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 July 3, 2024 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed July 3, 2024 are approved.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the last line thereof isn’t appropriate for U.S. practice. Note the recitation “[Selected Drawing] FIG. 4A”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text.
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuno (US8960785).
Note a vehicle seat comprising: a seat cushion (3, 31) provided at a floor surface of a vehicle body so as to be able to perform sliding movement; a seat back (2, 21) rotatably pivoted (at 31A) to a back end side of the seat cushion and configured to be inclinable relative to the seat cushion; a leg rest (4, 43) rotatably pivoted to a front end side (at 31C) of the seat cushion and configured to be inclinable relative to the seat cushion; and a coordination mechanism (51) which coordinates sliding movement (at 51B) of the seat cushion, inclination (at 51A) of the seat back, and inclination (at 51C) of the leg rest with each other, wherein the coordination mechanism is configured to, in coordination with sliding movement of the seat cushion toward a front side, incline the seat back toward a backward inclining direction and incline the leg rest toward a frontward protruding direction, and in coordination with sliding movement of the seat cushion toward a back side, incline the seat back toward a stand-up direction and incline the leg rest toward a receding direction (see Figures 2-6).
Regarding claim 2, note a plane on which the seat cushion performs the sliding movement is downward sloped from the front side toward the back side. See Figure 2.
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuno (US8960785) in view of Stojanovic et al (US8646840).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of an angle of the downward sloping is set to be not greater than 4°.
The secondary reference teaches configuring the downward slope of a plane in which a seat cushion slides as approximately 2°. Note as discussed in lines 45-52 in column 6.
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 downward sloping as approximately 2° (i.e. not greater than 4°). This modification provides an alternate, equivalent downward slope range for the assembly, wherein either performs equally as well as the other. Suitable sliding and stability is provided by use of either downward sloping range.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuno (US8960785) in view of CN215552678U.
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of the coordination mechanism including a striker provided to the vehicle body, and a guide mechanism which is provided to the seat back and guides inclination of the seat back relative to the striker
The secondary reference teaches configuring sliding vehicle seat with a coordination mechanism that includes a striker (610) provided to a vehicle body, and a guide mechanism (60, 61) which is provided to a seat back and guides inclination of the seat back relative to the striker.
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 coordination mechanism as including a striker provided to the vehicle body, and a guide mechanism which is provided to the seat back and guides inclination of the seat back relative to the striker. This modification adapts the assembly for use in a rear seat configuration (i.e. adjacent to a back wall of the vehicle body).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 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.
Conclusion
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/March 18, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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