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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 30 March 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s Arguments:
“Claims 1, 2, 5-8, 10-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as allegedly being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 3,351,960 to Burkholder (hereinafter "Burkholder") in view of International Patent Application No. WO 2021/155379 Al to Rafieha (hereinafter "Rafieha") and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2019/0191888 to Jackson (hereinafter "Jackson"). Claims 9 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as allegedly being unpatentable over Burkholder in view of Rafieha, in view of Jackson and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2015/0001359 to Catchings (hereinafter "Catchings"). Claims 1 and 11 claim in relevant part: "a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device while charging the user device." The combination of cited references fail to teach or suggest a charging cavity configured to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device. The Examiner acknowledges on page 7 of the Office Action that Burkholder and Rafieha do not teach or suggest a device holder/charger and attempts to cure this deficiency by citing Jackson. Applicant respectfully notes that Jackson describes USB ports positioned on a headboard. See, e.g., Jackson at para. [0027] and Fig. 2. Applicant submits that a USB port is a connector interface configured to couple to a plug or connector and does not include a "device-receiving cavity" "defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device." In Jackson, any device coupled to the USB ports would remain entirely exterior to the USB ports and could not be received or retained within such USB port. See, e.g., id. Thus, Jackson fails to teach or suggest "a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device" as in claim 1 and 11. Catchings further fails to cure these deficiencies in Burkholder, Rafieha, and Jackson. For example, Catchings is cited as allegedly describing a base configured for removable attachment of accessories, but Catchings does not teach or suggest anything regarding a charging cavity configured to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device.”
Examiner’s Response to Applicant’s Arguments:
The Examiner respectfully disagrees that the USB ports of Jackson would not be configured to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device. In the conclusion section of the Office Action dated 30 December 2025, the Examiner cited US PG Pub. 2015/0176782 to McLennan et al. is cited for teaching a device with an integral USB connector for charging. Since the USC connector is integral with the device, the Examiner considers the USC connector to be a portion of a body of a user device. Regardless, because the Applicant provided new claims 21-22 which were not taught by any of the previously relied upon prior art, the Examiner has provided a new rejection of the claims below which make obvious the new claims 21-22 as well. Although the Examiner could additionally reject claims 1, 2, 5-8, 10-15 and 17-20 as being obvious over Burkholder, in view of Rafieha in view of Jackson, further in view of McLennan for purpose of compact prosecution the Examiner now solely relies on the new rejection as being unpatentable over Ahn (WO 2017/213414) in view of Rafieha (WO 2021/155379).
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 1 and 11 use the limitations “device receiving charging cavity” and “charging cavity” to refer to the same elements. The Examiner requests consistent terminology throughout the claims. Appropriate correction is required. Clams 21 and 22 also refer to the “charging cavity” so the Examiner requests the same consistent terminology in these dependent claims as well.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-8, 10-15, 17-19, and 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20180105352 A) in view of Rafieha (WO 2021/155379).
Regarding Claim 1: Ahn discloses a convertible bed (bed of Ahn), comprising: a headboard (220 of Ahn) comprising a back panel (receiving portion 222 of Ahn – Fig. 2) and a plurality of front panels disposed on the back panel (see annotated copy of Fig. 1 of Ahn showing the panels disposed on the back panel either directly or via connection with another portion of the bedframe), the plurality of front panels including one or more movable panels (400 of Ahn – Fig. 1), wherein each of the one or more movable panels includes an inner surface (surface 440 of Ahn – Fig. 9) and is movable between a closed position (Fig. 1 of Ahn) in which the inner surface is opposite a portion of the back panel (Fig. 1 and 2 of Ahn) and an open position in which the inner surface extends away from the portion of the back panel (Fig. 3 of Ahn); and one or more electrical functional features (444 or 442a of Ahn – Fig. 9) disposed on the inner surface of a movable panel of the one or more movable panels (Fig. 9 of Ahn), wherein the one or more electrical functional features are concealed against the back panel when the movable panel is in the closed position (Fig. 2 of Ahn) and visible when the movable panel is in the open position (Fig. 9 of Ahn), and a first configuration of the headboard is defined by all of the one or more movable panels being in the closed position (Fig. 1 of Ahn); the headboard has a substantially uniform configuration in the first configuration (Fig. 1 of Ahn showing a headboard with a substantially uniform configuration); the headboard comprises a headboard side panel (annotated copy of Fig. 5 of Ahn); and a device-receiving charging cavity (accommodation space 225 of Ahn) is provided in the headboard side panel (Fig. 5 of Ahn shows cavity 225 receiving speaker S), the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device therein (Ahn discloses - “The speaker S is accommodated in the accommodation space 225. The speaker S may be fixed or detachable. The speaker S may be, for example, a Bluetooth speaker or the like that receives a sound source wirelessly and reproduces sound, and may be a general wired speaker in some cases. Accordingly, when a user watches a movie, the speaker S can be separately packaged or not separately provided”) […].
