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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information referred to in the IDS filed May 30, 2025 has been considered.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 “a first gear supported by the seat cushion” (claim 1) 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 § 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.
Claims 1-5 are 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 1 recites the limitations of “a height adjustment mechanism for the seat cushion” in line 3. Claim 1 then recites separate elements (drive link member, first and second gears, long hole, restriction member, and a support member), which appear to be elements of the height adjustment mechanism, but are not set forth as part of the height adjustment mechanism. As the claim currently reads, it is set forth that there is a height adjustment mechanism, and a drive link member, and a first gear, etc., when it appears that the claim should recite a height adjustment mechanism “comprising” these elements. Clarification in the claim language is required.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a first gear supported by the seat cushion” in lines 4 to 5, and a restriction member “supported at one end by the seat cushion” in lines 9 to 10. The drawings do not appear to support either of the first gear or the restriction member as supported by the seat cushion. These members appear to be supported by a seat frame and not a seat cushion. Clarification in the claim language is required.
Claims 2-5 are indefinite as each depends from an indefinite claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1, as best understood with the above cited indefiniteness, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE102016122439A1 in view of Mike et al (US20190291609).
The primary reference shows all claimed features of the instant invention with the exception of a seat cushion.
In the primary reference, note a vehicle seat comprising: a seat cushion frame (8); a height adjustment mechanism for a seat cushion/seat cushion frame including a drive link member (7) provided with a second gear meshing (14) with a first gear (11) supported by the seat cushion frame, and configured to be pivoted according to pivoting of the first gear; a long hole (15) provided in the drive link member and having a shape along an are of a circle centered on a pivoting center of the drive link member; a restriction member(16) inserted into the long hole, supported at one end by the seat cushion, and configured to restrict a pivoting range of the drive link member; and a support member (17-19) configured to support an other end of the restriction member and support a shaft of the first gear, wherein in a direction connecting the pivoting center of the drive link member and the restriction member, a first distance between an end edge of the long hole on a second gear side and the restriction member is smaller than a second distance between an end edge of the long hole on a side opposite to the second gear side and the restriction member (see Fig. 2, wherein 16 engages 15 on the edge closer to the gearing, while 16 is spaced from 15 on the edge farthest from the gearing).
The secondary reference conventionally teaches configuring a vehicle seat with a seat cushion (10) mounted on a seat frame (11).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the pertinent art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the primary reference in view of the teachings of the secondary reference by adding a cushion to the seat frame of the primary reference. This modification conventionally completes the seating arrangement, while enhancing user support and comfort.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kanda et al (US8414055) shows a height adjustable vehicle seat utilizing an electric motor for power.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MILTON NELSON JR whose telephone number is (571)272-6861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30am-1:30pm.
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mn /MILTON NELSON JR/September 29, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
