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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraphs [0022], [0064], [0082], [0083], and [0084] of the specification:
“a straight portion” is labeled as element 41B,
“an inclined portion” is labeled as 41D, and
“a bent portion” is labeled as 41C;
the labels are inconsistent with the labels for the parts of the same names in the Glossary of Terms.
In paragraph [0089] of the specification, the drawings do not show “the left and right back side members 53 and the lower member 43 are formed by bending a single continuous pipe.” In figure 1 of the drawings, the lower member 43 and the side members 53 are that of two different pipes. It is assumed “55” was the intended label for the lower member rather than “43”.
In the Glossary of Terms, “edge wall” is labeled by both 21D and 24E.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 states “edge walls protruding laterally outward and extending from the support member lower portion to the support member are provided on front and rear edges of the support member.” It is unclear how the edge walls can extend from the support member to the same support member. For examination purposes, it is assumed that the edge walls are simply to protrude from more than just the lower portion of the support member.
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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Watanabe (US-10183596-B2).
Watanabe discloses a vehicle seat cushion frame and seat back frame.
Claim 1 – Watanabe teaches a vehicle seat (figure 1), comprising:
a seat cushion frame (element F1 in figure 2); and
a seat back frame rotatably supported by the seat cushion frame (element F2 in figure 2),
wherein the seat cushion frame includes:
left and right side members extending in a front-and-rear direction (elements 13 and 14 in figure 2);
a front member extending in a lateral direction and coupled to a front portion of each of the side members (element 15 in figure 2);
a rear member extending in the lateral direction and coupled to a rear portion of each of the side members (element 16 in figure 2); and
support members coupled to a rear end of each of the side members and extending upward (element 26 figure 2),
at least one of the support members includes:
a support member lower portion coupled to a laterally outer surface of the side member (figure 2); and
a support member upper portion extending upward and laterally inward from the support member lower portion and rotatably supporting the seat back frame (figure 2), and
when viewed in an up-and-down direction, the support member upper portion overlaps with the side member (element 26 moves upward and laterally inward, overlapping the side members when viewed from above).
Claim 2 – Watanabe teaches the side member includes:
a side member body extending in the front-and-rear direction (figure 2); and
a side member extension protruding upward from a rear end of the side member body (in figure 2, Watanabe teaches that the side members 13 and 14 extend upward as they move towards the rear of the seat),
the support member lower portion is coupled to the side member extension (figure 2), and
when viewed in the up-and-down direction, the support member upper portion overlaps with the side member extension (element 26 moves upward and laterally inward, overlapping the side members when viewed from above).
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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US-10183596-B2) in view of Gupta (US-7250091-B2).
Claims 3 and 4 – Watanabe, disclosed above, teaches a vehicle seat, the support member, and the side member extensions, but fails to teach one of the side member extension and the support member lower portion is provided with a protrusion extending in the up-and-down direction, and
another of the side member extension and the support member lower portion is provided with a receiving groove that receives the protrusion.
Watanabe also fails to teach the protrusion is provided on each of front and rear edges of the side member extension, and
the receiving groove is provided on each of front and rear edges of the support member lower portion.
Gupta discloses a method of forming a seating system. Gupta teaches a protrusion extending in the up-and-down direction (element 60 in figures 2A and 2B) and a receiving groove that receives the protrusion (elements 32 in figured 2A and 2B).
Watanabe teaches the support members attaching to the side member extensions, but does not explicitly teach how the parts are joined. Gupta’s disclosure explains protrusions and receiving grooves as a routine method of providing a strong bond between parts, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such a method when constructing Watanabe’s disclosure.
Claim 5 – Watanabe teaches the support member is formed of a sheet metal member (in the final paragraph of the Connecting Device section of the Description of the Preferred Embodiment(s), the “lower hinge member 26 which is made of sheet metal”), and
edge walls protruding laterally outward and extending from the support member lower portion to the support member are provided on front and rear edges of the support member (element 26, on the left side of figure 4, has edge walls protruding laterally outward).
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US-10183596-B2) in view of Gupta (US-7250091-B2), and further in view of Yamabe (WO-2017086211-A1).
Claim 6 – Watanabe and Gupta, disclosed above, do not teach a reinforcement plate is provided on a laterally outer surface of the support member, and
the reinforcement plate is coupled to the front and rear edge walls.
Yamabe discloses a vehicle seat cushion frame and seat back frame. Yamabe teaches a reinforcement plate (element 14 in figure 7) on a laterally outer surface of the support member (element 13 in figure 7), and
The reinforcement plate is coupled to the front and rear edge walls (figure 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the are to use a reinforcement plate, formed in the shape of the support member, including the edge walls, in the disclosure of Watanabe to ensure the support member does not bend or break.
