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 .
The following final office action is in response to the reply filed March 17, 2026.
Drawings
The drawing correction filed March 17, 2026 has been approved.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “is provided” on lines 8-9 can be easily implied and therefore should be deleted.
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
Claims 8, 9, 19 and 20 are objected to because “at” on line 2 of claim 8 brings the clarity of the claim into question because it is unclear what spatial relationship the applicant is attempting to set forth. Is the lock body disposed on the connection base or merely disposed adjacent to the connection base. Also see “at” on line 3 of claim 8, line 2 of claim 9, line 3 of claim 19 and line 2 of claim 20.
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, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114856343 in view of Schmidhuber et al. (US 6030024).
With respect to claim 1, CN 114856343 discloses a vehicle door assembly, comprising:
a connection base 8 (fig. 1) provided with a first connection portion 2 (fig. 1) and a second connection portion 3 (fig. 1) spaced apart from each other;
a vehicle door 9 (fig. 1); and
a drive mechanism connected to the vehicle door 9 and configured to open or close the vehicle door 9, the drive mechanism comprising:
a first link 1 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below) that are rotatably connected to the vehicle door 8 and the first connection portion 2, respectively;
a second link 6 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), wherein the second end of the second link is rotatably connected to the second connection portion 3;
a third link 722 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), wherein the first end of the third link 722 is rotatably connected to the vehicle door 9 and the second end of the third link 722 is rotatably connected to the first end of the second link 6 via the shaft 52; and
wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a second driver 71 (fig. 1) connected to the first end of the third link 722 and configured to drive the third link 722 to rotate relative to the second link 6, wherein the second driver 71 is fixed to the second link 6 via the third link 722 and the shaft 52 and located at a side of the second link 6 facing away from the first link 1 (as annotated below).
CN 114856343 is silent concerning a first driver.
However, Schmidhuber et al. discloses a first driver (not shown, but set forth on line 66 of column 2) connected to a first link 5 and configured to drive the first link 5 to rotate relative to a first connection portion (not shown, but comprising the portion of the vehicle body to which the pivot axis A is fixed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 114856343 with a first driver, as taught by Schmidhuber et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to automate the opening and closing movement of the vehicle door.
Note that the term “connected” does not require a direct connection between two elements. Rather, the term “connected” has been interpreted to mean that intervening elements can be present between the two elements with the two elements being connected together. For example, the third link 722 is connected to the vehicle door via the shaft 52 and the fourth hinge 4. Additionally, the term “fixed” does require the two elements fixed together to be non-movably fixed. For example, the second driver 71 is fixed to the second link 6 via the third link 722 and the shaft 52 even though the second driver 71 is movable relative to the second link 6.
With respect to claim 3, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a fourth link 723 (fig. 5) having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), wherein the first end of the fourth link 723 is connected to the first end of the third link 722 as shown in figure 6, and the second end of the fourth link 723 is connected to the second driver 71 as shown in figure 6.
With respect to claim 4, wherein the vehicle door 9 is provided with a fixing mount 5 (fig. 1), the first end of the third link 722 and an end the first end of the fourth link 723 being rotatably connected to the fixing mount 5 about one axis defined by the shaft 52.
With respect to claim 6, CN 114856343, as modified above, discloses that the first driver is a drive motor (see lines 65-66 of column 2); and/or the second driver is an electric strut. Note that the examiner has elected to read “and/or” as “or” and thus, only one of the two options set forth in claim 6 need to be met in order to anticipate claim 6.
With respect to claim 7, the vehicle door 9 is movable between an open position, as shown in figure 5, and a closed position, as shown in figure 2, relative to the connection base 8, the second link 6 and the third link 722 being collinear when the vehicle door is in the open position or the closed position (labeled below), and an angle (labeled below) between the second link 6 and the third link 722 gradually decreasing and then gradually increasing when the vehicle door is moved from the closed position to the open position as shown in figure 5. Note that the angle between the second and third links will be zero when the second link is perpendicular to the door 9 while opening and then the angle will increase until the door 9 reaches the position shown in figure 5.
With respect to claim 12, CN 114856343, as modified above, discloses a vehicle (not shown, but comprising the vehicle to which the vehicle door frame 8 is attached), comprising a vehicle body (not shown, but comprising the vehicle body to which the vehicle door frame 8 is attached), the connection base 8 is fixed to the vehicle body.
