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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 31-34,37 and 39-50 are pending. Claims 1-30,35,36 and 38 have been cancelled. Claim 31 has been amended. Applicant’s election with traverse of claims 31-34,37,39,40 and 41 in the reply filed on February 9, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the invention is distinguishable over the prior art in view of the amendments to the claims . This is not found persuasive based on the rejections below. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 42-50 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 31-34,37,39-41 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. The claims are rejected as applicant is claiming the process and the apparatus. See mpep: 2173.05(p) Claim Directed to Product-By- Process or Product and Process [R-11.2013] A single claim which claims both an apparatus and the method steps of using the apparatus is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. See In re Katz Interactive Call Processing Patent Litigation, 639 F.3d 1303, 97 USPQ2d 1737 (Fed. Cir. 2011).
Claims 31-34,37,39-41 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. In claim 31, the last line, the teaching “the roller” is indefinite because the claims recites many rollers and it is unclear which roller is being referred to. Claims 32-34,37,39-41 are also rejected for depending from claim 31 and inheriting the same deficiency.
Claim 37 is 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. In claim 37, the teaching “a third felt cylinder and a fourth felt cylinder” is indefinite because the claims never have a first or second felt roller.
Claim 41 is 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. In claim 41, the teaching “the pretreatment procedure” is indefinite because it lacks antecedent basis in the claims. Claim 41 depend from claim 40 which recites a dyeing procedure with a pre-treatment additive but no “pretreatment procedure”.
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.
Claims 31-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Franchetti (WO 2015/186115) in view of JP 3357491, DE202012012540U and Xu (CN 101550656).
Franchetti teaches preparing a knitted natural fabric, adjusting the moisture content to 4-5% , performing liquid ammonia impregnation using a continuously disposed set of guide rollers disposed at the inlet and outlet of the liquid ammonia tank and tensioning rollers to control to a desired degree of tensioning, squeezing the fabric through rollers to extrude excessive ammonia to control the liquid ammonia impregnation quantity to be about 80% (70% reads on about 80%) and evaporating the ammonia by using a series of heated cylinders heated to about 100°C (reaction unit and evaporation unit cylinders) and steaming (pages 9-11; Figure 1, steaming cylinder) and allowing the fabric to fall into the washing machine (27) from the steaming (26) (see Figure 1).
Franchetti does not teach second liquid ammonia impregnation, elastic material in the guide roller, the tension and speed.
JP 3357491 teaches that ammonia treatment of knitted fabrics can be effectively accomplished by repeated immersion of the fabric into the ammonia bath so as to secure sufficient amount of impregnation (paragraph 0005,0007,0010). JP 3357490 shows multiple liquid ammonia impregnation rollers (see Figure 2, driven guide rollers 5a-5d, paragraph 0010)
DE202012012540U teaches guide rollers have elastic coverings (page 2, paragraph 7).
Xu teaches it is conventional to adjust the tension of the knitted fabric being treated with ammonia to 25-350N at a speed of 10-60m/min to produce a knitted fabric with stable dimension, good rebound resilience and soft and smooth hand and feel and no pilling (abstract).
It would have been obvious to modify the methods of Franchetti by repeatedly treating the fabric in the ammonia twice or more for full coverage and reaction a as JP 3357491 teaches repeated immersion into an ammonia bath permits sufficient impregnation of the fabric.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the methods of Franchetti by using guide rollers made of an elastic material as DE202012012540U teaches guide rollers conventionally have elastic coverings. Nothing unobvious is seen in using standard equipment in the art.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the methods of Franchetti by using the claimed radial tensions and speeds of fabric as Xu teaches t is conventional to adjust the tension of the knitted fabric being treated with ammonia to 25-350N at a speed of 10-60m/min for the benefit of producing a knitted fabric with stable dimension, good rebound resilience and soft and smooth hand and feel and no pilling.
Conclusion
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/AMINA S KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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