Claim 7 – Watanabe teaches the support member upper portion is provided with a bulging portion bulging laterally inward (element R in figure 2),
the seat back frame is rotatably supported by the bulging portion (figure 2), and
the bulging portion is spaced upward relative to an upper edge of the side member extension (figure 2).
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US-10183596-B2) in view of Miyazawa (WO 2014192095 A1).
Claim 8 – Watanabe, disclosed above, teaches the left and right side members are coupled to a floor (element F in figure 3) via a slide device (element 2 in figure 2),
the slide device includes:
a lower rail (element 2A in figure 2) coupled to the floor; and
an upper rail provided slidably relative to the lower rail and coupled to the side member (element 2B in figure 2),
the lower rail is provided with a lower locking member extending in the front- and-rear direction and having a tip end facing downward (figure 2),
the side member is provided with an upper locking member extending in the front-and-rear direction and having a tip end facing upward (figure 2),
the upper locking member faces the lower locking member from below with a gap therebetween (figure 2), and is coupled to the side member at a front coupling portion and a rear coupling portion that are spaced in the front-and-rear direction (figure 2),
a coupling portion of the rear member and the side member is provided rearward of the front coupling portion and forward of the rear coupling portion (figure 2).
Watanabe does not teach a coupling portion of a seat belt buckle and the side member is provided rearward of the front coupling portion and forward of the coupling portion of the rear member and the side member.
Miyazawa discloses a vehicle seat cushion frame and seat back frame. Miyazawa teaches a coupling portion of a seat belt buckle and the side member is provided rearward of the front coupling portion and forward of the coupling portion of the rear member and the side member (element 14 in figure 2 is a seat belt buckle couple rearward of the front coupling portion and forward of the coupling portion of the rear member and the side member).
The disclosure of Watanabe does not specifically mention where the seat belt buckle female end is located, although one would be present as the male end of the buckle is shown in figure 2 attached to the upper left corner of the seat. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to place the belt buckle on the side member of the seat forward of the rear coupling portion and rearward of the front coupling portion to provide the user with a location to buckle that is not placed too far to the rear of the seat.
Claims 9 and 10 – Watanabe teaches a seat back frame but does not teach the claimed structure of the seat back frame and does not teach the way in which parts of the seat back are fastened as being welding.
Miyazawa teaches the seat back frame includes:
left and right back side members extending in the up-and-down direction (elements 46b and 46c in figure 2);
an upper member extending in the lateral direction and connected to upper ends of the left and right back side members (element 46a in figure 2); and
a lower member extending in the lateral direction and connected to lower ends of the left and right back side members (lower pipe of element 4 in figure 2),
at least one of the back side members includes:
a pipe portion extending in the up-and-down direction (element 46c in figure 2); and
a side plate coupled to a lower portion of the pipe portion (element 47 in figure 2),
the side plate includes:
a plate body extending in the up-and-down direction and facing the lateral direction (element 47 in figure 2); and
front and rear flanges protruding laterally inward from front and rear edges of the plate body (element 47 in figure 2 has flanges that wrap around element 46c),
the pipe portion includes:
a straight portion extending straight in the up-and-down direction (the area pointed to by element 46c in figure 2); and
an inclined portion extending downward and laterally inward from a bent portion provided at a lower end of the straight portion (bent and inclined portion of pipe behind element 47 in figure 2),
an upper portion of the plate body is arranged along the straight portion (element 47 in figure 2),
a lower portion of the plate body is arranged laterally outward of the bent portion with a gap therebetween (element 47 in figure 2),
the lower portion of the plate body is provided with a reinforcement bead extending downward of the bent portion (element 47 in figure 2 has a reinforcement bead running along the edge from the upper straight portion down to the lower bent portion),
the support member (element 51 in figure 2) upper portion is provided laterally outward of the lower portion of the plate body with a reclining device (element 31 in figure 2) therebetween, and
a lever coupled to an operation shaft of the reclining device is arranged laterally inward of the lower portion of the plate body (element 30 in figure 2).
Miyazawa also teaches the front flange is welded to the straight portion, and
the rear flange is welded to the straight portion and the inclined portion.
(In paragraph 12 of the Description of Embodiments, Miyazawa teaches that the plate body “47 is supported by welding on a side portion 46c of the seat back frame”.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Watanabe with the seatback of Miyazawa to simplify the seat back frame structure, lowering time and cost of production. It would have also been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use welding as a stronger, longer lasting, fastening method of parts.
Conclusion
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/T.A.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636