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 .
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kondrar et al. (11,772,517).
Regarding claim 1, Kondrad et al. disclose a seat for a vehicle 100 comprising: a passenger seat 332; an independent seat 336 positioned behind the passenger seat and operated independently from rear seats 152; and a sliding rail 324, disposed on a vehicle floor in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein each of the passenger seat and the independent seat is coupled to the sliding rail, so as to independently slide on the sliding rail.
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) 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondrad et al. in view of Kayumi et al. (US 2007/0013218).
Regarding claim 2, Kayumi et al. disclose a switch 131 configured to slide at least one of the passenger seat or the independent seat; and a controller 36 configured to control at least one of the passenger seat or the independent seat to slide or to inquire whether to slide the at least one of the passenger seat or the independent seat based on at least one of the following factors: operations of the switch (para 0104-0106); weight detected from the passenger seat or the independent seat; or crying sound of an infant or child detected in the vehicle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Kayumi et al. and use a switch with the controller to move the seats in the invention of Kondrad et al. because it allows quicker access during emergency situation.
Regarding claim 3, Kondrad et al. disclose the controller slides the passenger seat and the independent seat to a rear in response to detecting a presence of the infant or child in the passenger seat (see figures 9 and 10).
Regarding claim 5, Kondrad et al. distinctly fails to disclose the controller slides the passenger seat and the independent seat to the front in response to detecting a presence of the infant or child in the independent seat.
However, Kondrad et al. disclose the front seat slide rear during child care arrangement. Furthermore, Kondrad et al. disclose front and second seat subassemblies are capable of moving to the front depending on other arrangement. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching and allow the seats to move forward during child care arrangement in Kondrad et al. because it is simple and efficient.
Regarding claim 6, Kondrad et al. disclose the passenger seat 332 and the independent seat 336 are positioned at a certain distance apart.
Regarding claim 8, Kondrad et al. disclose an AVN (Audio, Video, Navigation) system, wherein the controller inquires whether to slide the passenger seat or the independent seat through the AVN system in response to detecting a presence of the infant or child in the passenger seat or the independent seat (col. 17, lines 40-50 discloses words that can activate the controller).
Claim(s) 4 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondrad et al. in view of Kayumi et al. (US 2007/0013218), as applied to claim 2 above and further in view of Nakagawa et al. (US 2010/0171515).
Regarding claim 4, Nakagawa et al. disclose the controller 25 turns off a passenger airbag 29 (para 0033) or inquires whether to turn off the passenger airbag in response to detecting a presence of the infant or child in the passenger seat.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Nakagawa et al. and place an airbag control system in the invention of Kondrad et al. in order to prevent any injuries.
Regarding claim 7, Nakagawa et al. disclose the controller 25 turns on a curtain airbag or inquires (step 25a determines the detection and whether to turn the airbag ON or OFF) whether to turn on the curtain airbag in response to detecting a presence of the infant or child in the passenger seat or the independent seat.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Nakagawa et al. and place an airbag control system in the invention of Kondrad et al. in order to prevent any injuries.
Conclusion
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/SYED A ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636