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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in ¶0032, “FIG. 3” should be --FIG. 1--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because it includes a reference character which is not enclosed within parentheses.
Reference characters corresponding to elements recited in the detailed description of the drawings and used in conjunction with the recitation of the same element or group of elements in the claims should be enclosed within parentheses so as to avoid confusion with other numbers or characters which may appear in the claims. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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 4, 6, 13, and 15 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.
Each of these claims recite that the extension and retraction of the step is “via motorized assembly.” This recitation causes the claim to be indefinite as it is unclear whether this recitation is introducing a new motorized assembly or if the antecedent motorized assembly is being referenced. For examination purposes, these claims are interpreted to read --via the motorized assembly--.
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 of this title, 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 1-11 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lynch et al. (10,562,456) in view of Ortiz (11,351,921).
Regarding claims 1-6, 10-11, 13-15, and 20, Lynch discloses a powered vehicle step device comprising: a truck (see Fig. 1A) comprised of a front bumper (22), the bumper comprised of an opening (see Fig. 1B);
a motorized assembly (see e.g., Fig. 6C showing motor 39 driving step guide rail 38) positioned within the opening (see e.g., Fig. 2A-C and 6C showing the relative positions of the motorized embodiment along with the bumper opening);
a step (26) attached to the motorized assembly; and
actuation means (see Col. 6, lines 18-21) that control the motor (39) to drive the step into and out of the opening (see Col. 6, lines 8-12).
While Lynch does not explicitly recite that its motorized step device includes a wire, Official Notice is taken that using wires to transmit electricity in an electrical device is a well-known expedient and that one skilled in the relevant art would readily understand that wires can be used in such a device.
Further, while Lynch discloses that the motor is activated by actuation means in a vehicle control system, it does not specifically disclose that the actuation means is a button.
Ortiz teaches another vehicle having a motor driven slidably extensible and retractable step (120) where the motor is activated via a button or a motion sensor (see Col. 5, lines 13-30).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to have modified the step device of Lynch to use either a button or motion sensor to activate the step’s motor as taught by Ortiz to arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes a simple substitution of one known element (a user-activated control, such as a button or motion activated sensor) for another (a non-specific actuation means) to obtain predictable results. -------
Regarding claims 7-8 and 16-17, Lynch further discloses that the step is comprised of an exterior facia (24), wherein the exterior facia matches a color, a material, or a finish of the bumper or the vehicle (see Col. 4, lines 13-16).
Regarding claim 9 and 18, Lynch further discloses that the motorized assembly (39/38) is comprised of a motorized track (see e.g., Fig. 6C showing a rack and pinion configuration for the step rail guide), a motorized arm, a motorized hinge, a hydraulic arm, a hydraulic hinge, or a hydraulic track.
Regarding claim 19, Lynch discloses that the step (26) is comprised of a non-slip top surface (see Col. 4, lines 2-4), but does not explicitly recite that the material is rubber.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to use rubber in Lynch’s non-skid feature of its top step surface, since selection of a known material on the basis of its suitability for an intended use involves only routine skill in the art. The motivation for doing so would be to use a well-known and readily available durable and grip enhancing material.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lynch in view of Ortiz as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Cha et al. (US 2013/0087591).
Regarding claim 12, while Lynch discloses that the powered retractable step assembly extends from a vehicle bumper, it does not disclose that the bumper is a rear bumper.
Cha teaches another vehicle having a retractable step assembly (20; see e.g., Figs. 3-7) integrated within its bumper (10). The bumper is a rear bumper of a vehicle (see e.g., ¶0034).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to have modified the step device of the Lynch combination to mount the slidable step in a rear bumper as taught by Cha to arrive at the claimed device with a reasonable expectation of success. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine them at least because doing so constitutes applying a known technique (e.g., duplicating vehicle accessories onto like structures) to known devices (e.g., vehicle’s having bumper-disposed retractable step assemblies) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (e.g., a vehicle that has improved access to the upper portion of the vehicle in both the front and rear).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVE CLEMMONS whose telephone number is (313)446-4842. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-4:30 EST Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, J Allen Shriver can be reached on 303-297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVE CLEMMONS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618