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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information disclosure statement of 12/10/2024 has been received and reviewed.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 was previously objected to. Applicant has successfully addressed these issues in the amendments filed on 05/12/2026. Accordingly, the objections to the claims have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 11-21 were previously rejected under 35 USC § 112. Applicant has successfully addressed these issues in the amendments filed on 05/12/2026. Accordingly, the rejection to the claims have been withdrawn.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 15 recites a clipping means for fastening the cover to the structure. This will be interpreted as the first and second hook as defined in paragraph 0042 of the specifications.
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) 11-15, 17, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20220018168 to Cervone.
Regarding claim 11, Cervone discloses:
A vehicle door handle (10) configured to be fastened to a bracket (14) fixed on an inner side of a vehicle door panel (fig 3), the door handle being configured for moving between a retracted position (fig 2) in which the door handle is flush with an outer side of the vehicle door panel and a deployed position (fig 3), the door handle comprising: a structure (40) comprising a first sleeve (25) configured to be fastened to a first lever (30) of the bracket and a second sleeve (27) configured to be fastened to a second lever (28) of the bracket; and a cover (38) configured to be fastened to the structure, the cover comprising a first arm (left arm seen in fig 14) configured to cover the first sleeve (fig 19) and a second arm ( right arm seen in fig 14) configured to cover the second sleeve (fig 19, see paragraph 0035), wherein the first arm comprises a first hook (left hook seen in fig 16) configured to be introduced in a first slot (slot where left hook is inserted, see figs 16 and 17) arranged in a wall of the first sleeve (fig 16) to ensure the alignment of the first arm with the first sleeve and the second arm comprises a second hook (right hook seen in figs 16 and 17) configured to be introduced in a second slot (slot that the second hook is inserted into) arranged in a wall of the second sleeve (see figs 16 and 17) to ensure the alignment of the second arm with the second sleeve, an inner side (side on the inner front, see fig below) of the wall associated with the first slot of the first sleeve defining a first chamfer (chamfer C, see figure produced below) with an angle comprised between 20° and 60° (45), and an inner side (side of the inner front on the left side) of the wall associated with the second slot of the second sleeve defining a second chamfer (chamfer on the second sleeve that mirrors the first sleeve) with an angle comprised between 20° and 60° (45), and wherein the first hook and the second hook have a shape complementary (fig 16) with the first and the second chamfer respectively (chamfers at the openings of 25 and 27, see fig 16) to ease the introduction of the first and second hooks within the respective first and second slots (figs 16 and 17).
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Regarding claim 12, Cervone discloses:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the angle of the first chamfer is 45° (see angle A produced in the figure above) and the angle of the second chamfer is 45° (see angle of second chamfer above).
Regarding claim 13, Cervone discloses:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the cover has a U-shape cross section (fig 14) with a first branch (left branch) of the U comprising the first arm and the second arm of the cover (the first arm is on the left branch and the second arm is on the right branch) and a second branch (right branch) opposing the first branch, the first and second branches of the U extending towards each other (left branch and right branch extend towards each other from the extremes) with an angle comprised between 5 and 30° (see angle A2 in the figure produced below).
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Regarding claim 14, Cervone discloses:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 13, wherein the first branch of the U is longer than the second branch (left branch is longer than the right one, see fig 14).
Regarding claim 15, Cervone discloses:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the structure and the cover comprise clipping means for fastening the cover to the structure (left and right hooks, see claim interpretation above).
Regarding claim 17, Cervone discloses:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the structure comprises guiding rails (left walls of 25 and 27 as seen in fig 16) configured to guide the hooks of the cover towards the slots during assembly (figs 16 and 17).
Regarding claim 19, Cervone discloses:
A vehicle door handle (10) assembly comprising: a bracket (14) configured to be fixed on the inner side of a vehicle door panel (fig 3); and the vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the bracket comprises the first (30) and the second levers (28) configured to receive the first and second sleeves of the structure of the door handle (fig 6).
Regarding claim 20, Cervone discloses:
A method for assembling the vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, the method comprising the following steps: positioning the cover next to the structure with the first and second hooks positioned respectively in front of the first and second slots; sliding the cover along the structure to introduce the first and second hooks of the cover in the respective first and second slots of the structure; and clipping the cover to the structure (see paragraph 0035).
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) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220018168 to Cervone.
Regarding claims 20-21, although Cervone doesn’t explicitly disclose the method of claims 20-21, Cervone teaches the structure necessary for such method as rejected in claims 11-15 above. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to use the invention of Cervone in the method of claims 20-21.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220018168 to Cervone in view of US 20200173207 to Shimizu.
Regarding claim 16, Cervone does not explicitly disclose:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the cover is glued to the structure.
However, Shimizu teaches that it is well known in the art to glue (58) a cover (38) to a structure (24). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Shimizu into Cervone at least because doing so would provide additional security by adding an additional fastening means, thereby reducing risk of unwanted separation.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220018168 to Cervone in view of EP 3469175 to Low.
Regarding claim 18, Cervone does not explicitly disclose:
The vehicle door handle in accordance with claim 11, wherein the cover is made of plastic material.
However, Low teaches that it is well known in the art to have a cover (4) made from plastic material (page 4 paragraph 5 of attached translation). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Low into Cervone at least because doing so would provide an inexpensive solution to providing a cover (see page 4, paragraph 5 of attached translation of Low).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Applicant’s arguments that hooks are not on the first and second arms of the cover, Examiner notes that the claims recite the arms comprising hooks, and not that the hooks must be on the arms directly.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments that the chamfer is between the base plate and the sleeve, which does not correspond to the claimed limitation, Examiner notes that the claims recite a chamfer on a side associated with the slot, and not the slot itself.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments that the shape of the hooks is not complementary to the chamfers and does not ease the introduction into the slots, Examiner respectfully disagrees. While the hooks do not have the same exact shape, the shape is complementary in that it does not prevent the insertion of the hooks, thereby easing introduction. Therefore, rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Yahya Sidky whose telephone number is (571)272-6237. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30.
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 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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/Y.S./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
/CHRISTINE M MILLS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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