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 title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Seat for Vehicle with Tiltable Back Frame.
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.
Claims 6-9, 14, and 15 are 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.
In regard to claims 6-9, claim 5 states “the first connection portions, the first operation portions, the second connection portions, and the second operation portions are configured as protrusions or slits”.
Claim 6, dependent on claim 5, states “each of the slits related to the first connection portions, the first operation portions, the second connection portions, and the second operation portions extends to define a movement route of a corresponding one of the protrusions. It is unclear where the protrusions are if all four parts, that are either protrusions or slits per claim 5, are slits.
Claim 7, dependent on claim 6, restates “each of the slits related to the first connection portions, the first operation portions, the second connection portions, and the second operation portions” in the first three lines of the claim, again claiming all four parts as slits. Claim 7 then states, in the final four lines of the claim, “the protrusions of the first connection portions and the first operation portions” and “the protrusions of the second connection portions and the second operation portions”. It is unclear how all four parts, being slits to receive protrusions, can also contain protrusions.
Claim 8, dependent on claim 6, states “a length of the slit of each of the first connection portions and the first operation portions are shorter than a length of the slit of each of the second connection portions and the second operation portions”. It is unclear where the protrusions are if all four parts, that are either protrusions or slits per claim 5, are slits.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being dependent on the clarity of claim 8.
For the examination of claims 6-9, in light of the figures, the first and second connection portions are assumed to be protrusions and the first and second operation portions are assumed to be slits.
Claim 14, dependent on claim 1, introduces “a plurality of cushion frames” as a limitation on the cushion frame of claim 1, and further introduces “a cushion frame among the plurality of cushion frames” as well as “remaining cushion frames among the plurality of cushion frames”. It is advised that the applicant uses a word or phrase other than “cushion frames” to make clear whether or not the cushion frame of the plurality of cushion frames is, or includes, the cushion frame of claim 1.
Claim 15 recites the limitations "the first connecting portions" and “the second connecting portions” in the first limitation of the claim. Claim 1, from which claim 15 claims dependency, introduces “first connection portions” and “second connection portions”. While seemingly the same part, “connection” is defined as being parts already connected and “connecting” is defined as the act of creating a connection. Therefore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, it is assumed these parts are the same as the parts claimed in claim 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.
Claims 1-6 and 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kilburn (US-1228785-A) in view of Bezeault (FR-3089896-A1).
Kilburn discloses a reversible car seat to allow the user to sit facing a forward or rearward direction. Bezeault discloses a motor vehicle seat with reversible backrest, also to allow the user to site facing a forward or rearward direction.
Claim 1 – Kilburn teaches a seat for mobility (figure 1), the seat comprising:
support portions (elements 1, 7, 8, and 19 in figures 1 and 2);
link portions rotatably connected to the support portions and including first connection portions (element 23 in figure 1) and second connection portions (element 26 in figure 3) spaced apart from a rotation center (element 20 in figures 1-3);
a back frame (element 14 in figures 1-3) tiltably mounted on the support portions and including first operation portions (element 24 in figure 1) to which the first connection portions of the link portions are rotatably engaged (figure 1); and
a cushion frame (element 6 in figure 3) rotatably mounted on the support portions and including second operation portions (element 27 in figure 3) to which the second connection portions of the link portions are rotatably engaged, the cushion frame being configured to be rotated by the link portions in conjunction with a tilting operation of the back frame (figure 1).
Kilburn does not teach guide rails provided on a floor surface of the mobility, or that the support portions are movably mounted on guide rails.
Bezeault teaches guide rails provided on a floor surface of the mobility, and that the support portions are movably mounted on guide rails.
Kilburn’s disclosure is designed for a railway car where the seat is to be attached on one side, to the wall of the car. In order to modify Kilburn’s disclosure with the guide rails of Bezeault, Kilburn’s disclosure would first need to be modified with a second support leg (element 1 in figure 1). Such a modification would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as the tilting mechanism’s structure is mirrored on either side of the seat and a simple addition of a floor support is all that would have been required to apply Kilburn’s disclosure to other mobilities where a wall-attached structure would not be ideal, such as an automobile. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to modify Kilburn’s disclosure with the sliding guide rails of Bezeault to provide the user with seat adjustability in the fore-aft direction.