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Examiner’s Note 1: Given the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language, the Examiner does not consider “the device-receiving charging cavity” to be required to be configured to itself cause the charging of the device. In other words, the device-receiving charging cavity need only to be a cavity capable of receiving a device and allow for charging of the device. Consider for example, a recessed shelf receiving a cell phone and the cell phone capable of being charged with a cable plugged into an outlet in a room. The cavity is not providing the power to the cell phone but the cell phone is being charged within the cavity. If the Applicant wants to clarify that the cavity is providing the transfer of power to the user device, the Examiner suggests rewording the limitation “and a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device therein while charging the user device” to read - -and a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device therein, the charging cavity configured to charge the user device while retained in the charging cavity- -.
Ahn does not disclose while charging the user device.
Rafieha further teaches charging the user device (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha - “FIGs. 3 and 4 show a perspective and top view, respectively, of control panel 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the substantially flat surface 114 of control panel 100 comprises a plurality of visual touch buttons 302 and a wireless charging pad 304 for charging a remote device”). One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed with folding armrests) and Rafieha (directed toward a speaker with wireless charger) with a reasonable expectation of success by replacing the speaker of Ahn with the speaker of Rafieha including a wireless charger enabling charging of a user device connectable with the speaker. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination because “The entertainment hub provides a sleek, aesthetic and easy to use mechanism for controlling the chair/sofa and interfacing with remote devices” (paragraph [0005] of Rafieha).
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Regarding Claim 2: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1, wherein a second configuration of the headboard is defined by at least one of the one or more movable panels being in the open position (Fig. 9 of Ahn).
Regarding Claim 5: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1, wherein the movable panel comprises an armrest (Ahn discloses - “Since the receiving part 400 is fixed in this manner, the user can place his / her arm on the receiving part 400 or put a food or the like necessary for watching a movie on the receiving part 400.”).
Regarding Claim 6: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 5, wherein the armrest includes at least one of a cup holder (Ahn discloses - “The first and second seating portions 442 and 443 may be formed concavely on the support surface portion 440 so as to seat articles such as the speaker 442a and the wine glass 443a, A connector 444 may be formed.”), a support base, and a wireless charging surface.
Regarding Claim 7: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1, wherein the one or more electrical functional features include at least one of a speaker (speaker 442a of Ahn – Fig. 9), a light, a controller for controlling furniture functions, a wireless charger, and a projector.
Regarding Claim 8: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1, further comprising a sideboard (side portions of the main section 210 of Ahn), and at least one electrical connector (Ahn discloses - “The receiving portion 222 may be formed so that the receiving portion 224 protrudes in the direction opposite to the mattress 100. Connectors 226 and 227 may be provided on the bottom of the receiving portion 224 and the receiving portion 222 to receive power from the outside and supply power to the external device. The connectors 226 and 227 may include a socket for receiving a plug connected to an external device or a USB terminal for inserting a USB cable connected to an external device”) or non-electrical connector positioned on one or both of the headboard and the sideboard.
Regarding Claim 10: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1, further comprising one or more of: an ambient lighting source, a motion sensor operative to control the ambient lighting source, a multifunctional supporting leg (Ahn discloses - “A detachable part 310 may be provided on the distal end of the flexible connection part 300 so that the beam project 320 is detachably coupled. The detachable part 310 includes a seating plate 310a coupled to the distal end of the flexible connection part 300 and on which the beam project 320 is seated and a coupling protrusion 310b protruding from both sides of the seating plate 310a”), and a power button.
