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 .
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the drawings filed 8/19/2025 are not proper black and white line drawings. This is frequently the result of drawings which are filed in a very dark grey (so dark that it appears black such as RGB value 37, 37, 37) instead of pure black (RGB value 0, 0, 0). While very dark grey may appear black, it causes artifacts and inconsistent line thickness. 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.
All drawings must be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black (except for color drawings), sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined. The weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. This requirement applies to all lines however fine, to shading, and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views. Lines and strokes of different thicknesses may be used in the same drawing where different thicknesses have a different meaning (see MPEP 608, 37 CFR 1.84(l))
Applicant is encouraged to view the drawings on file in the immediate application in Patent Center to more clearly see these line quality issues, as they may not be apparent on the Applicant’s copy of the drawings, as very dark grey may appear black to the eye.
Additionally, the drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “57” has been used to designate both “head” and “locking means”. The second instance of “57” pointing to two small pins should be replaced with “58”. 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. 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.
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Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 5/29/2026 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
A copy of RU 2790369 has not been provided. A translation document has been included, but the original document with legible drawings has not been provided. It has therefore not been considered.
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 16-22, 26-31, and 33-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 108468492(A), herein referred to as ‘492.
For Claim 16, ‘492 discloses a sliding door gear, comprising:
at least one door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) configured to mount at least one sliding door (3) to a stationary structure (2), such that the door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) is movable relative to the stationary structure (2) between a closed position and an open position along a main opening direction (left-right direction as seen in Figure 1); and
an opening and/or closing mechanism (6, 7) including a flexible tension member (6) and a retractor (7) configured to retract the flexible tension member (6) such that upon retraction of the flexible tension member (6) the door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) is urged in and/or against the main opening direction.
For Claim 17, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, wherein: the flexible tension member (6) includes a wire (6).
For Claim 18, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 17, wherein: the retractor (7) includes a spool (Figure 4: 14) rotatable about a first rotational axis (axis of 10); and during retraction of the flexible tension member (6) the flexible tension member (6) is wound up on the spool (14).
For Claim 19, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, wherein: the flexible tension member (6) is attached to the door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) at an attachment point spaced apart from the retractor, and the retractor (7) is configured to be fixed to the stationary structure (2).
For Claim 20, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, wherein:
the at least one door mounting assembly includes a first door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) configured to mount a first sliding door (3) to a stationary structure (2) and a second door mounting assembly (sash portion of 4) configured to mount a second sliding door (4) to the stationary structure; and
the flexible tension member (6) is attached to the first door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) at an attachment point spaced apart from the retractor (7), and the retractor (7) is attached to the second mounting assembly (via horizontal tracks of frame 2).
For Claim 21, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, wherein: the opening and/or closing mechanism (6, 7) further includes an energy storage (12) configured such that a release of energy stored in the energy storage (12) retracts the flexible tension member (6).
For Claim 22, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 21, wherein: the energy storage (12) includes a spring (12); and the energy stored in the energy storage (12) is at least partially stored as an elastic deformation of the spring (12).
For Claim 26, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 21, wherein: the opening and/or closing mechanism (6, 7) further includes a transmission (Figure 4: 13, 11) coupling the retractor (7) to the energy storage (12).
For Claim 27, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 26, wherein: the transmission (13, 11) includes first (13) and second (11) rotatable transmission elements in operative meshing engagement with one another (translation paragraph [0024]).
For Claim 28, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 27, wherein: the retractor (7) includes a spool (Figure 4: 14) rotatable about a first rotational axis (axis of 10); and the first rotatable transmission element (13) is coupled to the spool (14) in a rotationally fixed manner such that the first rotatable transmission element (13) is rotatable about the first rotational axis (axis of 10) together with the spool (14).
For Claim 29, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 27, wherein: the second rotatable transmission element (11) is coupled to the energy storage (12) such that the second rotatable transmission element (11) is rotatable about a second rotational axis (axis of 9) such that a rotation of the second rotatable transmission element (11) increases or decreases an amount of energy stored in the energy storage (12).
For Claim 30, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 29, wherein:
the energy storage (12) includes a spring (12);
the spring (12) includes a longitudinal first end region (first longitudinal end located on the outer radius of the spring 12 as seen in Figure 2) secured against rotation about the second rotational axis (axis of 9); and
the spring (12) includes a longitudinal second end region (second longitudinal end located on the inner radius of the spring 12 as seen in Figure 2) opposite the longitudinal first end region, the longitudinal second end region (second longitudinal end located on the inner radius of the spring 12 as seen in Figure 2) coupled to the second rotatable transmission element (11) in a rotationally fixed manner (via shaft 9).
