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 Interpretation
The “at least a portion of the support” in claim 6 is interpreted to mean at least a portion of a device or part connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the support " in line 2, which is not present in the claim or in the claim it depends upon. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends. The claim limitation "said support is connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element" is already stated in full in claim 3. Applicant may cancel the claim, amend the claim to place the claim in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
Claims 1 – 2 & 14 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Son et al. US 20220105837 A1 (hereinafter Son) in view of Bendjellal et al. US 20200269732 A1 (hereinafter Bendjellal). Re. Cl. 1, Son discloses a system for anchoring a safety seat (Fig. 1, Ref. 100), in particular for a child, to the seat of a vehicle (Fig. 1, Ref. 200), wherein said safety seat comprises at least one connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 110) comprising a housing (Fig. 3, Ref. 112) adapted to house at least a portion of an anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 220) constrained to the seat, wherein said at least one connector comprises a hooking element for hooking the connector to said anchorage element and obtain a mechanical fastening between the safety seat and the seat (Para. 0034-0035), wherein said at least one connector and said at least one anchorage element comprise electric connection means (Fig. 3, Ref. 130; Fig. 4, Ref. 230; Para. 0051) that permit electric current and/or data to flow from the anchorage element to the connector, and vice versa.
Re. Cl. 1, Son fails to disclose means of actuating the hooking element. Bendjellal teaches actuating (Fig. 1, Ref. 110) means for controlling or driving the opening and closing of the hooking element (Fig. 4, Ref. 406), so as to allow the connector to be coupled to and decoupled from the anchorage element (Fig. 3, Ref. 302). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son could be configured to include the actuating means of Bendjellal. Doing so securely locks the child safety seat to the vehicle seat when in use and easily detaches the safety seat from the vehicle.
Re. Cl. 2, Son discloses that said electric connection means comprise at least one first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 230) and one second contact element associated with the connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130).
Re. Cl. 14, Son discloses that said electric connection means comprise at least one first contact element of the USB type associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 230), at least one second contact element of the USB type associated with the connector and positioned outside the housing of said connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130).
Re. Cl. 15, Son discloses that said at least one second contact element of the USB type is positioned on a moulding interposed between at least a portion of the seat and at least a portion of the anchorage element (Fig. 7, Ref. 123).
Re. Cl. 16, Son discloses a method for anchoring a safety seat (Para. 0045), in particular for a child, to the seat of a vehicle, wherein said method comprises a step a) of obtaining a mechanical fastening between the safety seat and the seat by housing at least a portion of an anchorage element constrained to the seat within a housing of at least one connector constrained to the safety seat (Para. 0046-0048), said method comprising a step b) of obtaining the coupling of electric connection means provided on said at least one connector and on said anchorage element to allow electric current and/or data to flow from the anchorage element to the connector (Para. 0051-0052), and vice versa.
Re. Cl. 17, Son discloses that said step b) of obtaining the coupling of the electric connection means is substantially automatic and occurs substantially simultaneously with the mechanical coupling between the connector and the anchorage element (Fig. 2; Para. 0054).
Re. Cl. 18, Son discloses that said step b) of obtaining the coupling of the electric connection means is substantially manual and is carried out after having mechanically coupled the connector to the anchorage element (Para. 0046-0048, 0051-0052).
Re. Cl. 19, Son discloses a step c) of connecting a control unit to said electric connection means to allow the exchange of information between said control unit and the safety seat (Para. 0019, 0058-0059).
Re. Cl. 20, Son discloses a control unit, but fails to disclose means of actuating the hooking element. Bendjellal teaches that step a) of obtaining a mechanical fastening between the safety seat and the seat is carried out by activating actuating means, in particular of the clamp type with controlled opening-closing, of said connector in order to hook up the connector to said anchorage element (Pg. 16, Ln. 8 – 23). Thus, it would have been obvious of one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Son could be configured to associate the control unit to the connector to control or drive the opening and closing of a hooking element. Doing so more easily attaches and detaches the safety seat from the vehicle from a singular control unit.
Claims 3 – 4 & 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Bendjellal applied to claims 1 – 2 & 14 – 20 above, and further in view of Cech et al. US 10252640 B2 (hereinafter Cech).
Re. Cl. 3, Son discloses at least one first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 230), at least one second contact element associated with the connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130), and that said first contact element is connected to the second contact element when said at least a portion of the anchorage element is housed in said housing (See Fig. 2).
Re. Cl. 3, Son as modified by Bendjellal fails to disclose the positioning of the contact elements. Cech teaches electric connection means that comprise at least one first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 34), in particular said first contact element being positioned on a support connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 32); at least one second contact element associated with the connector, in particular said second contact element being positioned within the housing of the connector (Col. 5, Ln. 50 – 52). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son’s invention with Cech's teaching of a rotatable support structure and a second contact element being positioned within the housing of the connector. Doing so would ensure the contact elements remain connected regardless of the rotational orientation of the connector or anchorage element.
Re. Cl. 4, Son as modified by Bendjellal fails to disclose a rotatable support structure. Cech teaches that a support is connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 32). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son with Bendjellal’s teaching of a rotatable support structure. Doing so would ensure the support structure remains connected to the connector regardless of its orientation on the anchorage element.
Re. Cl. 7, Son discloses at least one first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 230), at least one second contact element associated with the connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130), and that said first contact element is connected to the second contact element when said at least a portion of the anchorage element is housed in said housing (See Fig. 2).
