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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure statement of 06/10/2024 has been received and reviewed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20220381072 to Cumbo.
Regarding claim 1, Cumbo discloses:
A closure latch assembly (500) for a vehicle door (16), comprising: a latch mechanism (36, 38) including a ratchet (36) and a pawl (38), the ratchet being moveable between a primary striker capture position (fig 16), a secondary striker capture position (fig 15), and a striker release position (fig 14), the pawl being moveable between a primary ratchet holding position (fig 2), whereat the pawl holds the ratchet in the primary striker capture position, and secondary striker capture position, whereat the pawl holds the ratchet in the secondary striker capture position, and a ratchet releasing position (see paragraph 0043), whereat the pawl permits the ratchet to move to its striker release position; a cinch mechanism (535, 537, 539, 541) moveable, while in an engaged state, from a home position (fig 15) while the ratchet is in the secondary striker capture position to a cinch position (fig 16), whereat the ratchet is engaged by the cinch mechanism and moved to the primary striker capture position, and reset back to the home position, whereat the ratchet remains the primary striker capture position (movement from fig 16 to 15); and a manual release mechanism (539) operable to move the cinch mechanism from the engaged state, whereat the cinch mechanism is engaged with the ratchet, to a disengaged state, whereat the cinch mechanism is disengaged from the ratchet (see paragraph 0072); wherein the ratchet is free to return to the primary striker capture position and/or moved from the primary striker capture position to the striker releasing position while the cinch mechanism is in the disengaged state (released position of cinch mechanism, see paragraph 0026).
Regarding claim 10, Cumbo discloses:
The closure latch assembly of Claim 1, wherein the cinch mechanism moved from the engaged state to the disengaged state by the manual release mechanism is configured to remain in the disengaged state until a reset operation of the cinch mechanism (see paragraph 0005).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220381072 to Cumbo.
Regarding claim 15, although Cumbo doesn’t explicitly disclose the method of claim 15, Cumbo teaches the structure necessary for such method as rejected in claim 1 above. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to use the invention of Cumbo in the method of claim 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-14 are allowed.
Claims 2-9, and 16-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
REASONS FOR ALLOWANCE
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art does not teach or fairly suggest the closure latch assembly as claimed in the independent claim 11.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art of record, including the combination of Cumbo (US 20220381072), and Ottino et al. (US 20160244999) discloses a closure latch assembly relevant to the claimed invention, but fails to teach each and every limitation of the claims. Specifically, regarding claim 11 , the prior art fails to teach a closure latch assembly comprising a cinch pulley moveable between a home position and an actuated position, a cinch link coupled to the cinch pulley for movement between a coupled position, whereat the cinch link is aligned for engagement with the ratchet when the cinch pulley is moved from the home position to the actuated position to move the ratchet from the secondary striker capture position to the primary striker capture position, and a decoupled position, whereat the cinch link is not aligned for engagement with the ratchet; and a release link operably coupled to an inside release lever, the release link being moveable into engagement with the cinch disengagement lever while the cinch pulley is in the actuated position in response to actuation of the inside release lever to cause the cinch disengagement lever to move from the first position to the second position. One of ordinary skill in the art would not find it obvious to modify the closure latch assembly of the prior art to be structured and to function as claimed in the instant application without the use of impermissible hindsight and/or destroying the references. Therefore, the prior art of record does not disclose the closure latch assembly of claim 11.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yahya Sidky whose telephone number is (571)272-6237. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30.
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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.
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/Y.S./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
/CHRISTINE M MILLS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675