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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 2-3 have been cancelled. Claims 1 and 6 have been amended. Claims 1 and 4-6 are currently pending and are examiner below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 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. A new ground of rejection is made in view of Sakai in view of Pozzi, Pub. No. US2007/0200414A1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai JP 2019196110 A in view of Pozzi, Pub. No. US2007/0200414A1, hereinafter referred to as Sakai and Pozzi, respectively.
As per Claims 1 and 6, Sakai discloses a memory; a processor connected to the memory (see at least paragraph [0052] “In each of the above embodiments, the motors 21a, 22a, and 23a of the drive units 21, 22, and 23 constituting the armrest drive unit 20 are controlled by the individual control ECUs 21c, 22c, and 23c, respectively… Further, a control ECU may be provided separately that is connected to each of the control ECUs 21c, 22c, and 23c and performs overall control”.);
a reclining unit that tilts, along a seat front-rear direction relative to a seat cushion on which an occupant sits, a seatback that supports an upper body of the seated occupant sitting on the seat cushion (see at least paragraphs [0019] “vehicle seat 10 of this embodiment has a seat cushion 11 on which an occupant can be seated, a seat back 12 capable of supporting the occupant's back…”. [0036] “The reclining drive unit 31 adjusts the angle of the seat back 12 relative to the seat cushion 11.”);
and a sliding unit that is provided at a seat width direction outer side of the seat cushion and that slides, along the seat front-rear direction, an armrest that supports an arm of the seated occupant, wherein the processor is configured to perform control to slide the armrest via the sliding unit while maintaining a preset positional relationship between the seatback and the armrest in conjunction with an operation whereby the seatback is tilted along the seat front- rear direction via the reclining unit (see at least paragraphs [0020] “armrest 14 can be extended or retracted by sliding the slide member 14b”. [0026] “extension/retraction drive portion 23 slides the slide member 14 b of the armrest 14 along the longitudinal direction of the armrest 14”).
Sakai fails to disclose wherein the preset positional relationship between the seatback and the armrest is configured such that a preset predetermined gap is provided between a rear end portion of the armrest in the seat front-rear direction and a front end portion of the seatback in the seat front-rear direction in a seat side view, wherein the armrest is attached to the seat cushion.
However, Pozzi teaches the above limitation (see at least Figure 5- 7, 0038-0040, gap between seat back and arm rest. Examiner further notes armrest attached to seat bottom.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sakai to include an arm rest independent of seatback as taught by Pozzi with a reasonable expectation of success because it provides an independent seat system that allows for an easily stowable armrest for comfort.
As per Claim 4, Sakai discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Sakai discloses: a first position detection device that is provided in the seatback and detects a position of the seatback in the seat front-rear direction (see at least paragraph [0036] “position sensor 31b detects the rotational position of the motor 31a to detect the reclining angle θ of the seat back 12 relative to the seat cushion 11”),
a first drive device that is provided in the reclining unit and tilts the seatback along the seat front-rear direction (see at least paragraph [0036] “reclining drive unit 31 adjusts the angle of the seat back 12 relative to the seat cushion 11”),
a second position detection device that is provided in the armrest and detects a position of the armrest in the seat front-rear direction (see at least paragraph [0026] “position sensor 23b detects the rotational position of the motor 23a, thereby detecting the position of the armrest 14 along the longitudinal direction”),
and a second drive device that is provided in the sliding unit and slides the armrest along the seat front-rear direction (see at least paragraph [0026] “extension/retraction drive portion 23 slides the slide member 14 b of the armrest 14 along the longitudinal direction of the armrest 14”),
wherein the processor is configured to perform control to drive the first drive device and the second drive device after detecting, via the first position detection device, the seat front-rear direction position of the seatback and detecting, via the second position detection device, the seat front-rear direction position of the armrest (see at least paragraphs [0026] “control ECU 23c controls the motor 23a based on the rotational position information of the motor 23a detected by the position sensor 23b to drive the drive mechanism and extend or retract the armrest 14”. [0036] “control ECU 31 c controls the motor 31 a based on the rotational position information of the motor 31 a detected by the position sensor 31 b to drive the drive mechanism and adjust the reclining angle θ of the seat back 12”. Lastly, [0052] “a control ECU may be provided separately that is connected to each of the control ECUs 21c, 22c, and 23c and performs overall control.”).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakai in view of Pozzi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Watanabe, JP 2017109616 A (English translation attached), hereinafter referred to as Watanabe.
Regarding claim 5, Sakai discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Sakai fails to disclose wherein the processor is configured to perform control so as to not drive the second drive device in a case in which a detection result obtained by at least one of the first position detection device or the second position detection device is not input.
Further, Watanabe teaches wherein the processor is configured to perform control so as to not drive the second drive device in a case in which a detection result obtained by at least one of the first position detection device or the second position detection device is not input (see at least paragraphs [0010], [0038], [0045], and [0048]; [0010] “When switching from automatic driving to manual driving, the control unit controls the adjustment unit and the movement unit to adjust the seat back from a reclined position to a predetermined angle suitable for driving, and to move the armrest to a predetermined first position near the steering wheel”. [0038] “the automatic driving control ECU 26 controls the adjustment of the angle of the seat back 52 and the movement of the position of the armrest 54, thereby performing control to assist the driver to reach a state where they can drive manually”. [0045] “the automatic driving control ECU 26 determines whether or not switching to manual driving has started… If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 100 and the automatic driving control continues…”. [0048] “if the angle of the seat back 52 is already at the appropriate angle, it is first reclined and then adjusted to the appropriate angle, and if it is in a reclined state, it is adjusted to the appropriate angle.”).
Sakai discloses a vehicle seat control device that is capable of reclining a seat back and adjusting the position of the arm rest, using multiple different drive devices. While Watanabe teaches about an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) that is capable of detecting if the seat back is already at an appropriate angle and if it is, it does not drive other drive devices.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sakai and include using an ECU to detect if the seat back and arm rest are at their appropriate position as taught by Watanabe, with a reasonable expectation of success because it would improve safety for drivers as well as provide drivers with easier way to adjust their seats.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fadey S Jabr whose telephone number is (571)272-1516. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6:00am to 4:oopm.
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, Fadey S Jabr can be reached at 571-272-1516. 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.
FADEY S. JABR
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3668
/Fadey S. Jabr/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3668