Claim 2 – Kilburn teaches the back frame (element 14 in figures 1 and 3) is disposed on external surfaces of the support portions (element 19 in figures 1 and 3), the cushion frame (element 6 in figure 3) is disposed on internal surfaces of the support portions, the link portions are provided on the external surfaces of the support portions, the first connection portions extend outward (element 23 in figure 3) and are engaged to the first operation portions of the back frame (element 24 in figure 1), and the second connection portions extend inward (element 26 in figure 3) and are engaged to the second operation portions of the cushion frame (element 27 in figure 3).
Claim 3 – Kilburn teaches a lower portion of the back frame is rotatably mounted on the support portions and disposed below the link portions, and the first operation portions are spaced apart from a point at which the back frame is mounted on the support portions (element 16 in figure 1).
Claim 4 – Kilburn teaches a point at which the cushion frame is mounted on the support portions are disposed to be biased toward any one side in a longitudinal direction, and the second operation portions are spaced apart from the point, at which the cushion frame is mounted on the support portions, in a direction in which a length of a seat frame is short, based on the point at which the cushion frame is mounted on the support portions as the point at which the cushion frame is mounted on the support portions are biased (In figure 3, the cushion frame, element 6, mounts via element 8 of the support portions which is spaced apart, longitudinally, from the second operation portion element 27).
Claim 5 – Kilburn teaches the first connection portions (element 23 in figures 1 and 3, protrusion), the first operation portions (element 24 in figure 1, slit), the second connection portions (element 26 in figures 1 and 3, protrusion), and the second operation portions (element 27 in figure 1, slit) are configured as protrusions or slits and define insertion structures.
Claim 6 – Kilburn teaches each of the slits related to the first connection portions, the first operation portions, the second connection portions, and the second operation portions extends to define a movement route of a corresponding one of the protrusions (in paragraph 12, “Links 19 also carry pins 23 which [slidably] engage within slots 24”, and in paragraph 13, “pins 26 which engage within vertically arranged slots 27”).
Claim 10 – Kilburn teaches the back frame (element 14 in figure 1) is rotatably mounted on the support portions (element 19 in figure 1) by a recliner (elements 21 and 22 in figure 1).
Claim 11 – Kilburn teaches the support portions (element 19 in figure 1) include a stopper to restrict a rotation position of the link portions, and the stopper is formed at a position at which the stopper comes into contact with the link portions in response that the cushion frame rotates at a deployment angle at which an occupant is seated (the contact of the link portions is the functionality of a stopper, with the design length of the slits providing the deployment angle of the cushion frame).
Claim 12 – Kilburn does not teach a latch is mounted on the cushion frame, and the latch is provided to be connected to the link portions in response that the cushion frame rotates at a deployment angle at which an occupant is seated.
Bezeault teaches a latch (element 151 in figure 9-11) is mounted on the cushion frame (element 101 in figure 11), and the latch is provided to be connected to the link portions (element 320 in figure 11) in response that the cushion frame rotates at a deployment angle at which an occupant is seated.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kilburn with the latching system of Bezeault to allow the user to lock the seat to the user’s desired orientation, ensuring the seat does not move while the vehicle is in motion.
Claim 13 – Kilburn does not teach a headrest is mounted on an upper portion of the back frame, and the headrest is rotatably mounted on the back frame.
Bezeault teaches a headrest (element 400 in figures 3-5) is mounted on an upper portion of the back frame (element 300 in figures 3-5), and the headrest is rotatably mounted on the back frame (figures 3-5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Kilburn with the headrest of Bezeault to provide the occupant of the seat with great comfortability, while ensuring it can rotate at the proper angle depending on the orientation of the back frame.
Claim 14 – Kilburn teaches the cushion frame includes a plurality of cushion frames (elements 4 and 6 in figures 1-3) , a cushion frame among the plurality of cushion frames is mounted on the support portions (element 6 in figures 1-3), and remaining cushion frames among the plurality of cushion frames are rotatably engaged to the cushion frame mounted on the support portions (element 4 in figures 1-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 and 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 TROY A LIBBY whose telephone number is (571)272-6676. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri; 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM EST.
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/T.A.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636