DETAILED ACTION
This is a non-final Office action in response to the RCE filed 11/17/2025.
Status of Claims
Claims 14-17, 20-22, and 25-28 are pending;
Claims 1-13, 18, 19, 23, and 24 have been cancelled; claims 14, 15, 17, 21, 27, and 28 are currently amended; claims 16, 20, 22, 25, and 26 were previously presented;
Claims 14-17, 20-22, and 25-28 are rejected herein.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed 11/17/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the prior art rejections have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection set forth below in the current Office action. In particular, the scope of claim 14 filed 11/17/2025 is substantively changed relative to the scope of clam 24 filed 06/18/2025. As such, the indication of allowable subject matter directed to claim 24 filed 06/18/205, presented in the Office action mailed 09/08/2025, does not apply to claim 14 filed 11/17/2025 or any other pending claim filed 11/17/2025.
Drawings
The drawings filed 01/05/2024 are accepted by the Examiner.
Specification
The amendments to the specification filed 11/17/2025 are accepted by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 14, 27, and 28 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 14, line 8, "and" at the end of the line is unnecessary.
Claim 14, line 15, "and" appears to be --wherein--.
Claim 14, line 23, it is suggested that "said" be changed to --the--.
Claim 27, the limitations in line 3 should be moved to line 2 after the comma.
Claim 28, line 8, "and" at the end of the line is unnecessary.
Claim 28, line 15, "and" appears to be --wherein--.
Claim 28, line 24, "the locking" appears to be --the at least one locking--.
Claim 28, line 26, it is suggested that "said" be changed to --the--.
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.
Claims 14-17, 20-22, and 25-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sprenger (DE 102014214184 A1)1.
Regarding claim 14, Sprenger discloses a seat longitudinal-adjustment device (10, fig 3), comprising: a pair of rails (3, 5, fig 3) and at least one locking element (11, fig 3), wherein the pair of rails is formed from an upper rail (3, fig 3) and a lower rail (5, fig 3) that are movable relative to one another (translation, paragraph 0027), wherein the at least one locking element is arranged movably on the upper rail (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraphs 0030 and 0031) and, in a locking position, blocks a movement of the upper rail in the lower rail and, in an unlocking position, allows the movement of the upper rail in the lower rail (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraphs 0030 and 0031), and wherein the at least one locking element has a number of projections (15, fig 6) that are designed such that, as viewed in a longitudinal direction of the at least one locking element, in the locking position, a front projection (15a, fig 6, see annotation, the leftmost tooth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the number of projections makes contact with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0044) and a rear projection (15b, fig 6, see annotation, the rightmost tooth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the number of projections makes contact with the upper rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0043), and at least one or more intermediate projections (15c, fig 6, see annotation, the two intermediate teeth 15 as shown in Figure 6) arranged between the front projection and the rear projection have a straight form or a rectangular form (see Figures 3 and 6; as shown in Figure 3, the intermediate teeth 15c extend substantially horizontally in a straight manner; alternatively, as shown in Figure 6, also see annotation below, the intermediate teeth 15c have a straight form or a rectangular form) and are configured so as not to make contact with the upper rail or with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0045), wherein the at least one locking element is arranged and configured such that, during an unlocking operation, said at least one locking element is firstly partially rotatable in the locking position and is subsequently pullable into the unlocking position (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraph 0046, the locking element 11 is capable of performing, and has the configuration to perform, the above intended use).
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Regarding claim 15, wherein the at least one locking element is braced in the locking position such that the front projection is pressed against the lower rail and the rear projection is pressed against the upper rail, such that play between the lower rail and the upper rail is eliminated in the locking position (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraphs 0043 and 0044).
Regarding claim 16, wherein when mechanical load is applied to the seat longitudinal-adjustment device, the front projection engages with clamping and load-bearing action into the lower rail and the rear projection engages with clamping and load-bearing action into the upper rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraphs 0043-0045).
Regarding claim 17, wherein intermediate projections (15c, fig 6, see annotation, the two intermediate teeth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the at least one or more intermediate projections are designed such that, when mechanical load is applied to the seat longitudinal-adjustment device, the intermediate projections of the at least one or more intermediate projections engage with load-bearing action into the lower rail and/or into the upper rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraphs 0043-0045).
Regarding claim 20, wherein only the front projection makes contact in the longitudinal direction with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0044) and only the rear projection makes contact in the longitudinal direction with the upper rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0043).
Regarding claim 21, wherein, in the locking position, intermediate projections (15c, fig 6, see annotation, the two intermediate teeth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the at least one or more intermediate projections between the front projection and the rear projection are not in contact in the longitudinal direction with the upper rail or with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0045).
Regarding claim 22, wherein the at least one locking element is arranged in a spring-loaded fashion, and movably, on the upper rail (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraphs 0030 and 0031).
