99Notice 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 .
Claims 1-10, 12-17 and 19-20 are pending in the application. No newly added claims are presented. No newly canceled claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-10, 12-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Publication US2016/0242561A1 hereinafter referred to as Riley in view of US Patent Publication US2012/0317727A1 hereinafter referred to as Tanaka.
Re-Claim 1
Riley discloses a bed 101, 102 fig.1 & 501, 502 fig.5A, comprising: an adjustable base 102, 502 including movable sections; and a mattress 101, 501 on the adjustable base including air bladders 101a-b 501a-c and a pressure source 104 fig.2, wherein each air bladder of the air bladders is associated with a movable section of the movable sections of the adjustable base (see fig.5B) [0029 “It will be appreciated that in other exemplary airbed environments, the air mattress may include a different number of chambers, as well as multiple zones, where each zone or chamber is connected to the manifold 104b through a separate tube (for example, in a 4-zone or 6-zone system, there may be separate air mattress chambers corresponding to a head region, torso region, and foot region for each side of the air mattress).”] and a processor 104c fig.2 that controls the pressure source [0029] to guide a flow of fluid to control pressurization of each air bladder as a function of a position of the corresponding movable section of the adjustable base [0039 “For example, a user may hit a button or otherwise input a command on a user remote corresponding to a pre-programmed “flat” setting or a user-programmed flat setting where the airbed is flat, which may cause the adjustable base 502 to be adjusted to the flat setting shown in FIG. 5A (and at the same time the airbed control system adjusts the pressure within the air mattress chambers 501a, 501b and 501c to achieve target pressures for each of those chambers corresponding to the flat setting). Likewise, a user may hit a button or otherwise input a command on a user remote corresponding to a pre-programmed “recline” setting or a user-programmed setting where the airbed is reclined, which may cause the adjustable base 502 to be adjusted to the reclined setting shown in FIG. 5B (and at the same time the airbed control system adjusts the pressure within the air mattress chambers 501a, 501b and 501c to achieve target pressures for each of those chambers corresponding to the reclined setting).”] so as to substantially maintain a predetermined pressure of each air bladder throughout movement of the corresponding movable section [0024 “For example, certain ranges of articulation may have certain preferred pressure levels associated therewith, and once the direct drive input causes the articulation to cross over into a certain range, the target pressure level that the airbed control system aims to achieve for the air mattress chamber is changed to the preferred pressure level associated with that articulation. In another example, some other types of control laws may be followed during the direct drive input to dictate what the target pressure is during the direct drive input (such as maintaining pressure for a particular range of articulations).” 0034 “While the articulation is ongoing, the airbed control system may perform pressure adjustments to maintain the original pressure level with the air chamber(s) of the air mattress at stage 302a, or may follow some other control logic with regard to what pressure adjustments should be made at stage 302b (such as targeting a first pressure level while the articulation is in a first range and then targeting a different pressure level once the articulation moves past the first range, or targeting a pressure corresponding to the current articulation level where the target pressure keeps changing while the articulation level is changing).”].
However does not disclose wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress.
Tanaka teaches a mattress 1 fig.5 and a pressure source 11 fig.5 wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress (see fig.5). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to have combined the mattress on Riley and the mattress with a pressure source of Tanaka and with a reasonable expectation of success arrived at mattress wherein the pressure source is positioned within the mattress. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purpose of having an adjustable air mattress that is easy to handle as taught in Tanaka [0049].
Re-Claim 2
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the movable sections of the adjustable base include a body section and at least one leg section (see fig.2 and 5B Riley).
Re-Claim 3
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the air bladders of the mattress include a body air bladder 501a fig.5B and at least one leg air bladder 501c fig.5B Riley.
Re-Claim 4
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the at least one leg section of the adjustable base includes an upper leg section and a lower leg section that move relative to each other (see fig.2 & 5B Riley).
Re-Claim 5
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
Riley discloses wherein the air bladders of the mattress include a body air bladder 501a, an upper leg air bladder 501b fig.5B, and a lower leg air bladder 501c.
Re-Claim 6
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
Riley discloses wherein the processor controls an amount of air within each air bladder to substantially maintain the predetermined pressure of each air bladder upon movement of the corresponding movable section of the adjustable base [0024 & 0034] (see fig.6a-6C).
Re-Claim 7
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
Riley discloses wherein the processor adjusts an amount of air within at least one air bladder of the air bladders of the mattress to place the air bladders of the mattress in preprogrammed pressurized states ([0039] and fig.6C) corresponding to positions of the movable sections of the adjustable base (see fig.6C).
Re-Claim 8
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
Riley discloses further comprising: a pressurization system 104a fig.2 comprising: the pressure source 104a; a manifold 104b fig.2 coupled with the pressure source; a plurality of conduits [0029 “Each of these chambers is connected to a manifold 104b of the pump 104 via a separate tube.”], each of the plurality of conduits coupled with the manifold and an air bladder of the air bladders; and a plurality of valves [0086, 0112 and 0113], each valve of the plurality of valves associated with a conduit and configured to control a flow of fluid through the conduit.
Re-Claim 9
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the processor automatically controls operation of the valves of the pressurization system to control the flow of fluid to control pressurization of each air bladder (see fig.6A-6C and [0086, 0112 and 0113]).
