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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, line 5, “the release direction” is recited. The “the” should likely be an “a” because the “release direction” was not previously recited. For purposes of examination, the Examiner will interpret the claim to read “a release direction”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1-7 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.
Regarding claim 1, lines 15-16, “that restricts a rotation range of the drive element depending on the rotation position of the cinch lever” is recited. It is unclear how the cinch lever 14, which is mounted on the drive element 13, is able to restrict the movement of 13. The phrase “rotation position” is used twice in the instant specification but no details are provided on the how the restriction works or is structured. It is the Examiner’s best understanding of the instant invention based on the instant figures that pin 141 of cinch lever 14 is restricted from rotating by groove 132 of drive element 13. For purposes of examination, the Examiner will interpret the claim to read “that restricts relative rotation between the drive element and the cinch lever”.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, they are rejected because they pend from claim 1.
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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamura, US 6499776 B2.
Regarding claim 1, Takamura teaches a vehicle door latch device (lock main body 1) provided on a door side of a vehicle (col 3, lines 49-57), the vehicle door latch device comprising:
a catch (latch 6) that is provided to be elastically biased in a release direction toward an unlatched position (while Takamura is silent on 6 being biased, it commonly known in the art and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Takamura’s latch is so biased in order for his apparatus to operate as disclosed; Im et al., US 20180171679 A1; Patane et al., US 11421451 B2; and Strole et al., US 11072949 B2; all teach vehicle latch apparatus comprising catches biased in a release direction) so that the catch can rotate in a latch direction (movement from Fig 12 to Fig 9 depicts the latch direction to be counter clockwise) toward a fully-latched position (col 4, lines 9-17 discuss the engagement between ratchet portion 6a and locking plate 7 to be the full-latched state) and in a (see claim interpretation under claim 1 Claim Objection) release direction (movement from Fig 10 to Fig 12 depicts the release direction to be clockwise), the catch engaging with a striker (striker 5) provided on a body side of the vehicle (col 3, lines 49-57);
a drive element (sector gear 20) that is rotated by an actuator (motor 3; col 4, lines 33-47);
a cinch lever (closing lever 21) that is coupled to the drive element (Fig 1) and that, as the drive element rotates, comes into contact with a contact portion of the catch (col 5, lines 43-48 discusses closing portion 30 of 21 engaging engagement pin 13a of cam lever 13 mounted on 6) on a rear side in the latch direction of the catch (Fig 9 depicts and col 4,l lines 23-32 discusses 13a mounted on 13 mounted on latch shaft 8 such that it rotates with 6 and 13a being on the rear side of 6 in the latch direction of the catch which is into the latch downward as depicted), thereby rotating the catch in the latch direction (col 5, lines 43-48 discusses closing portion 30 of 21 engaging engagement pin 13a of cam lever 13 to rotate 6 to the latch position); and
a release member (locking plate 7; opening lever 25) that restricts rotation of the catch in the release direction (25 works with 7 to lock 6 in a latched position) and is elastically biased in the restriction direction, the release member being rotatable in a counter-restriction direction against the elastic bias upon contact with the drive element (col 6, lines 20-36 discusses 25 biased to engage 7 via spring 38),
one of the drive element and the cinch lever having a rotation restricting section (elongate hole 20c; engagement hole 20d; switching hole 28a; switching member 31; Fig 1 depicts 31 available for both 20 and 21 thereby meeting the Merriam-Webster definition 1b of provide and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term) that restricts that restricts relative rotation between the drive element and the cinch lever (see claim interpretation under 35 USC 112(b) Claim Rejection of claim 1; Figs 1, 4-8 depict and col 5, lines 30-42, and col 7, lines 6-12 discusses 31 engaged with 20 and 21 such that it restricts relative rotation between 20 and 21),
the rotation restricting section being such that when the catch is in a position between the fully-latched position (Fig 9) and the unlatched position (Fig 12) and the cinch lever is located forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 left of 13a in opening sequence therefore located forward in the latch direction of 6), the drive element comes into contact with the release member to allow the release member to rotate in the counter-restriction direction (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 rotating engaging 21 which rotates bringing pin 29a into contact with engagement arm 34 of 25 resulting in 7 rotating in the counter-restriction direction and 6 becoming unlocked).
Regarding claim 2, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, further comprising
a stopper (canceling lever 23; 23 stops or reverses the locking process thereby meeting the Merriam-Webster definition of stopper and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term) that, when the cinch lever (21) is located forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 of 21 left of 13a in opening sequence therefore located forward in the latch direction of 6), restricts rotation of the cinch lever in the latch direction to prevent the catch from reaching the fully-latched position (col 8, lines 10-19 discusses 223 reversing the locking process thereby preventing 6 from reaching full-latch).
