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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 11/26/2025 has been entered. It is noted that claims 22, 24, 30, 31, 33 and 36 are withdrawn (as stated on page 2 of the Non-Final Rejection mailed 7/29/2025) and therefore the status identifiers of said claims must read “Withdrawn” in subsequent listings of claims.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.
Claims 1, 3-12, 14, 19, 21, 23, 27, 34 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over USPAP 2014/0245516 to Cushingham view of WO2017129416 to Hexels and/or USPN 4,850,186 to Hiramatsu.
Claim 1, Cushingham discloses a textile article of clothing (1) equipped for ballistic protection, the textile article of clothing (1) comprising: a material mix of multiple yarns (3,4) wherein the multiple yarns (3,4) have different properties; and the multiple yarns (3,4) are knitted together so that the material mix of multiple yarns (3, 4) has a ballistic component, and the ballistic component comprises at least 80 wt.% of the textile article of clothing (1); and at least one of the multiple yarns (3, 4) that are knitted together to form the ballistic component contains silk, such that the textile article of clothing (1) comprises silk by at least 80 wt.%; and the material mix of multiple yarns (3, 4) has at least one component in addition to the ballistic component; and the textile article of clothing (1) comprises 3 to 18 wt.% polyamide (PA); and the textile article of clothing (1) comprises 0.5 to 5 wt.% elastane (EL); and the textile article of clothing is an undershirt or T-shirt that has a torso portion (see entire document including [0002], [0008]-[0011], [0013]-[0018], [0020], [0025], [0030], [0059] and Table 1). Plus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adjust the amount of each material component, based on the desired textile properties such as ballistic strength, appearance/feel, stretch, cost, etc. and because it has been held that discovering an optimum value of result effective variables involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding the torso portion being formed seamlessly, Cushingham does not appear to mention the torso portion being seamless, but Hexels discloses that it is known in the art to construct a shirt with a seamless torso (page 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the torso portion seamless because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known design on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Claim 3, the at least one of the multiple yarns (3,4) containing silk may consist of silk ([0008]-[0010]).
Claim 4, the silk is inherently animal silk or natural silk (SE) [0008].
Claims 5-8, the at least one of the yarns (3,4) consisting of silk may be a twisted yarn (5). Cushingham does not appear to mention the twisted yarns being the claimed multi-ply twisted yarn but Hiramatsu discloses that it is known in the art to use construct a textile article with the claimed multi-ply twisted yarn structure to provide a yarn with excellent shape stability and prevent damage to the fabric during stitching (see entire document including column 1, line 5 through column 3, line 37 and column 5, lines 41-51). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to construct the yarns of Cushingham the claimed multi-ply twisted yarns, to provide the yarns with excellent shape stability and prevent damage to the fabric during stitching.
Claim 9, the examiner takes official notice (now admitted prior art) that the tenacity of silk, measured in cN/tex, typically ranges from 30 to 44 cN/tex. Therefore, the silk yarns of Cushingham inherently have a tenacity of 15 to 50 cN/tex.
Claim 10, at least one high-strength yarn forms the ballistic component; and the at least one high-strength yarn has a property of being able to prevent penetration of fragments ([0008]-[0010] and [0016]-[0018]).
Claim 11, the at least one high-strength yarn may be ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene [0008].
Claim 12, at least one of the multiple yarns (3,4) to form at least a portion of the additional component of the material mix contains polyamide ([0008] and [0013]).
Claim 14, at least one of the multiple yarns (3,4) to form at least a portion of the additional component of the material mix contains elastane ([0030] and Table 1).
Claims 19 and 23, Cushingham does not appear to mention the inclusion of polypropylene but the examiner takes official notice (now admitted prior art) that it is known in the art to construct yarns with polypropylene within the claimed amount. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to include polypropylene within the claimed amount based on the desired fabric properties.
Claim 21, the at least one high-strength yarn containing an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) consists of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene [0008].
Claim 23, the textile article of clothing (1) may consist of 86 to 90 wt. % silk, and/or 8 to 10 wt. % polyamide, and/or 1.5 to 2.5 wt. % elastane ([0008]-[0010] and [0013]-[0014]). Plus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adjust the amount of each component, such as claimed, based on the desired fabric properties and because it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
Claim 27, Cushingham does not appear to mention the seams (12) of the T-shirt (1) having a flatlock design but Hexels discloses that it is known in the art to construct a shirt with a flatlock design (page 9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the shirt with any suitable design, such as the claimed flatlock design because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known design on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Claim 34, Cushingham does not appear to mention arm pieces (13) made from a woven material and being sewn to the torso piece (1) but Hexels discloses that it is known in the art to construct a shirt with arm pieces (13) made from a woven material and being sewn to the torso piece (claims 26 and 27). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the shirt with arm pieces (13) made from a woven material and being sewn to the torso piece because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known design on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Claim 35, Cushingham does not appear to mention the use of a camouflage print or sleeves made with a twill construction but Hexels discloses that it is known in the art to construct a shirt with a camouflage print and twill sleeves (pages 6-9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the shirt with a camouflage print and twill sleeves because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known design on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant asserts that the applied prior art fails to teach or suggest a material mix of silk and polyamide and elastane in the form of an undershirt/T-shirt that has a seamlessly formed torse portion. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Cushingham discloses a textile article of clothing (1) equipped for ballistic protection, the textile article of clothing (1) comprising: a material mix of multiple yarns (3,4) wherein the multiple yarns (3,4) have different properties; and the multiple yarns (3,4) are knitted together so that the material mix of multiple yarns (3, 4) has a ballistic component, and the ballistic component comprises at least 80 wt.% of the textile article of clothing (1); and at least one of the multiple yarns (3, 4) that are knitted together to form the ballistic component contains silk, such that the textile article of clothing (1) comprises silk by at least 80 wt.%; and the material mix of multiple yarns (3, 4) has at least one component in addition to the ballistic component; and the textile article of clothing (1) comprises 3 to 18 wt.% polyamide (PA); and the textile article of clothing (1) comprises 0.5 to 5 wt.% elastane (EL); and the textile article of clothing is an undershirt or T-shirt that has a torso portion (see entire document including [0002], [0008]-[0011], [0013]-[0018], [0020], [0025], [0030], [0059] and Table 1). Plus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adjust the amount of each material component, based on the desired textile properties such as ballistic strength, appearance/feel, stretch, cost, etc. and because it has been held that discovering an optimum value of result effective variables involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding the torso portion being formed seamlessly, Cushingham does not appear to mention the torso portion being seamless, but Hexels discloses that it is known in the art to construct a shirt with a seamless torso (page 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the torso portion seamless because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known design on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated any new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW T PIZIALI whose telephone number is (571)272-1541. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7am-5pm.
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/ANDREW T PIZIALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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