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
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hodges (US 20080073935 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Hodges teaches a door armrest for a vehicle, the door armrest comprising: a first armrest part (Fig. 2 element 56) provided on an inner surface of a door for a vehicle; and a second armrest part (Fig. 2 element 44) selectively movable between a first position at which the second armrest part is deployed along a longitudinal direction of the first armrest part to a second position at which the second armrest part is folded with respect to the first armrest part (“The armrest member 44 is movable between a deployed position, as shown in FIG. 2, and a retracted position, as shown in FIG. 3” Par. [0012] lines 7-9).
Regarding Claim 2, Hodges teaches the limitations set forth in Claim 1 and further discloses the second armrest part is rotatable between the first position to the second position (“The armrest member 44 is movable between a deployed position, as shown in FIG. 2, and a retracted position, as shown in FIG. 3” Par. [0012] lines 7-9).
Regarding Claim 3, teaches the limitations set forth in Claim 2 and further discloses a rotary shaft provided at one end of the second armrest part adjacent to the first armrest part and coupled to the second armrest part such that the second armrest part is rotatable relative to the door between the first position and the second position (Fig. 2 element 42).
Regarding Claim 4, Hodges teaches the limitations set forth in Claim 2 and further discloses in the first position the second armrest part is disposed in a horizontal direction, and wherein in the second position the second armrest is disposed in a vertical direction so as to be substantially orthogonal to the first armrest part (Fig. 2 shows upper surface of element 44 perpendicular to inner door surface).
Regarding Claim 5, Hodges teaches the limitations set forth in Claim 2 and further discloses a link assembly connecting the second armrest part to the first armrest part so that the second armrest part is selectively rotatable relative to the first armrest part (Fig. 2 linkage 34).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hodges (US 20080073935 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, Hodges teaches the limitations set forth in Claim 1.
Hodges fails to explicitly teach the second armrest part has a length of 400 mm or more.
However, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the second armrest part of Hodges to be within the range as disclosed by the claim. Doing so would allow for an armrest to fit on the inner surface of a vehicle door while allowing for users of various sizes to use the armrest. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In Re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 and 14-15 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
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/E.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3644
/Nicholas McFall/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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