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 1 as seen in figures 1-7 corresponding to claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 12/30/2025 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the a back surface on a side of the skin material, first pad surface, second pad surface must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-10 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.
Dependent claims not addressed below are rejected as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
Claim 1, line 5, recites limitation “a back surface on a side of the skin material”. It is unclear what surface is a back surface or a side of the skin material. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1, lines 9 and 12 recite limitation “first pad portion”. It is unclear what element is the first pad portion is. Is it the inner/outer pads or the first/second/third sections of the center? Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1, lines 9-10 and 13 recite limitation “second pad portion”. It is unclear what element is the first pad portion is. Is it the inner/outer pads or the first/second/third sections of the center? Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 lines 13-16 recite limitation “and heater connecting portions that are disposed to straddle the pull-in grooves, connect the first heater portion and the second heater portion, and are formed to be narrower than the first heater portion and the second heater portion”. It is unclear in what way the heater connector portions are narrower than the first heater portion and the second heater portion. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3, lines 1-4 recite limitation “wherein the first heater portion and the second heater portion are disposed at positions facing a portion of the seat body in contact with an occupant when the occupant is seated on the seat body, and are disposed at positions not facing the second pull-in grooves”. It is unclear what direction facing and not facing includes. The metes and bounds of the heater facing or not are not clear. 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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20210031657 A1 Sato; Kohei et al.
Regarding claim 1, Sato teaches, a conveyance seat comprising: a seat body (fig. 8, element S) including a pad material (element P1/P2) and a skin material covering the pad material (element K11); and a sheet-shaped seat heater (element 10 and 20) disposed between the pad material and the skin material inside the seat body and attached to a back surface on a side of the skin material, wherein: the pad material has pull-in grooves each formed on a surface of the pad material and used to pull in a skin end portion of the skin material (elements 130/140), the pull-in grooves extend along a predetermined direction on the surface of the pad material and are provided to partition the pad material into a first pad portion and a second pad portion (figs. 11-14, plurality of pad sections P11, P12, P21, P22), the seat heater has: a first heater portion disposed on a surface of the first pad portion; a second heater portion disposed on a surface of the second pad portion (figs. 11 and 14, elements 210, 220, 230, 310, 320); and heater connecting portions that are disposed to straddle the pull-in grooves (fig. 13, element 213), connect the first heater portion and the second heater portion (fig. 13), and are formed to be narrower than the first heater portion and the second heater portion (fig. 13), and the heater connecting portions are attached to the skin end portion of the skin material and are at least partially pulled into the pull-in grooves together with the skin end portion (fig. 13).
Regarding claim 2, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 1, wherein: the pull-in grooves have: first pull-in grooves for partitioning the pad material into a central pad portion and side pad portions located outside the central pad portion in a seat width direction (element 131 and 141); and second pull-in grooves for partitioning the central pad portion into a first central pad portion and a second central pad portion in the seat width direction and a direction orthogonal to a thickness direction of the pad material (element 133 and 143), and the heater connecting portions are at least partially pulled into the first pull-in grooves together with the skin end portion, and are disposed at positions aligned with or overlapping the second pull-in grooves (fig. 13).
Regarding claim 3, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 2, wherein the first heater portion and the second heater portion are disposed at positions facing a portion of the seat body in contact with an occupant when the occupant is seated on the seat body, and are disposed at positions not facing the second pull-in grooves (fig. 13).
Regarding claim 4, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 2, wherein the heater connecting portions are disposed outside the first heater portion and the second heater portion in the seat width direction (figs. 11 and 14).
Regarding claim 5, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 2, wherein: the first pull-in grooves are formed on right and left sides in the seat width direction (figs. 11 and 14, elements 131/141), the heater connecting portions are disposed on the right and left sides in the seat width direction (figs. 11 and 14), and the right and left heater connecting portions are at least partially pulled into the right and left first pull-in grooves, respectively (figs. 11 13 and 14, elements 131/141).
Regarding claim 6, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 2, wherein: the second pull-in grooves have a plurality of second pull-in grooves (elements 133/143) dividing the central pad portion into the first central pad portion, the second central pad portion, and a third central pad portion in the orthogonal direction (fig. 11, and fig 14, elements), the seat heater has: a first heater portion disposed on a surface of the first central pad portion; a second heater portion disposed on a surface of the second central pad portion; a third heater portion disposed on a surface of the third central pad portion (fig. 11, elements 211, 212, 231 and fig 14, elements 310); a first heater connecting portion connecting the first heater portion and the second heater portion; and a second heater connecting portion connecting the second heater portion and the third heater portion, and the first heater connecting portion and the second heater connecting portion are disposed at positions aligned in the orthogonal direction (fig. 13).
Regarding claim 7, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 2, wherein: the first pull-in grooves are formed on the right and left sides in the seat width direction (figs. 11 and 14), the heater connecting portions are disposed on the right and left sides in the seat width direction, and the right and left heater connecting portions are disposed at overlapping positions in the orthogonal direction and the thickness direction of the pad material (figs. 11 and 14).
Regarding claim 8, Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 1, wherein: the seat heater has a sheet-shaped seat base material and a heater wire (para 0150) that is attached to the seat base material and extends along the seat base material (para 0150), and a portion of the heater wire attached to the seat base material of each of the heater connecting portions extends along an extending direction of each of the heater connecting portions and extends while forming a plurality of bent portions (para 0150).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato.
Regarding claim 9 Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 8, wherein the portion of the heater wire attached to the seat base material of each of the heater connecting portions extends while forming a meandering shape or a zigzag shape. The Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to zigzag heat wires to evenly heat a larger area. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Sato with zigzag wiring. The motivation to do so would be to heat a larger area.
Regarding claim 9 Sato teaches, the conveyance seat according to claim 1, wherein an outer end portion of each of the heater connecting portions in the seat width direction is attached to the skin end portion by sewing. The Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art to sew the seams of the seat skin to secure sections to one another. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Sato with sewing skin section. The motivation to do so would be to secure skin sections to each other.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CINDI M. CURRY whose telephone number is (469)295-9296. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30 M-F.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua J. Michener can be reached at 571-272-1467. 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.
/C.M.C/
Examiner
Art Unit 3642
/JOSHUA J MICHENER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642