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 .
Specification
The objection to the specification has been overcome by amendment.
Drawings
The objection to the drawings as not showing “a recliner plate with a recliner attached thereto, the recliner being fixed to a cushion frame” has been overcome by amendment.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sasaki et al (US20180213936).
Note a vehicle seat configured to be mounted in a vehicle, the vehicle seat comprising: a recliner plate (7B) with a recliner (2) attached thereto, the recliner plate being fixed to a cushion-side frame (9); a hinge pin (3) configured to cause the recliner to perform a release operation; and a bushing (81) forming a plain bearing that rotatably supports the hinge pin, the bushing being fixed to the recliner plate, the bushing having a block shape that is not formed from a plate-shaped member and having a through hole (see Figure 1) which the hinge pin passes through, and the bushing being directly fixed to the recliner plate.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 are 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.
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Applicant’s response has been fully considered. Remaining issues are described above. Arguments with regards to application of Ohba et al (US7578556) to the claims are now moot in view of new grounds of rejection, as necessitated by amendment.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MILTON NELSON JR whose telephone number is (571)272-6861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30am-1:30pm.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/
June 25, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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