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 .
Abstract
The last 2 lines of the Abstract discuss merits of the invention, which is not allowed according to MPEP 608.01(b)I.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 8-12 and 19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 9/30/25.
Applicant's election with traverse of Species 8 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the Species are not patentably distinct. This is not found persuasive because the Species use both different patterns of standoff arrays and different geometries. There is no way to look for 10 different ideas at once and using only one search. Also, the differences between each Species is not merely “geometry”, which actually means structure (The entire search revolves around structural differences and that is the meat of the job), because the different types of gloves (five fingered and mitten) and cleaning cloths must be found. Each of these require a different search. These three are distinctly different types of cleaning devices and don’t involve just one search.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 1, insert “the” after “wherein” to correct the grammar.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 20, last 2 lines recites “each first standoff” covering one-third of the first side, which is impossible because standoffs, which are only one protrusion, are not large enough to cover one-third of the first side. Correction: Replace “each first standoff” with “the first standoff array”.
Claim 22, lines 4-5 recites “each second standoff” covering one-third of the first side, which is impossible because standoffs, which are only one protrusion, are not large enough to cover one-third of the first side. Correction: Replace “each second standoff” with “the second standoff array”.
Claim 22, line 21 recites “The second maximum width” and there is no antecedent basis for it.
Claim 22, line 4 recites “an end” and line 15 also recites “an end”. It is unclear they are the same element.
Claim 23 is rejected for depending on claim 20.
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 4-7, 13-18, 20-21, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortolivo (US 5,676,092) in view of Barber (US 4,980,943).
As to claim 4, Ortolivo includes a head cleaning device (glove 10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is able to clean a head with curly hair because the structure of the device is similar to the application’s), the head towel comprising:
a base (20, made of rubber) having a first side (The palm side of 10) and a second side (The back side of 10) opposite the first side; and
a first standoff array (22, 24) including a plurality of first standoffs affixed to the first side of the
base (column 2, lines 55-57 and Fig. 2), the first standoff array distributed across the first side of the base (The positioning of the arrow is shown in Fig. 1).
Ortolivo does not include the cleaning device being a towel, the base being absorbent, the first
side having a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, and each first standoff having a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base.
Barber includes a head towel (10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is a towel because it is made of cloth [The cloth material of 10 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-20] and able to wipe things dry. 10 is able to dry off a head with curly hair because it is made of cloth material that is absorbent) with an absorbent base (20; The absorbent material of 20 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-8). Absorbent base 20 layered on top of rubber 24 (column 3, lines 47-48).
It would have been obvious to modify the base to be absorbent by adding in the base sheet of material 20 on top of 10’s surface, as taught by Barber, in order to allow more water or dirt to be retained on the surface of the head cleaning device. The modification provides the cleaning device being a towel because the head cleaning device now has absorbent cloth.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make the first side have a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, and each first standoff have a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base, the first surface area of the first side being sized to fit the user’s hand, a routine process, and the first standoff height being made sufficient to clean optimally.
As to claim 5, Ortolivo does not include wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array has a first maximum width of less than 20 millimeters measured perpendicular to its height; and wherein a plurality of the first standoffs of the first standoff array are spaced between 0.25 and 2 times the first maximum width from any adjacent first standoff.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make each first standoff of the first standoff array have a first maximum width of less than 20 millimeters measured perpendicular to its height, and make a plurality of the first standoffs of the first standoff array spaced between 0.25 and 2 times the first maximum width from any adjacent first standoff, the first maximum width of each first standoff being made sufficiently wide to clean optimally, and the space between the first standoffs being made sufficiently narrow to clean optimally.
As to claim 6, wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array includes a first hair catch (The tip portion of 22/24) at an end distal from the absorbent base (Arrays [sets] of 22 and 24 are off center on 10), said first hair catch configured for increased engagement of a first curl or wave of hair during application and drying (The first catch provides better curl engagement).
As to claim 7, wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array includes a first base (The lower portion of 22/24 below the tip portion of 22/24) having the first maximum width, said first base fixed to the absorbent base and extending therefrom; and wherein each first hair catch includes a plurality of first standoff prongs (26) having a first prong-width of less than one quarter of the first maximum width, each first standoff prong fixed atop its respective first base and extending therefrom (Fig. 4).
