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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In Huang the sliding Rod has been clarified as the portion with 83, from the figures cited it’s clear such structure was intended.
The examiner respectfully disagrees Huang fails to teach claim 1. Huang does teach 41 pressing the feature around 83 to retain the deadbolt in the unlocking position. Huang’s 41 indirectly retracts the deadbolt and as seen in cited figure 4, 41 would prevent 6 from retracting, thus blocking 32 and therefore preventing the deadbolt from extending.
The examiner also respectfully disagrees Li in view of Huang fails to teach claim 1. The rejection modified Li such that the sliding rod is integrally formed with the end of said sleeve with the rationale of in order to reduce the failure modes of the lock (i.e. looseness and corrosion of the screws would no longer be an issue). Further in response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, integrating structures reduce the failure modes of the lock is in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Graham US 3129968 A has now been cited in an PTO-892 as requested.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“wherein said retaining slidable sleeve has a sleeve which is disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot to project outwardly from said opening, and a sliding rod which is integrally formed with and extends in a first horizontal direction from said sleeve” should be cancelled as it is a redundant repetition of the amendments to claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-2, 10 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang et al. CN 104005605 A (hereinafter Huang).
In regards to claim 1, Huang teaches a door lock kit, comprising: a housing (1 and 2) formed with a deadbolt guiding slot therein (see fig 1), and an opening (11) in communication with said deadbolt guiding slot; a deadbolt (8) including a retaining slidable sleeve (81) which is slidably disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot and which has a retaining end that faces toward said opening (see fig 3), and a magnet (811) which is disposed in said retaining slidable sleeve, said deadbolt being operable to slide relative to said housing along a first horizontal direction (left to right wrt fig 3) between a locking position (see fig 3), where said retaining end of said retaining slidable sleeve projects outwardly from said opening, and an unlocking position (see fig 4), where said retaining end retreats into said deadbolt guiding slot, said retaining slidable sleeve having a sleeve (portion surrounding 811) which is sleeved around said magnet and disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot to project outwardly from said opening (see figs 3 and 4), and a sliding rod (portion with 83) which is integrally formed with and extends in the first horizontal direction from an end of said sleeve (see fig 1); and a driving member (4 ; 4 and 6 only 6 for the purposes of claim 13) motion ably disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot and operable by an external force to drive said deadbolt to slide from the locking position to the unlocking position said driving member having a pivot cylinder (4) which is pivotably connected with said housing about a pivot axis (see fig 4), and a driving arm (41) which is formed on and extends radially from an outer cylindrical surface of said pivot cylinder, said driving arm pressing said sliding rod to move said deadbolt along the first horizontal direction to the unlocking position when said pivot cylinder is rotated relative to said housing about the pivot axis (see figs 3-4), said driving member being rotatable relative to said housing between an initial position (see fig 3) and a blocking position (see fig 4), wherein, in the initial position, said driving arm is free from blocking said sliding rod to permit said deadbolt to slide to the locking position (see fig 3), and in the blocking position, said driving arm blocks said sliding rod to retain said deadbolt in the unlocking position (see fig 3).
In regards to claim 2, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, wherein said retaining slidable sleeve has a sleeve (portion surrounding 811) which is disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot to project outwardly from said opening (see figs 3 and 4), and a sliding rod (portion with 83) which is integrally formed with and extends in a first horizontal direction from said sleeve (see fig 1), said sleeve defining an accommodation chamber for accommodating said magnet therein, said sliding rod being coupled with and driven by said driving member (see figs 1 and 3).
In regards to claim 10, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, wherein said retaining slidable sleeve has a sleeve wall which is sleeved around said magnet (see fig 4) )and disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot (see fig 4) and which has a retaining end (left end wrt fig 4) projecting outwardly from said opening, and a flange (82) which extends radially from an opposite end of said sleeve wall opposite to said retaining end, said door lock kit further comprising a buffering ring (7) which is sleeved around said sleeve wall and in abutting engagement with said housing and said flange (see fig 3).
flange.
