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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limitations of claim 11 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-11, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Killen (1942296). The reference to Killen teaches structure substantially as claimed including a seat cushion for a chair, which has a plurality of cushion grooves deformed a seat load of a user formed in a central portion of a lower surface thereof, wherein the plurality of cushion grooves include: a plurality of main cushion grooves disposed in a plurality of rows in a front-rear direction and a left-right direction and spaced an equal interval from each other; and a plurality of sub-cushion grooves each connecting one of the plurality of main cushion grooves and formed in a straight shape with narrower widths and smaller depths than the plurality of main cushion grooves.
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Note the different widths and depths of the grooves as shown in annotated fig 1 above. The particular shape, depth and exact positioning of the different grooves are matters of desirability and design parameters and would have been obvious and well within the level of ordinary skill in the art and a reasonably predictable result of the known characteristics.
Claim(s) 12, 14, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Killen (1942296) as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Phillips (20170164746). The reference to Killen teaches structure substantially as claimed as discussed above including insertion grooves the only difference being that there is not a seat plate to provide support and connection. However, the reference to Philiips(at least fig 1b) teaches the use of providing a seat plate to provide support and connection. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the structure of Killen with a reasonable expectation of success, to include a seat plate, as taught by Phillips since such are conventional alternative structures used in the same intended purpose and environment and would have been a reasonably predictable result, thereby providing structure as claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references cited teach structure similar to applicant’s including seat cushion and connection structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE V CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6865. The examiner can normally be reached m-f, m-w 5:30-3:00, th5:30-2:00.
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, Daniel Troy can be reached at 571 270 3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSE V CHEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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