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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 14, 2026 has been entered.
The examiner acknowledges applicant’s amendments to claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-9, 11, 12, and 14. Claims 3, 6, 10, and 13 are withdrawn.
The examiner would like to note that the amendment to Paragraph 22 of the specification included markings to strike through reference character “25,” however, the amendments do not include markings indicating the addition of reference character “35” to the paragraph. Applicant must file an amendment to Paragraph 22 showing the addition of reference character “35” to ensure the changes to the specification are clear.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 8, the phrase “the door handle assembly” should be changed to “the door interior handle assembly.” 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, 2, 4, 5, and 7 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 to what structure of the vehicle door assembly the spring module is mounted, since the claim only recites that the vehicle door assembly includes the door interior handle assembly, the door latch assembly, the at least one cable, and the spring module.
In regards to claims 2, 4, 5, and 7, these claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) because they 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)(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, 2, 4, 7-9, 11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato (US-5660081).
In regards to claim 1, Sato discloses a vehicle comprising: a vehicle door assembly comprising: a vehicle door (trunk lid considered as a vehicle door because the lid is a barrier or panel of the vehicle that is moved such that entry is allowed or prevented to a compartment, i.e. the trunk, Col. 1, lines 8-12); a vehicle body portion associated with the vehicle door (sill S of the vehicle body to which the door interior handle 1 assembled is mounted and the portion of vehicle body to which spring module 2 is mounted, as a unit); a door interior handle assembly 1 including a primary spring 57 that biases a door interior handle 17 toward a latched position (neutral, rest, or free position shown in Figure 12 in which the door interior handle has not actuated latch assembly T and discussed in Col. 9, lines 12-23); a door latch assembly T; at least one cable 5 and 6 operably connects the door interior handle to the door latch assembly; and a spring module 2 mounted to the vehicle body portion of the vehicle door assembly between the door interior handle assembly and the door latch assembly (Figure 12), the spring module operably connected to the door interior handle by the at least one cable such that the spring module provides a secondary biasing force (force of spring 62) that biases the door interior handle toward the latched position throughout any motion of the door interior handle away from the latched position (the force of spring 62 pulls on inner cable portion 5i connected to the door interior handle to tension the cable and therefore return the cable and the door interior handle to the free position, such that even when the door interior handle is pushed in the direction B, as opposed to being turned in direction A, once the force on the door interior handle is released, the spring 62 provides the pulling force on inner cable portion 5i such that the second biasing force is still applied to the door interior handle to ensure that the door interior handle is returned to the latched position or free position in which the inner cable portion 5i is tensioned and the connecting portion 17c of the door interior handle is urged against a lower surface of the movable end 57m of the primary spring 57, Col. 8, lines 65-67 and Col. 9, lines 12-23).
In regards to claim 2, Sato discloses that the at least one cable comprises a first cable 6 that extends between the spring module and the door latch assembly and a second cable 5 that extends between the spring module and the door interior handle.
In regards to claims 4 and 11, Sato discloses that the spring module comprises an outer casing 59 and a secondary spring 62 located in the casing that is configured to bias the at least one cable.
In regards to claims 7 and 14, Sato discloses that the secondary spring is a torsion spring (Figure 12).
In regards to claim 8, Sato discloses a method of controlling unlatching of a door latch assembly T of a vehicle door assembly (the vehicle door assembly including a vehicle door in the form of a trunk lid of the vehicle to which the support 59 is mounted, with the trunk lid considered as a vehicle door because the lid is a barrier or panel of the vehicle that is moved such that entry is allowed or prevented to a compartment, i.e. the trunk, Col. 1, lines 8-12, and a vehicle body portion associated with the vehicle door, the vehicle body portion including sill S of the vehicle body to which the door interior handle 1 assembled is mounted and the portion of vehicle body to which spring module 2 is mounted), the method comprising: connecting a spring module 2 to at least one cable 5 and 6, the at least one cable operably connecting to a door interior handle assembly including a primary spring 57 that biases a door interior handle 17 toward a latched position (neutral or rest position shown in Figure 12 in which the door interior handle has not actuated latch assembly T), the spring module configured to provide a secondary biasing force (force of spring 62) that biases the door interior handle toward the latched position throughout any motion of the door interior handle away from the latched position (the force of spring 62 pulls on inner cable portion 5i connected to the door interior handle to tension the cable and therefore return the cable and the door interior handle to the free position, such that even when the door interior handle is pushed in the direction B, as opposed to being turned in direction A, once the force on the door interior handle is released, the spring 62 provides the pulling force on inner cable portion 5i such that the second biasing force is still applied to the door interior handle to ensure that the door interior handle is returned to the latched position or free position in which the inner cable portion 5i is tensioned and the connecting portion 17c of the door interior handle is urged against a lower surface of the movable end 57m of the primary spring 57, Col. 8, lines 65-67 and Col. 9, lines 12-23); and mounting the spring module inside the vehicle door assembly (mounting the spring module within the confines of the portion of the vehicle body associated with the vehicle door, with the portion of the vehicle body and the vehicle door being parts of the vehicle door assembly) between the door interior handle assembly and the door latch assembly (Figure 12).
In regards to claim 9, Sato discloses that the at least one cable comprises a first cable 5 that extends between the spring module and the door interior handle and a second cable 6 that extends between the spring module and the door latch 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, 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) 5 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US-5660081) in view of Brose (DE 202011002760 U1). Sato discloses the vehicle and method of claims 1 and 11 above, with the secondary spring configured to bias a rotatable element 33 located in the outer casing and coupled to the at least one cable (Figure 12), but fails to disclose that the rotatable element is a cable drum around which the at least one cable is wound. Bose teaches a cable drum 8 around which at least one cable 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is wound (Paragraph 13 of the Computer Generated Translation), with the cable drum providing a rotatable connection between a door interior handle 23 and a door latch assembly 24. 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 cable drum to connect to the at least one cable, with reasonable expectation of success, since the use of the cable drum would yield the predictable result of providing a rotatable element to which the at least one cable is connected and provide a means by which the door latch assembly can be actuated by the door interior handle.
Response to Arguments
The examiner would like to note that in applicant’s remarks concerning the Sato reference, applicant refers to Figure 1 of Sato, however, the previous and the current Office Action refer to the embodiment in Figure 12 of Sato.
In regards to applicant’s remarks concerning the Sato reference and the amendments to claims 1 and 8, applicant is referred to the interpretation of Sato applied to the claims in the current Office Action and made in light of applicant’s amendments to the claims. Specifically, the claims do not set forth the metes and bounds of the structure of the vehicle door assembly to which the spring module is mounted, and therefore, the vehicle door assembly can be considered to include a vehicle door and a portion of the vehicle body associated with the vehicle door. Sato discloses that the spring module 2 is mounted to or within the confines of a portion of the vehicle body associated with the vehicle door, with the portion of the vehicle body and the vehicle door considered as parts of the vehicle door assembly, and therefore, the claim limitations are met.
In regards to applicant’s remarks concerning the Brose reference, applicant is referred to the interpretation of the Sato reference applied to the claims in the current Office Action and the remarks concerning this interpretation set forth in Paragraph 22 above.
In light of applicant’s amendments to claim 1, a new rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and an objection to claim 1 are set forth in the current Office Action.
In light of applicant’s amendments to the specification, the objection to the specification set forth in the previous Office Action is withdrawn, however, as noted in Paragraph 4 of the current Office Action, the amendments to the specification were not properly indicated.
Conclusion
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.
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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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/ALYSON M MERLINO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675 September 18, 2026
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