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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant amendment filed 10/30/2025 has been entered and is currently under consideration. Claims 1-8 remains pending in the application.
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) 5-6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cornell (US2321584) in view of Watanabe (JP3389976 of record with reference made to examiner provided machine translation), Wang (US6158053 of record), and Conner (US3962392 of record).
Regarding claim 5, Cornell teaches:
A method for manufacturing a frame, the frame being configured for a costume that entirely covers the head and full facial region of the wearer above the neck (p 1, col 2, ln 45-53).
Cornell does not teach manufacturing a frame from a sheet-shaped or flat-plate-shaped resin member by deforming the resin member by using a vacuum molding apparatus,
wherein the method includes:
preparing a sheet-shaped or flat-plate-shaped resin member having a though hole formed in advance;
a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover onto the resin member so as to seal at least the through hole;
a heating step of heating the resin member and the cover;
a vacuum molding step of bringing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape into contact with the resin member on which the cover is mounted to vacuum-mold an object in the three-dimensional shape; and
a mold release step of releasing the three-dimensional object from the mold; and
wherein a shape of the through hole on the molded resin member is deformed in proportion to how much the resin member surrounding the through hole is deformed.
In the same field of endeavor regarding headwear, Watanabe teaches:
A method for manufacturing a frame ([0007]), from a sheet-shaped or flat-plate-shaped resin member by deforming the resin member by using a vacuum molding apparatus ([0018]),
wherein the method includes:
preparing a sheet-shaped or flat-plate-shaped resin member (sheet material 10; [0018]);
a heating step of heating the resin member ([0018]);
a vacuum molding step of bringing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape into contact with the resin member to vacuum-mold an object in the three-dimensional shape ([0018]); and
a mold release step of releasing the three-dimensional object from the mold ([0018]).
Cornell further teaches that the costume comprises a wig (p 1, col 2, ln 40-44).
Watanabe teaches the above method for the motivation of obtaining a wig having uniform film thickness and that is easy to manufacture ([0007]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell with the method as taught by Watanabe in order to obtain a costume having a wig having uniform film thickness and that is easy to manufacture.
Cornell in view of Watanabe does not teach a resin member onto which a through hole is formed in advance.
In the same field of endeavor regarding headwear, Wang teaches a molded headwear with a plurality of vent holes for the motivation of improving ventilation (col 2, ln 53-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe to include the vent holes as taught by Wang in order to improve ventilation.
Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang does not teach that the through hole is formed in advance.
However, it has been held that selection of any order of performing process steps is prima facie obvious in the absence of new or unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang to have the vent holes formed prior to the mold installation step.
Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang does not teach a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover on the resin member on which a through hole is formed in advance so as to seal at least the through hole, a heating step of heating the cover, and bringing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape into contact with the resin member on which the cover is mounted.
In the same field of endeavor regarding molding, Conner teaches a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover on the molding material so as to seal a molding material (col 4, ln 12-23), heating the cover (col 4, ln 32-39), and bringing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape into contact with the resin member on which the cover is mounted (col 4, ln 55-64) for the motivation of preventing the flow of air through the molding material to enable vacuum forming (col 4, ln 52-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang to use the cover as taught by Conner in order to prevent the flow of air through the molding material to enable vacuum forming.
Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner does not explicitly recite wherein a shape of the through hole on the molded resin member is deformed in proportion to how much the resin member surrounding the through hole is deformed.
The examiner notes that the through hole on the molded resin member is by its very nature defined by the resin member surrounding the through hole. Therefore any deformation of the resin member surrounding the through hole directly results in a corresponding deformation of the through hole.
Since Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner teaches deforming a resin member on which a through hole is formed in advance, the through hole will be deformed by a proportional amount.
Regarding claim 6, Cornell teaches:
A method for manufacturing a frame, the frame being configured for a costume that entirely covers the head and full facial region of the wearer above the neck (p 1, col 2, ln 45-53).
Cornell does not teach manufacturing a frame by deforming a sheet-shaped or a flat-plate-shaped resin member by using a vacuum molding apparatus comprising:
a chamber;
an elevating table housed in the chamber;
a pedestal arranged on an upper part of the chamber; and
a heater arranged above the pedestal,
wherein the method includes:
a mold installation step of installing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape on the elevating table;
a resin member mounting step of mounting on the pedestal the sheet-shaped or the flat-plate-shaped resin member on which a plurality of through holes are formed in advance;
a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover on the pedestal so as to seal at least the through hole on the resin member;
a heating step of heating the resin member and the cover with the heater;
a vacuum molding step of elevating the mold by using the elevating table to be brought in contact with the resin member and the cover and depressurizing the inside of the chamber;
a mold release step of releasing the molded resin member and a molded cover from the mold; and
a cover detachment step of detaching the cover from the resin member,
wherein a shape of each of the through holes on the molded resin member is deformed in proportion to how much the resin member surrounding each of the through holes is deformed.
