February 8, 2026
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in the Republic of Korea on 09/13/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2023-0121492 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1 and 4 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Washington et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0025365 A1) in view of Onuma et al. (U.S Patent No. 10,220,756 B2).
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Washington et al. teach the structure substantially as claimed including a pneumatic and vibration generating device for a vehicle seat, the pneumatic and vibration generating device comprising: a first air bladder 100 mounted in a seatback 17 and configured to be inflated and deflated in the seatback 17; and a vibration motor 102 disposed on a front portion of the first air bladder and configured to selectively generate vibration, wherein the vibration motor has a fusion sheet 118 provided on one surface side thereof, and wherein the fusion sheet has an edge portion entirely fixed to the first air bladder by an adhesive but does not specify that the fusion sheet is fixed to the first air bladder by thermal fusion.
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However, Onuma et al. teach the concept of securing an air bladder 30 to backrest of a vehicle seat using a fusion sheet 64 that is capable of being secured to the vibration motor or vice versa; wherein the fusion sheet has an edge portion entirely fixed to the first air bladder by thermal fusion..
As for claim 2, Onuma et al. teach that the fusion sheet is formed to extend wider than the one surface side of the vibration motor, and the edge portion of the fusion sheet is bonded to, by the thermal fusion, a front portion of the first air bladder and a rear portion of the first air bladder.
As for claim 3, Onuma et al. teach that the fusion sheet is molded using a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material (see the specification at column 6, lines 39-43 and 50-5a where it reads “ The mounting pieces 64 are formed from a resin material such as, for example, polyurethane or the like, and are joined to the side portions at the transverse direction both sides of the large diameter portion 26 by adhesion, fusion, or the like.” and “Note that, instead of this structure, the airbag 30A and the pair of mounting pieces 64 may be formed of a resin material by integral molding.”). It would have been obvious and well within the level of ordinary skill in the art to secure the vibration motor 30, as taught by NOSO et al, to a fusion sheet by thermal fusion, as taught by Onuma et al., since the thermal fusion process of joining the fusion sheet to the vibration motor would be stronger than a simple adhesive and the thermal fusion would also withstand the vibrations generated by the vibration motor.
As for claim 4, Washington et al. further comprises a second air bladder provided on a rear end surface of the first air bladder and configured to be inflated and deflated, wherein the second air bladder is operatively connected to the first air bladder so as to enable air to flow therebetween (see Fig. 1 where two air bladders 108 operatively connected to one another)
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NOSO et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0054518 A1) in view of Onuma et al. (U.S Patent No. 10,220,756 B2).
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NOSO et al. teach the structure substantially as claimed including a pneumatic and vibration generating device for a vehicle seat, the pneumatic and vibration generating device comprising: a first air bladder 23 mounted in a seatback 12 and configured to be inflated and deflated in the seatback 12; and a vibration motor 30 disposed on a front portion of the first air bladder and configured to selectively generate vibration, but is silent as to whether the vibration motor has a fusion sheet provided on one surface side thereof or that the fusion sheet is fixed to the first air bladder by thermal fusion.
However, Onuma et al. teach the concept of securing an air bladder 30 to backrest of a vehicle seat using a fusion sheet 64 that is capable of being secured to the vibration motor or vice versa. As for claim 2, Onuma et al. teach that the fusion sheet is formed to extend wider than the one surface side of the vibration motor, and the edge portion of the fusion sheet is bonded to, by the thermal fusion, a front portion of the first air bladder and a rear portion of the first air bladder. As for claim 3, Onuma et al. teach that the fusion sheet is molded using a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material (see the specification at column 6, lines 39-43 and 50-5a where it reads “ The mounting pieces 64 are formed from a resin material such as, for example, polyurethane or the like, and are joined to the side portions at the transverse direction both sides of the large diameter portion 26 by adhesion, fusion, or the like.” and “Note that, instead of this structure, the airbag 30A and the pair of mounting pieces 64 may be formed of a resin material by integral molding.”). It would have been obvious and well within the level of ordinary skill in the art to secure the vibration motor 30, as taught by NOSO et al, to a fusion sheet by thermal fusion, as taught by Onuma et al., since the thermal fusion process of joining the fusion sheet to the vibration motor would be stronger than a simple adhesive and the thermal fusion would also withstand the vibrations generated by the vibration motor.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because it teaches structures and concepts similar to those of the present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rodney B. White whose telephone number is (571)272-6863. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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/Rodney B White/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636