August 12, 2026
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-9, 11, and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jamele et al. (U.S. Patent No 10,076,712 B2) in view of Kojima et al.. (U.S. Patent No. 12,697,909 B2).
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As for Claims 1 and 14-15, Jamele et al. teach the structure substantially as claimed including a seat assembly and an armrest (see “armrests 176, 178, 180, 182, and 184”) for a seating assembly, the seating assembly comprising at least one user seat 21, wherein each user seat has a seat base and a seat back, wherein each seat base extends between a seat front end and a seat rear end in a forward-rearward direction, and each seat base extends between a seat first side and a seat second side in a lateral direction perpendicular to the forward-rearward direction (see Figures 1-2), the armrest comprising:
a housing comprising an air inlet 85, an air outlet 210,212; and an airflow pathway 122, 124 extending between the air inlet and the air outlet;
an axial fan unit 224 contained within the housing, the armrest is mountable to the seating assembly at the seat first side or the seat second side; and
the air outlet 210,212 is arranged facing at least partially in the rearward direction when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly but it is not clear if the fan is positioned in the airflow pathway, wherein the fan unit is operable to draw air in through the air inlet and expel air through the air outlet not does it teach a louver assembly positioned at the air outlet, wherein the louver assembly is arranged to direct the expelled air as a substantially laminar flow of air towards a user seated in the user seat.
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However, Kojima et al. teach the concept of using an axial fan unit 68(82) that is operable to draw air in through an air inlet 86 and expel air through an air outlet 88 (see Fig. 4 above) as well as positioning louvers 1016 at the air outlet at desired locations of a seat. It would have been obvious and well within the level of ordinary skill in the art to modify the armrest, as taught by Jamele et al., to include a fan unit that is operable to draw air in through the air inlets and expel air through the air outlets as well as positioning louvers at the air outlet of the armrest, as taught by Kojima et al., since the louvers can be adjusted and/or positioned to prevent water from entering the armrests through the air outlet and the louvers will also allow air to be easily introduced into the armrest through the air inlet.
As for Claims 3-7, Jamele et al. teach that the armrest extends between a proximal end and a distal end; the air inlet, fan unit and louver assembly are all positioned at the distal end of the arm rest; and, when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly, the proximal end is located at or near to the seat rear end, and the distal end is spaced away from the seat rear end in the forward direction. Jamele et al. also teach that when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly, the air outlet is arranged facing in an upward and rearward direction; when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly the air outlet is arranged facing in an upward and rearward direction; wherein when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly the air outlet is positioned forward of the seat front end in the forward-rearward direction; when the armrest is mounted to the seating assembly the air inlet is positioned forward of the air outlet in the forward-rearward direction (see Fig. 8).
As for Claim 8, Kojima et al. teach that the air inlet, the air outlet, and the fan unit are linearly aligned.
As for Claims 9 and 16, Kojima et al. teach that the armrest is positionable between a first user seat and a second user seat; the armrest further comprises a second air outlet positioned in the airflow path and a second louver assembly positioned at the second air outlet.
As for Claims 11 and 13, Kojima et al. teach that a liquid delivery nozzle 270 adjacent to the air outlet, wherein the liquid delivery nozzle is operable to output liquid; further comprising: a first liquid delivery nozzle adjacent to the air outlet, wherein the first liquid delivery nozzle is operable to output liquid towards a first region of the first user seat; and a second liquid delivery nozzle adjacent to the second air outlet, wherein the second liquid delivery nozzle is operable to output liquid towards a second region of the second user seat.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 12 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because it teaches structures and concepts similar to those of the present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rodney B. White whose telephone number is (571)272-6863. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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, David R. Dunn can be reached at (571) 272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Rodney B White/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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