Regarding Claim 11: Ahn discloses a convertible bed (bed of Ahn), comprising: a headboard (220 of Ahn) comprising a plurality of panels (see annotated copy of Fig. 1 of Ahn) with outer surfaces (Fig. 1 of Ahn), wherein one or more of the panels of the plurality of panels are movable panels (see annotated copy of Fig. 1 of Ahn) with inner surfaces (upper surface shown in Fig. 3 of Ahn); and one or more electrical functional features (444 or 442a of Ahn – Fig. 9) disposed on the inner surface of a movable panel of the one or more movable panels (Fig. 3 of Ahn); wherein the outer surfaces of the plurality of panels form a repeating pattern of one or more shapes in one or more directions across the headboard when viewed in a direction substantially orthogonal to a surface of the headboard (see Fig. 1 of Ahn showing repeating shaped panels forming the headboard in a closed configuration); the movable panel is movable between a closed position (Fig. 1 of Ahn) in which the one or more electrical functional features are concealed (Fig. 1 and 2 of Ahn) and an open position (Fig. 9 of Ahn) in which the one or more electrical functional features are exposed (Fig. 9 of Ahn); one of the plurality of panels with outer surface comprises is a headboard side panel (annotated copy of Fig. 5 of Ahn); and a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel (225 of Ahn), the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device (Ahn discloses - “The speaker S is accommodated in the accommodation space 225. The speaker S may be fixed or detachable. The speaker S may be, for example, a Bluetooth speaker or the like that receives a sound source wirelessly and reproduces sound, and may be a general wired speaker in some cases. Accordingly, when a user watches a movie, the speaker S can be separately packaged or not separately provided”) […].
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Examiner’s Note 1: Given the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language, the Examiner does not consider “the device-receiving charging cavity” to be required to be configured to itself cause the charging of the device. In other words, the device-receiving charging cavity need only to be a cavity capable of receiving a device and allow for charging of the device. Consider for example, a recessed shelf receiving a cell phone and the cell phone capable of being charged with a cable plugged into an outlet in a room. The cavity is not providing the power to the cell phone but the cell phone is being charged within the cavity. If the Applicant wants to clarify that the cavity is providing the transfer of power to the user device, the Examiner suggests rewording the limitation “and a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device therein while charging the user device” to read - -and a device-receiving charging cavity is provided in the headboard side panel, the charging cavity defining an opening sized to receive and retain at least a portion of a body of a user device therein, the charging cavity configured to charge the user device while retained in the charging cavity- -.
Ahn does not disclose while charging the user device.
Rafieha further teaches charging the user device (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha - “FIGs. 3 and 4 show a perspective and top view, respectively, of control panel 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the substantially flat surface 114 of control panel 100 comprises a plurality of visual touch buttons 302 and a wireless charging pad 304 for charging a remote device”). One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed with folding armrests) and Rafieha (directed toward a speaker with wireless charger) with a reasonable expectation of success by replacing the speaker of Ahn with the speaker of Rafieha including a wireless charger enabling charging of a user device connectable with the speaker. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination because “The entertainment hub provides a sleek, aesthetic and easy to use mechanism for controlling the chair/sofa and interfacing with remote devices” (paragraph [0005] of Rafieha).
Regarding Claim 12: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, wherein each panel of the plurality of panels has an identical size in a first direction across the headboard (see Fig. 1 of Ahn).
Regarding Claim 13: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, wherein the repeating pattern of one or more shapes is a repeating pattern of identical shapes (see Fig. 1 of Ahn).
Regarding Claim 14: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, wherein the one or more electrical functional features include at least one of a speaker (speaker 442a of Ahn – Fig. 9), a light, a controller for controlling furniture functions, a wireless charger, and a projector.
Regarding Claim 15: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, further comprising a sideboard (side portions 121 of Ahn), and at least one electrical connector (Ahn discloses - “The receiving portion 222 may be formed so that the receiving portion 224 protrudes in the direction opposite to the mattress 100. Connectors 226 and 227 may be provided on the bottom of the receiving portion 224 and the receiving portion 222 to receive power from the outside and supply power to the external device. The connectors 226 and 227 may include a socket for receiving a plug connected to an external device or a USB terminal for inserting a USB cable connected to an external device”) or non-electrical connector positioned on one or both of the headboard and the sideboard.
