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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limit groove, slide groove, sheet metal member, vehicle sidewall, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. Any such petition must be accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h), one set of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or three sets of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if not submitted via the via USPTO patent electronic filing system, and, unless already present, an amendment to include the following language as the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section of the specification:
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
Color photographs will be accepted if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied. See 37 CFR 1.84(b)(2).
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) 1, 4-6, 8, 13,16-18,20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Debroucke et al. EP 42199872A1 (NOTE: The effective filing date is 01/27/2022, however this rejection uses the US PGPUB Equivalent: US 2023235600A1 for reference numbers), hereinafter referred to as Debroucke, alone.
Regarding claim 1, Debroucke teaches a self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly, comprising:
a lock catch body (32+12+14), comprising a base (32+12) and a lock cylinder (14), wherein the base is provided with a bolt through-hole (upper 20), and the base comprises a first surface (planar surface of 32 shown in fig 1) and a second surface (opposing planar surface of 32, not shown, fig1) opposite each other, the first surface facing a vehicle door (102, see fig1) and the first surface being provided with a slide groove (upper 26); and
the lock cylinder is fixedly connected (lock cylinder does not move in the vertical direction relative to the first surface of the base and is therefore considered “fixedly connected”) to the first surface of the base;
a floating adjustment piece (upper 22), provided in the slide groove and configured to adjust a position of the lock catch body, wherein the floating adjustment piece is provided with an opening (hole of 22, fig2), a diameter of the bolt through-hole being greater than a diameter of the opening of the floating adjustment piece (see fig2);
a fastener (upper 16), configured to secure the base to a sheet metal member (wall surface of 100) of a vehicle sidewall (100) wherein the diameter of the opening of the floating adjustment piece matches a size of the fastener (paragraph 58, fig2-4)); and
a limit block (46), connected to the base, wherein a limit groove (30) is provided between (paragraph 92, fig2-3) the limit block and the base, and the limit block is configured to limit the lock catch body through the limit groove.
Debroucke does not explicitly teach the member of the vehicle sidewall to be of sheet metal, however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the material of the member can be modified to be sheet metal in order for it be more durable, since it has been held that the selection of known material for its intended purpose is a design consideration that is of routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.
Regarding claim 4, Debroucke further teaches the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises a countersunk bolt (16, fig4).
Regarding claim 5, Debroucke further teaches the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a bushing (upper 18), provided on an inner wall (inside of 20, fig4) of the bolt through-hole.
Regarding claim 6, Debroucke further teaches the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly according to claim 1, wherein a spacer (18) is provided between the second surface of the base and the sheet metal member of the vehicle sidewall. (see fig1-4)
Regarding claim 8, Debroucke further teaches the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly according to claim 1, further comprising an exterior trim panel (48) covering the first surface of the base. (fig1-2)
Regarding claim 9, Debroucke teaches an apparatus of a self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Debroucke is capable of teaching the method for mounting a self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly comprising a lock catch body (32+12+14), a floating adjustment piece (upper 22), a fastener (upper 16), and a limit block (46), the method comprising:
pre-tightening and securing the fastener that passes through the floating adjustment piece and a bolt through-hole (20) to a sheet metal member (planar surface of 100) of a vehicle sidewall (100) with a first torque (“step a” paragraph 83, 92);
upon closing a vehicle door at a preset closing speed until a door lock is in a locked state, self-adaptively adjusting the limit block, the floating adjustment piece, and the fastener, such that the lock catch body is matched with the vehicle door (“step b” paragraph 93-94);
tightening the fastener with a second torque (after “step b” and during “step b’ to step d” paragraph 95), the second torque being greater than the first torque (paragraph 13); and
removing the limit block (after “step b” and during “step b’ to step d”) and installing an exterior trim panel (after “step d” paragraph 95).
Debroucke does not explicitly teach the member of the vehicle sidewall to be of sheet metal, however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the material of the member can be modified to be sheet metal in order for it be more durable, since it has been held that the selection of known material for its intended purpose is a design consideration that is of routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.
Regarding claim 10, Debroucke further teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein a relative position between the lock catch body and the vehicle door is automatically calibrated according to an actual position of the vehicle door after the vehicle door is closed. (paragraph 14)
Regarding claim 11, Debroucke further teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the vehicle door and the lock catch body are self-adaptively adjusted to a state in an up and down direction and a left and right direction. (paragraph 12, fig1)
Regarding claim 12, Debroucke further teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the floating adjustment piece is provided with an opening (opening in 22, fig 2), and a diameter of the opening of the floating adjustment piece matches a size of the fastener (fig2-4).
Regarding claim 13, Debroucke further teaches the vehicle, comprising a self-adjusting (paragraph 12) vehicle door lock catch assembly, wherein the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly comprises:
a lock catch body (32+12+14), comprising a base (32+12) and a lock cylinder (14), wherein the base is provided with a bolt through-hole (upper 20), and the base comprises a first surface (planar surface of 32 shown in fig2) and a second surface (opposing planar surface of 32, fig2) opposite each other, the first surface facing a vehicle door (102, see fig1) and the first surface being provided with a slide groove (upper 26); and
the lock cylinder is fixedly connected (lock cylinder does not move in the vertical direction relative to the first surface of the base and is therefore considered “fixedly connected”) to the first surface of the base;
a floating adjustment piece (upper 22), provided in the slide groove and configured to adjust a position of the lock catch body (paragraph 59), wherein the floating adjustment piece is provided with an opening (not labeled, hole inside 22, fig2), a diameter of the bolt through-hole being greater than a diameter of the opening of the floating adjustment piece (fig2);
a fastener (upper 16), configured to secure the base to a sheet metal member (planar surface of 100) of a vehicle sidewall (100), wherein the diameter of the opening of the floating adjustment piece matches a size of the fastener (fig4); and
a limit block (46), connected to the base, wherein a limit groove (30) is provided between the limit block and the base (paragraph 92, fig2-3), and the limit block is configured to limit the lock catch body through the limit groove.
Debroucke does not explicitly teach the member of the vehicle sidewall to be of sheet metal, however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the material of the member can be modified to be sheet metal in order for it be more durable, since it has been held that the selection of known material for its intended purpose is a design consideration that is of routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.
Regarding claim 16, Debroucke further teaches the vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the fastener comprises a countersunk bolt (16, fig4).
Regarding claim 17, Debroucke further teaches the vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly further comprises a bushing (upper 18), provided on an inner wall (inside of 20, fig4) of the bolt through-hole.
Regarding claim 18, Debroucke further teaches vehicle according to claim 13, wherein a spacer (18) is provided between the second surface of the base and the sheet metal member of the vehicle sidewall. (see fig1-4)
Regarding claim 20, Debroucke further teaches the vehicle according to claim 13, the self-adjusting vehicle door lock catch assembly further comprises an exterior trim panel (48) covering the first surface of the base. (fig1-2)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3,7,14-15,19 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.
Regarding claims 2 and 14, Debroucke does teach two slide grooves and two bolt through holes but not the two bolt through holes provided in the first surface of the base. Examiner can find no reason to combine or modify references of record without the use of impermissible hindsight.
Claims 3,7,15,19 are objected to due to their dependency on claim 14.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Art is related to vehicles and catch assemblies.
PTO 892 lists related but not relied upon prior art: US 12503881, US 20210246687, US 8944479.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARIA F. AHMAD whose telephone number is (571)270-1334. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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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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/F.F.A./
Examiner
Art Unit 3675
/CHRISTINE M MILLS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675