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 .
Claims 1-3 are pending.
Claims 1-3 have been examined.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Murayama (US 11932145). Murayama discloses a vehicle seat comprising: a seatback (fig. 1 :S1) that supports a back of a seated occupant from a seat rear side; a back frame (fig. 2: 12, 14) that configures a framework of the seatback and that includes an insertion portion (fig. 9, 10: 14X or 14Y); a lumbar support (fig. 2: 40) that is arranged at a position facing a lumbar region of the seated occupant in a seat front-rear direction within the seatback; and a wire (figs. 9, 10: 33) that extends from the lumbar support toward an insertion portion side and that is anchored at the insertion portion in a state of being inserted into the insertion portion (as shown in fig. 10), a notch (figs. 9, 10: 15X or 15Ya) that is directly or indirectly anchored at an edge of the insertion portion when the lumbar support is pressed toward the seat rear side being formed at the wire.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 3 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art reference of Murayama fails to teach:
wherein: a bushing is attached to the edge of the insertion portion, and when a force with which the lumbar support is pressed toward the seat rear side exceeds a predetermined load, the bushing is broken, and the notch is directly anchored at the edge of the insertion portion; or
wherein a bushing that includes a portion formed in a shape that gradually narrows on progression toward a direction in which the wire is inserted into the insertion portion is attached to the edge of the insertion portion.
Further, there is no teaching, suggestion or motivation to modify the prior art absent hindsight.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY J BRINDLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7231. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.
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 Dunn can be reached at 5712726670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TIMOTHY J BRINDLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
Prosecution Insights