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 .
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) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Joschko et al. (DE 10 2020 130 648).
For claim 1, Joschko et al. discloses, in Figures 1-4, a door latch device (Figure 1) comprising:
an open link (includes 9, 19, 21) configured to change to an unlocked state and a locked state and operate upon opening operation of a door handle (Para. [0031-0032]); and
a pawl lever (3) configured to release an engagement state of a pawl (2) with a latch when an operation force is applied via the open link,
the open link (9, 19, 21) being configured to transmit the operation force to the pawl lever (3) when opening operation of the door handle is performed in the unlocked state (Abstract),
the open link (9, 19, 21) including:
a lever body (body of 9) configured to displace to an unlock position corresponding to the unlocked state and a lock position corresponding to the locked state and configured to move according to opening operation of the door handle (Abstract);
an inertial lever (19) portion configured to move to an operating position and a non-operating position relative to the lever body (Figures 2-3); and
a releasing bias member (21) configured to bias the inertial lever portion so that the inertial lever portion is maintained at the operating position relative to the lever body (Para. [0033]),
the inertial lever portion (19) being configured to transmit the operation force to the pawl lever only when opening operation of the door handle is performed while the lever body (body of 9) is arranged at the unlock position and the inertial lever portion is arranged at the operating position (Figure 2),
wherein the pawl lever (3) is provided with a protruding portion (34) configured to abut on the inertial lever portion to return the inertial lever portion to the operating position when opening operation of the door handle is performed with a preset return stroke while the inertial lever portion is arranged at the non-operating position (Para. [0055-0056, Figures 3-4.)
For claim 2, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 1, wherein the inertial lever portion (19) is arranged so as to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis (19a) relative to the lever body (9) and arranged so as to be movable along a predetermined shifting axis when the inertial lever portion (19) is rotated to a predetermined first non-operating position, and a shift mechanism and a restriction mechanism are provided between the lever body (9) and the inertial lever portion (19; In the idle stroke, 34 prevents 19 from falling in any further. In the return stroke, inertia lever 19 is released from 34 for coupling engagement with 20. Figure 4. Para. [0055]), wherein the shift mechanism is configured to shift the inertial lever portion to a predetermined second non-operating position along the shifting axis when the inertial lever portion is rotated to the first non-operating position relative to the lever body (In the shift mechanism, lever body 19 contacts 34. Figure 4. Para. [0026]), and wherein the restriction mechanism is configured to prevent movement of the inertial lever portion to the operating position when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the second non-operating position (In the restriction mechanism, the inertia lever 19 does not engage with the 20. Para. [0055].)
For claim 3, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 2, wherein the restriction mechanism includes a first rotation blocking portion (protrusion of 9) provided at the lever body (9) and a second rotation blocking portion (protrusion of 19) provided at the inertial lever portion (19), the first rotation blocking portion and the second rotation blocking portion being configured to face each other in a circumferential direction around the rotation axis when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the second non-operating position (Figures 2-3.)
For claim 4, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 2, wherein the restriction mechanism includes a first shift blocking portion (protrusion of 9) provided at the lever body (9) and a second shift blocking portion (protrusion of 19) provided at the inertial lever portion (19), the first shift blocking portion and the second shift blocking portion being configured to face each other along the shifting axis when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the second non-operating position (Figures 2-3.)
For claim 5, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 2, wherein the shift mechanism includes a shifting bias member (21) configured to have a spring force storage state when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the operating position relative to the lever body and shift the inertial lever portion to the second non-operating position when the inertial lever portion is moved to the first non-operating position relative to the lever body (Para. [0033].)
For claim 6, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 5, wherein the releasing bias member is a torsion spring constituted around the rotation axis, and also functions as the shifting bias member (21 is a torsion spring, Figure 1.)
For claim 7, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 6, wherein the protruding portion (34) is configured to abut on the inertial lever portion when opening operation of the door handle is performed with a return stroke while the inertial lever portion is arranged at the second non-operating position, slide the inertial lever portion against a biasing force of the shifting bias member, and return the inertial lever portion to the operating position through the first non-operating position (Figure 1. Para. [0055].)
For claim 8, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 4, wherein the second shift blocking portion (protrusion of 19) is provided with an inclined surface configured to bring the inertial lever portion into slide contact with the protruding portion (34) during abutment of the inertial lever portion on the protruding portion, and move the inertial lever portion to the first non-operating position (Figure 1.)
