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 .
The examiner acknowledges applicant’s amendments to claims 1-8 and 10-14, the cancellation of claim 9, and the addition of new claims 15-21 filed June 2, 2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the clipping device of claim 20 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 15, 18, and 21 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In regards to claim 1, lines 3 and 4, the phrase “a vehicle door” should be changed to “the vehicle door,” in lines 5 and 6, the phrase “and configured to face” should be changed to “and includes at least a portion that is configured to face,” in line 7, the word “and” should be removed after the phrase “the external side of the vehicle door,” and in line 16, the phrase “with the housing” should be inserted after the phrase “form a modular unit.”
In regards to claim 15, line 1, the phrase “The vehicle door according to Claim 1” should be changed to “The assembly according to Claim 1, and in line 2, the phrase “the modular unit be configured” should be changed to “the modular unit is configured.”
In regards to claim 18, line 2, the phrase “the light source” should be changed to “a light source.”
In regards to claim 21, the claim should read as follows after the preamble: “wherein the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly is inserted into the grip member and attached to the grip member, and then the grip member along with the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly are attached to the fixation element to create a module assembly and keep a functional volume of the electronic switch subassembly inside the grip member as a water-protected volume between the grip member and the fixation element.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In regards to claim 1, it is unclear how the entirety of the base faces the vehicle door when the grip member is attached to the vehicle door. Specifically, it appears that only at least portion 64 of the base could be considered to face the vehicle door, and therefore, the claim will be examined as reciting that the base includes at least a portion configured to face the vehicle door. See claim objections above.
In regards to claim 15, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear because the claim recites “The vehicle door according to Claim 1” when claim 1 is drawn to an assembly. It is assumed that claim 15 is meant to refer to the assembly of claim 1, and will be examined as such. See claim objections above.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the light source" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. See claim objections above.
In regards to claim 21, it is unclear how the housing alone is inserted into the grip member, when claim 1 recites that the housing and the electronic switch assembly together form a modular unit. It is understood from the specification that the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly is inserted into the grip member so as to be attached to the grip member, and will be examined as such. Furthermore, the phrase “and then attached” does not clearly set forth which structure or which combination of structures are then attached to the fixation element. It is understood from the specification that the grip member along with the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly are attached to the fixation element, and will be examined as such. Also, it is unclear from the claim language what structures provide the “water-protected volume.” It is understood from the specification that water-protected volume is formed between the grip member and fixation element, and will be examined as such. See claim objections above.
In regards to claims 2-8, 10-14, and 16-20, these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) because these claims depend from claim 1.
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) 1-3, 5, and 10-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204).
In regards to claim 1, Patel et al. discloses an assembly for opening and/or closing a vehicle door, the assembly comprising: a grip member (Figure 5) configured to be attached to an external side of the vehicle door 12 (Figure 2), the grip member comprising: a base 56 for attaching the grip member to the vehicle door (Figures 1-4) and includes at least one portion is configured to face the vehicle door when the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle door (see Figure 5 below); a gripping part (see Figure 5 below) extending from the base and toward an upper direction when the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle door; an electronic switch subassembly 78 attached to the grip member and configured to be activated by a user’s touch so as to send a signal to an electronic latch to open the vehicle door, the electronic switch subassembly comprising a switch contact area 80 (Figure 4) facing towards the external side of the vehicle door when the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle door (open or unlock the door, Paragraph 48); and a housing 86, the electronic switch subassembly being mounted on the housing to form a modular unit with the housing (Figure 5) configured to be received, at least in part, within an inner space of the gripping part (see Figure 5 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
540
712
media_image1.png
Greyscale
In regards to claim 2, Patel et al. discloses that the gripping part comprises a traction surface (see Figure 5 above) configured to permit exerting a traction on the grip member so as to pull on the vehicle door (the surface providing the structure for a user to pull on the door), the traction surface facing the vehicle door when the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle door (Figure 2-5), and wherein the switch contact area is located within the traction surface when the electronic switch subassembly is attached to the grip member (Figures 4 and 5).
