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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species III, Figures 10-17, 18-23, claims 1-4, 7-15, 17-19, 21-25, 30, 31 and 33, in the response filed February 5, 2026 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information referred to in the IDS filed January 15, 2026 has been considered.
The information referred to in the IDS filed April 15, 2025 has been considered.
The information referred to in the IDS filed December 12, 2025 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed December 12, 2023 are approved.
Claim Objections
Claims 13-15, 17-19, 21-25, 30-31 and 33 are objected to because of the following informality: In line 9 of claim 13, the first occurrence of “is” should be “are”. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN111251955A.
Note a child safety seat comprising a base (1) and a supporting leg (3, 4) movably assembled on the base, the supporting leg comprising a stand (4) and a sliding seat (3) slidably disposed on the base (see Figure 3), and the stand being pivotally connected relative to the sliding seat (see Figure 3) and having an unfolded position and a folded position (either engaging with 5, or pivoted away from the unfolded or use position), the base has an accommodating space (5 or the area beneath the base) for accommodating the stand in the folded position.
Regarding claim 2, note the supporting leg is configured to slide along a front-back direction of the base, the stand is switched between the unfolded position and the folded position by moving the sliding seat relative to the base forwards and backwards (i.e. sliding the sliding seat and then pivoting the stand).
Regarding claim 3, note the stand is configured to slide along the front-back direction of the base in the accommodating space when it is in the folded position (i.e. away from the unfolded position, and then slid fore-aft).
Regarding claim 4, note the accommodating space is an accommodating recess recessed from an underside of the base, a cross section of the accommodating space in a direction perpendicular to the base is in an inverted U- shape. See Figures 6 and 6.
Regarding claim 9, note the sliding seat of the supporting leg is located at a middle portion of a front end of the base, and the accommodating space extends from the middle portion of the front end of the base to accommodate the stand in the folded position. See Figures 2 and 6.
Claim(s) 1, 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vegt (US20080224516).
Note a child safety seat comprising a base (5) and a supporting leg (6, 7, 8) movably assembled on the base, the supporting leg comprising a stand (6) and a sliding seat (8) slidably disposed on the base, and the stand being pivotally connected relative to the sliding seat and having an unfolded position and a folded position, the base has an accommodating space (space under 5) for accommodating the stand in the folded position.
Regarding claim 10, note the child safety seat further comprises an ISOFIX assembly comprising: two ISOFIX connectors (2, 2) slidably assembled on both sides of the base; and an intermediate synchronizing element (37, 23, 37, 12, 12, 36, 36) fixed between the two ISOFIX connectors to enable the two ISOFIX connectors move synchronously, and having an avoidance space (area under 5 between the legs of 23) for accommodating the supporting leg in a folded state.
Regarding claim 11, note the avoidance space is formed (note that this process recitation carries no patentable weight, as the claim is a product claim) by arching a middle part of the intermediate synchronizing element upwards, a shape of the avoidance space corresponds to that of the accommodating space. See Figure 8.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8, 12-15, 17-19, 21-25, 30-31 and 33 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.
CN211765092U shows a child seat base having a slidable/foldable leg structure.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
mn /MILTON NELSON JR/March 11, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636