As to claim 13, wherein the absorbent base is made of a towel material (Element 20, which was added by Barber, is made of an absorbent cloth, as discussed in claim 1); and wherein the first standoff array is made of elastomeric material (rubber; column 2, lines 32-33 and 41-47).
As to claim 14, wherein the absorbent base is configured to envelop a user's hand (Element 20, which was added by Barber as a layer on top of the entirety of glove 10, surrounds the user’s hand because 10 is worn by the user).
As to claim 15, Ortolivo includes a head cleaning device (glove 10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is able to clean a head with curly hair because the structure of the device is similar to the application’s), the head towel comprising:
a base (20, made of rubber) configured to envelop a user's hand (20, which is part of 10, surrounds the user’s hand because 10 is worn by the user), the base including a first application side (The palm side of 10) joined to an opposing second application side (The back side of 10), a hand cavity (10 is a glove, which always has a hand cavity) between and formed by the first application side and the second application side, and a hand opening (The hand cavity includes a hand opening where the hand enters) configured to receive user's hand and provide access to the hand cavity; and
a first standoff array (22, 24) including a plurality of first standoffs affixed to the first application side of the base (column 2, lines 55-57 and Fig. 2), the first standoff array distributed across the first application side of the base (The positioning of the arrow is shown in Fig. 1).
Ortolivo does not include the cleaning device being a towel, the base being absorbent, the first application side having a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, each first standoff having a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the base.
Barber includes a head towel (10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is a towel because it is made of cloth [The cloth material of 10 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-20] and able to wipe things dry. 10 is able to dry off a head with curly hair because it is made of cloth material that is absorbent) with an absorbent base (20; The absorbent material of 20 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-8). Absorbent base 20 layered on top of rubber 24 (column 3, lines 47-48).
It would have been obvious to modify the base to be absorbent by adding in the base sheet of material 20 on top of 10’s surface, as taught by Barber, in order to allow more water or dirt to be retained on the surface of the head cleaning device. The modification provides the cleaning device being a towel because the head cleaning device now has absorbent cloth.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make the first side have a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, and each first standoff have a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base, the first surface area of the first side being sized to fit the user’s hand, a routine process, and the first standoff height being made sufficient to clean optimally.
As to claim 16, wherein the absorbent base configured to envelop a user's hand further includes at least one separation (The separation between the thumb section and the index finger section of 10) between digits of the user's hand within the hand cavity where the first application side is joined to the second application side (Fig. 1).
As to claim 17, wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array is sized and positioned such that the first standoff array covers at least 1/3 of the first application side of the absorbent base (Fig. 1).
Ortolivo does not include wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array has a first maximum width of less than 20 millimeters measured perpendicular to its height;
wherein a plurality of the first standoffs of the first standoff array are spaced between 0.25 and 2 times the first maximum width from any adjacent first standoff.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make each first standoff of the first standoff array have a first maximum width of less than 20 millimeters measured perpendicular to its height, and make a plurality of the first standoffs of the first standoff array spaced between 0.25 and 2 times the first maximum width from any adjacent first standoff, the first maximum width of each first standoff being made sufficiently wide to clean optimally, and the space between the first standoffs being made sufficiently narrow to clean optimally.
As to claim 18, wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array includes a first base (The lower portion of 22/24 below the tip portion of 22/24) having the first maximum width, said first base fixed to the absorbent base and extending therefrom;
wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array includes a first hair catch (The tip portion of 22/24) at an end distal from the absorbent base (Arrays [sets] of 22 and 24 are off center on 10), said first hair catch configured for increased engagement of a first curl or wave of hair during application and drying (The first catch provides better curl engagement); and
wherein each first hair catch includes a plurality of first standoff prongs (26) having a first prong-width of less than one quarter of the first maximum width, each first standoff prong fixed atop its respective first base and extending therefrom (Fig. 4).
As to claim 20, Ortolivo includes a head cleaning device (glove 10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is able to clean a head with curly hair because the structure of the device is similar to the application’s), the head towel comprising:
a base (20, made of rubber) having a first side (The palm side of 10) and a second side (The back side of 10) opposite the first side; and
a first standoff array (22, 24) including a plurality of first standoffs affixed to the first side of the
base (column 2, lines 55-57 and Fig. 2), the first standoff array distributed across the first side of the base (The positioning of the arrow is shown in Fig. 1), each first standoff sized and positioned so as to cover at least 1/3 of a surface of the first side of the absorbent base (Fig. 1).
