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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claim(s) 1-16, drawn to a seat assembly is acknowledged. Non-elected claims 17-29 have been withdrawn from further consideration.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information referred to in the IDS filed January 2, 2025 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed October 1, 2025 are approved.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR3034723A1.
Note a seat assembly for use in an automotive vehicle, the seat assembly comprising: a seat cushion (12) adapted to be coupled to a floor of the automotive vehicle; a seat back (14) pivotably coupled to the seat cushion; a striker (46) adapted to be fixedly secured to a support wall (24) in the automotive vehicle; a recliner bracket (48) pivotally coupled (at D2) to the seat back; and a latch assembly (44, 52) pivotally coupled (at D3) to the recliner bracket and pivotally coupled to the striker, wherein pivotal movement of the recliner bracket relative to the seat back causes the latch assembly to pivot about the striker and the seat back to pivot relative to the seat cushion between a design position and a full recline position (see Figures 2A-2B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-16 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shirokane (US9994129) shows a striker-based seatback latch assembly.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/June 24, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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