In the same field of endeavor regarding headwear, Watanabe teaches:
A method for manufacturing a frame for a costume that covers a wearer’s head ([0007]) by deforming a sheet-shaped or a flat-plate-shaped resin member (sheet material 10) by using a vacuum molding apparatus comprising:
a chamber (Fig 1-6: molding chamber 2);
an elevating table housed in the chamber (Fig 1-6: lifting platform 9);
a pedestal arranged on an upper part of the chamber (Fig 1-6: base 4); and
a heater arranged above the pedestal (Fig 1-6: heater 8), wherein the method includes:
a mold installation step of installing a mold in a predetermined three-dimensional shape on the elevating table ([0018]);
a resin member mounting step of mounting on the pedestal the sheet-shaped or the flat-plate-shaped resin member ([0018]);
a heating step of heating the resin member with the heater ([0018]);
a vacuum molding step of elevating the mold by using the elevating table to be brought in contact with the resin member and depressurizing the inside of the chamber ([0018]);
a mold release step of releasing the molded resin member and a molded cover from the mold ([0018]).
Cornell further teaches that the costume comprises a wig (p 1, col 2, ln 40-44).
Watanabe teaches the above method for the motivation of obtaining a wig having uniform film thickness and that is easy to manufacture ([0007]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell with the method as taught by Watanabe in order to obtain a costume having a wig having uniform film thickness and that is easy to manufacture.
Cornell in view of Watanabe does not teach the resin member onto which a plurality of through holes are formed in advance.
In the same field of endeavor regarding headwear, Wang teaches a molded headwear with a plurality of vent holes for the motivation of improving ventilation (col 2, ln 53-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe to include the vent holes as taught by Wang in order to improve ventilation.
Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang does not teach that the plurality of through holes are formed in advance.
However, it has been held that selection of any order of performing process steps is prima facie obvious in the absence of new or unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang to have the vent holes formed prior to the mold installation step.
Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang does not teach a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover on the pedestal so as to seal at least the through hole on the resin member; heating the cover with the heater; releasing the molded cover from the mold; the cover detachment step of detaching the cover from the resin member.
In the same field of endeavor regarding molding, Conner teaches a cover mounting step of mounting a sheet-shaped cover on the pedestal so as to seal a molding material (col 4, ln 12-23); heating the cover with the heater (col 4, ln 32-39); releasing the molded cover from the mold (col 5, ln 25-28); the cover detachment step of detaching the cover from the molding material (col 5, ln 40-42) for the motivation of preventing the flow of air through the molding material to enable vacuum forming (col 4, ln 52-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe and Wang to use the cover as taught by Conner in order to prevent the flow of air through the molding material to enable vacuum forming.
Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner does not explicitly recite wherein a shape of each of the through holes on the molded resin member is deformed in proportion to how much the resin member surrounding each of the through holes is deformed.
The examiner notes that the through holes on the molded resin member are by their very nature defined by the resin member surrounding the through holes. Therefore any deformation of the resin member surrounding the through holes directly results in a corresponding deformation of the through holes.
Since Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner teaches deforming a resin member on which through holes are formed in advance, the through holes will be deformed by a proportional amount.
Regarding claim 8, Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner teaches the method of claim 6.
Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner further makes obvious wherein the method includes a through hole forming step of forming the plurality of the through holes on the resin member before the mold installation step (see rejection of claim 6).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of McGuire et al. (US 2008/0261014 of record) hereinafter McGuire.
Regarding claim 7, Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner teaches the method of claim 6.
Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner does not teach a mold release agent application step of applying a mold release agent at least to a surface of the mold and a surface of the resin member before or after the mold installation step.
In the same field of endeavor regarding molding, McGuire teaches applying a mold release agent to a surface of a mold prior to vacuum molding for the motivation of assisting with removal of the article from the mold ([0103]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method as taught by Cornell in view of Watanabe, Wang, and Conner to include the mold release applying step as taught by McGuire in order to assist with removal of the article from the mold.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 10/30/2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
For at least the above reasons, the application is not in condition for allowance.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER A WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-5361. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8 am-4 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alison Hindenlang can be reached on 571-270-7001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER A WANG/ Examiner, Art Unit 1741
/ALISON L HINDENLANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1741