Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This office action is in response to the amendment filed 1/20/26. Claims 1, 2, 4-22, 24-28, 30-36 and 38-41 are pending with claims 9, 10, 17 and 19 withdrawn from consideration. Claims 3, 23, 29 and 37 have been canceled by amendment. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 1/0826, 1/20/26 and 3/18/26 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 11-14, 20-22, 40 and 41 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.
The language “between the an upright position and a reclined position” in the last clause of claim 1 is unclear. It appears it should read “between the [[an]] upright position and [[a]] the reclined position”.
It is not clear how claim 11 further limits claim 1 from which it depends. It appears the limitation has been added to claim 1 by amendment.
It is not clear how claims 20-22 further limit claims 1 from which they depend.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 11-14, 20-22, 40 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. 2002/0121800 to Yu.
Yu provides a seating system (fig.9), comprising:
a frame assembly 30;
a seat assembly 10;
the seat assembly operably connected to the frame assembly at pivots 201;
a backrest assembly 20;
the backrest assembly operably connected to the frame assembly at pivots 201;
a counterbalance assembly (springs 43);
wherein the counterbalance assembly is configured to apply a counterbalance force to the backrest assembly [0035-0037];
wherein the seating system is configured to move between a folded position and an unfolded position [0033-0034];
wherein the backrest assembly is operably connected to the frame assembly by a reclining mechanism;
wherein the reclining mechanism is configured to permit the backrest assembly to move between
an upright position and a reclined position [0035]:
wherein the reclining mechanism includes one or more stop features (teeth 41);
wherein the one or more stop features are configured to respectively hold the backrest assembly
at one or more intermediate positions between the upright position and the reclined position [0037]/Fig.13.
With respect to claims 2, see brackets 11 and Fig. 12.
With respect to claims 4-6, see figure 12.
Springs 43 perform the functions recited in claims 12-14.
With respect to claims 20-22, see pivots 201.
With respect to claims 40, see the channels in the underside of the armrest as shown in Figures 9 and 11 in which the teeth are received.
With respect to claim 41, teeth 41 protrude inwardly to the same extent as applicant’s stops 640 in Fig. 69.
Applicant’s arguments filed 1/20/26 with respect to claims rejected under Weng have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments filed 1/20/26 with respect to Burns and Spendlove have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections based upon these references have been withdrawn.
Claims 7, 8, 15, 16, 18, 24-28, 30-35, 38 and 39 are allowed.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note:
Figs 4-5 and paragraph [0026] of U.S. 2014/0159437 to Humphreys et al.
U.S. 2013/0001994 to Wu has a chair with torsion spring 20 but the chair does not move between a folded and unfolded position.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT CANFIELD whose telephone number is (571)272-6840. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6, some Saturdays.
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, David Dunn can be reached at 571-272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ROBERT CANFIELD
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3636
/Robert Canfield/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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