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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 October 18, 2025 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 5 - 10, 13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Halldin, US 8,578,520 (hereinafter ‘520) in view of Halldin, US 2010/0115686 (herein after ‘686).
Regarding claim 8, Halldin ‘520 discloses an apparatus, wherein the apparatus is an item of protective headgear (see figure 1), comprising: an inner layer (3a, 3b) comprising a hole (for a fixation member 4a-4d to pass through as shown in figures 6 - 8), wherein the inner layer (3a, 3b) is an interface [configured to interface with the head of a wearer of the apparatus (see figures 3 and 4)]; an outer layer (2) arranged radially outward of the inner layer (3a, 3b), [further from the head of the wearer than the inner layer (3a, 3b) in use (figures 3 and 4)], wherein the inner and outer layers (3a, 3b and 2) are configured to move relative to each other (figures 3 and 4); and a connector (4a - 4d) connecting the inner and outer layers (3a, 3b and 2).
Halldin ‘520 does not explicitly disclose the connector comprising a first attachment part attached to the inner layer; a second attachment part attached to the outer layer; and a resilient member connecting the first and second attachment parts; wherein: the resilient member is arranged between the inner and outer layers and the resilient member is elongate in a direction that extends substantially parallel to a plane of the inner and outer layers; and the resilient member is biased, when in a neutral state, in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the inner and outer layers, such that, the second attachment part is pressed against the outer layer; wherein the second attachment part comprises: a first portion having a through hole therein; and a second portion passing through the through hole to attach to the outer layer wherein the second portion is selectably removable from the through hole when not attached to the outer layer; wherein; the first portion of the second attachment part is configured such that the first portion can be threaded through the hole in the inner layer, when the second portion is removed from the through hole in the first portion of the second attachment part, and the first attachment part is configured such that the first attachment part cannot be threaded through said hole.
Halldin ‘686 teaches a connector (2) connecting inner and outer layers, the connector (2) comprising: a first attachment part (17’) attached to the inner layer (4); a second attachment part (17) attached to the outer layer; and a resilient member (16; has material properties such that resilience can be achieved, e.g., plastic material, rubber, or the like; see paragraph [0007]) connecting the first and second attachment parts (17’, 17); wherein: the resilient member (16) is arranged between the inner and outer layers and the resilient member (16) is elongate (extended) in a direction that extends substantially parallel to a plane of the inner and outer layers (the width of the member 16 is extending in the direction that is substantially parallel to the inner and outer layers); and the resilient member (16) is biased (due to its resiliency), when in a neutral state (figure 1A), in a direction (see figure 1A) perpendicular to a plane of the inner and outer layers, such that the second attachment part (17) is pressed against the outer layer; wherein the second attachment part (17) comprises: a first portion (28) having a through hole (see figure 1A and figure 1B) therein; and a second portion (30) passing through the through hole (see figure 1A) to attach to the outer layer wherein the second portion (30) is selectably removable from the through hole when not attached to the outer layer; wherein; the first portion (28) of the second attachment part (17) is configured such that the first portion (28) can be threaded through the hole (13) in the inner layer, when the second portion (30) is removed from the through hole in the first portion of the second attachment part (17), and the first attachment part (17’) is configured such that the first attachment part (17’) cannot be threaded through said hole (13).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the connector of Halldin ‘520 to incorporate a connector taught by Halldin ‘686 in order to improve control of relative movement between helmet layers and thus improving impact performance.
Claim language set in brackets [] set forth above and below in this office action are considered by the examiner to be intended use that fails to further limit the structure of the claimed invention. Since the claimed invention is directed solely to that of the apparatus, the prior art must only be capable of performing the functional recitations in order to be applicable, and in the instant case, the examiner maintains that the protective helmet taught by the combination of Halldin ‘520 (US 8,578,520) and Halldin ‘686 (US 2010/0115686), is indeed capable of the intended use statements. Note that it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘686 further teaches wherein the second portion (30) is removable from the through hole (of the portion 28; see figure 1A) in the first portion (28) of the second attachment part (17), and configured such that the second portion (30) cannot be threaded through said hole (13), when located within the through hole (of 28) in the first portion (28) of the second attachment part (17).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘686 further teaches wherein the second portion (30) is a fastening means and comprises a snap pin (when combined with the member 16 the portion 30 is considered a snap-pin configuration).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘686 further teaches wherein the first portion (28) comprises an elongate tail (end portion of the portion 28 extending below element 30 as shown in the figure 1A) protruding therefrom (figure 1A).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘686 further teaches wherein the first attachment part (17’) comprises: a first flange portion (26), adjacent a gap (under the portion 26), said gap for accommodating a portion of said one of the inner or outer layers, said first flange portion (26) retaining said inner or outer layers within said gap (under said flange portion 26), and wherein the first flange portion (26) is substantially dome-shaped (see figure 1A).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘686 further teaches wherein the first attachment part comprises: a first flange portion (26), adjacent a gap (under 26), said gap for accommodating a portion of said one of the inner or outer layer, said first flange portion (26) retaining said inner or outer layers within said gap (figure 1A); separate first and second sections (24, 21), the first section (24) configured to connect directly to said one of the inner or outer layers, the second section (21) configured to connect the rest of the connector to the first section (24), wherein: the first section (24) of the first attachment part (17’) comprises: the first flange portion (26), located at a perimeter portion of the first section (24); a recessed portion (in the center of the first section 24), located at a central region of the first section (figure 1A), within the perimeter portion; a through hole (for a guiding member 10 to extend through) through the recessed portion (see figure 1A); and the second section (21) of the first attachment part (17’) comprises: a further flanged portion (10) configured to be located within the recessed portion of the first section (24), and a neck portion (12) configured to pass through the through hole of the first section (24), the neck portion (12) being connected to the rest of the connector (2).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches the apparatus of claim 8. Halldin ‘520 further discloses wherein the inner and outer layers (3a, 3b and 2) are configured to move relative to each other at a sliding interface (between said layers as shown in the figures 3 and 4).
Concerning claim 17, given the structure of a connector (2 of ‘686) for a protective helmet (of ‘520), the claimed method steps would obviously be performed when assembling the apparatus taught by the combination of Halldin ‘520 (US 8,578,520) and Halldin ‘686 (US 2010/0115686).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Halldin ‘520 and Halldin ‘686 teaches a method of assembling an apparatus (1 of Halldin ‘520) according to claim 8, the method comprising: threading the second attachment part (17 of Halldin ‘686) through a hole in said one of the inner (3a, 3b of Halldin ‘520) or outer layers until the first attachment part (17’ of Halldin ‘686) is adjacent the hole; attaching the first attachment part (17’ of Halldin ‘686) to said one of the inner or outer layers (2 of Halldin ‘520), at the hole, via the first flange portion (26 of Halldin ‘686); and attaching the second attachment part (17 of Halldin ‘686) to the other of the inner (3a, 3b of Halldin ‘520) or outer layer (via the second portion 30 of the second attachment part of Halldin ‘686).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 28, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has amended the claims to include a combination not previously presented and thus necessitated a new ground of rejection as set forth above. The current rejection advances how the prior art “read on” the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for similar art cited.
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/R.D./ Examiner, Art Unit 3677
/JASON W SAN/ SPE, Art Unit 3677