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 .
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s election filed on 8/7/26.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group 1, claims 1-9 and 13-17, in the reply filed on 8/7/26 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the slider being on the handle seat and the handle with the grooves, as claimed in claims 4 and 14 (since the drawings shows one configuration), must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
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 1-9 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.
Claim 1 requires the following:
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At the instant, the limitation is indefinite. Without the controller, the angle detector device and the sensor, there is no operation of the handle as claimed. Correction is required.\
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 9, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by US Pat Application Publication No 20170275930 to Aerts et al (Aerts).
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Regarding claim 1, Aerts discloses a door handle assembly (200) for a vehicle door having a door surface (202).
The door handle assembly comprises a handle seat (102); a handle (206) having a retracted position (fig 2a) and a deployed position (fig 2c), wherein the handle is flush with the door surface when the handle is in the retracted position, and the handle protrudes outwardly relative to the door surface when the handle is in the deployed position; a driving device (214, 216, 118); a handle shaft (210) being configured to rotate under the drive of the driving device; and a transmission device (208) connecting the handle shaft to the handle, such that the handle is movable under the drive of the handle shaft between the retracted position and the deployed position relative to the handle seat, wherein the driving device is configured such that when the handle is in the retracted position or in the deployed position, the driving device is activated in response to the rotation of the handle shaft by a preset angle when the handle is pushed by an operator (at 218), so as to deploy or retract the handle.
As to claims 3 and 13, Aerts discloses that the handle (206) is slidably mounted on the handle seat.
As to claim 9, Aerts discloses that the door handle assembly further comprises a control device (140) being communicatively connected to the driving device and configured to control the driving device to rotate in a first rotating direction so as to deploy the handle or to rotate in a second rotating direction opposite to the first rotating direction so as to retract the handle.
Claim(s) 1-3, 9, 13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by US Pat No 11,248,403 to Boberschmidt et al (Boberschmidt).
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Regarding claim 1, Boberschmidt discloses a door handle assembly (1) for a vehicle door having a door surface (100).
The door handle assembly comprises a handle seat (101); a handle (102) having a retracted position (fig 1a) and a deployed position (fig 1c), wherein the handle is flush with the door surface when the handle is in the retracted position, and the handle protrudes outwardly relative to the door surface when the handle is in the deployed position; a driving device (3, 4); a handle shaft (22) being configured to rotate under the drive of the driving device; and a transmission device (21) connecting the handle shaft to the handle, such that the handle is movable under the drive of the handle shaft between the retracted position and the deployed position relative to the handle seat, wherein the driving device is configured such that when the handle is in the retracted position or in the deployed position, the driving device is activated in response to the rotation of the handle shaft by a preset angle when the handle is pushed by an operator (at P, fig 1d), so as to deploy or retract the handle.
As to claim 2 and 17, Boberschmidt discloses that the handle shaft (22) is fixedly connected to an output end of the driving device.
As to claims 3 and 13, Boberschmidt discloses that the handle (102) is slidably mounted on the handle seat (moving smoothly along the seat surface).
As to claim 9, Boberschmidt discloses that the door handle assembly further comprises a control device (4) being communicatively connected to the driving device and configured to control the driving device to rotate in a first rotating direction so as to deploy the handle or to rotate in a second rotating direction opposite to the first rotating direction so as to retract the handle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 15 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.
Claim 16 would also be allowed since the claims depend from claim 15 above.
Claims 4 and 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 6-8 would also be allowed since the claims depend from claim 5 above.
Conclusion
,,Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLOS LUGO whose telephone number is (571)272-7058. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6pm.
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, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (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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/Carlos Lugo/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3675
September 7, 2026
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