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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 7-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
The examiner finds that the specification does not reasonably provide enablement for the assertion that both the piston rod and the thread tube are driven to rotate by the drive unit. Claims 7 and 11-15 each recite “wherein an output end of the motor drives the thread tube for rotation through the gear box” while claim 1 recites “a driving unit…and serves to drive the piston rod in rotation so that the piston rod drives the outer tube to move along the axial direction of the inner tube.”
As the piston rod carries the threaded piston, which engages with the thread tube, both of these elements cannot be driven to rotate with the expectation that the actuator will expand axially. Thread based linear actuators utilize a rotating threaded member, to drive a rotationally stationary threaded member linearly along the axis of rotation. The claims requiring both threaded components to be driven rotationally would result in no linear movement between the components of the actuator, and the tailgate of the vehicle could not open.
The state of the prior art, which one skilled in the art would have known at the time the application was filed, about the subject matter to which the claimed invention pertains, does not teach the necessary structure to make and use the invention to have the claimed results.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “wherein the tailgate connection assembly is located at both ends of the telescopic rod and is used for a connection between the telescopic rod and a tailgate” which is unclear and renders the claims indefinite. The claim appears to require the strut to be connected to the tailgate at both ends, and which point the actuator would have no effect, as it has nothing to push against to actuate the tailgate.
Claims 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 recite “wherein an output end of the motor drives the thread tube for rotation through the gear box” while claim 1 recites “a driving unit…and serves to drive the piston rod in rotation so that the piston rod drives the outer tube to move along the axial direction of the inner tube.” It is unclear how the driving unit drives both parts of the actuator to generate axial movement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-2, 7 and 11, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berklich, Jr. Et al. (USPN 7,320,198 B2) in view of Buescher (US 2009/0044645 A1).
Berklich discloses an electric tailgate strut, comprising: a telescopic rod (see Figs. 15-16), wherein the telescopic rod comprises an inner tube (152), a gas spring (150), wherein the gas spring is arranged inside the telescopic rod and comprises a thread tube (158) with a thread (see Fig. 15) on an inner wall, a piston (164) and a piston rod (162); a distance between the thread tube and the inner tube remains constant; the piston is located at a free end (see top of Fig. 15) of the piston rod and in a rotary seat (see Fig. 16) with the inner wall of the thread tube; and a seal guide assembly (162) is provided between the piston rod and the thread tube (162 is located between the bottom of piston rod 162 and the threaded tube 158, see Fig. 16), a driving unit (20/22), the driving unit serves to drive the piston rod in rotation so that the piston rod drives the inner tube along the axial direction, and a tailgate connection assembly (155, 163), wherein the tailgate connection assembly is located at both ends of the telescopic rod and is used for a connection between the telescopic rod and a tailgate (12); and wherein the inner wall of the thread tube is provided with a thread projection (see Fig. 15), the piston is provided with a thread groove (see Fig. 15) matching with the thread projection, and there is no self-locking between the piston and the thread tube; wherein the driving unit comprises a motor (20) and a controller (Column 1, lines 45-46, electrical switch considered a controller), wherein an output end of the motor drives the piston rod for rotation.
Berklich does not disclose an outer tube and the outer tube is configured to move along an axial direction of the inner tube, or wherein the driving unit is fixedly arranged in the outer tube, or that the driving unit has a gear box.
Buescher discloses an electric tailgate strut (see Fig. 1) having an outer tube (12) configured to move along an axial direction of an inner tube (24), and wherein a driving unit (14) has a gear box (16) and is fixedly arranged in the outer tube.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was file to have modified the electric tailgate strut of Berklich to have an outer tube containing the driving unit with a gear box that moves along the axial direction of the inner tube, in order to provide a more compact electric actuator that is better sealed against dust and dirt intrusion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAKE COOK whose telephone number is (571)272-5968. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:00 PM.
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, Minnah Seoh can be reached at (571) 270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JAKE COOK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/Jake Cook/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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