For claim 9, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 1, wherein one of the lever body (9) and the inertial lever portion (19) is provided with a support shaft portion, and the other of the lever body and the inertial lever portion is provided with an insertion portion having an insertion hole (Figures 1-4 show the lever body 9 rotates about axis 9a, and the inertia lever 19 rotates about axis 19a.), the insertion portion (19) being externally mounted around the support shaft portion through the insertion hole so that the lever body (9) and the inertial lever portion (19) are arranged to be relatively rotatable (Figure 1), and an engagement mechanism (30) is provided between the support shaft portion and the insertion portion, the engagement mechanism being configured to permit attachment and detachment of the support shaft portion to and from the insertion hole when the inertial lever portion is at a predetermined attachment/detachment position relative to the lever body (Figure 3, Para. [0057]), and block attachment and detachment of the support shaft portion to and from the insertion hole when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the operating position and the non-operating position (Lever body 9 is properly attached to a shaft with rotational axis 9a, and inertia lever 19 is properly attached to a different shaft with rotational axis 19a. Figures 1-4. Prior is presumed to be operable, MPEP 2121.)
For claim 10, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 9, wherein the inertial lever portion (19) is arranged so as to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis (19a) relative to the lever body (9) and arranged so as to be movable along a predetermined shifting axis when the inertial lever portion is rotated to a predetermined first non-operating position (Surface in 19 that is substantially orthogonal to the axis prior to contacting 34. Figure 1.), the open link (9, 19, 21) moves along a virtual operation plane including an axis of the support shaft portion when opening operation of the door handle is performed to allow transmission of the operation force to the pawl lever (3, Figure 2), the engagement mechanism (30) includes a protruding engagement portion that is provided at the support shaft portion and an insertion cutout portion (29, Figure 3) that is provided in the insertion portion, the protruding engagement portion being provided in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis (upper surface of 30 is orthogonal to rotational axis, Figure 1), the insertion cutout portion having a size large enough to allow insertion of the protruding engagement portion (Figure 3), and when the inertial lever portion (19) is arranged at the operating position relative to the lever body, the insertion cutout portion extends in a direction not perpendicular to the operation plane (Figure 1-3.)
For claim 11, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 9, wherein the inertial lever portion (19) is arranged so as to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis (19a) relative to the lever body (9) and arranged so as to be movable along a predetermined shifting axis when the inertial lever portion (19) is rotated to a predetermined first non-operating position (Surface in 19 that is substantially orthogonal to the axis prior to contacting 34. Figure 1.), wherein a shift mechanism and a restriction mechanism are provided between the lever body and the inertial lever portion, wherein the shift mechanism is configured to shift the inertial lever portion to a predetermined second non-operating position along the shifting axis when the inertial lever portion is rotated to the first non-operating position relative to the lever body (19; In the idle stroke, 34 prevents 19 from falling in any further. In the return stroke, inertia lever 19 is released from 34 for coupling engagement with 20. Figure 4. Para. [0055]), and wherein the restriction mechanism is configured to prevent movement of the inertial lever portion (19) to the operating position when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the second non-operating position (Para. [0055, 0058]), wherein the shift mechanism includes a shifting bias member (21) configured to have a spring force storage state when the inertial lever portion is arranged at the operating position relative to the lever body and shift the inertial lever portion to the second non-operating position when the inertial lever portion is moved to the first non-operating position relative to the lever body (Para. [0033]), wherein the lever body (9) is provided with the support shaft portion, and the inertial lever portion (19) is provided with the insertion portion, wherein the lever body (9) includes a seating surface that is provided at one end of the support shaft portion, where an end of the shifting bias member abuts on the seating surface, and an engagement claw that is provided at a position facing the seating surface and configured so that the shifting bias member is mounted between the seating surface and the engagement claw, and wherein the inertial lever portion is provided with a biasing force receiving surface configured to arrange the shifting bias member so as to have the spring force storage state, between the biasing force receiving surface and the seating surface, when the inertial lever portion (19) is arranged at the operating position relative to the lever body (30 of 19 engages 29 of 27, Figure 3.)
For claim 12, Joschko et al. discloses the door latch device according to claim 11, wherein the seating surface is configured to have a contact area with the shifting bias member (21) larger than the engagement claw (Figures 1-4.)
Conclusion
Prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provides examples of similar inventions. There are no suggestions in the prior art of record for combining any of the references to arrive at as claimed. A few of the prior art cited but not applied includes Papanikolaou (US 9,115,514), and Shinohara (FR 3 135 739).
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/NATHAN CUMAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675