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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nithammer et al (US4591207).
Note a reclining device for a vehicle seat (see the abstract), the reclining device comprising: a rotary bracket (16) having a center portion (see Figure 1, where the slot 18 is located along the longitudinal center line, i.e. a center portion) thereof rotatably connected to a first frame (11) and having a first locking section (an engaging position along 25) and a second locking section (another engaging position along 25) connected to the first locking section (see lines 60-62 in column 3); and a cam (19) configured to rotate about a center portion (at 21) thereof which is connected to the first frame and having a locking portion (23) disposed at one end thereof and disposed in the first locking section or the second locking section to be locked (depending on displacement of 16 on either side of its center position, as discussed in lines 60-62 in column 3), wherein a second pressure angle at which the locking portion is locked in the second locking section is smaller than a first pressure angle at which the locking portion is locked in the first locking section (see Figure 1), and wherein the center portion of the rotary bracket is rotatably connected to the first frame by a first hinge shaft (17), and the center portion of the cam and a center portion of a lever are rotatably connected to the first frame by a second hinge shaft (21).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 8-11 are allowed.
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Applicant’s response filed March 3, 2026 has been fully considered. Remaining issues are described above.
Applicant has provided a new claim 12 and indicates that the claim includes the allowable subject matter of claim 8 as originally filed. Applicant is advised that substantial limitations of original claim 8, i.e. those provided by intervening claims 2, 4, 5, and 6, have not been included. As such, new claim 12 does not correspond to claim 8 as originally filed. Prior art has been applied to claim 12 as described above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A locking recliner assembly for a vehicle seat is shown by Boltze et al (US6598938).
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.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/March 13, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636