DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claims 18, 23-25, 30-64 are pending.
Claims 18, 23-25, 30-44, 47-64 are under examination on the merits.
Claims 18, 23, 45, 47, 57, 59 are amended.
Claims 1-17, 19-22, 26-29 are previously canceled.
Claims 63, 64 are newly added.
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/8/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 18, 23-25, 30-44, 47-64 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The new claim language in claim 18, 47 and 57 describes overlapped opposing ends connected to one another, which does have support, but also describes “second sections…adjacent” to this overlap section “that are unconnected to one another”. This language is broader than the cited support and sufficient support was not found in a search of the specification. Applicant cites the example whereby two ends are stitched together but the rest of the sling is unconnected. But the claim language is not “the rest of the sling is unconnected”- it encompasses scenarios where other connections are present elsewhere in the sling. There is not support for the multiple scenarios encompassed by “second sections…adjacent”. These further scenarios are even claimed in claims 25 and 53 “further comprising an adhesive layer or coating between the convolutions”.
Claims 23-25, 30-44 depend on claim 18 and do not remedy this deficiency.
Claims 48-56 depend on claim 47 and do not remedy this deficiency.
Claims 58-64 depend on claim 57 and do not remedy this deficiency.
The 112(a) rejection set forth above supersedes the 112(a) rejection set forth in the previous action; the previous 112(a) rejection concerned the same passage with previous claim limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The rejection in the previous action of claims 47, 50-55, 57-61 are rejected under pre-AlA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over WO 0017085 by Demsey et al in view of US 3995506 by Poe is withdrawn in view of applicant’s arguments.
The rejection in the previous action of claims 18, 23-25, 30-36, 38-44, 48, 49, 56 under pre-AlA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over WO 0017085 by Demsey et al in view of US 3995506 by Poe in further view of US 20100077718 by Wienke is withdrawn in view of applicant’s arguments.
Allowable Subject Matter
Although no art is applied in rejection, all claims are subject to 112(a) rejection set forth above. Other art which is inapplicable in rejection includes WO 2007071310 by Goosens et al, which describes a heavy duty roundsling comprising a core containing “multiple turns of a strand material comprising high-performance fibres” (abstract). The turns of the strand material are oriented in parallel (p.3 ln 18-22) and the material is preferably UHMWPE (p.4 ln 10-15) but Goosens is not as specific about the turns being made of a strip with an odd-multiple twist- Goosens prefers laid rope (p.3 ln 30-35).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument p.12 final paragraph -p.13 paragraph 2 of Remarks has been considered and is persuasive. The adhesive between layers is a core principle of Poe and would likely be incorporated into a sling adopting Poe’s multilayer structure in a different sling. The rejections over Poe are withdrawn above. However, the claims remain under 112(a) rejection, see above.
Applicant’s argument p.14-15 has been considered but is moot as the rejection has been withdrawn. Applicant argues that one of ordinary skill would not still attribute Demsey’s stitching of the ends to contribute to strength with the addition of multiple layers. It is not clear that one of ordinary skill would have this knowledge, but again, the argument is moot as the rejection is withdrawn.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINA W ROSEBACH whose telephone number is (571)270-7154. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-3:30pm.
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, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at 5712721302. 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.
/CHRISTINA H.W. ROSEBACH/Examiner, Art Unit 1766
Prosecution Insights