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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information referred to in the IDS filed January 17, 2025 has been considered.
The information referred to in the IDS filed June 25, 2024 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed June 25, 2024 are approved.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 3 and 12 are 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.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “wherein a user occupying the aircraft seat” in line 2. This limitation appears to positively claim the user, thereby rendering the claim as vague. Similarly note lines 2 to 3 in claim 12. It is suggested that the term “when” be inserted after “user”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 10, 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Staroste et al (US4093305).
Note a transformable canopy assembly for a seat (see Figure 10) comprising: one or more canopy mounts (8, 12, 5) configured to couple the transformable canopy assembly to a frame of the seat; a canopy sub-assembly configured to rotate between one of a stowed position and a deployed position, wherein the canopy sub-assembly comprises: a canopy (16) configured to provide one of lighting or sound mitigation when in the deployed position; and one or more canopy support members (2, 3, 9) configured to support the canopy, wherein the one or more canopy support members are coupled to the canopy; and a canopy frame lock (6, 7) configured to couple the canopy sub-assembly to the frame, when in the stowed position, the canopy sub-assembly is secured to the frame via the canopy frame lock, wherein the canopy frame lock prevents the canopy sub-assembly from rotating to the deployed position, when in the deployed position, the canopy sub-assembly forms an arcuate-shaped cover (see Figure 10) over at least a portion of one of a seatback or a seat pan of the seat.
Regarding claim 13, note the one or more canopy mounts comprise at least one of: one or more friction hinges (5) or one or more torsion springs.
Regarding claim 14, note the canopy frame lock comprises at least one of: one or more hook-and-loop fasteners, one or more solenoid locks, or one or more slide locks (6, 7). Note that element 6 is rotatably slidably relative to element 7 for tightening and loosening. Also note that element 7 is slidable laterally as it is tightened/loosened to compress/decompress its head (25) against canopy mount portion (8).
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.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Staroste et al (US4093305) in view of Sherman (US3594037).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of the seat comprising a cabin attendant aircraft seat.
The secondary reference conventionally teaches configuring a seat as a cabin attendant aircraft seat.
It is noted that the seat in claim 1, from which claim 11 depends, the seat is not positively claimed and therefore represents no part of the instant invention. As such, the seat carries no patentable weight in the claim. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the primary reference in view of the teachings of the secondary reference by configuring the seat as a cabin attendant aircraft seat. This modification provides the advantages of the primary reference in an aircraft environment.
Claim(s) 12, as best understood with the above cited indefiniteness, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Staroste et al (US4093305) in view of Cuff (US20230329442).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of the arcuate-shaped cover formed by the canopy sub-assembly covers the seatback and the seat pan, wherein a user occupying the seat is entirely covered by the arcuate-shaped cover formed by the canopy sub-assembly.
The secondary reference teaches configuring a seat with an arcuate-shaped cover formed by a canopy sub-assembly as covering both a seatback and a seat pan, wherein a user occupying the seat is entirely covered by the arcuate-shaped cover formed by the canopy sub-assembly. See Figure 1.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the primary reference in view of the teachings of the secondary reference by enlarging the canopy sub-assembly such that it covers the seatback and the seat pan, wherein a user occupying the seat is entirely covered by the arcuate-shaped cover formed by the canopy sub-assembly. This modification enlarges the footprint of the canopy, thereby enhancing coverage of the seat and user.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Staroste et al (US4093305) in view of Rivera (US10058186).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of the canopy sub-assembly further comprises: one or more canopy handles, wherein the one or more canopy handles are coupled to the one or more canopy support members and arranged on an interior surface of the canopy sub-assembly.
The secondary reference teaches configuring a seat with a canopy sub-assembly comprising one or more canopy handles (112), wherein the one or more canopy handles are coupled to one or more canopy support members and arranged on an interior surface of the canopy sub-assembly. Note the drawing on page 1.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the primary reference in view of the teachings of the secondary reference by adding to the canopy sub-assembly one or more canopy handles, wherein the one or more canopy handles are coupled to the one or more canopy support members and arranged on an interior surface of the canopy sub-assembly. This modification enhances ease of selective folding/unfolding of the canopy by providing an element that is dedicated to grasping by a user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2 and 4-9 are allowed.
Claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Schumacher et al (US5795018) shows an aircraft seat having a canopy. DE19607271C2 shows a seat mounted in a cavity and having a canopy.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/January 30, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636