.
DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to the filing on 04/28/2026.
Claims 1-9 are currently pending and have been examined below.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 11661783) (hereinafter “Wu”).
Claim 1
(Wu discloses) An opening-and-closing body driving device (figures 1-5) for coupling a vehicle body having an opening and an opening-and-closing body configured to open and close the opening (intended use; the device of Wu can be used for opening vehicle bodies), and for driving the opening-and-closing body by extending and contracting in an axial direction (Partial Annotated figure 4 further below; abstract), the opening-and-closing body driving device comprising:
an extendable unit (200; figure 2) including a spindle (230; figure 4) extending in the axial direction, a nut (241) configured to move in the axial direction accompanying with rotation of the spindle, a rod (Annotated figure 5 below) configured to move in the axial direction together with the nut, a bearing (300) configured to rotatably support the spindle, and a guide tube (210) configured to support the spindle via the bearing and guide movement of the nut; and
a driving unit (100; figure 2) including a driving portion (130; lines 10-14 of col. 4) configured to drive the spindle and a housing (110) having a cylindrical shape and configured to accommodate the driving portion (figure 2), wherein
the guide tube includes an insertion portion (Annotated figure 4 below) configured to be inserted into the housing along the axial direction (figures 4-5), and an inner tube (Annotated figure 5 below) configured to allow movement of the nut in the axial direction and restrict rotation of the nut (figures 4-5),
the insertion portion includes an inner peripheral wall (Annotated figure 4 below) that has a cylindrical shape and into which the bearing is fitted (Annotated figure 4 below), and an outer peripheral wall (Annotated figure 4 below) that has a cylindrical shape and that is fitted into an end portion (111) of the housing, and
a gap (Annotated figure 4 (II) below) is formed between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall in a radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction (Annotated figure 4 (II) below), and
when a direction in which the insertion portion is inserted into the housing is defined as an insertion direction (Annotated figure 4 below), a surface of the bearing facing a direction opposite to the insertion direction is defined as a first reference surface (Annotated figure 4 below), and a surface of the housing facing the direction opposite to the insertion direction is defined as a second reference surface (Annotated figure 4 below), a distance from the first reference surface of the bearing to a distal end of the inner peripheral wall is longer than a distance from the second reference surface of the housing to a distal end of the outer peripheral wall in the axial direction (both distances shown in Annotated figure 5 below; distal ends of both inner and outer peripheral walls are shown in Annotated figure 4).
PNG
media_image1.png
496
782
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotated figure 4
PNG
media_image2.png
555
751
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Annotated figure 5
PNG
media_image3.png
823
1121
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Annotated figure 4 (II)
Claim 2
(Wu discloses) The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 1, wherein in the guide tube, the distal end of the inner peripheral wall extends with respect to the distal end of the outer peripheral wall in the insertion direction (Annotated figure 4 above).
Claim 3
(Wu discloses) The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 1, wherein
an outer diameter of the inner peripheral wall (Partial Annotated figure 4 below) is smaller than an inner diameter of the outer peripheral wall (Partial Annotated figure 4 below) in the radial direction (both diameters are measured in the radial direction; Partial Annotated figure 4 below).
PNG
media_image4.png
426
585
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Partial Annotated figure 4
Claim 6
(Wu discloses) The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 2, wherein
an outer diameter of the inner peripheral wall (Partial Annotated figure 4 above) is smaller than an inner diameter of the outer peripheral wall (Partial Annotated figure 4 above) in the radial direction (both diameters are measured in the radial direction; Partial Annotated figure 4 above).
Claim 9
(Wu discloses) The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 1, wherein the distal end of the inner peripheral wall engages with an engaging groove of a fixture fixed to the housing (Annotated figure 4 (II) above).
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.
Claims 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu, as applied to claims 1-3, 6, and 9 above, in view of Yamagata et al. (US 10745958) (hereinafter “Yamagata”) in further view of Yamagata Mikio et al. (CN 109563723) (hereinafter “Mikio”).
Claims 4 and 7
(Wu discloses)
“The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 1” (claim 4);
“The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 2” (claim 7);
wherein the guide tube includes:
an outer tube having an inner diameter (Annotated figure 5 above) larger than an outer diameter of the inner tube in the radial direction (Annotated figure 5 above).
Wu is silent regarding:
(i) a coil spring accommodated in a space between the inner tube and the outer tube and configured to bias the extendable unit in a direction in which the extendable unit expands, and
(ii) the guide tube, the inner tube, the outer tube, and the insertion portion are integrally formed of a resin material.
(i) (However, Yamagata teaches) a coil spring (28; Yamagata figure 6) accommodated in a space between an inner tube (19) and an outer tube (17; figures 6-8) and configured to bias an extendable unit (3) in a direction in which the extendable unit expands (lines 28-47 of col. 6).
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 guide tube of Wu with the coil spring of Yamagata, with a reasonable expectation of success, for effectively biasing the extendable unit therefore it is much more supported and prevents abrupt or harsh impact to the driving device.
(ii) (However, Mikio teaches) a guide tube (4; Mikio figure 3) formed of a resin material (Excerpt 1 from page 5 of Mikio).
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 entire guide tube including the inner and outer tubes and insertion portion of modified Wu such that they are formed of resin material as taught by Mikio, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the non-limiting benefits of resin such as being lightweight without sacrificing durability, sustainability, ability to be aesthetically finished in many options, and light absorption for manufacturing reasons.
PNG
media_image5.png
181
786
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Excerpt 1
Claims 5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu, as applied to claims 1-3, 6, and 9 above, in view of Mikio.
Claims 5 and 8
(Wu discloses)
“The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 1” (claim 5);
“The opening-and-closing body driving device according to claim 2” (claim 8);
wherein the outer peripheral wall of the guide tube is joined to the housing (figure 5).
Wu is silent regarding:
(i) the housing is made of a light transmissive resin, and
(ii) the guide tube is made of a light absorbing resin.
(i and ii) (However, Mikio teaches) a tubular housing (4; Mikio figure 3) is made of resin (Excerpt 1 above).
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 entire guide tube and the housing of Wu such that they are formed of resin material as taught by Mikio, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the non-limiting benefits of resin such as being lightweight without sacrificing durability, sustainability, ability to be aesthetically finished in many options, and light absorption for manufacturing reasons.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments directed to the drawing and claim objections were considered and the objections were withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/28/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding “Wu clearly lacks such a gap in the radial direction as no part of the second outer tube 210 has overlap in the radial direction. Moreover, no other part of the structure of Wu both teaches the features of the recited outer peripheral wall and inner peripheral wall and the newly recited arrangement in the radial direction. Therefore, Wu does not anticipate amended Claim 1. The other cited references fail to cure the deficiencies of Wu”, this was found unpersuasive as Wu teaches this feature as such the amended limitations in claim 1 to further define applicant’s invention does not overcome the prior art rejection.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 PATRICK B PONCIANO whose telephone number is (571)272-9910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-4:00.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at (571) 270-5616. 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.
/PATRICK B. PONCIANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/DANIEL P CAHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634
Prosecution Insights