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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I in the reply filed on 08/17/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/17/2026.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilian et al. (EP 1240056 A1). Kilian et al. shows a vehicle configuration (Fig. 1) comprising a vehicle seat (Fig. 7) and an actuator system (4-11) for adjusting the vehicle seat configuration, the actuator system comprising at least one actuator (4,5,6,7), the at least one actuator being a brushless electric motor (12). A controller (3) comprising a processor (or computer) that receives at least one signal indicative of a collision situation of the vehicle (pg. 8 lines 14-21); and providing, by the controller, upon receiving at least one signal, control instructions for the actuator system to adjust the vehicle seat configuration (pg. 8 lines 21-26). Regarding claim 2, the vehicle comprises a safety belt restraint system (22) integrated into the vehicle seat. Regarding claim 3, the control instructions are configured for tensioning, by a safety belt actuator of the actuator system, a safety belt of the safety belt restraint system (see pg. 8 lines 31-33 and pg. 9 lines 13-32). Regarding claims 4-8, wherein one of the at least one signal is a pre-collision signal indicative of a collision situation of the vehicle prior to a collision of the vehicle (pg. 8 line 15) and one of the at least one signal is an in-collision signal indicative of a collision situation of the vehicle at a time of a collision of the vehicle and wherein the in-collision signal is used, by the controller, to confirm the collision situation after receiving the pre-collision signal (pg. 8 lines 14-30) but the control instructions are changed or cancelled, by the controller, if the in-collision signal is not received within a defined time value ( pg.8 line 28) and the control instructions are changed, by the controller, to reduce or increase an adjustment rate of the vehicle seat configuration (pg. 8 lines 29-30). Regarding claim 9-10, wherein the control instructions are changed or cancelled, by the controller, after receiving the in-collision signal and the control instructions are changed, by the controller, to reduce or increase an adjustment rate of the vehicle seat configuration (pg. lines 8 lines 14-30). Kilian et al. has disclosed the control instructions are configured for adjustment, by at least one seat position actuator of the actuator system, of a position of the vehicle seat (Fig. 7) wherein the control instructions are configured for adjustment of one or more of a height of a seating area of the vehicle seat, a relative position of the vehicle seat inside the vehicle, or a recline angle of a backrest of the vehicle seat (Fig. 7). Kilian et al. has disclosed that the at least one signal is indicative of a frontal collision situation of the vehicle with an object (pg. 8 lines 17-18). Kilian et al. shows all of the teachings of the claimed invention. Consequently, the method steps as recited would have been incorporated within the use of the invention as taught by Kilian et al.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Reference Nos. 11,124,143, 2021/0323446, 2022/0105840 and WO 2018/075066 show features of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY D BARFIELD whose telephone number is (571)272-6852. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY D BARFIELD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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September 5, 2026
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