Appeal No. 2004-1163
Application No. 09/815,959
latch bolt can receive a striker of a vehicle, a closed position
in which said striker is capable of being retained by said latch
bolt, and an over-travel position in which said striker is in an
over-travel position relative to said chassis; and
an overmold disposed on said latch bolt and defining a
buffer for contact with the over-travel abutment due to over-
travel of said latch bolt, wherein the buffer is a sole buffer of
the latch bolt for absorbing over-travel energy.
THE PRIOR ART
The references relied on by the examiner to support the
final rejection are:
Fukumoto 5,020,838 Jun. 4, 1991
Mitsui 5,642,636 Jul. 1, 1997
THE REJECTIONS
Claims 1, 11 and 13 through 16 stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by Fukumoto.
Claims 2 through 10 and 12 through 14 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Fukumoto in view of
Mitsui.
Attention is directed to the main and reply briefs (Paper
Nos. 19 and 21) and to the final rejection and answer (Paper Nos.
11 and 20) for the respective positions of the appellants and the
examiner regarding the merits of these rejections.
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007