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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United Kingdom Patent GB 2546727 to Walford.
Regarding Claim 1, Walford teaches a living body transportation device comprising:
a top plate member (Walford Fig. 7 #3D) to and from which a housing (Walford Fig. 7 #3) that can house a living body (Walford teaches a child, applicant doesn’t limit to what species of living body) to be transported in a state of being in a movable body is attachable and detachable; and
a pendulum unit that includes a pendulum main body portion (Walford Fig. 2 #A) that supports the top plate member and performs a pendulum motion together with the top plate member so as to suppress an inertial force acting on the living body during a moving motion accompanying at least one of an acceleration and deceleration motion and a turning motion (Walford structure is capable of the claimed functional language, the claim language of the apparatus claim does not structurally distinguish) with respect to a traveling direction of the movable body, a main body base portion (Walford Fig. 2 #5c) that supports the pendulum main body portion, and a main body fixing portion (Walford Fig. 2 #5B) that is formed on the main body base portion and enables the main body base portion to be attachable and detachable to and from the movable body.
Regarding Claim 2, Walford teaches further comprising a seat fixing body (Walfrod Fig. 1 #2) fixable to a seat of the movable body, wherein the pendulum unit is attachable and detachable to and from the seat fixing body via the main body fixing portion (Walford Fig. 2 #5B).
Regarding Claim 3, Walford teaches the seat fixing body (Walford Fig. 1 #2) includes an adjustment mechanism (Walford Fig. 1 #4, applicant doesn’t claim what direction the adjustment is made) that adjusts a fixed position of the pendulum unit between a first fixed position when the pendulum unit is attached to or detached from the seat fixing body from an entrance side of the seat or when the housing is attached to or detached from the top plate member supported by the pendulum unit attached to the seat fixing body from the entrance side and a second fixed position at which the pendulum unit does not come into contact with a surrounding component when the pendulum unit performs a pendulum motion (Walford operates as claimed, applicant claims in the alternative “or”, element #4 adjusts the seat fixing body up and down which in turn adjusts the pendulum unit form a first to second position up or down along with the movement of #4).
Regarding Claims 4, 5, and 6, Walford teaches the top plate member includes a rotation mechanism (Walford Fig. 7 #3D and Fig. 8) that can adjust a fixing direction of the housing with respect to a traveling direction of the movable body.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The prior art of record is a teaching of the general knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art with regard to vehicle seats or vehicle seat attachments that adjust via rotation and/or pendulum movement:
Korean Patent KR 20200141779; PCT WO 2022008593; PCT WO 2005096896; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2023/0256875; U.S. Patent No. 4,762,364; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2012/0273537; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2020/0317017; Japanese Patent JP 2020533232; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2021/0003247; U.S. Patent No. 12,035,685; China Patent CN 118618166; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2024/0424960; Korean Patent KR 20250104920.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREA M VALENTI whose telephone number is (571)272-6895. The examiner can normally be reached Available Monday and Tuesday only, eastern time.
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/ANDREA M VALENTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3643
June 22, 2026
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