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 .
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 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korada et al. (US 2023/0031269) in view of Saeki (US 11420509).
The Korada et al. reference discloses a vehicle seat/battery mounting arrangement (see Figure 3) comprising a floor 200, a battery case 10, a seat 220 positioned above the battery case and a reinforcing structure 100 provided on a top side of the battery case 10 and connected to the seat (see paragraph [0029]). However, Korda et al. fails to disclose the seat as including a plurality of support legs connected to the floor. Applicant’s attention is directed to the Saeki reference which discloses another vehicle seat/battery mounting arrangement (see Figure 1) having a seat 350 with a plurality of support legs (310,320) connected to the floor (see Figure 3) as claimed. Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Korada et al. device to incorporate a seat as, for example, taught by Saeki wherein so doing would merely amount to the substitution of one type of seat for another that would work equally as well in the arrangement of Korada et al.
In regard to claim 11, the method as claimed would be inherent during normal use and assembly of the vehicle seat/battery mounting arrangement defined by the combined teachings of the Korda et al. and Saeki references.
Conclusion
Claims 2-10 and 12-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art of record, with the applied Korada et al. and Saeki references being the closest prior art devices, alone or in combination, teach Applicant’s invention of a vehicle seat/battery mounting structure inclusive of details regarding a reinforcement structure that takes the form of a plurality of connected reinforcement members having a frame structure when viewed from above, as claimed. To modify the closest prior art devices to have such features would involve teachings gleaned only from the instant application for patent.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN O DOUGLAS whose telephone number is (571)272-4885. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 5:30-4:00 EST.
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/STEVEN O DOUGLAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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