In regards to claim 3, Patel et al. discloses a light source subassembly 84 comprising a light source (Paragraphs 50 and 51) arranged so that at least part of the light source fades away from the vehicle door when the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle (Figures 2-5).
In regards to claim 5, Patel et al. discloses that the electronic switch subassembly comprises at least two switch elements 82A, 82B, 82C, each of the at least two switch elements comprising one or more switches (each comprising one switch, Figure 4), the at least two switch elements being arranged at different positions with respect to the switch contact area so that a user's touch on the switch contact area activates at least one of the one or more switches (Figure 4).
In regards to claim 10, Patel et al. discloses that the housing is configured so as to be removably attached to the gripping part (removably attached by at least fasteners 98A and 98B, Figure 5).
In regards to claim 11, Patel et al. discloses a fixation element 30 configured to be attached to the vehicle door, wherein an aperture is arranged in the fixation element so as to receive at least a part of the grip member (at least part of the aperture defined by the seam 61, Figure 4).
In regards to claim 12, Patel et al. discloses a method for mounting the assembly according to claim 11 on the vehicle door, the vehicle door including a belt line (location of portion 30, Figures 1 and 2) from which a window glass 28 is configured to extend, the method comprising: assembling the electronic switch subassembly to the grip member (apparent assembly from Figure 5); arranging at least a part of the assembled electronic switch subassembly and the grip member in the aperture of the fixation element (Figure 3); and attaching the fixation element to the vehicle door (Figures 1 and 2).
In regards to claim 13, Patel et al. discloses a vehicle door comprising the assembly according to claim 1 and a belt line (location of portion 30, Figures 1 and 2) from which a window glass 28 is configured to extend (Figures 1 and 2).
In regards to claim 14, Patel et al. discloses that the grip member is attached to the external side of the vehicle door, at the belt line (Figures 1 and 2).
In regards to claim 15, Patel et al. discloses that the grip member defines a bottom opening (see Figure 5 on Page 7 of the current Office Action), the modular unit is configured to be removably connected to the gripping part of the grip member to close the bottom opening of the gripping part (the modular unit is removably connected by fasteners 98A and 98B, in the form of nuts and bolts, Paragraph 54, with the modular unit closing the bottom opening of the gripping part when the assembly is assembled in Figure 5).
In regards to claim 16, Patel et al. discloses that the housing includes an inner space dimensioned to receive the at least two switch elements of the electronic switch subassembly (space between portions 88 and 92 of the housing, Figure 5).
In regards to claim 17, Patel et al. discloses that the housing further comprises a light source assembly (Paragraphs 50 and 51 and Figure 5).
In regards to claim 18, Patel et al. discloses that the housing includes an inner space dimensioned so as to receive a light source 84 of the light source subassembly and the at least two switch elements of the electronic switch subassembly (the inner space being the space between portions 94 and 88 and the space between portions 92 and 88 in Figure 5, as a unit, with at least a portion of the light source 84 received in the inner space, Figure 5).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204) in view of Fukui et al. (US-11167624). Patel et al. discloses the assembly as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, but fails to specify that the light source subassembly comprises a window part that is at least partially transparent to light emitted by the light source. Fukui et al. discloses a light source subassembly (Figure 1) that comprises a window part 310 that is at least partially transparent to light emitted by a light source 11 (Col. 7, lines 12-18). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant's invention to specify an at least partially transparent window part, with reasonable expectation of success, so as to protect the light source and to allow the light source project visible light from the assembly.
Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204) in view of Lammich et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0262254).
In regards to claim 6, Patel et al. discloses the assembly as applied to claims 1 and 5 above, with each of the at least two switch elements including a single switch (Figure 4), but fails to disclose that each of the at least two switch elements comprises a first switch and a second switch, the electronic switch subassembly being activated when: at least one of the first switches is activated, and at least one of the second switches is activated. Lammich et al. teaches an electronic switch subassembly (Figure 6) including at least two switch elements (grouping of switches 1 and 2 form one switch element, grouping of switches 16 and 7 form another switch element, and grouping of switches 18 and 19 form the last switch element, Figure 6) that each comprise a first switch 1, 16, 18 and a second switch 2, 17, 19, the electronic switch subassembly being activated when: at least one of the first switches is activated, and at least one of the second switches is activated (closing of at least one of the first and second switches causing activation, Figure 5). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant's invention to include a second switch for each of the at least two switch elements of Lammich et al., with reasonable expectation of success, in order to aid in detecting a user activating the electronic switch subassembly.
