July 1, 2026
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 § 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 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seibold (U.S. Patent No. 9,102,250 B2).
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As for Claim 1, Seibold teaches a vehicle seat comprising:
a center frame 90 including coupling holes formed thereon;
a back frame 46 connected to the center frame at a first point, the back frame being reclinable around a first axis extending through the first point (see Fig. 14 and the specification where it reads ” By maintaining the pin 51 in the upper portion of the slot until the seat back has rotated substantially forward, helps keep the lower seat bottom 42 in place and allows for reclining movement of the seat back as further illustrated in FIG. 14 without affecting the bottom of the seat 42.” );
a sliding link 130 being movable along the coupling holes;
a seat cushion frame 42 connected to the sliding link at a second point; and
a connecting link (see annotated Fig. 2) configured to connect the back frame 46 to the seat cushion frame 42,
wherein the seat cushion frame is configured to be tilted up around a second axis through the second point.
As for Claim 12, Seibold teaches that the connecting link is positioned to be inclined upwards relative to a movement direction of the sliding link in a tip-down state of the seat cushion frame (see annotated Fig. 2 above).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-11 and 13-14 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.
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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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