Regarding claim 3, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein
the rotation restricting section (20c; 20d, 28a, 31) is a groove (20c; 20d) with which a pin member (31) provided on the other of the drive element (20) and the cinch lever (21) engages (Fig 1 depicts 31 available for and engaging both 20 and 21 thereby meeting the Merriam-Webster definition 1b of provide and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term), and
the groove is shaped such that when the catch (6) is in a position between the fully- latched position (Fig 9) and the unlatched position (Fig 12) and the cinch lever is located forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 left of 13a in opening sequence therefore located forward in the latch direction of 6), the pin member can move through the groove to a position at which the drive element comes into contact with the release member (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 or 25 forward of 13a and 6 in the latch direction of the catch and 21 in 28a such that 20 contacts 7 via 29a of 21 engaging 34 of 25).
Regarding claim 4, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 3, wherein
the groove (20c; 20d) includes a first groove (20c) and a second groove (20d), and
the second groove is such that, provided that the catch (6) is in a position between the fully-latched position (Fig 10) and the unlatched position (Fig 12) and the cinch lever (21) is located forward of the contact portion of the catch in the latch direction of the catch (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 30 left of 13a in opening sequence therefore located forward in the latch direction of 6), the pin member (31) moves while engaging with the second groove when the drive element rotates to a position at which it comes into contact with the release member (movement from Fig 4 to Fig 6 depicts 31 engaged with 29d while moving and 20 contacting 7 via 29a of 21 engaging 34 of 25).
Regarding claim 5, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 1, wherein
the drive element (20) includes a sector gear (Fig 1),
the release member (7; 25) includes a pawl (7) and a release lever (25),
the pawl comes into contact with the catch (6) so as to restrict rotation of the catch in the release direction and is elastically biased in the restriction direction (col 4, lines 9-18), and
the release lever (25) comes into contact with the pawl upon contact with the drive element (30) and rotates the pawl in the counter-restriction direction against the elastic bias (movement from Fig 9 to Fig 12 depicts 35 of 25 contacting 7a of 1 and rotating 7 against its bias).
Regarding claim 6, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 5, further comprising
a base plate (cover portion 11, base portion 12), wherein
the catch (6), the drive element (20), the cinch lever (21), the pawl (7), and the release lever (25) are each provided on the base plate so as to be rotatable (Fig 1 depicts 6, 7, 20, 21, and 25 all rotatably mounted on 11;12),
the catch is elastically biased in the release direction relative to the base plate (while Takamura is silent on 6 being biased, it commonly known in the art and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Takamura’s latch is so biased in order for his apparatus to operate as disclosed; Jim et al., US 20180171679 A1; Patane et al., US 11421451 B2; and Schafer et al., US 11072949 B2; all teach vehicle latch apparatus comprising catches biased in a release direction),
the drive element and the cinch lever are supported on the base plate via a same rotation shaft (Fig 1 depicts 20 and 21 supported on 12 by longitudinally oriented shaft 19),
the cinch lever is elastically biased in the release direction relative to the drive element (col 6, lines 6-16 discusses spring 37 biasing canceling lever 23 such that the engagement between 23 and 31 biases 21 against 20),
the pawl is elastically biased in the restriction direction relative to the base plate (col 4, lines 9-18), and
the release lever is elastically biased relative to the base plate in a direction that allows the pawl to rotate in the restriction direction (col 6, lines 21-36; movement from Fig 12 to Fig 9 depicts 7 to rotate in the restriction direction).
Regarding claim 7, Takamura teaches the vehicle door latch device according to claim 6, further comprising:
a sensor (half-latch detection switch 14) that detects a half-latched position of the catch (6; col 4, lines 23-32); and
a controller that drives and controls the actuator based on a detection signal from the sensor (col 7, line 66-col 8, line 9 discusses 3 being controlled by a control circuit which constitutes a controller) and a release signal from a door open switch (col 5, lines 7-13 discuss a release signal from a handle switch to open the door),
wherein the controller operates to:
when detecting that the catch is in the half-latched position (Fig 10) by using the sensor, drive the drive element (20) by the drive and control of the actuator (3) to rotate the cinch lever (21) in the latch direction and rotate the catch (6) to the fully-latched position (Fig 9; col 7, lines 47-58); and
when the release signal from the door open switch is input, drive the drive element by the drive and control of the actuator to release restriction of the catch by the pawl and rotate the catch to the half-latched position or the unlatched position (dol 5, lines 7-13).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following patents are cited to further show the state of the art for vehicle door latch apparatus.
JP 5449981 B2 teaches a locking device with a catch, a drive element, a cinch lever, a release member and a rotation restricting section.
Amano, DE 10157473 A1, teaches a drive unit for a door lock with a catch, a drive element, a cinch lever, a release member and a rotation restricting section.
Im et al., KR 101836696 B1, teaches a latch apparatus of tailgate for vehicle with a catch, a drive element, a cinch lever, a release member and a rotation restricting section.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN A TULLIA whose telephone number is (571)272-6434. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached on (571)272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVEN A TULLIA/Examiner, Art Unit 3675