Re. Cl. 7, Son as modified by Bendjellal fails to disclose the positioning of the contact elements. Cech teaches electric connection means that comprise at least one first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 34), in particular said first contact element being positioned on a support connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 32); at least one second contact element associated with the connector, in particular said second contact element being positioned outside the housing of the connector (Col. 5, Ln. 48 – 50). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son’s invention with Cech teaching of a rotatable support structure and a second contact element being positioned within the housing of the connector. Doing so would ensure the contact elements remain connected regardless of the rotational orientation of the connector or anchorage element.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Bendjellal applied to claims 1 – 2 & 14 – 20 above, and further in view of Yoo et al. US 20210178990 A1 (hereinafter Yoo).
Re. Cl. 5, Son discloses a first contact element associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 4, Ref. 230) and one second contact element associated with the connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130).
Re. Cl. 5, Son as modified by Bendjellal fails to disclose a spring pin. Yoo teaches one contact element between two slidably engaged components in the electrical system of a vehicle seat consists of a spring pin (Fig. 10, Ref. 411), and the other of the two components consists of a corresponding receptacle adapted to receive said spring pin (Fig. 10, Ref. 412). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son with Yoo teaching of a spring pin. Doing so maintains continuous electrical contact between the contact elements through the constant spring pressure.
Claims 6, 9 – 11, & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Bendjellal and Cech applied to claims 3 – 4 & 7 above, and further in view of Thomas et al. US 11358499 B2 (hereinafter Thomas).
Re. Cl. 6, Son as modified by Bendjellal and Cech fails to disclose a support or magnetism. Cech teaches a support connected and rotatable relative to said anchorage element (Fig. 6, Ref. 32). Thomas teaches a magnetic connection between at least a portion of the anchorage element (Fig. 5, Ref. 16) and at least a portion of a region of the connector (Fig. 5, Ref. 54) whereon the second contact element is positioned are made of magnetic material to facilitate the connection between said first contact element and second contact element (Col.7, Ln. 62 – Col. 8, Ln 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son's invention with Thomas’s teachings of a magnetic connection between contact elements. Doing so would align the connector and anchorage element when attaching child safety seat so that the connector is securely fixed to the anchorage element.
Re. Cl. 9, Son as modified by Bendjellal and Cech fails to disclose that the first contact element is movably associated with the anchorage element. Thomas’s teaches that the first contact element is movably associated with the anchorage element (Fig. 11A, Ref. 140). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son's invention with Thomas's teachings of the first contact element movably associated with the anchorage element. Doing so orients the first contact element along the anchorage element to the second contact element when the connector is attached.
Re. Cl. 10, Son as modified by Bendjellal and Cech fails to disclose a slide. Thomas teaches that the first contact element is positioned on a slide (Fig. 11C, Ref. 144a,b) that slides in at least one guide of a moulding interposed between at least a portion of the seat and at least a portion of the anchorage element (Fig. 11A, Ref. 142). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son's invention with Thomas’s teachings of a slide. Doing so restricts the first contact element to lateral movement that aligns with the insertion of the connector to ensure the first and second contact elements properly connect.
Re. Cl. 11, Son as modified by Bendjellal and Cech fails to disclose an abutment. Thomas teaches that said slide is provided with a contact element adapted to abut against the surface of the connector and adapted to raise the slide as a function of said abutment (Fig. 11C, Ref. 148) so as to obtain the coupling between the first contact element and the second contact element (See Fig. 11B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son 's invention with Thomas’s teachings of an abutment. Doing so further limits the range of motion of the first contact element to ensure proper alignment with the second contact element.
Re. Cl. 13, Son as modified by Bendjellal and Cech fails to disclose any magnetic connections. Thomas teaches that the slide is a portion of the anchorage element (See Fig. 11A), and a magnetic connection between at least a portion of the anchorage element and at least a portion of a region of the connector (Fig. 5, Ref. 54) whereon the second contact element is positioned are made of magnetic material to facilitate the connection between said first contact element and second contact element (Col.7, Ln. 62 – Col. 8, Ln 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son's invention with Thomas's teachings of a magnetic connection between contact elements. Doing so would align the connector and anchorage element when attaching child safety seat so that the connector is easily properly oriented and thus securely fixed to the anchorage element.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Bendjellal and Cech applied to claims 3 – 4 & 7 above, and further in view of Skofljanec et al. US 6419199 B1 (hereinafter Skofljanec).
Re. Cl. 8, Son as modified by Bendjellal fails to disclose the position of the contact elements or an inclined plane on the connector. Cech teaches that the second contact element is positioned outside of the connector (Fig. 3, Ref. 130). Re. Cl. 8, Skofljanec teaches a connector (Fig. 3a, Ref. 3) with a surface extending in an inclined plane incident on a plane of development of said housing (See Fig. 3a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Son 's invention with Skofljanec’s teachings of an inclined plane on the connector of a child safety seat. Doing so allows for self-centering within the system for a simple insertion of the connector into the housing and consistent connection between the first and second contact.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Bendjellal and Cech applied to claims 3 – 4 & 7 above, and further in view of Yoo et al. US 20210178990 A1 (hereinafter Yoo).
Re. Cl. 12, Son fails to disclose a spring pin. Yoo teaches one contact element between two slidably engaged components in the electrical system of a vehicle seat consists of a spring pin (Fig. 10, Ref. 411), and the other of the two components consists of a receptacle adapted to receive said spring pin (Fig. 10, Ref. 412). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Son’s invention with Yoo’s teaching of a spring pin. Doing so Doing so maintains continuous contact between the contact elements through the constant spring pressure, which would withstand the vibrations and mechanical shocks of a moving vehicle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Helm US-20150130605-A1, Asaeda US-9592750-B2, Cech US-20170236395-A1, Zhang US-11345310-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GELILA S KEBEDE whose telephone number is (571)270-0369. The examiner can normally be reached 6:00AM - 2:00PM, Mon - Thurs.
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, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at (571) 272-4797. 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.
/GELILA KEBEDE/Examiner, Art Unit 3632
/TERRELL L MCKINNON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3632
Prosecution Insights