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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species F (figs. 34 and 35) in the reply filed on 07 January 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no burden to search the other embodiments. This is not found persuasive because there are mutually exclusive structures (i.e. the connection structures; the shapes of the springs; and the arrangement of the springs in the mattress assembly) that would require differing search queries and/or strategies. Claims 2, 10, and 11 are hereby withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected embodiment, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 6-8, 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Barber (2004/0128773).
In Re claim 1, Barber discloses an elastic module (mattress; figs. 6-10), comprising: a plurality of independent first springs (102, 104) arranged in an array adjacent one another and are compressed and pocketed (Abstract, par. 0035), wherein upper parts of the first springs have swingable spaces on side surfaces (see spaces between adjacent coils in figs. 8-10), and multiple first springs on a periphery of the elastic module are connected by one of more connectors (not shown; par. 0041).
In Re claim 3, see fig. 9, which shows no connectors at the upper part of the springs.
In Re claim 4, see figs. 8-10, showing irregular tapered and inverted-tapered spring shapes.
In Re claim 6, Barber discloses an elastic module (mattress; figs. 6-10), comprising: a plurality of first springs (102); a plurality of second springs (104) ; and one or more connectors (not shown; par. 0041), wherein the first springs are arranged in an array adjacent one another and are compressed and pocketed (Abstract, par. 0035), the second springs are located between the first springs (see figs 6-10), upper parts of the first springs have swingable spaces on side surfaces (see spaces between adjacent coils in figs. 8-10), a movement of part of the plurality of first springs disposed below the upper part is limited by second springs (see figs. 6-10), and multiple first springs on a periphery of the elastic module are connected by one of more connectors (not shown; par. 0041).
In Re claim 7, see fig. 9, which shows no connectors at the upper part of the springs.
In Re claim 8, see figs. 8-10, showing irregular tapered and inverted-tapered spring shapes.
In Re claim 12, see par. 0041.
In Re claim 13, Barber discloses an elastic module (mattress; figs. 6-10), comprising: a plurality of first springs (104); a plurality of second springs (102) ; and one or more connectors (not shown; par. 0041), wherein the first and second springs are arranged in an array adjacent one another and are compressed and pocketed (Abstract, par. 0035), the first springs are slim-waisted(see 104 in figs. 8-10), the second springs are waist drum shaped (see 102 in figs. 8-10), upper parts of the first springs have swingable spaces on side surfaces (see spaces between adjacent coils in figs. 8-10), a movement of part of the plurality of first springs disposed below the upper part is limited by second springs (see figs. 6-10), and multiple first springs on a periphery of the elastic module are connected by one of more connectors (not shown; par. 0041).
In Re claim 14, see first springs (104) in figs. 8-10.
In Re claim 15, the elastic modules are connected to form a mattress (fig. 6).
In Re claim 16, the elastic modules are used as the core of a mattress with upper and lower mattress wraps (see 154).
In Re claim 17, the upper and lower mattress wraps are bonded to the pocketed coil springs (par. 0067-0068).
In Re claims 18-20 and 19, the springs are pocketed within fabric (par. 0056).
Claims 1, 3, 4, 6-8, 15, 16, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Grothaus (US 2003/0074736).
In Re claim 1, Grothaus discloses an elastic module (mattress; fig. 1), comprising: a plurality of independent first springs (1) arranged in an array adjacent one another and are compressed and pocketed (Abstract, par. 0007; compressing coil spring prior to pocketing is inherent and known in the art of pocketed springs), wherein upper parts of the first springs have swingable spaces on side surfaces (see spaces between adjacent coils in fig. 2), and multiple first springs on a periphery of the elastic module are connected by one of more connectors (see 7).
In Re claim 3, the connectors (7) are not at the upper most end of the pocketed springs (see fig. 2, and see connectors 7 disposed where the adjacent springs are most closely adjacent to one another in fig. 1).
In Re claim 4, the springs have oppositely tapered lower ends and upper ends (see fig. 2).
In Re claim 6, Grothaus discloses an elastic module (mattress; fig. 1), comprising: a plurality of first springs (1); a plurality of second springs (2) ; and one or more connectors (7-9), wherein the first springs are arranged in an array adjacent one another and are compressed and pocketed (Abstract, par. 0007; compressing coil spring prior to pocketing is inherent and known in the art of pocketed springs), the second springs are located between the first springs (see fig. 1), upper parts of the first springs have swingable spaces on side surfaces (see spaces between adjacent coils in fig. 2), a movement of part of the plurality of first springs disposed below the upper part is limited by second springs (see fig. 1), and multiple first springs on a periphery of the elastic module are connected by one of more connectors (see 7).
In Re claim 7, the connectors (7, 8, 9) are not at the upper most end of the pocketed springs (see fig. 2, and see connectors 7 disposed where the adjacent springs are most closely adjacent to one another in fig. 1).
In Re claim 8, the springs irregularly shaped, and have oppositely tapered lower ends and upper ends (see fig. 2).
In Re claim 15, the elastic modules are connected to form a mattress (fig. 1).
In Re claim 16, the elastic modules are used as the core of a mattress (par. 0002), and are therefore understood to necessarily be encased within said mattress.
In Re claims 18 and 19, the springs are pocketed within fabric (par. 0020)
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 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grothaus (US 2003/0074736) as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Barber (2004/0128773).
In Re claim 17, Grothaus disclose a mattress (par. 0002) but fail to specifically disclose securing the pocketed coil springs to a bottom part of the mattress.
Barber is related to the art of pocketed coil spring mattresses. Barber teaches securing the top and bottom of a pocketed coil spring (102, 104) to a top and bottom securing sheet (152, 154; pars. 0067-0068). The sheets provide stabilization and help to properly distribute the load across the mattress. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mattress of Grothaus be securing the pocketed coil springs to a top and bottom securing sheet, as taught by Barber, to provide stabilization and help to properly distribute the load across the mattress.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/THOMAS W IRVIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616