For Claim 31, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 30, wherein:
the energy storage (12) includes a rod (9) including a fixing section (Annotated Figure 4: 9A), and
the longitudinal first end region (first longitudinal end located on the outer radius of the spring 12 as seen in Figure 2) of the spring (12) is rotationally fixed (via member 1 as seen in Figure 4) to the fixing section (9A) of the rod (9), wherein the fixing section (9A) of the rod (9) is blocked against rotation about the second rotational axis (axis of 9) during opening or closing of the opening and/or closing mechanism.
For Claim 33, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, wherein the opening and/or closing mechanism further includes:
an energy storage (12) configured such that a release of energy stored in the energy storage retracts the flexible tension member (6);
a transmission (13, 11) coupling the retractor (7) to the energy storage (12); and
a support body (1) supporting the retractor (7), the transmission (13, 11) and the energy storage (12), the support body (1) being coupled to the stationary structure (2).
For Claim 34, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 16, further comprising: at least one linear guide element (horizontal tracks of frame 2) configured to guide the door mounting assembly (sash portion of 3) along the main opening direction (left-right direction as seen in Figure 1).
For Claim 35, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 34, wherein: the main opening direction (left-right direction as seen in Figure 1) is parallel to a front face of the at least one sliding door (3).
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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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 108468492(A), herein referred to as ‘492, as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of Docksteader et al. (US10,808,447), herein referred to as ‘447.
For Claim 23, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 22, except wherein the spring is a helical torsion spring.
‘447 teaches a door closer having a helical torsion spring (as seen in Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the spring of ‘492 with a helical torsion spring as taught by ‘447 as it is a simple substitution of one known spring for another in a manner that yields predictable results. One would be motivated to make such a modification in order to reduce the radial space required for housing the spring.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 108468492(A), herein referred to as ‘492, in view of Docksteader et al. (US10,808,447), herein referred to as ‘447, as applied to claim 23 above, and further in view of Regnier (US 5,937,478), herein referred to as ‘478.
For Claim 24, ‘492 as modified by ‘447 teaches the sliding door gear of claim 23, except wherein a tension of the spring is adjustable by a defined twisting of a second end region of the spring relative to a first end region of the spring about a longitudinal central axis of the spring.
‘478 teaches a door closer having a spring (236) wherein a tension of the spring (236) is adjustable by a defined twisting of a second end region (inner radius portion of 236) of the spring (236) relative to a first end region (outer radius portion of 236) of the spring about a longitudinal central axis of the spring (236). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply an adjustment mechanism as taught by ‘478 to the spring of ‘492 and ‘447. One would be motivated to make such a modification in order to accommodate sliding doors of varying weights and resistances.
Claims 25 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 108468492(A), herein referred to as ‘492, as applied to claims 22 and 31 above, and further in view of Regnier (US 5,937,478), herein referred to as ‘478.
For Claim 25, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 22, except wherein a tension of the spring is adjustable.
‘478 teaches a door closer having a spring (236) wherein a tension of the spring (236) is adjustable. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply an adjustment mechanism as taught by ‘478 to the spring of ‘492. One would be motivated to make such a modification in order to accommodate sliding doors of varying weights and resistances.
For Claim 32, ‘492 discloses the sliding door gear of claim 31, except wherein the blocking of the fixing section against rotation about the second rotational axis is releasable such that an angular orientation of the rod and/or the fixing section about the second rotational axis is adjustable to adjust a tension of the spring.
‘478 teaches a door closer having a spring (235) with a rod (220), the spring attached to a fixing section (at inner radius of the spring), and blocking (via pawl 226) of the fixing section, wherein blocking (via pawl 226) of the fixing section against rotation about a rotational axis (axis of 220) is releasable (via 216) such that an angular orientation of the rod (220) and/or the fixing section about the second rotational axis is adjustable to adjust a tension of the spring.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply an adjustment mechanism as taught by ‘478 to the spring of ‘492. One would be motivated to make such a modification in order to accommodate sliding doors of varying weights and resistances.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 10597922, US 8595898, US 2010/0031469, and US 7124469 all teach similar door closing devices that are pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure but have not been relied upon in the current rejection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jeffrey O'Brien whose telephone number is (571)270-3655. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7-5:30.
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, Jason San can be reached at (571) 272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Jeffrey O'Brien/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677