Regarding Claim 17: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, further comprising one or more of: an ambient lighting source, a motion sensor operative to control the ambient lighting source, a multifunctional supporting leg (Ahn discloses - “A detachable part 310 may be provided on the distal end of the flexible connection part 300 so that the beam project 320 is detachably coupled. The detachable part 310 includes a seating plate 310a coupled to the distal end of the flexible connection part 300 and on which the beam project 320 is seated and a coupling protrusion 310b protruding from both sides of the seating plate 310a”), and a power button.
Regarding Claim 18: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11, convertible bed of claim 11, wherein the movable panel forms an armrest when in the open position (Ahn discloses - “Since the receiving part 400 is fixed in this manner, the user can place his / her arm on the receiving part 400 or put a food or the like necessary for watching a movie on the receiving part 400.”).
Regarding Claim 19: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 18, wherein the armrest includes at least one of a cup holder (Ahn discloses - “The first and second seating portions 442 and 443 may be formed concavely on the support surface portion 440 so as to seat articles such as the speaker 442a and the wine glass 443a, A connector 444 may be formed.”), a support base, and a wireless charging surface.
Regarding Claim 21: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1. Rafieha further teaches wherein the charging cavity further comprises a control panel configured to control the user device while charging (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha - “As shown, the substantially flat surface 114 of control panel 100 comprises a plurality of visual touch buttons 302 and a wireless charging pad 304 for charging a remote device. One of the visual touch buttons 302a may be configured to create a wireless connection between control panel 100 and a remote device to allow the remote device to wirelessly transmit an audio signal to speaker 106, for example, by means of Bluetooth® technology. The touch button can be configured to illuminate when a wireless connection is successfully established. This can allow the hub according to the present invention to communicate with a smart device to allow the hub to play music through the speaker 106 from the smart device.”).
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed with folding armrests) and Rafieha (directed toward a speaker with wireless charger and control panel) with a reasonable expectation of success by replacing the speaker of Ahn with the speaker of Rafieha including a wireless charger enabling charging of a user device connectable with the speaker and a control panel. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination because “This can allow the hub according to the present invention to communicate with a smart device to allow the hub to play music through the speaker 106 from the smart device.” (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha).
Regarding Claim 22: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 1. Rafieha further teaches wherein the charging cavity is configured to connect wirelessly to at least one of the one or more electrical functional features (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha - “As shown, the substantially flat surface 114 of control panel 100 comprises a plurality of visual touch buttons 302 and a wireless charging pad 304 for charging a remote device. One of the visual touch buttons 302a may be configured to create a wireless connection between control panel 100 and a remote device to allow the remote device to wirelessly transmit an audio signal to speaker 106, for example, by means of Bluetooth® technology. The touch button can be configured to illuminate when a wireless connection is successfully established. This can allow the hub according to the present invention to communicate with a smart device to allow the hub to play music through the speaker 106 from the smart device.”). Additionally, see the teachings of Ahn with discloses “The first seating portion may be recessed to accommodate the speaker 442a and the second seating portion 443 may be recessed to accommodate the wine glass 443a. The speaker 442a may be a wireless speaker for receiving a sound source wirelessly and reproducing sound, and may use a radio frequency (RF) or a Bluetooth signal as a wireless communication standard. Since the recent smartphones and sound devices are equipped with a Bluetooth device as a standard for the short-range wireless communication, the speaker 442a can also receive the sound source according to the Bluetooth standard.”
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed with folding armrests) and Rafieha (directed toward a speaker with wireless charger and control panel) with a reasonable expectation of success by replacing the speaker of Ahn with the speaker of Rafieha including a wireless charger enabling charging of a user device connectable with the speaker and wireless connectivity with a speaker. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination because “This can allow the hub according to the present invention to communicate with a smart device to allow the hub to play music through the speaker 106 from the smart device.” (paragraph [0035] of Rafieha).
Claim(s) 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20180105352 A) in view of Rafieha (WO 2021/155379) further in view of Catchings (US PG Pub. No. 2015/0001359).
Regarding Claim 9: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 8, wherein the at least one electrical connector or non-electrical connector comprises at least one of a USB connector (USB terminal as discussed as an option for connectors 226 and 227 of Ahn) […].