In regards to claim 13, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, further comprising a spring (5) connected between said housing (at 16) and said driving member (at 62) to generate a biasing returning force when said driving member is moved to a blocking position (see figs 3-4), where said driving member blocks said retaining slidable sleeve to retain said deadbolt in the unlocking position, such that said biasing returning force biases (by removing the blocking of 6 as in the instant application; see para 12) said deadbolt to slide toward the locking position when said driving member is free from blocking said retaining slidable sleeve (when 811 is proximal to 91; see figs 3-4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang as applied to claims 1-2, 6, 9-10 and 13 above, and further in view of Ryan GB 2608257 A (hereinafter Ryan).
In regards to claim 3, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, wherein said retaining slidable sleeve is formed with an accommodation chamber for accommodating said magnet therein (see fig 3), said retaining slidable sleeve having an inner sleeve wall surface surrounding and defining said accommodation chamber (walls contacting 811).
However, Huang does not teach and a plurality of press-fit ribs projecting from and formed on said inner sleeve wall surface and angularly spaced apart from each other to be in press-fit engagement with said magnet.
Ryan teaches a similar accommodation chamber for a magnet (115) with a plurality of press-fit ribs projecting from and formed on said inner sleeve wall surface and angularly spaced apart from each other to be in press-fit engagement with said magnet (see fig 22A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided Huang with a plurality of press-fit ribs such as in Ryan in order to allow for secure mating of the magnet and the accommodation chamber (Page 17 line 28 – page 18 line 11).
In regards to claim 4, Huang in view of Ryan teaches the door lock kit of claim 3, wherein said accommodation chamber extends along a first horizontal direction Huang left to right wrt fig 3 as Ryan is parallel to the direction of inserting the magnet), each of said press-fit ribs being in form of an elongated rib which extends along the first horizontal direction (Ryan see fig 22a).
In regards to claim 5, Huang in view of Ryan teaches the door lock kit of claim 3, wherein said retaining slidable sleeve has an end wall (Huang left most end wrt fig 4) which serves as said retaining end (see fig 4), and a cylindrical wall (Huang wall surrounding 811, see fig 1 and fig 3) which is connected with said end wall and which has said inner sleeve wall surface, said magnet abutting against said end wall (Huang: see fig 3), said cylindrical wall and said end wall cooperatively defining said accommodation chamber (Huang: see fig 1).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang as applied to claims 1-2, 10 and 13 above, and further in view of McMahon US 20160305161 A1 and Sik KR 20180116616 A (hereinafter Sik).
In regards to claim 11, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, wherein said housing includes a first housing part (1) and a second housing part (2) coupled with said first housing part, said first housing part being integrally formed as a single piece (see fig 1), said first housing part having an end plate (plate with 11) which is formed with said opening (see fig 1), and a first housing half (left half of 1 wrt fig 1) which is formed with an end of said end plate (see fig 1), said second housing part having a second housing half which is coupled with said first housing half to cooperatively define said deadbolt guiding slot (see fig 1).
However, Huang does not teach said first housing part being made of a metal material.
McMahon teaches a similar device made of a metal material (para 35).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have Huang’s first housing part being made of a metal material in order to provide for a strong and well-known material for construction of a lock part.
Additionally, Huang does not teach the first housing half which is integrally formed with an end of said end plate.
Sik teaches a first housing half (20) which is integrally formed with an end of an end plate (28, see para 21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the first housing half which is integrally formed with an end of said end plate in order to allow the first housing half to be fixed to the door.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang in view of McMahon and Sik as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of US 20160305161 A1 and Ren et al. CN 116971672 A (hereinafter Ren).
In regards to claim 12, Huang in McMahon and Sik view of teaches the door lock kit of claim 11.
However, Huang does not teach further comprising a decorative plate which is mounted on said end plate, said decorative plate having a plurality of snap-fit fasteners to be fastened to said end plate.
Ren teaches a similar device with a decorative plate (11) which is mounted on said end plate (see fig 5), said decorative plate having a plurality of snap-fit fasteners (see fig 6) to be fastened to said end plate (see fig 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided Huang with a decorative plate such as Ren in order to limit damage to the end plate.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang as applied to claims 1-2, 10 and 13 above, and further in view of Graham US 3129968 A (hereinafter Graham).
In regards to claim 14, Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 1, wherein said retaining slidable sleeve is integrally formed as a single piece (see fig 1).
However, Huang does not teach retaining slidable sleeve is made of a nylon material.