Re-Claim 10
Riley discloses a bed 101, 102 fig.1 & 501, 502 fig.5A, comprising: an adjustable base 102, 502 including movable sections; and a mattress 101, 501 on the adjustable base and including air bladders 101a-b 501a-c and a pressure source 104 fig.2, each air bladder of the air bladders substantially corresponding to a movable section of the movable sections (see fig.5A & 5B) of the adjustable base, each air bladder of the air bladders being pressurizable independently from every other air bladder of the air bladders [0029 “It will be appreciated that in other exemplary airbed environments, the air mattress may include a different number of chambers, as well as multiple zones, where each zone or chamber is connected to the manifold 104b through a separate tube (for example, in a 4-zone or 6-zone system, there may be separate air mattress chambers corresponding to a head region, torso region, and foot region for each side of the air mattress).”]; and a processor 104c fig.2 that controls the pressure source to guide a flow of fluid to control pressurization of each air bladder of the air bladders as a function of a position of the corresponding movable section of the adjustable base substantially [0039 “For example, a user may hit a button or otherwise input a command on a user remote corresponding to a pre-programmed “flat” setting or a user-programmed flat setting where the airbed is flat, which may cause the adjustable base 502 to be adjusted to the flat setting shown in FIG. 5A (and at the same time the airbed control system adjusts the pressure within the air mattress chambers 501a, 501b and 501c to achieve target pressures for each of those chambers corresponding to the flat setting). Likewise, a user may hit a button or otherwise input a command on a user remote corresponding to a pre-programmed “recline” setting or a user-programmed setting where the airbed is reclined, which may cause the adjustable base 502 to be adjusted to the reclined setting shown in FIG. 5B (and at the same time the airbed control system adjusts the pressure within the air mattress chambers 501a, 501b and 501c to achieve target pressures for each of those chambers corresponding to the reclined setting).”] so as to substantially maintain a predetermined pressure of each air bladder throughout movement of the corresponding moveable section [0024 & 0034].
However does not disclose wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress.
Tanaka teaches a mattress 1 fig.5 and a pressure source 11 fig.5 wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress (see fig.5). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to have combined the mattress on Riley and the mattress with a pressure source of Tanaka and with a reasonable expectation of success arrived at mattress wherein the pressure source is positioned within the mattress. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purpose of having an adjustable air mattress that is easy to handle as taught in Tanaka [0049].
Re-Claim 12
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the processor adjusts the pressurization of at least one air bladder of the air bladders of the mattress to place the air bladders of the mattress in preprogrammed pressurized states ([0039] and fig.6C) corresponding to positions of the movable sections of the adjustable base (see fig.6C).
Re-Claim 13
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
Riley discloses further comprising: a pressurization system 104a fig.2 comprising: the pressure source 104a; a manifold 104b fig.2 coupled with the pressure source; a plurality of conduits [0029 “Each of these chambers is connected to a manifold 104b of the pump 104 via a separate tube.”], each of the plurality of conduits coupled with the manifold and an air bladder of the air bladders; and a plurality of valves [0086, 0112 and 0113], each valve of the plurality of valves associated with a conduit and configured to control a flow of fluid through the conduit.
Re-Claim 14
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the processor automatically controls operation of the valves of the pressurization system to control the flow of fluid to control pressurization of each air bladder (see fig.6A-6C and [0086, 0112 and 0113]).
Re-Claim 15
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the processor is programmed to automatically adjust a pressure within at least one air bladder of the air bladders in response to a change in orientation of the mattress (see fig.6A-6C and [0041 “In another example, a user laying on a flat mattress as shown in FIG. 5A may invoke a function via the user remote such as a massage function, and, in response to the invocation of the function, the airbed control system causes the airbed to be articulated to a non-flat setting such as the reclined setting shown in FIG. 5B (with appropriate adjustments to the pressure in the air mattress chambers to maintain the original pressure or to achieve a target pressure corresponding to the massage). The airbed then provides a massage while the airbed is in the non-flat setting, and then once the massage is over, it automatically causes the airbed to be articulated back to the flat setting shown in FIG. 5A (with appropriate adjustments to the pressure in the air mattress chambers to maintain the original pressure or to achieve a target pressure corresponding to the flat setting).”]).
Re-Claim 16
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein the processor is programmed to substantially maintain a pressure within each air bladder of the air bladders in response to the change in orientation of the mattress (see fig.6A-6c and [0041]).
Re-Claim 17
Riley discloses a method (fig.6a-6C) for pressurizing an adjustable bed 101, 102, 501, 502, comprising: moving a position of at least one movable section of an adjustable bed 102, 502 frame 601 fig.6A; and controlling a pressure within at least one air bladder 613 fig.6B, 636 fig.6C of a mattress 101, 501 carried by the adjustable bed frame, wherein the at least one air bladder is associated with a movable section of the at least one movable section of the adjustable bed frame (see fig.5B), and wherein the pressure within the at least one air bladder is controlled as a function of a position of the corresponding movable section of the at least one movable section of the adjustable bed frame so as to substantially maintain a predetermined pressure of the at least one bladder throughout movement of the corresponding movable section [0024 & 0034] (fig.6A-6C).
However does not disclose wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress.
Tanaka teaches a mattress 1 fig.5 and a pressure source 11 fig.5 wherein the pressure source is positioned at least partly within the mattress (see fig.5). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to have combined the mattress on Riley and the mattress with a pressure source of Tanaka and with a reasonable expectation of success arrived at mattress wherein the pressure source is positioned within the mattress. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a combination for the purpose of having an adjustable air mattress that is easy to handle as taught in Tanaka [0049].
Re-Claim 19
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein controlling the pressure comprises adjusting the pressurization of the at least one air bladder of the air bladders of the mattress to place the at least one air bladder of the mattress in preprogrammed pressurized states corresponding to positions of the movable section of the adjustable base (see fig.6A-6c and [0041]).
Re-Claim 20
Riley as modified by Tanaka above discloses,
wherein controlling the pressure within the at least one air bladder comprises automatically controlling the pressure within the at least one air bladder (see fig.6A-6c and [0041]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-10, 12-17 and 19-20 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 IFEOLU A ADEBOYEJO whose telephone number is (571)270-3072. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/IFEOLU A ADEBOYEJO/Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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