further in view of Seacat US 20200149317 A1 (hereinafter Seacat).
In regards to claim 7, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 teaches a lockset comprising the latch assembly claim 25, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the pinion in a first rotational direction to thereby cause the rack member to move in the retracting direction (US ‘746: para 20).
the lockset further comprising a trim configured for mounting to a face of a door; wherein the trim comprises a controller configured to transmit to the motor a retract signal in response to a first criterion; wherein the motor is configured to rotate the pinion in a first rotational direction in response to the retract signal to thereby cause the rack member to move in the retracting direction.
However, US ‘746 does not teach a trim configured for mounting to a face of a door; wherein the trim comprises a controller configured to transmit to the motor a retract signal in response to a first criterion wherein the motor is configured to rotate the pinion in the first rotational direction in response to the retract signal to thereby cause the rack member to move in the retracting direction.
Seacat teaches the lockset further comprising a trim (110 and/or 120) configured for mounting to a face of a door (see fig 1 and para 20); wherein the trim comprises a controller configured to transmit to the motor a retract signal in response to a first criterion (paras 23-24).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the retract signal of US ‘746 supplied by a trim in response to a first criterion, such as in Seacat, as doing so is a well-known way to deny entry to unauthorized persons.
In regards to claim 8, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 and Seacat teaches the lockset of claim 7, wherein the latch assembly further comprises a drive cam (US ‘746: 60) operable to retract the bolt when rotated (US ‘746: para 20); and wherein the trim further comprises a spindle (US ‘746: 40) engaged with the drive cam (US ‘746: see fig 2), and a handle (US ‘746: at least the handle of the key 24, see fig 4) operable to rotate the spindle (US ‘746: para 20).
In regards to claim 9, US ‘746 in view of CN ‘297 and Seacat teaches the lockset of claim 7, further comprising a credential reader (Seacat 126); and wherein the controller is configured to transmit the retract signal based upon information received from the credential reader (Seacat paras 23-24).
Claim(s) 11-14 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of Murphy, Kwon US 20090193859 A1 (hereinafter Kwon), and CN ‘297.
In regards to claim 11, US ‘746 teaches a lockset configured for mounting to a door including a latch bore (bore for 94 and/or bore for 90 note para 60 of instant app), the lockset comprising: a latch assembly (see fig 1) configured for mounting in the latch bore, the latch assembly comprising: a housing (90 and 94) configured for mounting within the latch bore; a latchbolt (84) slidably mounted in the housing; a rack (80) and pinion (71 and/or 60) mechanism comprising a rack (80) operable to retract the latchbolt when the rack is driven in a first linear direction (para 20), and a pinion (71 and/or 60) operable to drive the rack in the first linear direction when the pinion is rotated in a first rotational direction about a pinion rotational axis (into and out of the page wrt fig. 3); a motor (72) mounted in the housing and comprising a motor shaft extending along a motor shaft rotational axis (see fig 2) , wherein the motor is engaged with the latchbolt via the rack and pinion mechanism and is configured to rotate the pinion in the first rotational direction to thereby drive the rack in the first linear direction to thereby retract the latchbolt in response to a retract signal (see fig 3 and para 20); and a gear train (at least 74 and 75) configured to rotate the pinion about the pinion rotational axis in response to rotation of the motor shaft about the motor shaft rotational axis (see fig 2).
However, US ‘746 does not teach the latch bore has a diameter of one inch. This is because US US ‘746 does not teach any specific dimensions.
Murphy teaches a similar device (see fig 1) mounted within a latch bore having a diameter of one inch (para 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing of the invention, to have US ‘746’s latch assembly be in a one inch bore in order to provide for a well-known standard bore allowing simple assembly.
Additionally, US ‘746 does not teach a first trim configured for mounting to a first face of the door, the first trim comprising a controller configured to selectively transmit the retract signal.
Kwon teaches a first trim (100 and/or 200) configured for mounting to a first face of the door (para 44), the first trim comprising a controller (of 126 see para 90) configured to selectively transmit the retract signal (see para 77).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided US ‘746 with a trim with a controller such as in Kwon as doing so is a well-known, convenient and established way of providing a controller to an electric lock.
Additionally, US ‘746 does not teach the motor shaft axis transverse to the pinion rotational axis.
CN ‘297 teaches a similar device with a motor shaft axis (axis of 3-1) transverse to a pinion rotational axis (axis of 3-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have US ‘746’s motor shaft axis transverse to the pinion rotational axis in order to allow the use of a worm gear, such as in CN ‘297, in order to allow for increased gear reduction and back drive resistance.
In regards to claim 12, US ‘746 in view of Murphy, Kwon, and CN ‘297 teaches lockset of claim 11.
However, as currently modified US ‘746 does not teach wherein the controller is further configured to selectively transmit a return signal; and wherein the motor is configured to extend the latchbolt in response to the return signal.
Murphy teaches wherein the controller is further configured to selectively transmit a return signal (para 76); and wherein the motor is configured to extend the latchbolt in response to the return signal (para 76).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have US ‘746 extend the latchbolt in response to a return signal in order to allow locking easy locking of the door in the case of key idling and/or to reduce user input.
In regards to claim 13, US ‘746 in view of Murphy, Kwon, and CN ‘297 teaches lockset of claim 11.
