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 .
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Claims 1-15 have been examined.
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.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu (US 20140132038).
As concerns claim 1, Lu teaches a sofa chair, comprising a base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) disposed horizontally, a chair frame assembly (Lu, fig. 1) indirectly and movably connected to the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23), a backrest assembly (Lu, fig. 3: 19 and 22) movably connected to one end of the chair frame assembly (Lu, fig. 1), and a leg telescoping assembly (Lu, paragraph 0007, lines 8-10) movably connected to another end of the chair frame assembly (Lu, fig. 1), wherein the chair frame assembly (Lu, fig. 1) comprises a chair frame bracket (Lu, fig. 3: 21) and a chair frame (Lu, fig.1: provided between brackets 21 to support the seat cushion) disposed on the chair frame bracket (Lu, fig. 3: 21), the chair frame assembly (Lu, fig. 1) is movably connected to the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) by a connection rod structure (Lu, fig. 3: 12, 15, 17, 18, and 25), and the sofa chair is switchable between a sitting posture (Lu, shown in fig. 1), a TV posture (Lu, shown in fig. 2) and a fully lying posture (Lu, shown in fig. 3) by changing a state of the connection rod structure (Lu, fig. 3: 12, 15, 17, 18, and 25),.
However, Lu does not teach wherein when the sofa chair is in the fully lying posture (Lu, shown in fig. 3), a first included angle between the chair frame, a horizontal plane is greater than 26 degrees and less than 30 degrees, and a first height between a lowest point of the chair frame and a ground is 60 mm to 100 mm. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angles and measurements with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 2, Lu teaches does not teach wherein the first included angle is 27 degrees, and the first height is 68 ± 1 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angles and height measurements with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 3, Lu teaches wherein when the sofa chair is in the TV posture (Lu, shown in fig. 2), a second included angle between the chair frame (Lu, fig. 3).
Lu does not teach the horizontal plane is 10 degrees to 15 degrees, and a second height between the lowest point of the chair frame and the ground is 55 mm to 75 mm.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angles and height measurements with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 4, Lu does not teach wherein the second included angle is 12 ± 1 degrees, and the second height is 61 ± 1 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angles and height measurements with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 5, Lu teaches wherein when the sofa chair is in the sitting posture (Lu, shown in fig. 1), a third included angle between the chair frame (Lu, fig. 3) .
Lu does not teach the horizontal plane is 5 degrees to 11 degrees, and a third height between the lowest point of the chair frame (Lu, fig. 3) and the ground is 90 mm to 140 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angles and measurements with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 6, Lu does not teach wherein the third included angle is 91 degrees, and the third height is 105 ± 1 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the angle and height measurement with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 7 and 11-15, Lu teaches wherein the connection rod structure (Lu, fig. 3: 12, 15, 17, 18, and 25) comprises a first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18), a second support rod (Lu, fig. 3: 15), a first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17), a second connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 25), and a third connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 12); the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18) is hinged at a position of the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) adjacent to one end of the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23), and the second support rod (Lu, fig. 3: 15) is hinged at a position of the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) adjacent to another end of the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23); the chair frame bracket (Lu, fig. 3: 21) comprises a first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) and a second portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) that is shorter than the first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) and connected to the first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) at an angle from the first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below); the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) is hinged at a position of the chair frame bracket (Lu, fig. 3: 21) where the first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) is connected to the second portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below), and an end of the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) is hinged to the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18); the second connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 25) is hinged to a middle of the first portion (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below) of the chair frame bracket (Lu, fig. 3: 21), and an end of the second connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 25) is hinged to the second support rod (Lu, fig. 3: 15); the third connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 12) connects a middle of the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and a middle of the second connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 25); the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) is V-shaped (Lu, see annotated fig. 3 below); and a distance from a hinge point between the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18) to a hinge point between the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the third connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 12).
Lu does not teach a distance from a hinge point between the first connection rod and the first support rod to a hinge point between the first connection rod and the third connection rod is 120 mm to 130 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the measurement of the connection rods with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 8, Lu teaches the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18) to the hinge point between the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the third connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 12).
Lu does not teach the distance from the hinge point between the first connection rod and the third connection rod is 127 ± 1 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the measurement of the connection rod distance with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 9, Lu teaches the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18) to a hinge point between the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18).
Lu does not teach the distance from the hinge point between the first connection rod and the first support rod to a hinge point between the base is 175 mm to 200 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the measurement of the connection rod distance with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
As concerns claim 10, Lu teaches the first connection rod (Lu, fig. 3: 17) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18) to the hinge point between the base (Lu, fig. 3: 23) and the first support rod (Lu, fig. 2: 18).
Lu does not teach the distance from the hinge point between the first connection rod to the hinge point between the base is 183 ± 1 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date to the invention, to try the measurement of the connection rod distance with the lift chair frame as taught by Lu in order for the user to find the most comfortable position.
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Conclusion
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JESSICA K THOMPSON
Examiner
Art Unit 3636
/TIMOTHY J BRINDLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636