Ortolivo does not include the cleaning device being a towel, the base being absorbent, the first
side having a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, and each first standoff having a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base.
Barber includes a head towel (10) for wavy and curly hair (10 is a towel because it is made of cloth [The cloth material of 10 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-20] and able to wipe things dry. 10 is able to dry off a head with curly hair because it is made of cloth material that is absorbent) with an absorbent base (20; The absorbent material of 20 is shown in column 1, lines 63-68 to column 2, lines 1-8). Absorbent base 20 layered on top of rubber 24 (column 3, lines 47-48).
It would have been obvious to modify the base to be absorbent by adding in the base sheet of material 20 on top of 10’s surface, as taught by Barber, in order to allow more water or dirt to be retained on the surface of the head cleaning device. The modification provides the cleaning device being a towel because the head cleaning device now has absorbent cloth.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make the first side have a first surface area of less than 250 square inches, and each first standoff have a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base, the first surface area of the first side being sized to fit the user’s hand, a routine process, and the first standoff height being made sufficient to clean optimally.
As to claim 21, Ortolivo does not include wherein each first standoff of the first standoff array has a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base.
It would have been a matter of routine optimization to make each first standoff have a height of at least 2 millimeters extending away from the absorbent base, the first standoff height being made sufficient to clean optimally.
As to claim 23, wherein the absorbent base is configured to envelop a user's hand (Element 20, which was added by Barber as a layer on top of the entirety of glove 10, surrounds the user’s hand because 10 is worn by the user).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ortolivo (US 5,676,092) in view of Barber (US 4,980,943), and further in view of Mesiti (US 2019/0021571).
As to claim 22, the features of lines 7-10 were discussed in claim 5, lines 11-13 in claim 7, lines 14-16 in claim 6, and lines 17-19 in claim 7.
Ortolivo does not include wherein the second side has a surface area of less than 250 square inches, the head towel further comprising a second standoff array affixed to the second side of the absorbent base, the second standoff array distributed across the second side of the absorbent base, each second standoff sized and positioned so as to cover at least 1/3 of a surface of the first side of the absorbent base; and
wherein each second standoff of the second standoff array includes a second base having the second maximum width, said second base fixed to the absorbent base and extending therefrom;
wherein each second standoff of the second standoff array includes a second hair catch at an end distal from the absorbent base, said second hair catch configured for increased engagement of a second curl or wave of hair during application and drying;
wherein each second hair catch includes a plurality of second standoff prongs having a second prong-width of less than one quarter of the second maximum width (Fig. 4), each second standoff prong fixed atop its respective second base and extending therefrom; and
wherein the first maximum width is sized and dimensioned at least twenty five percent larger than the second maximum width.
Mesiti includes a cleaning device similar to that of Ortolivo and having a first standoff array (The protrusions on the front of the glove) on a first side (The front side) and a second standoff array (The protrusions on the back of the glove) on a second side (The back side) [Fig. 5-10].
Modification of Ortolivo to have the same first standoff array on the second side, as taught by Mesiti, provides the following: the head towel further comprising a second standoff array affixed to the second side of the absorbent base, the second standoff array distributed across the second side of the absorbent base, each second standoff sized and positioned so as to cover at least 1/3 of a surface of the first side of the absorbent base; and wherein each second standoff of the second standoff array includes a second base having the second maximum width, said second base fixed to the absorbent base and extending therefrom; wherein each second standoff of the second standoff array includes a second hair catch at an end distal from the absorbent base, said second hair catch configured for increased engagement of a second curl or wave of hair during application and drying, and each second standoff prong (26) fixed atop its respective second base (The lower portion of 22/24 below the tip portion of 22/24) and extending therefrom, wherein each second hair catch includes a plurality of second standoff prongs having a second prong-width of less than one quarter of the second maximum width (Fig. 4), and that is because all of the above features are features of first standoff array, and the modification provides the benefit of enhancement of the cleaning ability of the cleaning device due to a greater number of standoffs.
It would have been an obvious matter of routine optimization to modify as follows: wherein the first maximum width is sized and dimensioned at least twenty five percent larger than the second maximum width, because changing the widths of the prongs provides a greater variety of cleaning, thereby raising the overall quality of cleaning. Fig. 3 shows 22 and 24, which are first and second standoff types. The first and second standoff arrays include only elements 22 and 24, respectively, which do have different widths.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW A. HORTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5039. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/ANDREW A HORTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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