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 .
Election/Restrictions
Non-elected claims 14-20 and 24-28 remain withdrawn from further consideration.
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) 1, 5, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by EP2851237A1.
In Figure 3, note an abutting and bearing device, comprising: a casing (2b); an abutting member (6, 7) disposed in the casing and having an end (6), extending out of the casing, and the abutting member being capable of abutting against a car seat back; a driving assembly (8a, 8b, 11, 12, pivot between 11 and 2b) disposed in the casing, the driving assembly capable of driving the abutting member to move between an extended position and a retracted position; a control member (4) disposed on the casing for controlling an extension of the abutting member; a locking assembly (5) to lock movement of the abutting member when the abutting member is in the extended position; and a resetting assembly (13) to reset the abutting member to the retracted position.
Regarding claim 5, note the driving assembly comprises a driving member (12) and a connecting arm (pivot between 11 and 2b), the driving member is connected to the control member (4), the connecting arm is connected to the abutting member, so that the abutting member is able to move in translation, and the driving member is pivotally connected (by way of 11) to the connecting arm. Note that all members are connected directly or indirectly to one another to form the unit (i.e. the abutting and bearing device).
Regarding claim 29, note the extended position further comprises a plurality of extended positions (different lengths of member 6 extending away from 2b), and the locking assembly is capable of locking movement of the abutting member along the horizontal direction in a selected one of the plurality of extended positions.
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) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP2851237A1 in view of Glockl et al (US8020938).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of the resetting assembly comprising a torsion spring, one end of the torsion spring being fixed on the casing, and the other end of the torsion spring being fixed on the driving member.
The resetting assembly of the primary reference is a compression spring with one end thereof fixed on the casing, and the other end thereof fixed on the driving member.
The secondary reference teaches providing a return element (12) of a seating assembly as any of a tension spring, leaf spring, torsion spring, or compression spring. See lines 41-46 in column 8.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the primary reference in view of the teachings of the secondary reference by substituting a torsion spring for the compression spring (i.e. the resetting assembly) of the primary reference. This modification provides an alternate, equivalent spring type for the resetting assembly, wherein either performs equally as well as the other. No advantage is gained and no problem is solved by using one spring type over another, and the choice in spring type is merely a design consideration.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-10 and 12 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.
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Applicant’s response filed March 27, 2026 has been fully considered. Remaining issues are described above.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MILTON NELSON JR whose telephone number is (571)272-6861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30am-1:30pm.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/April 14, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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