CTNF 18/643,004 CTNF 101298 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Drawings 06-22 AIA The drawings are objected to because in Fig. 2A, 44 and 38 both point to a fastener but 38 refers to "first base mount" . 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. 06-22-07 AIA The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 25, 54, and 90 . Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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. Specification 07-29 AIA The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In Para [0038]: rigid handle body 30 should be 32 In Para [0042]: rigid handle assembly should be rigid handle body In Para [0042]: metallic compression limiter assembly 37 should be 39 In Para [0043]: the reference number 60 is referred to as intermediate or inner rigid portion whereas in the previous paragraphs, it is referred to as rigid intermediate body, and in the consecutive paragraphs, it is referred to as rigid intermediate layer or inner layer. Consistent labeling is needed to properly understand the invention. In Para [0045]: fasteners 58 and 60 should be 56 Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 4, 9-10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by She (US 8297674 B2) . Re Claim 1 , She discloses an assist handle assembly for a vehicle (Summary), the assist handle assembly comprising: a body (Fig. 7, 62) configured to be connected to a structural support (Fig.7, 16) on the vehicle; and a removable cover (Fig.7, 74 and 76) configured to engage and cover the body, wherein the removable cover is configured to be removed from the body and replaced with another removable cover (a damaged cover can be replaced by an identical replacement cover). PNG media_image1.png 872 734 media_image1.png Greyscale Figure 7 from She (US 8297674 B2) Re Claim 4 , She discloses the body comprises a locator pin (see annotated Fig. 7 above) configured to engage the structural support in the vehicle and at least one fastener to fasten the body onto the support structure (Fig. 7, 72). Re Claim 9 , She discloses the assist handle assembly is configured to be installed in a passenger compartment of the vehicle (Col. 2, lns 45-49). Re Claim 10 , She discloses the assist handle assembly is configured to be installed onto a support pillar in the interior of the vehicle (Col. 2, lns 45-54). Re Claim 20 , She discloses a vehicle comprising: an interior cabin (Col. 2, lns 45-46); a support structure within the interior cabin (Col. 2, lns 45-48); and an assist handle assembly installed in the interior cabin of the vehicle, the assist handle assembly comprising (Col. 2, lns 45-49): a rigid body configured to be connected to a structural support on the vehicle (Fig. 7, 62); and a removable cover configured to engage and cover the rigid body (Fig. 7, 74 and 76), wherein the removable cover is configured to be removed from the rigid body and replaced with another removable cover (a damaged cover can be replaced by an identical replacement cover) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over She (US 8297674 B2) in view of Ottaway et al. (WO 2023048947 A1) . Re Claims 2-3 , She discloses all the limitations of claim 1, as applied above, except for the body comprising a honeycomb structure and the honeycomb structure comprising a transversal honeycomb structure. Ottaway et al. discloses that the body comprises a transversal honeycomb structure (Para [0028]; also see annotated Fig. 3 below). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify a body of an assist handle assembly, as disclosed by She, to comprise a honeycomb structure, as taught by Ottaway et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide energy absorption capabilities in response to an inadvertent contact of a passenger’s body. Having the geometry of a honeycomb structure would allow a force imparted to the handle to distribute the force through the transversal gaps such that it would break or deform, thereby absorbing the energy associated with the force. PNG media_image2.png 292 426 media_image2.png Greyscale Figure 3 from Ottaway et al. (WO 2023048947 A1) 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 5, 11, 14, 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over She (US 8297674 B2) in view of Forrest (US 8108956 B2) . Re Claim 5 , She discloses all the limitations of the claim as applied above, except that the cover is retained on the body with the one or more fasteners. She discloses that the cover is removable but not the method of retaining the cover on the body. Forrest. discloses one or more fasteners to retain the cover on the body (see annotated Fig. 2 and 3A below). The cover is retained on the body using snap fits as seen in the figures below. PNG media_image3.png 301 544 media_image3.png Greyscale Figure 2 from Forrest (US 8108956 B2) PNG media_image4.png 269 420 media_image4.png Greyscale Figure 3A from Forrest (US 8108956 B2) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, by using fasteners to retain the cover on the body, as taught by Forrest, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that it would be easy to remove the cover to access the interior of the assist handle body. Re Claim 11 , She discloses all of the limitations of the claim (as seen in the 102 rejection of Claim 1), except the portion regarding the one or more removable fasteners configured to retain the cover on the body. As seen above, Forrest discloses one or more removable fasteners (Fig. 2, 46; adding 46 makes the cover removable from the body) to retain the cover on the body. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify an assist handle assembly, as disclosed by She, by using removable fasteners to retain the cover on the body, as taught by Forrest, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that it would hold the cover on the body firmly while also allowing the cover to be removed from the body. Re Claim 14 , She discloses most of the limitations of the independent claim 11 and Forrest discloses the rest of the limitations of the claim, as applied above. She further discloses the body comprises a locator pin configured to engage the structural support in the motor vehicle (see annotated Fig. 7). Re Claim 18 , She and Forrest disclose all the limitations of the independent claim 11, as applied above, and She further discloses the assist handle assembly is configured to be installed in a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle (She: Col. 2, lns 45-49). Re Claim 19 , She and Forrest disclose all the limitations of the independent claim 11, as applied above, and She further discloses the assist