DETAILED ACTION
The present action is in response to the preliminary amendment received June 13, 2025. Claims 16-35 are pending and addressed below.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the quality of the Figures 8 and 9 is poor. Lines should be clear and black. Currently, the lines appear faded. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 16, 17, 19, 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fornasari (EP 2 240 660).
Regarding claim 16, Fornasari discloses a set of sliding door gears, comprising:
an upper sliding door gear (Fig 5) including at least one upper door mount (16) configured to mount an upper end of a sliding door (6) to a stationary structure;
a lower sliding door gear (Figs 10 and 15) including at least one lower door mount (24) configured to mount a lower end of the sliding door to the stationary structure;
wherein the upper and lower door mounts are configured to be moved from a closed position to an open position via an intermediate position (Figs 1-4), and wherein the upper and lower door mounts are configured to be moved from the closed position to the intermediate position in a first opening direction; and
a synchronizer (formed by multiple parts including at least 36, 51, 82, 86, 88, 89, 90 ,94 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111) including at least one flexible transmission member (97, 98, or 100) configured to transmit a mechanical force to synchronize movement of the upper and lower door mounts in the first opening direction with one another.
Regarding claim 17, Fornasari discloses wherein the at least one flexible transmission member includes a wire (97).
Regarding claim 19, Fornasari discloses wherein the synchronizer includes at least one transmission element (pulleys 103, 105, 108) configured such that a movement of the sliding door in and/or against the first opening direction is translated to a movement of the at least one transmission element; and the at least one flexible transmission member (97, 98, or 100) is coupled to the at least one transmission element such that the at least one flexible transmission member follows the movement of the at least one transmission element.
Regarding claim 20, Fornasari discloses wherein: the at least one transmission element includes at least one pulley and the movement of the at least one transmission element is a rotation of the at least one pulley; and the at least one flexible transmission member is guided on an outer circumference of the at least one pulley at least in part (Figs 28 and 29).
Regarding claim 21, Fornasari discloses wherein: the at least one flexible transmission member is guided in a groove on the outer circumference of the at least one pulley at least in part (Figs 28 and 29).
Regarding claim 22, Fornasari discloses at least one clamp (111) configured to secure the at least one flexible transmission member to the at least one pulley (110) (Fig 26), alternatively, at least one clamp (107).
Regarding claim 31, Fornasari discloses wherein: the at least one flexible transmission member includes at least two flexible transmission members (Fig 26); and the set of sliding door gears further includes at least two cable housings (guides of 28), each of the cable housings guiding one of the flexible transmission members along at least part of a length of the flexible transmission member.
Regarding claim 32, Fornasari discloses wherein: the synchronizer includes at least one transmission element configured such that a movement of the sliding door in and/or against the first opening direction is translated to a movement of the at least one transmission element; the at least one flexible transmission member is coupled to the at least one transmission element such that the at least one flexible transmission member follows the movement of the at least one transmission element; at least one of the sliding door gears includes at least one mounting block (85, 93) configured to be mounted on the stationary structure; and the at least one transmission element is rotatably held on the at least one mounting block (85, 93).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fornasari, as applied above, in further view of Deschner (US 8,839,566).
Regarding claim 18, Fornasari discloses at least one flexible transmission member but does not specify if it includes a Bowden cable. However, Bowden cables are well known in the art to be used with pulleys to provide to transfer movement, as taught by Deschner. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the transmission member of Fornasari as a Bowden cable since it is known for redirecting a driving force and acts equivalently to the transmission member of Fornasari.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-30 and 33-35 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including 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 Johnnie A. Shablack whose telephone number is (571)270-5344. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 6am-3pm EST, alternate Friday.
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/Johnnie A. Shablack/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634