Graham teaches a similar device where a retaining slidable sleeve (70) is made of a nylon material (Col 1 lines 63-67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have Huang’s retaining slidable sleeve made of a nylon material in order to reduce noise (see Graham Col 1 lines 63-67).
Claim(s) 1 and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li CN 217712115 U (hereinafter Li) in view of Huang.
In regards to claim 1, Li teaches a door lock kit, comprising: a housing (at least 21 and 22) formed with a deadbolt guiding slot therein (see fig 2), and an opening (23) in communication with said deadbolt guiding slot; a deadbolt (50) including a retaining slidable sleeve (51, 53 and/or 10) which is slidably disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot, and which has a retaining end that faces toward said opening (see fig 1), and a magnet (52) which is disposed in said retaining slidable sleeve, said deadbolt being operable to slide relative to said housing along a first horizontal direction (longitudinal axis of the bolt, see fig 1) between a locking position (fig 1), where said retaining end of said retaining slidable sleeve projects outwardly from said opening (see fig 1), and an unlocking position (when retracted from fig 1), where said retaining end retreats into said deadbolt guiding slot; said retaining slidable sleeve having a sleeve (53) which is sleeved around said magnet and disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot to project outwardly from said opening (see fig 1), and a sliding rod (10) extends in the first horizontal direction from an end of said sleeve (see fig 2) and a driving member (30) motionably disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot and operable by an external force to drive said deadbolt to slide from the locking position to the unlocking position (see fig 1) said driving member having a pivot cylinder (30) which is pivotably connected with said housing about a pivot axis (see figs 1-2), and a driving arm (40) which is formed on and extends radially from an outer cylindrical surface of said pivot cylinder (see fig 6), said driving arm pressing said sliding rod to move said deadbolt along the first horizontal direction to the unlocking position when said pivot cylinder is rotated relative to said housing about the pivot axis (see fig 1), said driving member being rotatable relative to said housing between an initial position (as in g 1) and a blocking position (when rotated from fig 1), wherein, in the initial position, said driving arm is free from blocking said sliding rod (see fig 2; would not block if the sliding rod was retracted) to permit said deadbolt to slide to the locking position, and in the blocking position (when rotated from fig 2), said driving arm blocks said sliding rod to retain said deadbolt in the unlocking position (as 40 would prevent 10 from extending if it was held in that position; see fig 2).
However, Li does not teach the sliding rod is integrally formed with the end of said sleeve. It appears Li may use screws.
Huang teaches a sliding rod (portion with 83) is integrally formed with an end of said sleeve (see fig 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Li such that the sliding rod is integrally formed with the end of said sleeve in order to reduce the failure modes of the lock (i.e. looseness and corrosion of the screws would no longer be an issue).
In regards to claim 7, Li in view of Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 6, wherein said sliding rod has a first driven surface (Li: 13 of 12) and a second driven surface (Li: 13 of 11) which is spaced apart from said first driven surface in the first horizontal direction (Li: see fig 2) and in a second horizontal direction (Li: approximately up and down wrt fig 2) that is transverse to the first horizontal direction (Li: see fig 2), said second driven surface being interposed between said sleeve and said first driven surface (Li: see fig 2), said driving arm having a first driving surface (Li: 41) and a second driving surface (Li: 42) which is angularly spaced apart from said first driving surface, said first driving surface abutting against said first driven surface when said deadbolt is in the locking position to press said first driven surface to move said deadbolt toward the unlocking position (Li: see fig 2), said second driving surface abutting against and pressing said second driven surface during movement of said deadbolt (Li: see fig 2).
In regards to claim 8, Li in view of Huang teaches the door lock kit of claim 7, wherein said driving arm has a first arm portion (Li: 41) and a second arm portion (Li: 42), said first arm portion having said first driving surface formed at an end thereof (Li: see fig 2), said second arm portion extending from an opposite end of said first arm portion (Li: see fig 5) away from said first driving surface, and having said second driving surface (Li: see fig 5), said sliding rod being formed with a first notch (Li: notch between 12 and 11, see fig 2) for said first arm portion to be movably disposed therein (see fig 2), and a second notch (Li: notch between 10 and 11) in spatial communication with said first notch (Li: see fig 3) for said second arm portion to be movably disposed therein, said first driven surface bordering a portion of said first notch, said second driven surface bordering a portion of said second notch (Li: see fig 2).
