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 .
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 11-20 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 written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In claim 11, line 9, it appears that “allowing” should be –blocking—in order to coincide with the specification on page 8, line 23-24, which discloses “allowing” rotation of the control paddle 20 in the first position and “blocking” in the second position.
It is noted that dependent claims 12-20 are included herein merely because of their dependency.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Usuzaki et al US 7,302,818 (hereinafter Usuzaki).
Re Claim 11. (New)
Usuzaki discloses vehicle door locking equipment, comprising: a door latch (22); a lock cylinder (21) configured to lock or unlock a vehicle door by rotating a control paddle (81) linked to the door latch (22); an inner handle (99,118) linked to the door latch (22) and configured to be rotated to allow an opening of the door from inside a passenger cabin; a stopper knob (98) located inside the passenger cabin; and a stopper (80) configured to be displaced between a first position allowing rotation of the control paddle (81) and a second position allowing (blocking) rotation of the control paddle (81) upon actuation of the stopper knob (98), wherein the inner handle (99,118) is configured to displace the stopper (80) in the first position when the inner handle is rotated to open the door (para [47-48]).
Re Claim 12. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 11, wherein the stopper knob (98) comprises an actuation lever (push/pull cable 100) which is displaced between a first position associated to the first position of the stopper (80) and a second position associated with the second position of the stopper, and wherein inner handle (99) is configured to displace the actuation lever towards the first position of the actuation lever when the inner handle (99) is rotated to open the door.
Re Claim 13. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 11, wherein the rotation of the inner handle (99,118) is configured to displace the stopper (80) in the first position before unlocking the door latch (22) and opening the door.
Re Claim 14. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 13, wherein the inner handle (99) is provided on an inner door handle frame (Fig.1), and wherein the stopper knob (98) is arranged in the inner door handle frame (Fig.1,8).
Re Claim 15. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 11, wherein the door latch (22) and the stopper (80) are housed in a common housing (69).
Re Claim 16. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 11, wherein the door latch (22) comprises a control lever (99) configured to unlock the door latch, the control lever is linked to the control paddle (81) of the lock cylinder (21) and the stopper (80) is in contact with the control lever (99) in said second position (see Fig.1 connections).
Re Claim 17. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 16, wherein the control lever (99) is configured to rotate according to a rotational axis, and the stopper (80) is configured to be displaced along a linear pathway which is substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the control lever (control lever pivots about a vertical axis, then stopper moves along a horizontal plane).
Re Claim 18. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door locking equipment in accordance with claim 16, wherein the stopper (80) comprises a blocking end (connection means between the control lever and stopper) which is configured to intercept the control lever (99) of the door latch in said second position.
Re Claim 19. (New)
Usuzaki discloses a vehicle door (Fig.1, para [17]) comprising: the vehicle door locking equipment according to claim 11.
Re Claim 20. (New)
Usuzaki discloses the vehicle door in accordance with claim 19, wherein the vehicle door is a side door (Fig. 1, para [17], right side door of passenger vehicle).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note that, alternatively, applicant’s cited reference JP-S62-135760 also reads on all pending claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUZANNE DINO BARRETT whose telephone number is (571)272-7053. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 8AM-6:30PM.
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SUZANNE DINO BARRETT
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3675B
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/SUZANNE L BARRETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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