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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-16 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of U.S. Patent No. 12,196,023. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-16 are generic to all that is recited in claims 1-14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,196,023. In other words, claims 1-14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,196,023 fully encompass the subject matter of claims 1-16 and therefore anticipate claims 1-16.
Claims of the Current Invention
Corresponding Claims of U.S. 12,196,023
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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.
Claims 1, 6-9, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0129769).
Re claim 1, Choi discloses a door hinge apparatus for a vehicle, the door hinge apparatus comprising a rail bracket (20, figure 12) provided at one side of a vehicle body corresponding to one end portion of a door (the rail bracket is associated with a front end of the door in figure 10) and including a rail (see the annotated figure below) formed to be directed toward the outside of the vehicle body, a roller block (see the annotated figure below) configured to support a rotation of a roller rollably supported on the rail on the rail bracket, a hinge shaft (see the annotated figure below) connected (indirectly) to the one end portion of the door , a rotation shaft (see the annotated figure below) connected to the one end portion of the door (indirectly), a rack fixed to the rail bracket (see the annotated figure below), and a pinion (134, figure 11) engaged to the rack.
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Re claim 6, the rail includes an upper rail and a lower rail, and wherein the upper rail and the lower rail are formed on upper and lower portions of the rail bracket and disposed in a longitudinal direction thereof. See the annotated figure above.
Re claim 7, the roller includes an upper roller and a lower roller, and wherein the roller block supports rotations of the upper roller and the lower roller so that the upper roller is rollably supported on the upper rail, and the lower roller is rollably supported on the lower rail. See the annotated figure below.
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Re claim 8, the upper roller and the lower roller are each configured as a circular roller bearing. See the annotated figure above.
Re claim 9, rolling support surfaces of the upper roller and the lower roller and rolling support surfaces of the upper and lower rails, on which the upper roller and the lower roller are rollably supported, are each a semi-circular contact surface (see the annotated figure above).
Re claim 13, the rack is fixed to a lower portion of the rail bracket based on a longitudinal direction, and wherein the pinion (134, figure 11) is fixedly connected to the rotation shaft (131, figure 11).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references disclose vehicle door hinge mechanisms.
US 5,561,887 teaches hinge mechanism with U-shaped bars.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason S Morrow whose telephone number is (571)272-6663. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m..
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.
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/JASON S MORROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
July 24, 2026
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