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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 10, filed 13-Apr-26, with respect to the subject matter of claims 1 and 4 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-3, 5-7, 10-12 and 14-15 has been withdrawn. Accordingly, claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12 and 14-16 are in condition for allowance.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 17-19, 22 and 24 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 17-19 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gaudreau (US 8579369).
Claim 17- Gaudreau discloses a child safety seat, comprising: a seat body (202) including a seat base (202L) and a backrest (202U) connected to each other to define a seating space; and a second barrier (30) fixed on the backrest (by upper portions 31U, 32U) and configured to prevent the backrest from being deformed (met by rigidifying function, col. 4: 57-67), the second barrier has a hardness greater than that of the backrest (via the second barrier formed from glass-filled polypropylene and the backrest shell formed from polypropylene, col. 4: 6-9).
Claim 18- Gaudreau discloses the child safety seat according to claim 17, wherein the second barrier (30) is transversely disposed on the rear of the backrest (via the upper and lower beams 34, 33).
Claim 19- Gaudreau discloses the child safety seat according to claim 17, wherein the rear of the backrest is provided with a first mounting rib and a second mounting rib disposed on two opposite sides thereof (formed along lateral ends of the bottom shell portion 201, fig. 3), and two ends (44, 42) of the second barrier are fixed on the first mounting rib and the second mounting rib, respectively.
Claim 24- Gaudreau discloses the child safety seat according to claim 17, wherein the backrest (202) is provided with perforation holes on both sides thereof (not designated, fig. 3), the perforation holes are configured to allow an on-board safety belt of a vehicle to transversely pass through the front of the backrest (this function being inherent to the holes shown), to fix the child safety seat to the vehicle; wherein the second barrier is arranged closer to the perforation holes (fig. 2), to prevent the on-board safety belt from causing the backrest to be deformed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gaudreau (US 8579369) in view of Meeker (US 2007/0228788).
Claim 22- Gaudreau discloses the child safety seat according to claim 17, further comprising a clamping member disposed on a side of the backrest facing the seating space and configured to clamp and fix an on-board safety belt of a vehicle.
Claim 22- Gaudreau discloses the child safety seat according to claim 17,
wherein the backrest (202) is provided with lateral openings (shown not designated) on both sides thereof (fig. 3 shows that the body 202 includes lateral backrest bolsters that each have an opening), the lateral openings are configured to allow an on-board safety belt of a vehicle to transversely pass through the front of the backrest to fix the child safety seat to the vehicle (the backrest lateral openings shown are capable of functioning as vehicle seatbelt guides).
Gaudreau does not teach the child seat further comprising a clamping member
disposed on a side of the backrest facing the seating space and configured to clamp
and fix an on-board safety belt of a vehicle.
Meeker discloses a child safety seat comprising:
a seat body (12) and a seat belt (42);
wherein the seat body backrest (18) is provided with lateral openings on both sides thereof (defining belt path 184), the lateral openings are configured to allow an on- board safety belt (156) of a vehicle to transversely pass through the front of the backrest to fix the child safety seat to the vehicle; and
wherein a clamping member (186) disposed on a side of the backrest facing the seating space (fig. 1) and configured to clamp and fix an on-board safety belt (156) of a vehicle (figs. 14A-C).
Meeker teaches providing the clamping member for preventing or minimizing side-to-side sliding of the child seat (¶ [0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the child seat of Gaudreau with a clamping member, as taught by Meeker, in order to further secure the child seat to the vehicle seat.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 14-16 and 23 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record did not show or suggest, either singly or combined, the child safety seat as claimed wherein the seatbelt disposed on the front and rear of the safety seat body is configured to abut against a first barrier on the rear of the seat body, such that the barrier receives impact force applied to the seatbelt for prevent deformation of the seat body, and wherein the material forming the barrier is disclosed as having a hardness value that is greater than a hardness value of the material forming the seat body.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/T.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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