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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following: the terminology used to identify and reference the . In ¶ [0003], the device is designated “ingress-egress aid”; however, in ¶ [0004] the designation is switched to “ingress-egress mechanism”.
Since the remainder of the written description uses “mechanism”, the following correction to ¶ [0003] is suggested: “The ingress-egress aid --is a mechanism that-- may be coupled to the backrest and […]”. This suggested addition renders the terminology consistent, clearly sets forth that the two designations are directed to the same device of the invention, and provides full and clear support for the limitations “ingress-egress aid” recited in the claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the reference character “118” is incorrectly designated "mounting bracket" in ¶ [0043].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims objected to because of the following informalities: in the first paragraph of each claim, the limitation defining the locking device locked state should recite "configured --to-- operate in a locked state". Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation --further comprising:-- should be recited after the preamble; and the limitation "an end stop, wherein the one or more use positions includes a full rear position, in which the stop bracket directly contacts the end stop" mistakenly ends with a period. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 is objected to because it recites the limitation “wherein the stop post and the mechanical effector are collectively so that as the mechanical effector moves along the memory ramp in the second direction”. This limitation is a duplicate of the limitation recited in preceding claim 7 and should be deleted because it is redundant and fails to further limit the structures and function recited. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 8, the limitation should recite --a locking device,--; in lines 12-13, the limitation should recite --between one or more use positions--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION. —The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “wherein the stop post and the mechanical effector are collectively so that as the mechanical effector moves along the memory ramp in the second direction”. This limitation fails to recite structure(s) or function(s) that the term “collectively” is meant to modify; i.e., what are the post and effector collectively doing so that the effector moves along the ramp.
Claims 8-10, which are dependent upon an indefinite claim in the above rejection(s), are also rendered indefinite.
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) 1-4, 7, 11-12 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Utzinger (EP 2707249 B1).
Claim 1- Utzinger discloses a vehicle seat (title) comprising:
a rail assembly including a fixed rail (5), a translatable rail (8), and a locking device (12, 13), the locking device configured to operate in a locked state in which the locking device locks the translatable rail to the fixed rail, and an unlocked state, in which the locking device unlocks the translatable rail from the fixed rail to permit translation of the translatable rail along the fixed rail (pg. 3- last paragraph, pg. 4- first paragraph);
a seat sub-frame fixed to the translatable rail (pg. 3- next-to-last paragraph); a backrest pivotally connected to the seat sub-frame and configured to pivot towards a seating surface of the seat sub-frame (“pivotal movement of the back of the vehicle seat 1”, “access position”, pg. 4- last paragraph), wherein the translatable rail is configured to carry the seat sub-frame;
an ingress-egress aid (figs. 1-3, 12-20) coupled to the backrest and the locking device (13), wherein in response to the backrest pivoting towards the seat surface (“folded forwards”), the ingress-egress aid is configured to change the locking device from the locked state to the unlocked state to collectively permit the translatable rail to move along the fixed rail in a first direction to an ingress-egress position (pg. 4- last paragraph, “locking device 13 is unlocked upon” “pivotal movement of the back”; pg. 5- next-to-last paragraph, last sentence); and
a memory ramp (16) fixed to the fixed rail, wherein the ingress-egress aid includes a mechanical effector (19), wherein as the translatable rail moves in a second direction from the ingress-egress position to one or more use positions (“the vehicle seat after taking the boarding position is back in its starting position”, pg. 4- last paragraph), the mechanical effector (19) moves along the memory ramp in the second direction (backward toward “starting position”, figs. 15-17, pg. 4- last paragraph) and a vertical direction (pg. 6- second paragraph) to permit the backrest to pivot away from the seating surface (“backrest lock is unlocked and the backrest can be folded back into the normal position”, pg. 4- last paragraph), and wherein the second direction is substantially opposite to the first direction (forward toward “boarding position”).
Claim 2- Utzinger discloses the vehicle seat of claim 1, further comprising: a stop bracket (21) coupled to and configured to translate with the translatable rail; and an end stop (16c) extending through a portion of the memory ramp (16) and fixed to the fixed rail, wherein the one or more use positions includes a full rear position, in which the stop bracket directly contacts the end stop (pg. 6- second paragraph).
Claim 3- Utzinger discloses the vehicle seat of claim 2, wherein the stop bracket (21) does not engage the memory ramp (the bolt 16c prevents the housing 21 from engaging the blocking element 16).
Claim 4- Utzinger discloses the vehicle seat of claim 1, further comprising: a stop bracket (21) coupled to and configured to translate with the translatable rail (figs. 1-2); and an end stop (16c), wherein the one or more use positions includes a full rear position (pg. 4, fig. 3), in which the stop bracket directly contacts the end stop (pg. 5- the housing 21 memory stop rests against the stop bolt 16c); wherein the memory ramp (16) includes a rear portion, a front portion, and an effective portion extending between the rear portion and the front portion (fig. 21 shows an intermediate portion defined by the transition point between the top end of the ramp 16e and the adjacent end of the upper portion 16f), wherein the mechanical effector (19) is configured to engage the effective portion to permit the backrest to pivot away from the seating surface, and wherein the end stop extends through the front portion and is fixed to the fixed rail (pg. 6- second paragraph).
