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 .
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kotomi et al. (JP2013164277, see attached English translation) in view of Kengo et al. (JP200826140, see attached English translation).
Regarding claim 1, Kotomi teaches a fitting dummy for testing on a body-fluid-absorbent article (Paragraph 1), the dummy having an external shape representing an external shape of a human body including at least a torso and a pair of thighs (As shown in Figs. 1-4), wherein the dummy is hollow in at least the torso and the thighs (Paragraph 29), wherein the body fluid discharge area is provided with a through hole (Figs. 1-4, openings 5 and 6) communicating with the hollow and outside, and wherein the dummy is a transparent resin molded body (Paragraph 46).
Kotomi is silent about a wall thickness between an exterior surface and a corresponding interior surface of the dummy is 3 to 15 mm except for a body fluid discharge area.
Kengo teaches a wall thickness between an exterior surface and a corresponding interior surface of the dummy is 3 to 15 mm except for a body fluid discharge area (Paragraph 70).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make Kotomi’s dummy to have a skin thickness between 3 to 15 mm because it would provide proper overall structural integrity and functional performance of the dummy.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo is silent about wherein the resin molded body is a molded body of an ultraviolet curable resin.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make Kotomi’s dummy by using an ultraviolet curable resin, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, Kotomi further teaches wherein the body fluid discharge area is provided with a protrusion (Figs. 1-4, 6b) protruding into the hollow, and through the protrusion a through hole is formed (Paragraphs 31-32).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, Kengo further teaches wherein the wall thickness is 3 to 8 mm (Paragraph 70).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, Kotomi further teaches wherein the through hole is configured to receive a transparent tube therein for supply of a simulated body fluid (Paragraphs 31-32).
Regarding claims 6-10, the combination of Kotomi and Kengo teaches all the features of claims 1-5 as outlined above, Kotomi further teaches fitting a body-fluid-absorbent article on the dummy, supplying a simulated body fluid from inside of the hollow, and capturing at least one phenomenon of absorption and diffusion, in the body-fluid- absorbent article, of the simulated body fluid transferred through the through hole into the body- fluid-absorbent article (Paragraphs 40-48).
Conclusion
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/XIN Y ZHONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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