handle assembly is configured to be installed onto a support pillar in the interior of the motor vehicle (She: Col. 2, lns 45-54) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over She (US 8297674 B2) in view of Ripley et al. (US 2009/0195035 A1) . Re Claim 6 , She discloses all the limitations of claim 1, as applied above, except the cover comprising rubber. Ripley et al. discloses the cover of the handle comprised of rubber (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, to utilize a softer material such as rubber, as taught by Ripley et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide comfort to the user gripping the assist handle (Para [0041]). Re Claim 7 , She discloses all the limitations of the claim, as applied above, except the cover further comprising a rigid inner polymeric material. Ripley et al. discloses the cover of a handle (see Fig.7, 44) comprised of suitable structural material such as plastic (which may be a rigid polymeric material) (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, to utilize a rigid inner polymeric material such as plastic, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that the plastic material would provide a suitable structure to the handle. PNG media_image5.png 548 656 media_image5.png Greyscale Figure 7 from Ripley et al. (US 2009/0195035 A1) Re Claim 8 , She discloses all the limitations of the claim, as applied above, except the rubber may be over molded onto the rigid inner polymeric material. Ripley et al. discloses that a softer material such as rubber may be over molded onto the plastic (rigid polymeric material) (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, to be formed out of rigid inner polymer material such as plastic and over molded by rubber, as taught by Ripley et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide comfort to the user gripping the assist handle while also allowing limited movement of the handle in response to an impact . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over She (US 8297674 B2) and Forrest (US 8108956 B2) as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Ottaway et al. (WO 2023048947 A1) . Re Claim 12-13 , She discloses all the limitations of Claim 11 (as seen in the previous paragraphs), while Forrest discloses the removable fasteners configured to retain the cover on the body, but neither She nor Forrest discloses regarding the body comprising a transversal honeycomb structure. Ottaway et al. (as seen in the above paragraphs) discloses that the body comprises a transversal honeycomb structure (Para [0028], also refer to the Figure 3 from Ottaway et al.) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify a body of an assist handle assembly, as disclosed by She and Forrest, to comprise a honeycomb structure, as taught by Ottaway et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide energy absorption capabilities in response to an inadvertent contact of a passenger’s body. Having the geometry of a honeycomb structure would allow a force imparted to the handle to distribute the force through the transversal gaps such that it would break or deform, thereby absorbing the energy associated with the force . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over She (US 8297674 B2) and Forrest (US 8108956 B2) as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Ripley et al. (US 2009/0195035 A1) . Re Claim 15 , She and Forrest disclose all the limitations of claim 11, as applied above, except the cover comprising rubber. Ripley et al. discloses the cover of the handle comprised of rubber (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She and Forrest, to utilize a softer material such as rubber, as taught by Ripley et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide comfort to the user gripping the assist handle (Para [0041]). Re Claim 16 , She and Forrest discloses all the limitations of claim 11, as applied above, except the cover further comprising a rigid inner polymeric material. Ripley et al. discloses the cover of the handle comprised of suitable structural material such as plastic (which may be a rigid polymeric material) (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, to utilize a rigid inner polymeric material such as plastic, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that the plastic material would provide a suitable structure to the handle. Re Claim 17 , She and Forrest disclose all the limitations of claim 11, as applied above, except the rubber may be over molded onto the rigid inner polymeric material. Ripley et al. discloses that a softer material such as rubber may be over molded onto the plastic (rigid polymeric material) (Para [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the cover of the assist handle, as disclosed by She, to be formed out of rigid inner polymer material such as plastic and over molded by rubber, as taught by Ripley et al., with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide comfort to the user gripping the assist handle while also allowing limited movement of the handle in response to an impact . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following cited reference discloses an assist handle that can be utilized by a passenger entering or exiting the vehicle . Mizuta (US-6523879-B2) discloses a detachable assist handle that has a rubberized coating on a metal body and can be configured to be installed to the front frame member within the cabin frame of the vehicle. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASMINE J THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-8742. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00. 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, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (571) 272-5109. 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. /JASMINE JAMES THOMAS/Examiner, Art Unit 3612 /VIVEK D KOPPIKAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 3612 May 15, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 2 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 3 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 4 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 5 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 6 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 7 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 8 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 9 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 10 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 11 Art Unit: 3612 Application/Control Number: 18/643,004 Page 12 Art Unit: 3612
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