Claim 7- Utzinger discloses the vehicle seat of claim 1, a stop bracket (21) coupled to and configured to translate with the translatable rail; and an end stop (16c) including a stop post (“projecting end”), wherein when the translatable rail (8) is disposed in a use position of the one or more use positions the stop bracket directly contacts the stop post (pg. 5- fourth paragraph), and wherein the stop post and the mechanical effector are disposed relative to each other so that as the mechanical effector (19) moves along the memory ramp (16) in the second direction, the mechanical effector does not contact the stop post (“projecting end”) of the end stop (figs 3 & 21 show that the effector is offset from the projecting end of the end stop 16c).
Claim 11- Utzinger discloses a rail assembly for use in a vehicle seat, the vehicle seat including a seat sub-frame, a backrest pivotally connected to the seat sub-frame and configured to pivot towards a seating surface of the seat sub-frame (“pivotal movement of the back of the vehicle seat 1”, “access position”, pg. 4- last paragraph), and an ingress-egress aid (figs. 1-3, 12-20) coupled to the backrest, the rail assembly comprising:
a fixed rail (5); a translatable rail (8) configured to carry the seat sub-frame, wherein the translatable rail includes a first stop member (21);
a locking device (12, 13), the locking device configured to be coupled to the ingress-egress aid (figs. 1-2), wherein the locking device is further configured to operate in a locked state, in which the locking device locks the translatable rail to the fixed rail, and an unlocked state in which the locking device unlocks the translatable rail from the fixed rail to permit translation of the translatable rail in a longitudinal direction (x) along the fixed rail (pg. 3- last paragraph, pg. 4- first paragraph) between the one or more use positions to an ingress-egress position, wherein the ingress-egress aid is configured to change the locking device from the locked state to the unlocked state in response to the backrest moving towards the seating surface (pg. 4- last paragraph, “locking device 13 is unlocked upon” “pivotal movement of the back”; pg. 5- next-to-last paragraph, last sentence); and
a memory bracket (16) fixed to the fixed rail (5) and including a second stop member (16c), wherein when the translatable rail (8) is in a use position of the one or more use positions, the first stop member (21) contacts the second stop member (16c), and
wherein as the translatable rail (8) moves in the longitudinal direction (x) from the ingress-egress position to the one or more use positions, a portion (16e) of the memory bracket (16) engages and displaces a mechanical effector (19) of the ingress-egress aid to permit the backrest to pivot away from the seating surface (“backrest lock is unlocked and the backrest can be folded back into the normal position”, pg. 4- last paragraph).
Claim 12- Utzinger discloses the rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the memory bracket (16) includes a rear portion, a front portion, and an effective portion extending between the front and rear portions (fig. 21 shows an intermediate portion defined by the transition point between the top end of the ramp 16e and the adjacent end of the upper portion 16f), wherein the effective portion is the portion that engages and displaces the mechanical effector of the ingress-egress aid (pg. 6- second paragraph), and wherein a height of the memory bracket tapers from the rear portion to the front portion (fig. 21).
a stop bracket (21) coupled to and configured to translate with the translatable rail (figs. 1-2); and an end stop (16c), wherein the one or more use positions includes a full rear position (pg. 4, fig. 3), in which the stop bracket directly contacts the end stop (pg. 5- the housing 21 memory stop rests against the stop bolt 16c). wherein the mechanical effector (19) is configured to engage the effective portion to permit the backrest to pivot away from the seating surface, and wherein the end stop extends through the front portion and is fixed to the fixed rail (pg. 6- second paragraph).
Claim 17- Utzinger discloses a vehicle seat comprising:
a rail assembly including a fixed rail (5), a translatable rail (8), and a locking device (12, 13), wherein the translatable rail includes a first stop member (21), wherein the locking device is configured to operate in a locked state, in which the locking device locks the translatable rail to the fixed rail, and an unlocked state in which the locking device unlocks the translatable rail from the fixed rail to permit translation of the translatable rail along the fixed rail (pg. 3- last paragraph, pg. 4- first paragraph);
a seat sub-frame fixed to the translatable rail (pg. 3- next-to-last paragraph); a backrest pivotally connected to the seat sub-frame and configured to pivot towards a seating surface of the seat sub-frame (“pivotal movement of the back of the vehicle seat 1”, “access position”, pg. 4- last paragraph), wherein the translatable rail is configured to carry the seat sub-frame and the backrest;
an ingress-egress aid (figs. 1-3, 12-20) coupled to the backrest and the locking device (13), wherein in response to the backrest pivoting towards the seat surface (“folded forwards”), the ingress-egress aid is configured to change the locking device from the locked state to the unlocked state to permit the translatable rail to move along the fixed rail in a first direction from one or more use positions to an ingress-egress position (pg. 4- last paragraph, “locking device 13 is unlocked upon” “pivotal movement of the back”; pg. 5- next-to-last paragraph, last sentence);
a memory bracket (16) fixed to the fixed rail (5), wherein the memory bracket forms an inclined plane (defined by ramp 16e), wherein a height of the inclined plane increases with respect to a second direction, wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction (fig. 21 shows the height increases to upper portion 16f); and
a second stop member (16c) coupled to the memory bracket, wherein when the translatable rail (8) is in a use position of the one or more use positions (figs. 3 & 5), the first stop member (21) contacts the second stop member (16c);
wherein the ingress-egress aid includes a mechanical effector (19), wherein as the translatable rail moves in the second direction from the ingress-egress position (fig. 15) to the one or more use positions (figs. 16, 17), the inclined plane (16e) engages and displaces the mechanical effector to permit the backrest to pivot away from the seating surface (“backrest lock is unlocked and the backrest can be folded back into the normal position”, pg. 4- last paragraph).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 13-16 and 18-20 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.
Claims 8-10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 TANIA ABRAHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-2635. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am - 5:30 pm.
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/T.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636