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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant is reminded of MPEP 2004, in which it states:
It is desirable to avoid the submission of long lists of documents if it can be avoided. Eliminate clearly irrelevant and marginally pertinent cumulative information. If a long list is submitted, highlight those documents, which have been specifically brought to applicant’s attention and/or known to be of most significance. See Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc., 359 F. Supp. 948, 175 USPQ 260 (S.D. Fla. 1972), aff'd, 479 F.2d 1338, 178 USPQ 577 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. Denied, 414 U.S. 874 (1974). But cf. Molins PLC v. Textron Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 33 USPQ 2d 1823 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (see MPEP § 2004).
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.
Claims 1-7 and 120 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Morita et al. (JP 2001-61612).
With respect to claim 1, Morita et al. teach a method (Fig. 1 and 7; paragraph 0005) comprising cutting (paragraph 0026) a filament mesh structure with a fluid jet.
With respect to claim 2, Morita et al. teach a method where cutting the filament mesh structure with the fluid jet at least partially forms a cushion (paragraph 0026).
With respect to claim 3, Morita et al. teach a method further comprising attaching the cushion to a frame of a seat assembly (paragraph 0026).
With respect to claim 4, Morita et al. teach further comprising positioning a trim cover over the cushion and attaching the trim cover to the cushion, to the frame, or to the cushion and the frame (Figure 1).
With respect to claim 5, Morita et al. teach further comprising forming the filament mesh structure with filaments of thermoplastic material, the filaments being randomly looped and bonded (paragraph 0010).
With respect to claim 6, Morita et al. teach forming the filament mesh structure includes extruding the thermoplastic material through a die to form the filaments then passing the filaments through a funnel (Figure 7; paragraphs 0010 and 0271).
With respect to claim 7, Morita et al. teach the method further comprising cutting the filament mesh structure after the filaments pass through the funnel (paragraphs 0010 and 0271).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONYA M SENGUPTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6019. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30am-5:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Philip Tucker can be reached at 571-272-1098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SONYA M SENGUPTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745