DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This action is in response to the application 18/666,524 filed 6/4/2024 which claims priority to JP 2023081654 filed 5/17/2023.
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
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato (US 2021/0387555 A1)(hereinafter Sato).
RE Claim 1: Sato discloses a head rest (headrest sleeve and headrest) comprising:
a stay (56) supported by a seat back of a vehicle seat (para 0042);
an accommodation member (12) forming an accommodating space (interior of 12) for accommodating a part of the stay (56)(para ; and
a cover (20, 40, 16A) member covering a part of the accommodation member to form a part of an outer surface (para 0043-0044), wherein
the accommodation member includes a pair of side surface portions (right + left sides of 12) and an upper surface portion (top of 12), the pair of side surface portions being disposed side by side in a left-right direction of the vehicle seat (Figs 1-3), and the upper surface portion being disposed between end portions of the pair of side surface portions on an upper side of the vehicle seat (top of 12 extends between right and left sides of 12 as seen in Figs 1-3), and
the cover member includes a pair of first cover members (16A per para 0044) and a second cover member (20 + 40), the pair of first cover members covering the pair of side surface portions (16A per para 0044), and the second cover member covering the upper surface portion (20 and 40 extend over the top).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 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: The prior art of record does not disclose, either alone or in combination, the details of an end portion of the first cover member on a side near the second cover member is disposed between the upper surface portion of the accommodation member and the second cover member, along with the remaining limitations of the claim.
This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
These documents present alternative designs similar in scope which illustrate relevant features in comparison to the Applicant’s submission. The cited prior art include various head rest assemblies.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIA E GRABER whose telephone number is (571)272-4640. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy D Collins can be reached on 571-272-6886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARIA E GRABER/Examiner, Art Unit 3644