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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Groups A and IV in the reply filed on January 28, 2026 is acknowledged. Accordingly, claims 6 and 8-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on January 28, 2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because figures 2-5, 7-9, 13, 14, 17 and 20 each include multiple figures of the invention. Thus, each of the multiple figures in figures 2-5, 7-9, 13, 14, 17 and 20 require a separate figure designation and description in the specification. For example, see figure 2 which includes at least three figures. Thus, each of the three figures in figure 2 requires a separate figure designation and description in the specification.
Figure 5 is objected to because it is unclear what the two arrow heads are intended to represent. See annotated figure 5 below.
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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.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “and combination thereof” on lines 2-3 is confusing because it is grammatically incorrect. It is suggested the applicant change “combination” to --combinations-- to avoid confusion. On line 5, “of” is grammatically incorrect. Did the applicant mean to recite --or--?
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because “is locked” on line 5 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear what element of the invention the window is locked relative to. Note that it appears that the arm 553 is locked to the keyed socket 531 as shown in figure 5.
Claim 3 is objected to because “on opposite sides” on line 2 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear what element of the invention includes the opposite sides to which the applicant is referring. Also, it is unclear how a sphere/ball has sides.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenzel et al. (US 8671619) in view of WO 2025/003108. Stenzel et al. discloses a window drive mechanism 1 (fig. 1) comprising a base 8 (fig. 1) affixed to a window 6; and a collar 9 coupled to the base 8, and further comprising: an arm 4; and an actuator 2 coupled to the arm 4 and configured to move the arm 4 based on a control signal to cause the window 6 to move relative to a support 17.
Stenzel et al. is silent concerning a window disconnect.
However, WO 2025/003108 discloses a window disconnect comprising:
a keyed ball (labeled below); and
a keyed socket 19 configured to engage and disengage the keyed ball, wherein:
in a first rotational orientation of the keyed socket as shown in figure 4b, the keyed ball is locked in the keyed socket 19 such that a closure 2 is locked; and
in a second rotational orientation of the keyed socket as shown in figure 4c, the keyed ball is unlocked and removable from the keyed socket 19 such that the closure is removable.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the arm and the collar of Stenzel et al. with a keyed ball and keyed socket connector, as taught by WO 2025/003108, with a reasonable expectation of success enabler a user to securely attach the arm 4 to the window 6 while allowing the selective release of the arm 4 from the window 6 for repair and/or maintenance work on the window 6 or the actuator.
With respect to claim 3, Stenzel et al., as modified above, discloses that the keyed socket 19 comprises a slot, as shown in figure 4a, and the keyed ball comprises a ball having flats (labeled below) on opposite sides as shown in figure 3a.
With respect to claim 4, Stenzel et al., as modified above, discloses that the first rotational orientation of the keyed socket 19, the flats are parallel with the sides of the slot, as shown in figure 4a, such that the keyed ball can translate into and out of the keyed socket 19; and in the second rotational orientation of the keyed socket 19, the flats are misaligned with the sides of the slot such that the keyed ball cannot translate into or out of the keyed socket 19, as shown in figure 4b.
With respect to claim 7, Stenzel et al., as modified above, discloses that the arm 4 is coupled to the keyed ball; and an actuator 2 is coupled to the arm 4 and configured to move the arm 4 based on a control signal to cause the window 6 to move relative to a support 17 when the keyed ball is locked in the keyed socket 19.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenzel et al. in view of WO 2025/003108, as applied to claims 1, 3, 4 and 7 above. Stenzel et al., as modified above, discloses that the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation are in rotational separate positions, as shown in figures 4a-4c, but is silent concerning the degrees that the first and second rotational orientations are apart.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the invention to position the first rotational position between 80 and 100 degrees apart from the second rotational position, with a reasonable expectation of success to ensure that the keyed ball and the keyed socket do not unexpectedly separate from one another.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stenzel et al. in view of WO 2025/003108, as applied to claims 1, 3, 4 and 7 above. Stenzel et al., as modified above, discloses a base 8 affixed to the window 6; and a collar 7 coupled to the base 8, wherein the keyed socket is arranged at an end of the collar 7.
Stenzel et al. is silent concerning the collar being rotatably coupled to the base such that the keyed socket rotates with the collar.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the invention to make the collar and keyed slot rotatable relative to the base, with a reasonable expectation of success to enabler a user to easily connect and disconnect the arm 4 from the window 6.
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The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY J STRIMBU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634