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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/13/2024 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: It depends from a cancelled claim. Claim 11 is hereby withdrawn. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maturaporn (US 6,000,408) in view of Sze (US 2015/0327649) and Trelles-Tvede (US 10,405,629).
Regarding claim 1, Maturaporn discloses a hair fastener in the form of a loop (12) band from a band resembling a circle for securing a log of hair within the loop, comprising an inner elastic core (12) and an outer fabric (11) enveloping the inner elastic core and sufficiently loose to provide room for maximum expansion of the band, wherein the elastic core (12) is made of a band and the outer fabric is loosely fitted around the inner core, and is made of a loose clothing but not knitted around the inner core and provided with room between the outer fabric and the inner core for expansion of the inner core within the room (see Figures 1a and Figure 1B; col. 2, lines 15-20). Maturporn does not disclose the specific dimensions of the inner elastic core or the band having an integral structure free of a joint. Sze discloses hair fastener in the form of a loop for securing a log of hair within the loop, wherein the elastic core is made of a band, and made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPU) (paragraph 44) wherein the fastener is adapted to assume a first, default, configuration in which an opening defined and surrounded by the loop has a first area and a second, fully expanded, configuration in which the opening defined and surrounded by the loop has a second area, and wherein, due to the physical configuration and material characteristics of the band, the band is elongateable (paragraph 44). Sze does not disclose the elastic band having a width of 2 to 6 mm and a thickness of 1 to 3 mm, and being elongateable up to 8.5 to 10 times its original length thus enabling the first area of the loop to expand to the second area by a factor 72.3 to 100. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the inner core of Maturaporn be made from TPU as taught by Sze to allow for stretchability. It further would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date to have the elastic band be made with a width of 2 to 6 mm and a thickness of 1 to 3 mm, and being elongateable up to 8.5 to 10 times its original length thus enabling the first area of the loop to expand to the second area by a factor 72.3 to 100, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In this instance case, having the width and thickness of the band be limited would well within the parameter of experimentation since having a thicker band and thicker width would reduce stretching, furthermore the dimensions of the hair band would have to be of a size and shape to be used as shown in prior art Figure 11. Trelles-Tvede teaches an elastic hair band that can be made with or without a joint (col. 2, lines 60-70-col. 3, lines 1-5). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the elastic band of Maturaporn be made without a joint as taught by Trelles-Tvede since making ingreal bands from molding was well within the artisan skill in the art.
Regarding claims 1- 4, Maturaporn discloses the claimed invention except for the device being made from a thermoplastic elastomer and Sze does not disclose the specific parameters of the thermoplastic elastomer: the tensile strength of the band having a value of 3.02 to 4.08 Mpa, the tensile modulus of the band having a value of 0.37 to 0.49 Mpa, the tensile stress of the band at 100% having a value of 0.38 to 0.52 Mpa, the band having a Shore Hardness A of 23.8 to 32.2, the specific gravity of the band having a value of 0.9. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the specific parameters of the thermoplastic elastomer (TPU) as listed, since applicant has not disclosed that there is any specific components of the thermoplastic elastomer and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the thermoplastic elastomer disclosed in Sze.
Regarding claim 9, Maturaporn discloses the outer fabric is not elastic or made from a non-polymeric material (col. 2, lines 15-20).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maturaporn (US 6,000,408) in view of Sze (US 2015/0327649) and Trelles-Tvede (US 10,405,629) as applied to claims 1-4 and 9 above, and further in view of Ham et al. (US 2018/0199687).
The combination of Maturaporn, Sze, and Trelles-Tvede disclose the claimed invention except for the elastic core comprising hydrogenated styrene block copolymers. Ham et al. teaches an elastic hair band made from an elastic core wherein the core is made from an integral structure free of a joint and the elastic material is hydrogenated styrene block copolymers (paragraph 55). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the elastic core of the combination of Maturaporn, Sze, and Trelles-Tvede be made from SEBS as taught by Ham et al. since a hair band allowing stretchability and resilience to allow a lock or tress of hair to pass through.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 11/24/2024 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
8/7/2025