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 .
Status of Claims
This Office action is in response to the application filed on November 10, 2024. Claims 1-12 are currently pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application CN202410098032.3, filed on January 24, 2024. Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to the declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR.154(b) and 41.202(e). Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application. No action by the applicant is required at this time.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 10, 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Reference Numbers B and B’ for the tilt position of the seat in Figure 3B is not in the instant specification.
Reference Number 70, for an electric sliding door in Figure 5, is not in the instant specification.
Reference Number 72, for an indoor light in Figure 5, is not in the instant specification.
Reference Number OB2, for an obstacle as indicated in Paragraph [0042] of the instant specification, is not in the drawings.
Reference Number S100, for the step of an automatic action start condition in Paragraph [0045] of the instant specification, is not in the drawings.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: Reference Number S122 in Figure 9, is not in the specification.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character S102 has been used to designate both a step for establishing automatic start condition and start monitoring of the vehicle in Figure 9.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitations uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitations are:
“a pinch detection part …” in Claims 1, 3, 5, 9, and 11.
“an obstacle detection part …” in Claim 1.
Because these claim limitations are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof:
Regarding the limitation of “a pinch detection part …”, the instant specification at Paragraphs [0027], [0032], and [0040] at least states that the “The controller 30 is composed of, for example, a processor … and is used to execute control programs … and may receive detection signals from various sensors disposed in a vehicle …” and “the pinch detection part 104 is configured to detect whether the obstacle OB is pinched by detecting the load change when the seat 10 is moved …” and “the control part 108 may generate a control signal for the electric device 102 based on the detection results …”. The structure for a pinch detection part is software or hardware capable of determining a pinch status and sending the signals to the ECU.
Regarding the limitation of “an obstacle detection part …”, the instant specification at Paragraph [0033] at least states that “the obstacle detection part 106 detects the obstacle OB is present in the moving direction of the seat 10 … detection devices 52 and 54 such as cameras or radars in the vehicle V may detect whether the obstacle OB is present in the detection area …”. The structure for an obstacle detection part is a camera or radar inside the vehicle.
If applicant does not intend to have these limitations interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitations to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitations recite sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0234477 A1, to Ozawa, et al (hereinafter referred to as Ozawa).
As per Claim 1, and similarly for Claim 7, Ozawa discloses the features of a seat device for a vehicle (e.g. Paragraph [0013]; where a seat control device includes a control unit and is configured to detect whether or not an occupant is seated on another seat in front of or behind the electric seat), comprising:
an electric device for moving a seat of the vehicle (e.g. Paragraph [0013]; where a seat control device includes a control unit and is configured to detect whether or not an occupant is seated on another seat in front of or behind the electric seat);
a pinch detection part (e.g. Paragraph [0034]; where the seat control device (2) includes a first control unit (21a), a second control unit (21b), a pinching detection unit (22), a seating detection unit (23), a seat movement amount calculation unit (24), and a target position storage unit (25))
detecting an obstacle being pinched (e.g. Paragraph [0034]; where the pinching detecting unit (4) determines the presence or absence of pinching between seats) by
detecting a load change of the electric device when the seat is moved (e.g. Paragraphs [0005], [0037], where the system determines whether or not pinching has occurred based on the amount of change (difference) in the current or rotation speed of the motor in a predetermined period and comparing the detected value with a threshold value);
an obstacle detection part (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0037], [0092]; where the seat detects whether or not an object or an occupant is seated on another seat in front of or behind the electric seat (i.e. obstacle detection)),
classifying the obstacle in a moving direction of the seat (e.g. Paragraphs [0013], [0092]; where the seat detects whether or not an object or an occupant is seated on another seat in front of or behind the electric seat (i.e. obstacle detection), and may use pressure sensors to detect the weight of an object, such as luggage (i.e. identifies objects or persons in another seat)); and
a control part controlling the electric device according to a classification of the obstacle (e.g. Paragraphs [0035]; where the control unit outputs a signal for controlling the first and second motor based on the detection result of the pinching detection unit (22)m the detection result of the seating detection unit (23), and the movement amount of the seat portion (31)).
As per Claim 2, and similarly for Claim 8, Ozawa discloses the features of Claims 1 and 7, respectively, and Ozawa further discloses the features of wherein the control part stops the electric device via the classification of the obstacle before the obstacle is pinched (e.g. Paragraph [0013]; where the seat detects whether or not an occupant is seated on another seat in front of or behind the electric seat, and when an occupant is detected in the other seat, the control unit moves the electric seat in a direction of the other sear in a first control mode including a process for suppressing the occupant from being pinched between both seats (i.e. stops the seat before pinching occurs)).
As per Claim 3, and similarly for Claims 5, 9, and 11, Ozawa discloses the features of Claims 2, 1, 8, and 7, respectively, and Ozawa further discloses the features of wherein,
in response to the pinch detection part detecting a pinching of the obstacle, the control part makes the seat perform a reversal movement via the electric device (e.g. Paragraphs [0004], [0008]; where the seat control device has a function of detecting pinching and reversing the seat portion or the backrest in the direction opposite to the movement direction), and
the control part changes a reversal movement amount via the classification of the obstacle after the obstacle is pinched (e.g. Paragraphs [0004], [0008]; where the seat control device has a function of detecting pinching and reversing the seat portion or the backrest in the direction opposite to the movement direction; and the seat portion of the electric seat is reversed to increase the space and remove the pinching on the occupant).
As per Claim 4, and similarly for Claims 6, 10, and 12, Ozawa discloses the features of Claims 2, 1, 8, and 7, respectively, and Ozawa further discloses the features of wherein, the seat of the vehicle further comprises a seat cushion part and a seat back part (e.g. Paragraphs [0006]; Figure 2A; where the seat (30) has a cushion part (31) and a seat back part (32)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Diamond, et al (U.S. 2023/0339369 A1), which teaches a vehicle seat auto-adjust method based on rear seat occupancy.
Kim, et al (U.S. 2019/0152346 A1), which teaches a method for detecting an object in a vehicle and adjusting a seat in response to the detection.
Machii, et al (U.S. 2022/0290480 A1), which teaches a method for detecting pinching for a vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MERRITT LEVY whose telephone number is (571)270-5595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 0630-1600.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn can be reached at (571) 272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MERRITT LEVY/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ABBY J FLYNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663