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 2 Jan 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The rejections of claims 1-2, 9-11 and 19-20 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) and 35 USC 103 have been maintained. Claims 3-8 and 12-18 remain objected.
In response to applicant’s argument, that the references to Rothkirch, Senges, and Bedro fail to disclose or teach the limitation “a desk portion slidably connected to the base portion”, the tray device (11) disclosed by Rothkirch (anticipating the limitation “desk portion”) is slidably connected to the arm rest (05) of Rothkirch (anticipating the limitation “base portion”) through its carrier element (13), which is a connection structure meeting the limitation “slidably connected” as well as providing the function of rotatable connection to the arm rest (05). Claim 1 does not set forth any structural details directed to the relationship between the “base portion” and the “desk portion” besides “slidably connected [to] be moved and deployed”. Moreover, while the carrier element (13) is explicitly disclosed as a component of the tray device (11), the carrier element (13) is also considered a functional component of the arm rest (05) providing slidable and rotatable connection with the tray device (11). The tray device (11) is rotated down and horizontally slides via its table element (21) “to be moved and deployed” to a position for receiving articles (¶ [0046], [0048]). Therefore, these elements of Rothkirch’s armrest structure meet the limitation “a desk portion slidably connected to the base portion to be moved and deployed to place articles on an upper surface of the desk portion”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 9-10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by von Rothkirch (US 2014/0319867).
Claim 1- von Rothkirch discloses an armrest structure provided to support an arm of a passenger and place articles inside a vehicle (¶ [0043]), the armrest structure comprising:
a support portion (03) disposed between backrest portions of a vehicle seat and provided to rotate in a height direction of the vehicle between the backrest portions and a seat portion of the vehicle by rotation (¶ [0043] – [0044] disclose the armrest, including its support structures, is configured as a backrest center console pivotable between upright stowed and outward deployed positions);
a base portion (05) connected to one end (a forward end) portion of the support portion and provided to rotate in the height direction of the vehicle (¶ [0044]); and
a desk portion (11) slidably connected (¶ [0046]- [0047], [0050]) to the base portion (the tray device 11 includes a carrier element 13 that connects it to the arm rest 05 in a sliding manner and a rotating manner), to be moved and deployed to place articles on an upper surface of the desk portion (¶ [0022], [0025]).
Claim 9- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 1, wherein at least one groove (16) is formed in a surface (13) of the base portion and extends in a longitudinal direction of the base portion (figs. 6B & 9, the groove 16 is a shallow arc that extends substantially along the longitude of the base portion’s carrier element 13), and wherein the desk portion (11) is slidably engaged to the at least one groove and moved in an extension direction of the at least one groove (¶ 53).
Claim 10- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 9, wherein the at least one groove is formed in an asymmetrical shape (the shallow arc of the groove 16 having hooked end fully encompasses “asymmetrical shape”, fig. 9) and bent in a direction toward the vehicle seat on a side thereof (the groove 16 is curved toward the lateral edge of the carrier element 13, which corresponds to a backrest on the lateral side of the center armrest structure).
Claim 20- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 1, wherein the support portion (03), the base portion (05), and the desk portion (11) each are provided in a pair of symmetrical shapes provided side by side on the backrest portion of the vehicle seat (figs. 3, 6A-B & 10 show the symmetry of the armrest structure portions, wherein the shapes permit the armrest to be stowed within the backrest portion).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over von Rothkirch in view of Senges (US 2010/0207441).
Claim 2- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 1, wherein the support portion (03) includes: a swivel axis (06) about which the base portion (03) rotates; however, von Rothkirch does not disclose the structural details of the components operatively connected with the axis (06), including a support plate rotatably connected to the backrest portions of the vehicle seat; and a support frame supporting the support plate.
Senges discloses an armrest structure comprising: a support portion (3) including a support plate (comprising brackets 98) rotatably connected to the backrest portion of the vehicle seat; and a support frame (96) supporting the support plate (fig. 3). Senges teaches that comprising a support portion of an armrest structure with a support plate (98) and a support frame (98) is suitable for providing the support portion between backrest portions via a rotation connection (¶ [0040], [0049], [0052]), such that the armrest structure may be disposed in an upright stowed position (fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the support portion of von Rothkirch, as taught by Senges, in order to yield the predictable result of providing an armrest structure coupled between backrest portions and rotatable between an inclined deployed position and an upright stowed position.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over von Rothkirch (US 2014/0319867) in view of Bedro (US 6220660).
Claim 11- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 9, wherein the desk portion (11) is a primary desk portion movable into a deployed position that extends laterally toward the adjacent backrest portions, and remains centrally located above the base portion between said backrest portions.
Bedro discloses an armrest structure comprising: a support portion (28) provided between backrest portions (figs. 1-2); a base portion (40) provided to rotate in a height direction (figs. 1-2); and a desk portion (42) movably connected to the base portion and having a deployed position for placing articles on its upper surface (col. 3: 1-20); wherein the desk portion includes a first desk portion (44) and a second desk portion (46) connected side by side by a connection pin (100) and hingedly rotated (106, 108) with respect to each other (in the compact position, the desk portions 44, 46 are side-by-side along the vertical axis 106 and coupled in that position by pin 100).
Bedro teaches the desk portion (42) is a primary desk portion including the pair of desk portions (44, 46) in order to provide table surfaces disposed over the lap of each adjacent backrest occupant (col. 4: 32-48), for professional or leisurely use by said occupant.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the desk portion of von Rothkirch with first and second desk portions, as taught by Bedro, in order to provide personal table surfaces to the occupant(s) of the adjacent backrest portion(s).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over von Rothkirch.
Claim 19- von Rothkirch discloses the armrest structure of claim 1, wherein the desk portion is configured to receive various items, including electronic devices (¶ 26). The difference between von Rothkirch and the instant claim is von Rothkirch does not teach that an electric charging port for charging electronic products is provided in the support portion.
However, the inclusion of an electric charging port is considered a matter of design choice since providing a charging port with an armrest structure configured to support electronic devices for convenient use by the armrest user involves only routine skill in the art.
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 armrest structure of von Rothkirch with a charging portion in order to yield the predictable result of improving occupant use of the desktop portion for electronic devices.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 and 12-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/T.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636