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Howey US 20090195000 A1 (hereinafter Howey).
In regards to claim 20, Howey teaches a magnetic door lock comprising: a door lock kit including a housing (20), a deadbolt (12 and 18; Merriam webster defines a deadbolt as “a lock bolt that is moved by turning a knob or key without action of a spring”) and a driving member (22), said housing being formed with a deadbolt guiding slot therein (see fig 1), and an opening (opening of 20 12 projects out of) in communication with said deadbolt guiding slot, said deadbolt including a retaining slidable sleeve (12) which is slidably disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot and which has a retaining end that faces toward said opening (note fig 2a), and a magnet (14) which is disposed in said retaining slidable sleeve, said deadbolt being operable to slide along a first horizontal direction (right to left wrt fig 1) relative to said housing between a locking position (when extended, note fig 2a), where said retaining end of said retaining slidable sleeve projects outwardly from said opening , and an unlocking position (when retracted; note fig 2a), where said retaining end retreats into said deadbolt guiding slot, said retaining slidable sleeve having a sleeve which is sleeved around said magnet and disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot to project outwardly from said opening, and a sliding rod which is integrally formed with and extends in the first horizontal direction from an end of said sleeve (see reference image 2), said driving member motionably being disposed in said deadbolt guiding slot and being operable by an external force to drive said deadbolt to slide from the locking position to the unlocking position (see fig 1); said driving member having a pivot cylinder (22) which is pivotably connected with said housing about a pivot axis (defined by 20 see fig 1 and note fig 2b), and a door frame lock kit (24 and 32) including a lock frame (24) and a magnet (32), said lock frame including a locking plate (26) and a receptacle (28) cooperatively defining a front receiving slot therein (see fig 1), said locking plate having a first long side edge and a second long side edge opposite to each other (see reference image 1), said receptacle extending from said locking plate and being spaced apart from said first long side edge and said second long side edge (see reference image 1 and note fig 2a), said receptacle defining a center which is distant from said first long side edge by a first distance, and which is distant from said second long side edge by a second distance (note fig 2a), said first distance being larger than said second distance, said magnet being disposed in said receptacle ), wherein said magnet of said door frame lock kit is magnetically attracted to said magnet of said deadbolt to urge said retaining slidable sleeve of said deadbolt to slide into said front receiving slot in the locking position (para 22).
However, in the embodiment of Howey relied upon (the embodiment of fig 1). Howey does not recite detail on driving member to teach a driving arm (cam arm to drive 18; note driving arms of fig 2c) which is formed on and extends radially from an outer cylindrical surface of said pivot cylinder (note fig 2c), said driving arm pressing said sliding rod to move said deadbolt along the first horizontal direction to the unlocking position when said pivot cylinder is rotated relative to said housing about the pivot axis, said driving member being rotatable relative to said housing between an initial position (when not retracting 18) and a blocking position (when retracting 18), wherein, in the initial position, said driving arm is free from blocking said sliding rod to permit said deadbolt to slide to the locking position (as 12 locks), and in the blocking position, said driving arm blocks said sliding rod to retain said deadbolt in the unlocking position (if 22 is kept in a retracting state it would block, through 1812 from extending).
Another embodiment of Howey teaches a driving arm (arms of 34) which is formed on and extends radially from an outer cylindrical surface of said pivot cylinder (see fig 2c), said driving arm pressing said sliding rod to move said deadbolt along the first horizontal direction to the unlocking position when said pivot cylinder is rotated relative to said housing about the pivot axis (see fig 2c, note protrusions on 36), said driving member being rotatable relative to said housing between an initial position (when not retracting 36) and a blocking position (when retracting 36; since if 34 is held 32 would be prevented from extending), wherein, in the initial position, said driving arm is free from blocking said sliding rod to permit said deadbolt to slide to the locking position (as 32 locks), and in the blocking position, said driving arm blocks said sliding rod to retain said deadbolt in the unlocking position (if 32 is kept in a retracting state it would block, through 36, 32 from extending).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have Howey’s embodiment in fig 1’s driving member to have a driving arm such as in Howey’s fig 2c in order to provide a known and conventional way of driving a bolt with a cam.
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Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER H WATSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 - 5.
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 M 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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/PETER H WATSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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