Ahn and Rafieha do not further teach or disclose a support base, wherein the support base is configured for removably attaching to a plurality of electrical and non-electrical accessories, wherein the electrical accessories include a device holder, a device charger, a lamp, a reading light, a fan, a projector, or a scent diffuser, and the non-electrical accessories include a supporting surface, cup holder, or wine glass holder.
However, in the same field of endeavor, accessories for beds (see the abstract of Catchings) Catchings teaches a connector for a bed (see paragraph [0001] of Catchings) the connector being a support base (see the flange assembly 32 of Catchings) wherein the support base is configured for removably attaching to a plurality of electrical and non-electrical accessories, wherein the electrical accessories include a device holder, a device charger, a lamp (flashlight 72 – paragraph [0050] of Catchings), a reading light, a fan, a projector, or a scent diffuser, and the non-electrical accessories include a supporting surface, cup holder (cup holder discussed in paragraph [0046] of Catchings), or wine glass holder.
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed), Rafieha (charging device) and Catchings (directed toward an accessory holder) with a reasonable expectation of success. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to enable holding a different accessory to the same or different objects with minimal number of tools (see the abstract of Catchings).
Regarding Claim 16: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 15, wherein the at least one electrical connector or non-electrical connector comprises at least one of a USB connector (USB terminal as discussed as an option for connectors 226 and 227 of Ahn) […].
Ahn and Rafieha do not further teach or disclose a support base, wherein the support base is configured for removably attaching to a plurality of electrical and non-electrical accessories, wherein the electrical accessories include a device holder, a device charger, a lamp, a reading light, a fan, a projector, or a scent diffuser, and the non-electrical accessories include a supporting surface, cup holder, or wine glass holder.
However, in the same field of endeavor, accessories for beds (see the abstract of Catchings) Catchings teaches a connector for a bed (see paragraph [0001] of Catchings) the connector being a support base (see the flange assembly 32 of Catchings) wherein the support base is configured for removably attaching to a plurality of electrical and non-electrical accessories, wherein the electrical accessories include a device holder, a device charger, a lamp (flashlight 72 – paragraph [0050] of Catchings), a reading light, a fan, a projector, or a scent diffuser, and the non-electrical accessories include a supporting surface, cup holder (cup holder discussed in paragraph [0046] of Catchings), or wine glass holder.
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (directed toward a bed), Rafieha (charging device) and Catchings (directed toward an accessory holder) with a reasonable expectation of success. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination in order to enable holding a different accessory to the same or different objects with minimal number of tools (see the abstract of Catchings).
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20180105352 A) in view of Rafieha (WO 2021/155379) in view of Burkholder (US Patent No. 3,351,960).
Regarding Claim 20: Ahn in view of Rafieha make obvious the convertible bed of claim 11. Ahn in view of Rafieha does not disclose or make obvious wherein the outer surface of a first moveable panel of the plurality of panels is identical to the outer surface of a second moveable panel of the plurality of panels.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Burkholder teaches wherein the outer surface of a first moveable panel of the plurality of panels is identical to the outer surface of a second moveable panel of the plurality of panels (see Fig. 1 and 2 of Burkholder – compare the armrest panels).
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to combine Ahn (drawn to a bed with one armrest), Rafieha (charging device) and Burkholder (drawn to a bed with two armrests) with a reasonable expectation of success by forming Ahn’s bed with two armrests instead of one. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination because (Burkholder Col. 1, lines 29-35 - “The present invention generally relates to a headboard 'structure for beds or the like having a cushioned backrest area and pivotal armrests on either side of the backrest area to enable a person to sit up in bed, rest his arms on the armrests and perform other functions thereon such as writing, reading and the like.”)
Conclusion
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent No. 7,444,705 is cited for teaching a headboard for a bed with a cabinet, speaker and light.
WO 2017213414 to Ahn is cited for teaching a bed with a headboard with an armrest that moves between a hidden and open position.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMANDA L BAILEY whose telephone number is (571)272-8476. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM-4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Justin Mikowski can be reached at (571) 272-8525. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.L.B/Examiner, Art Unit 3673
/DAVID R HARE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673
7/24/2026
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