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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/18/26 has been entered.
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) 1, 5, 8-13, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kallionpaa, EP 1,481, 599 in view of in view of Fourmeux and Amichaud et al, EP 0765611A1.
Kallionpaa discloses an undergarment. See abstract and figure 1. The undergarment includes a first textile layer, an intermediate breathable membrane layer, and an outer textile layer. See paragraph 0006. The breathable membrane can be a microporous or intermolecular permeable membrane or film, such as PTFE, polyurethane or other polymers. The membranes can have hydrophilic properties. See paragraph 0011. The membrane can have a thickness of 0.01-0.05 mm which meets the limitations of claim 18. See paragraph 0011. The membrane has a permeability of at least 200 gsm/24 hours which meets the claims of claim 19. See paragraph 0011. The undergarment is designed to be worn under protective garments. See paragraph 0001. The inner and outer layers can comprise polyester fibers which would meet the limitation that the inner and outer layers are formed of the same material. See paragraph 0012 and 0017. The layers can be connected by adhesives. See paragraph 0018. The undergarment can includes a torso, arms and legs to substantially cover the body. See figures.
Kallionpaa differs from the claimed invention because it does not clearly teach that the base layer is for use in smoky environments, that the materials are fire retardant and that the outer layer is formed by weaving and has openings which are at least ten times as large as the micropores of the breathable membrane, or the use of elasticated elements in the garment.
However, Fourmeux discloses a safety garment comprising fibrous layers having holes therein, a microporous membrane and a fabric lining. See paragraphs 0040-0050, 0093-0097. The holes are useful for allowing heat to escape. The fabric can be formed by weaving, knitting or can be a nonwoven fabric. See paragraph 0044.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have provided openings in the outer layer in order to allow for heat to escape away from the body of the wearer of the undergarment as taught by Formeux.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to either aperture the fibrous layer and/or to weave the fibrous layer such that it comprised a multiplicity of openings to enable moisture to escape from the wearer of the garment. The openings of either a weave or apertures would necessarily be larger than the size of micropores in a membrane, which enable vapor but not liquid to pass through the micropores.
With regard to using elastic materials and fire resistant materials to make the structure, Amichaud discloses a protective undergarment comprising an elastomeric fabric, and a microporous elastomeric membrane, which is formed and seamed to closely match the entire body of the user. See page 2, lines 1-8, page 3, line last full paragraph. The garment can be made to be fire resistant and can include a polyester jersey fabric on one side. See page 3, last two lines and page 4, first line. A polyester jersey, (knit), fabric would necessarily be breathable. The structure can include elastic portions to provide a close fit. See page 2, lines 33-36. With regard to the type of filaments making up the polyester fabric, it is well-known and conventional to form polyester yarns from discontinuous, staple fibers which are spun into a yarn. Fire resistant materials can be used to make the undergarment. See page 5, line 15.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have to have selected the degree of elasticity and elongation under force which provided the most protection and comfort to the wearer, especially at arm and leg cuffs and to have used fire resistant materials to make the layers so that the undergarment could be used under fire fighting garments as taught by Armichaud.
With regard to claims 5, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 24, since Armichaud teaches employing fire resistant materials to make protective undergarments, it would have been obvious to have made all the layers fire retardant. It further would have been obvious to have extended the protective undergarment over the hands with thumbholes as is conventionally done to provide protection for the hands without impeding gripping and use of the thumb. It also would have been obvious to have selected the degree of elasticity of each layer which provided the most protection and comfort for the wearer of the undergarment. With regard to the limitation that the polyester is in the form of discontinuous fibers, it is noted that it is well-known and conventional to form yarns by spinning staple length polymeric fibers such as polyester staple fibers into yarns.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kallionpaa, EP 1,481, 599 in view of in view of Fourmeux and Amichaud et al, EP 0765611A1 as applied to claims above, and further in view of Abujoudeh, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0029618.
Kallionpaa teaches employing adhesive to bond the layers, but does not clearly teach polyurethane fire resistant adhesive.
However, Abujoudeh teaches employing flame resistant polyurethane adhesive to bond layers of a protective garment including outer fiber layers and a PTFE membrane. See paragraph 0018.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have employed a flame resistant polyurethane adhesive as the bonding adhesive in Kallionpaa.
Claim(s) 14, 21-22, 23, 25-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kallionpaa, EP 1,481, 599 in view of in view of Fourmeux and Amichaud et al, EP 0765611A1 as applied to claims above, and further in view of Langley et al, WO /030903.
Kallionpaa differs from the claimed invention because does not teach both inner and outer layers being woven polyester, or treating the polyester with fire retardants.
However, Langley teaches a composite fabric which includes a membrane layer having inner and outer fabric layers. In addition to fabrics formed from aramid fibers, Langley also teaches that polyester yarns can be used to form woven layers for the inner and outer sides of a breathable membrane. The layers can further be treated with fire retardant materials. See page 6, lines 20-page 7, line 8. It is noted that it is well-known and conventional to spin discontinuous fibers into yarns to form staple yarns. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have used staple polyester yarns to weave the inner and outer fabric layers, noting that staple yarns are generally considered to be softer, more absorbent and more comfortable than filament yarns and to have treated the polyester with fire retardants in order to form a composite fabric which was resistant to fire and flame.
Applicant arguments and amendments are sufficient to overcome the previous rejections. New rejections are set forth above.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tompson, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0154553. Thompson discloses flame resistant undergarments. The undergarments can be in the form of tops, pants, tank tops or full body undergarments. See paragraph 0013. The fabrics can include modacrylic. See paragraph 0014. The modacrylic can be blended with polyester and spun into a yarn. See paragraph 0021. The undergarments can include elastic portions. See paragraph 0022. The fabrics can include various chemical treatments such as dyes, wicking agents, antimicrobial agents, softeners, etc. which can be applied to the fabric. See paragraph 0023-0028. Thompson does not teach the membrane layer or a three layered structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH M IMANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Wednesday 7AM-7:30; Thursday 10AM -2 PM.
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/ELIZABETH M IMANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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