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 .
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 and 11-17are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US Patent 7,946,005 B2). Lee discloses:
1. An attachment assembly comprising:
a hook (14) including an extension portion (“the transition”; Col 5 Line 33) defining a hook axis, a loop portion (14a) having a loop end, and a transition portion (where 11b points in Fig. 4b) between the extension portion and the loop portion, wherein a recess is defined within the loop portion, and wherein a main opening (13) to the recess is defined between the loop end and the transition portion; and
a hook retention clip (15) configured to be coupled to the hook, the hook retention clip including an extension mating portion (16’) defining a retention clip axis and a lip (16) extending at an angle away (arc 16a) from the retention clip axis, the lip having a lip tip,
wherein when the hook retention clip is coupled to the hook, the retention clip axis and the hook axis are coaxial (“Guides (or wings) 19 may be provided to align the latch arm 16 with the hooked portion 14”; Col 5 Line 29) and an effective opening to the recess is defined between the lip tip and the loop end, and
wherein the effective opening (See opening in Fig. 6B) is smaller than the main opening.
2. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the lip and the extension mating portion (16+16’) are resilient (“springedly biased to a latched position”; Col 5 Line 45).
3. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the hook retention clip is configured to be coupled to the hook via a snap fit (“snap into and remain positioned”; Col 8 Line 3).
4. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the hook retention clip is configured to be coupled to the hook via a press fit (“fitted over the hooked portion”; Col 9 Line 36).
5. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the extension mating portion includes a first extension mating portion (19) and a second extension mating portion (19 on opposite side; See Fig. 4C) that are coupled together via a living hinge (16’), thereby allowing the extension mating portion to move between an open state, in which the hook retention clip may receive the hook, and a closed state, in which the hook is captured (See Fig. 2B) between the first extension mating portion and the second extension mating portion.
6. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the hook retention clip includes a curved loop mating portion (17e) and a transition mating portion (straight part of 17e), the curved loop mating portion configured to at least partially receive (See Fig. 11) the loop portion of the hook and the transition mating portion configured to receive the transition portion of the hook.
7. The attachment assembly of claim 1, wherein the transition portion (where 11b points in Fig. 4b) has a transition radius of curvature and a transition center of curvature, and wherein the lip (16) has a lip radius of curvature and a lip center of curvature, and wherein the transition center of curvature (in center of 14) and the lip center of curvature (in center of eye) are on opposite sides of the hook.
8. The attachment assembly of claim 7, wherein the transition portion and the lip diverge (See divergence in Fig. 4B) from the axis in opposite directions.
11. A hook retention clip comprising:
a resilient extension mating portion (17) configured to removably couple to an extension portion (12) of a hook, the extension mating portion defining an axis; and
a resilient lip (16) diverging from the axis and configured to extend toward a loop end (14b) of the hook when the hook retention clip is coupled to the hook, wherein the hook retention clip is configured to inhibit removal of the hook from a substrate (inherently inhibits removal from whatever it is attached to).
12. The hook retention clip of claim 11, wherein the hook includes a recess having a main opening (13) and wherein the lip is configured to reduce a length of the main opening to a smaller effective opening (best shown in Fig. 6B).
13. The hook retention clip of claim 11, wherein the hook retention clip is made of plastic (“a durable plastic material”; Col 10 Line 5), and the extension mating portion is press fit (“fitted over the hooked portion”; Col 9 Line 36) onto the extension portion of the hook.
14. The hook retention clip of claim 11, wherein the extension mating portion includes an attachment opening extending along a length of the extension mating portion, the attachment opening configured to snap fit onto the extension portion of the hook (“snap into and remain positioned inside the loop portion 12”; Col 8 Line 42).
15. The hook retention clip of claim 11, further comprising:
a loop mating portion (17) having a loop mating portion end, wherein the loop mating portion extends along an arc of a circle (14b), and
an intersection point (“the transition”; Col 5 Line 33) between the axis and the circle at a location nearest to the extension mating portion.
16. The hook retention clip of claim 15, wherein the loop mating portion end is 180 degrees from the intersection point in a direction along the arc of the circle away from the point (goes completely around a circle).
17. The hook retention clip of claim 15, wherein the loop mating portion end is approximately 90 to 270 degrees from the intersection point in a direction along the arc of the circle away from the point (goes completely around a circle).
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.
Claims 9, 10, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee as applied to claims 1-8 and 11-17 above, and further in view of Yamane (JP 5435764 B2). Lee discloses the hook and attachment assembly as described above but is silent on a lumbar support structure. Yamane teaches:
A lumbar support system for a seat (6) comprising:
a support structure (6a and 6b); and
an adjustable lumbar support mechanism including an actuator system (See Fig. 4) and a support member (3+4) terminating in an attachment mechanism configured to removably couple the support member to a frame (6) of the seat, the attachment mechanism including a loop (2a) defining a recess therein and a resilient lip configured to reduce a size of a main opening to the recess to a smaller effective opening. Yamane further shows a hook with an insert in Figs. 5 and 6 but doesn’t provide many details.
At the time of filing it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the lumbar support system of Yamane with the hook and attachment assembly of Lee. The motivation for doing so would have been to lock the hook in place as described by Lee.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. the prior art of Chang (US 6427296 B1) shows a similar snap on hook lock. Matsui (US 9718383 B2) shows another modern seat support system that uses hooks. These references could also be combined to meet the claim limitations.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN M O'HARA whose telephone number is (571)270-5224. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Huson can be reached at 571-270-5301. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN M O'HARA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642