Regarding claim 25, wherein the at least one locking element is movable from the locking position into the unlocking position by a combined rotating and pulling movement (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraph 0046, the locking element 11 is capable of performing the above intended use).
Regarding claim 26, Sprenger discloses a vehicle seat (translation, paragraph 0027, line 1, the vehicle seat as described) having a seat longitudinal-adjustment device (10, fig 3) as claimed in claim 14.
Regarding claim 27, wherein the seat longitudinal-adjustment device further comprises a preload element (17, fig 3) disposed in a cavity (35a, fig 3, see annotation, the cavity between the upper and lower rails 3, 5) between the upper rail and the lower rail (see Figure 3), wherein the preload element biases the upper rail relative to the lower rail during a longitudinal adjustment (see Figures 3 and 4, the preload element 17 biases the tabs 31 of the upper rail 3 via the locking element 11 that presses the tabs 31 of the upper rail 3), wherein the preload element comprises: a carrier region (17, fig 1, the preload element 17 itself is a carrier region), wherein the carrier region has a spring region (17a, fig 1, see annotation, the left leg of the preload element 17 is a spring region) and a bearing region (17b, fig 1, see annotation, the middle region of the preload element 17 is a bearing region), wherein the spring region is configured to exert a preload force against the upper rail (see Figures 3 and 4, the spring region 17a has the configuration to perform the above intended use) and the bearing region is configured to receive at least one roller element (see Figures 1 and 3, the bearing region 17b has the configuration to perform the above intended use, e.g., receive at least one roller element in the inner space of the coils of the bearing region 17b).
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Regarding claim 28, Sprenger discloses a seat longitudinal-adjustment device (10, fig 3), comprising: a pair of rails (3, 5, fig 3) and at least one locking element (150, fig 1, see annotation, the locking element as shown in Figure 6 consisting of four teeth 15 and the base body portion connecting the four teeth 15, see the boxed region below), wherein the pair of rails is formed from an upper rail (3, fig 3) and a lower rail (5, fig 3) that are movable relative to one another (translation, paragraph 0027), wherein the at least one locking element is arranged movably on the upper rail (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraphs 0030 and 0031) and, in a locking position, blocks a movement of the upper rail in the lower rail and, in an unlocking position, allows the movement of the upper rail in the lower rail (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraphs 0030 and 0031), and wherein the at least one locking element has a number of projections (15, fig 6) that are designed such that, as viewed in a longitudinal direction of the at least one locking element, in the locking position, a front projection (15a, fig 6, see annotation, the leftmost tooth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the number of projections makes contact with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0044) and a rear projection (15b, fig 6, see annotation, the rightmost tooth 15 as shown in Figure 6) of the number of projections makes contact with the upper rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0043), and at least one or more intermediate projections (15c, fig 6, see annotation, the two intermediate teeth 15 as shown in Figure 6) arranged between the front projection and the rear projection have a straight form or a rectangular form (see Figures 3 and 6; as shown in Figure 3, the intermediate teeth 15c extend substantially horizontally in a straight manner; alternatively, as shown in Figure 6, also see annotation below, the intermediate teeth 15c have a straight form or a rectangular form) and are configured so as not to make contact with the upper rail or with the lower rail (see Figure 6, see translation, paragraph 0045), wherein the upper rail and the lower rail define a cavity (35a, fig 3, see annotation, the cavity defined by the upper and lower rails 3, 5), wherein the cavity is accessible through an aperture (2, fig 1) in the upper rail (see Figures 1-5, the cavity 35a is capable of performing the above intended use), wherein a pivotally mounted actuating element (12, fig 3, also see the boxed region below, note that the pivotally mounted actuating element 12 extends from the base body portion of the locking element 150 and is pivotally mounted via the legs 21 and the tabs 31) is located in the cavity (see Figures 1-6) and an actuating region (12a, fig 3, see annotation, the inner actuating region of the pivotally mounted actuating element 12) of the pivotally mounted actuating element is accessible through the aperture (see Figures 1-5, the actuating region 12a is capable of performing the above intended use), wherein the actuating region is connected to a coupling region (12b, fig 3, see annotation, the middle coupling region of the pivotally mounted actuating element 12) of the pivotally mounted actuating element (see Figure 3) and the coupling region engages the locking element (see Figures 1-7, the coupling region 12b engages the locking element 150 via the actuating region 12a), wherein the at least one locking element is arranged and configured such that, during an unlocking operation, said at least one locking element is firstly partially rotatable in the locking position and is subsequently pullable into the unlocking position (see Figures 3 and 4, see translation, paragraph 0046, the locking element 150 is capable of performing, and has the configuration to perform, the above intended use).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Guang H Guan whose telephone number is (571) 272-7828. The examiner can normally be reached weekdays (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at (571) 272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/G. H. G./Examiner, Art Unit 3631
/JONATHAN LIU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3631
1 A copy of Sprenger, including a translation, is available in the record, with a receipt date of 01/05/2024.