With respect to claim 14, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a fourth link 723 (fig. 5) having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), wherein the first end of the fourth link 723 is connected to the first end of the third link 722 as shown in figure 6, and the second end of the fourth link 723 is connected to the second driver 71 as shown in figure 6.
With respect to claim 15, wherein the vehicle door 9 is provided with a fixing mount 5 (fig. 1), the first end of the third link 722 and an end the first end of the fourth link 723 being rotatably connected to the fixing mount 5 about one axis defined by the shaft 52.
With respect to claim 17, CN 114856343, as modified above, discloses that the first driver is a drive motor (see lines 65-66 of column 2); and/or the second driver is an electric strut. Note that the examiner has elected to read “and/or” as “or” and thus, only one of the two options set forth in claim 6 need to be met in order to anticipate claim 6.
With respect to claim 18, the vehicle door 9 is movable between an open position, as shown in figure 5, and a closed position, as shown in figure 2, relative to the connection base 8, the second link 6 and the third link 722 being collinear when the vehicle door is in the open position or the closed position (labeled below), and an angle (labeled below) between the second link 6 and the third link 722 gradually decreasing and then gradually increasing when the vehicle door is moved from the closed position to the open position as shown in figure 5. Note that the angle between the second and third links will be zero when the second link is perpendicular to the door 9 while opening and then the angle will increase until the door 9 reaches the position shown in figure 5.
Claims 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114856343 in view of Schmidhuber et al. as applied to claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18 above, and further in view of Sumiya (US 2022/0205293).
Sumiya discloses a vehicle door assembly comprising a locking mechanism 40, 60 (fig. 4), the locking mechanism comprising a lock body 40 disposed at a connection base and a lock catch 60 disposed at a second link 11, wherein the locking mechanism has a locked state, as shown in figure 5, in which the lock catch 60 is locked to the lock body 40 and an unlocked state as shown in figure 4 in which the lock catch is separated from the lock body.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 114856343, as modified above, with a locking mechanism, as taught by Sumiya, with a reasonable expectation of success to ensure that the door is securely held relative to the vehicle body when the door is in the open position.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114856343 in view of Schmidhuber et al. as applied to claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18 above, and further in view of WO 2020/216704. WO 2020/216704 discloses a vehicle door assembly wherein a first link 6 (fig. 5) is provided with a limit block 90 at a second end of the first link 6, and the limit block 90 being adapted to abut with a vehicle body 9 of a vehicle when a vehicle door 201 (fig. 1) is opened.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide CN 114856343, as modified above, with a limit block, as taught by WO 2020/216704, with a reasonable expectation of success to prevent the first link from impacting and damaging the vehicle when the door is in the open position. It should be noted that the limit block 90 of WO 2020/216704 would be located at a side of the first link 1 of CN 114856343 facing away from the second link 6 as shown in figure 5 of CN 114856343.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 114856343 in view of Schmidhuber et al. as applied to claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18 above, and further in view of Gustavsson et al. (US 2025/0083748). CN 114856343 discloses that the first link 1 and the second link 6 are spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction (labeled below).
CN 114856343 is silent concerning at least part of the first link in a length direction of the first link extending along an arc protruding that protrudes towards the second link.
However, Gustavsson et al. discloses a vehicle door assembly comprising a link 3A (fig. 3) wherein at least part of the link 3A in a length direction of the first link 3A, as shown in figure 3, extending extends along an arc that protrudes upwardly as shown in figure 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the first link of CN 114856343, as modified above, with a curvature, as taught by Gustavsson, a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to attach the first link at different heights on the connection base 8 and the door 9 so as to accommodate doors of different sizes. It should be noted that the arc on the first link 1 will protrude towards the second link 6.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 17, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant’s argument that CN 114856343 fails to disclose the second driver 71 being fixed to the second link and located on a side of the second link facing away from the first link is not found to be persuasive. As mentioned above, the term “fixed” does not require the second driver to be non-movable relative to the second link. The second driver can be fixed to the second link even though the second driver and the second link can move relative to one another. This is analogous to a wheel of a vehicle being fixed to a lower control arm. The wheel can rotate relative to the lower control arm, however, the wheel is still fixed to the lower control arm. Additionally, the second driver 71 is located at a side of the second link 6 facing away from the first link 1 as shown in annotated figure 1 above. The second driver 71 is located on a vertical side of the second link 6 which faces vertically away from the first link 1.
The remainder of the applicant’s comments are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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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
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