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 Species II, claims 1-10, 12, and 21-26 are acknowledged. Non-elected claims 11 and 13-20 have been cancelled by Applicant.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information referred to in the IDS filed December 5, 2024 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings filed December 5, 2024 are objected as the exploded view of Figure 6 lacks appropriate bracketing, although it appears on the same drawing sheet as another figure. See 37 CFR 1.84(h)(1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-2, 4-10, 12 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2021223007 in view of Conant (US4620686).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of a second pivot locking assembly associated with the distal arm and being so configured as to selectively prevent the third relative pivotal movement;
In the primary reference, note a multi-pivot seat base assembly (12) including: a floor-mountable element (18); a proximate arm (20) having proximate and distal ends; the proximate arm being mounted to the floor-mountable element via its proximate end for first relative pivotal movement between the proximate arm and the floor-mountable element; a distal arm (26) having proximate and distal ends; the distal arm being mounted via its proximate end to the distal end of the proximate arm for second relative pivotal movement between the distal and proximate arms; a seat-mounting element (32 and/or 14) mounted to the distal arm at the distal end thereof for third relative pivotal movement between the distal arm and the seat mounting element; a first pivot locking assembly associated with the proximate arm and being so configured as to selectively prevent the first relative pivotal movement; and a third pivot locking assembly associated with one of the proximate and distal arms and being so configured as to selectively prevent the second relative pivotal movement. In ¶ 0025, note the disclosure of “a controllable locking mechanism associated with at least one of the first and second pivot assemblies to selectively prevent pivotal movement thereof”. This sets forth that both the first and second pivot assemblies can have a locking device.
Regarding claim 2, note the third pivot locking assembly is coupled with one of the first and second pivot locking assemblies for operation in unison, defining a dual pivot locking assembly. Note that these assemblies are coupled together by the distal/proximate arms, and can both be in locked or unlocked orientation at the same time (i.e. they are in unison). Also note that the locks together form a dual pivot locking assembly.
Regarding claim 4, note that the first, second and third pivot locking assemblies are physically capable of being in either their locked or unlocked position by default, depending on which the user chooses as a default position.
Regarding claim 5, note at least one of the first, second and third relative pivotal movements is allowed by a pivot assembly including a shaft (52).
Regarding claim 6, note wherein each of the first, second and third relative pivotal movements are allowed by respectively, first (22), second (28) and third (32) pivot assemblies, each including a shaft (40, 52, and 32, respectively).
Regarding claim 7, note the proximate and distal arms include respective first and second bodies configured to allow the shafts therethrough. See Figure 5.
Regarding claim 8, note the shaft of the first pivot assembly is mounted to the floor-mountable element. See Figure 5.
Regarding claim 9, note the shaft (32) of the third pivot assembly is mounted to the seat-mounting element (14).
Regarding claim 10, note an arm coupling assembly (240, 234, 224) that links the first and second pivot assembly to cause the proximate and distal arms to pivot in unison.
Regarding claim 12, note the arm coupling assembly includes a first sprocket (224) coupled to the first pivot assembly, a second sprocket (234) coupled to the second pivot assembly, and a chain (240) that links the first and second sprockets.
Regarding claim 26, note a seat (14) provided with the multi-pivot seat base assembly according to claim 1.
The secondary reference teaches providing a seating assembly with a pivot locking assembly (seat lock band) that is associated with a distal arm (90) and being so configured as to selectively prevent relative pivotal movement between the distal arm and a seat (50) of the seating assembly. See lines 5-15 in column 4.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add a pivot locking assembly that is associated with the distal arm and being configured as to selectively prevent relative pivotal movement between the distal arm and a seat of the seating assembly. This modification provides additional, selective locking of the seat base assembly, thereby enhancing user stability.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 21-25 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. A multi-arm, pivotable support assembly is shown by each of Bingley (US3542424), Skalka et al (US4687167), and DE102017214802A1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MILTON NELSON JR whose telephone number is (571)272-6861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30am-1:30pm.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/
September 1, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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