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 .
Claims 6-10 are pending.
Claims 6-10 have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 6, 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiser et al. (US 2008/0211151) in view of Hugenschmidt et al. (US 2020/0271182) (“Hugenschmidt”). Weiser teaches a seat base which is connectable to a vehicle structure (paragraph 0001: device is a damper for a motor vehicle seat); a backrest (fig. 5: 36); and a vibration absorber which is coupled to the backrest structure of the backrest and is integrated in the backrest (fig. 5: 10), wherein the vibration absorber has at least one holding element which is connected to the backrest structure and is elastic at least in regions (fig. 1: 12, 18 and 20 may be considered the holding element with connected to the backrest structure and 18 and 20 being elastomeric regions), the holding element has a first coupler (fig. 1: 12) which is connected to a second coupler (fig. 1: 20) provided on an absorber mass element (Fig. 1: 26).
Weiser does not expressly teach a backrest inclination axis or wherein the first coupler and second coupler form a multi-stage coupling arrangement by which a distance between the backrest inclination axis and the absorber mass element is variable. However, reclinable backrests are considered old and well known in the art, and it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to provide recliners at the connections at the lower ends of the backrest frame (which appear to be known recliner holes) in order to allow rotation of the backrest for additional comfort to the occupant.
Further, Hugenschmidt teaches a vibration absorber (fig. 1: 10) which has an adjustable elastomeric element (figs. 2 and 3: 16) which may be lengthened or compressed to adjust the damping characteristics (paragraph 0042). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to replace the chemical bonding of 20 and 26 with the mechanical coupling of Hugenschmidt (as is taught by paragraph 0046) in order to allow adjustment of the damping characteristics, which by adjusting the relative lengths of the two elastomeric connections of Weiser, would change the distance of the mass element from the inclination axis.
As concerns claim 9, Weiser, as modified, teaches wherein the absorber mass element, in a state coupled to the holding element, with the exception of the first and second couplers, is freely mounted spaced apart on all sides from the holding element and from the backrest structure (as shown in Weiser, fig. 1).
As concerns claim 10, Weiser, as modified, teaches a vehicle having a vehicle seat with the damper of claim 1 (Weiser, paragraph 0001).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Weiser and Hugenschmidt fail to teach wherein the first coupler or the second coupler compare at least one engagement element with a shaft portion and with at least one arm portion protruding laterally therefrom, and the second coupler or the first coupler comprise at least one receiving groove for the respective engagement element, the receiving groove having a central groove channel for receiving the shaft portion, at least one first lateral groove channel extending to a side therefrom, and at least one second lateral groove channel extending to a side therefrom, the first lateral groove channel and the second lateral groove channel are spaced apart from each other in a depth direction of the central groove channel such that the first and second lateral groove channels are configured for alternatively receiving the at least one arm portion of the engagement element. Further, there is no teaching, suggestion or motivation to modify the prior art absent hindsight.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY J BRINDLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7231. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.
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/TIMOTHY J BRINDLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636