In regards to claim 7, Lammich et al. teaches that the first switches and the second switches are configured such that an output signal sent by each of the first switches, when activated, is inverted with respect to an output signal sent by each of the second switches, when activated (Paragraphs 18-50).
In regards to claim 8, Lammich et al. teaches that the electric switch subassembly comprises a first electrical subcircuit (circuit with components 1, 3a, 3b, 4, 16, 18, and 6 in Figure 5), and a second electrical subcircuit (circuit portion with components 2, 17, 19, 9, 7, 3a, 3b, and 8 in Figure 5) connecting the second switch elements together, the first electrical subcircuit being distinct from the second electrical subcircuit (Figure 5).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204) in view of Ieda et al. (US-7819442).
In regards to claim 19, Patel et al. fails to disclose that the housing is waterproof. Ieda et al. teaches a housing 10 for electronic components within a gripping member 2 (Figure 3), with the housing being waterproof (Col. 8, lines 41-44). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s invention to specify that the housing of Patel et al. be waterproof, with reasonable expectation of success, in order to enhance the durability and reliability of the electronic components housed within.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204) in view of Frattini (WO 2014/037478 A1).
In regards to claim 20, Patel et al. discloses that the housing is received and attached to the inner space of the gripping part via threaded fasteners 98A, 98B, and 104. Patel et al. fails to disclose that the housing is attached to the inner space of the gripping part via a clipping device. Frattini teaches that two members 3 and 5 of a grip or handle can be attached to one another using screws or clips (Page 6, lines 19-23). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s invention to utilize a clipping device or clips instead of threaded fasteners, as disclosed by Patel et al., with reasonable expectation of success, since threaded fasteners and clipping devices are recognized equivalents in the attachment art and the selection of any of these known equivalents to connect the housing to the gripping part would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
38. Claim 21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
39. The examiner would like to note that claim 21 was examined with the language set forth in the claim objections above.
40. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although the references of record show some similar features to those of applicant’s device, the prior art fails to teach or make obvious the invention of claim 21.
41. In regards to claim 21, Patel et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0183204) fails to disclose the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly is inserted into the grip member and attached to the grip member, and then the grip member along with the modular unit of the housing and the electronic switch subassembly are attached to the fixation element to create a module assembly and keep a functional volume of the electronic switch subassembly inside the grip member in a water-protected volume between the grip member and the fixation element. The modular unit of Patel et al. is already attached to the base having the fixation element, and then the grip member is attached to the modular unit and the base. The examiner can find no motivation to modify the device of Patel et al. without employing improper hindsight reasoning and without destroying the intended structure and operation of the device.
Response to Arguments
42. In regards to applicant’s remarks concerning the amendments to claim 1 and the Patel et al. reference, applicant is referred to the new interpretation of the Patel et al. reference applied to the claims in the current Office Action based on applicant’s amendments to the claims.
43. In regards to applicant’s remarks concerning claim 10, the fasteners 98A, 98B, and 104 of Patel et al. are threaded fasteners and are therefore removable and thereby provide a removable attachment. The assembly of Patel et al. is capable of being disassembled, with components of the assembly capable of being removed from attachment with other components, and therefore, the claim limitations are met.
44. In light of applicant’s amendments to the drawings, the drawing objection set forth in the previous Office Action is withdrawn.
45. In light of applicant’s amendments to the claims, the claim objections and rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in the previous Office Action are withdrawn, however, new claim objections and rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are set forth in the current Office Action based on applicant’s amendments to the claims.
Conclusion
46. 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.
47. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALYSON MERLINO whose telephone number is (571)272-2219. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7 AM to 3 PM.
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, Christine 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.
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.
/ALYSON M MERLINO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675 August 10, 2026
Prosecution Insights