However as currently modified US ‘746 fails to teach further comprising a credential reader in communication with the controller; wherein the controller is configured to selectively transmit the retract signal based upon information received from the credential reader.
Kwon teaches a credential reader (214, 210 and/or 211) in communication with the controller; wherein the controller is configured to selectively transmit the retract signal based upon information received from the credential reader (paras 67 and 71-72).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided US ‘746 with a credential reader such as in Kwon in order to provide for a well-known, convenient and conventional way of unlocking an electronic lock.
In regards to claim 14, US ‘746 in view of Murphy, Kwon and CN ‘297 teaches the lockset of claim 13, further comprising a second trim configured for mounting to a second face of the door, wherein the second trim comprises the credential reader (Kwon: see fig 3).
In regards to claim 23, US ‘746 in view of Murphy and Kwon and CN ‘297 teaches the lockset of claim 11, wherein the rack member comprises a linear rack (US ‘746: 81) that extends in the first linear direction and comprises teeth offset from one another in the first linear direction (US ‘746: see fig 3).
Claim(s) 20-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of Murphy, and CN ‘297.
In regards to claim 20, US ‘746 teaches a method of operating an electronic latch assembly mounted within a latch bore (bore for 94 and/or 90), the method comprising: receiving, by the latch assembly, a retract signal (signal which causes 72 to retract); and in response to receiving the retract signal, activating a motor (72) within the latch bore to thereby operate the motor in a retracting mode (para 20); wherein operating the motor in the retracting mode drives a bolt (84) of the latch assembly from an extended position, in which the bolt projects from the latch bore, to a retracted position, in which the bolt is retracted into the latch bore (para 20, also note figs 4-5); wherein operating the motor in the retracting mode comprises: rotating, by the motor, a motor shaft (see fig 2, connected to 73) about a motor shaft rotational axis (see fig 2), thereby causing a gear train (at least 74 and 75) to rotate a pinion gear (71 and/or 60) in a first rotational direction about a pinion rotational axis parallel to the motor shaft rotational axis (see fig 2); and driving, by the pinion gear, a rack member (81) in a first linear direction; and wherein the bolt retracts in response to movement of the rack member in the first linear direction (see para 24).
However, US ‘746 does not teach the latch bore has a diameter of one inch. This is because US ‘746 does not teach any specific dimensions.
Murphy teaches a similar device (see fig 1) mounted within a latch bore having a diameter of one inch (para 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing of the invention, to have US ‘746’s latch assembly be in a one inch bore in order to provide for a well-known standard bore allowing simple assembly.
Additionally, US ‘746 does not teach a pinion rotational axis transverse to the motor shaft rotational axis.
CN ‘297 teaches a similar device with a pinion rotational axis ( axis of 3-3) transverse to the motor shaft rotational axis (axis of 3-1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have US ‘746’s motor shaft axis transverse to the pinion rotational axis in order to allow the use of a worm gear, such as in CN ‘297, in order to allow for increased gear reduction and back drive resistance.
In regards to claim 21, US ‘746 in view of Murphy and CN ‘297 teaches the method of claim 20, wherein the bolt is a latchbolt that is spring-biased toward the extended position (US ‘746 at least via 85).
In regards to claim 22, US ‘746 in view of Murphy and CN ‘297 teaches the method of claim 20, wherein driving the rack member in the first linear direction comprises moving teeth of the rack member in the first linear direction (US ‘746: see figs 2 and 3).
Claim(s) 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US ‘746 in view of US ‘746 in view of Murphy and CN ‘297 as applied to claim 3-4 and 25 above, and further in view of Seacat.
In regards to claim 18, US ‘746 in view of Murphy and CN ‘297 teaches a method of claim 20, wherein the latch bore is formed within a door (Murphy see fig 1).
However, US ‘756 does not teach and wherein the method further comprises transmitting, by a trim mounted to a face of the door, the retract signal based upon credential information received from a credential reader.
Seacat teaches transmitting, by a trim (110 and/or 120) mounted to a face of the door (para 20), the retract signal based upon credential information received from a credential reader (126 and paras 23-24).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have transmitted by the trim mounted to the face of the door the retract signal based upon credential information received from a credential reader as it is well known and used to deny entry to unauthorized persons.
In regards to claim 19, US ‘756 in view of Murphy, CN ‘297 and Seacat teaches method of claim 18.
However as currently modified US ‘756 fails to teach further comprising transmitting, by the trim, a return signal a predetermined period of time following transmission of the retract signal; and in response to receiving the return signal, activating the motor within the latch bore to thereby operate the motor in a returning mode; wherein operating the motor in the returning mode results in movement of the bolt from the retracted position to the extended position.
Seacat teaches transmitting, by the trim, a return signal a predetermined period of time following transmission of the retract signal (para 45); and in response to receiving the return signal, to thereby operate the motor in a returning mode (para 45); wherein operating the motor in the returning mode results in movement of the bolt from the retracted position to the extended position (para 45).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the time of filing of the invention, to have a return signal a predetermined period of time following transmission of the retract signal in order to reduce user input and improve convenience.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER H WATSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 - 5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine M Mills can be reached at (571) 272-8322. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER H WATSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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