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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: Element 34 identified as a “hump” is not identified in the drawings. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Walter Wang U.S. Patent 9,241,575 B2 (Wang).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a couch comprising: a base (Figure 7-9 Element 22) having a top (Element 50), a bottom (Element 60), a front wall (Element 57), a rear wall (Element 58) and two spaced apart side walls (Element 54 and 56); the bottom of the base being open between the front wall, the rear wall and the two side walls to form a first cavity (Figure 8 and 9 Element 62); at least one seat cushion in the first cavity (Figure 9; Column 7 Lines 12-23, cushion in the cavity); a brace (Element 108) extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the brace having a hump spaced from the rear wall, and the brace being mounted for pivoting between a first position in which the hump is generally parallel to the bottom of the base and a second position in which the hump is raised above the bottom of the base (Figure 8 and 9).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses a method of assembling a couch comprising: positioning a base having an upward facing cavity bounded by a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls, a panel at the bottom of the cavity (Figure 1-6), and a brace (Element 44) extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the brace having a hump being pivotable between a first position parallel with the panel and a second position at a right angle to the first position, removing at least one seat cushion from the cavity when the brace is in its first position, rotating the brace to the second position, attaching arms to the side walls of the base, turning the base over so that the cavity faces downward, attaching a seatback to the base and to mating connectors on the arms and the seatback to secure the seatback to the base, and placing the at least one seat cushion on the base (Figure 9; Column 7 Lines 12-23).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 6 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHIN H KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-7788. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM.
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/SHIN H KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636