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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Number 7,159,289 to Moore.
Moore discloses a striker for door latch comprising a base plate (20) fixed to a striker mounting surface (figure 8), and a rod (14) formed U-shape having a pair of legs (31x) engageable with the door latch and a bottom portion (32x) between the pair of legs, wherein the base plate has leg fixing holes (46, 48) through which the legs of the rod are inserted and fixed, an inner diameter of the leg fixing holes is equal to or larger than an outer diameter of the legs (allowing legs to extend therethrough), wherein the legs of the rod are inserted from a front side of the leg fixing holes and the portions protruding from a back side of the leg fixing holes are cold swaged (via 32), as a result, swage portions (26) larger than the inner diameter of the leg fixing holes are formed on the back side of the base plate (figures 6 and 7), further, flange portions (24) larger than the inner diameter of the leg fixing holes and larger than an outer diameter of the legs are formed at a part of the legs on the front side of the base plate (figures 6 and 7), the swage portions and the flange portions sandwich the base plate (figures 6 and 7), wherein the legs have the flange portions and engagement portions (42, 44) that engage with the door latch, the engagement portions are located closer to the bottom portion than the flange portions (figure 7), as in claim 1.
Moore also discloses the leg fixing holes of the base plate are formed as straight holes, and the leg tips of the rod are formed with the same diameter all the way to end portions (figure 3, before deformation), as in claim 2, wherein a curved portion (formed between 42, 44 and 24) is formed in the leg between the engagement portion and the flange portion, as in claim 4, as well as the leg fixing holes of the base plate are formed as tapered holes on the front side (via 28), and the leg tips of the rod are formed with the same diameter all the way to the end portions (thickness of the legs shown in figures 2 and 3), as in claim 3, and where a curved portion (formed between 42, 44 and 24) is formed in the leg between the engagement portion and the flange portion, as in claim 5.
Moore further discloses the leg fixing hole has a sheared surface and a fractured surface formed by shearing the base plate, wherein the thickness of the sheared surface in the thickness direction of the base plate is at least 1/2 the thickness of the base plate (cross section shown in figure 7), as in claim 6, as well as when forming said swage portion and said flange portion on said leg by cold swaging, the die (32) in contact with the front side of the base plate holds the engagement portion, and a space (formed between 94) is provided inside the die on the front side of the base plate and near the leg continuing to the front side of the base plate, as in claim 7.
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 with respect to vehicle door strikers:
U.S. Patent Number 12,060,737 to Paskonis; U.S. Patent Number 10,407,964 to Abbott et al.; U.S. Patent Number 7,854,452 to Nishio et al.; U.S. Patent Number 5,215,342 to Yuge et al.; U.S. Patent Number 5,209,532 to Nakamura et al.; U.S. Patent Number 5,050,917 to Hamada et al.; U.S. Patent Number 4,981,313 to Makamura; U.S. Patent Number 4,466,645 to Kobayashi; U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2007/0001468 to Burton.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER J BOSWELL whose telephone number is (571)272-7054. The examiner can normally be reached M-R: 9-4; F 9-12.
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/CHRISTOPHER J BOSWELL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
CJB /cb/
June 25, 2026
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