DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 2, claims 8-17 in the reply filed on 9/17/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 4-7 and 18 are withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. No IDS submitted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 8-13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 4,718,153) to Armitage et al. (hereinafter Armitage).
Armitage is directed toward production of dual density products. Armitage discloses in Fig 23 below a base block having guide rod openings 240. A plate like side cap.
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Armitage discloses at (C8, L1) the foam core substrate in the mold is a cushion 22
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Guide rods are shown with the core cap, foam core and guide rods being vertically moveable. Fig 8 shows the inside surface of the mold is contoured and foam substrate 22 is contoured. Armitage discloses stabilizer feet above in Fig 8. Armitage discloses each and every element of a molding tool as arranged in the claims to form a prime facie case of obviousness. It would be obvious to insert a text block.
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the disclosure of Armitage to arrange a molding tool having a foam insert that forms a prime facie case of obviousness for claims 8-13 and 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 14 and 16-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach a dual density molding with a plug for fluid, and a foam twist plug.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY D WASHVILLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
10. 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.
11. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at 571-272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
12. 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.
/JEFFREY D WASHVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
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