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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/16/26 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figure 3 has an enlarged view associated therewith but there are no brackets or lead lines showing what the enlarged view is from. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The use of the term Velcro, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be entirely capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
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) 16 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hope (US 6,334,221) in view of Ragot (US 7,096,506) and Brault (US 10,631,582).
In regard to claim 16, Hope teaches an adult garment device that provides a user with a comfortable garment capable of being worn like a sleeping bag in either an indoor environment or an outdoor environment (see figures 2 and 3, column 1, lines 4-8), the adult garment device comprising: a sleeping bag component comprising a main body for substantially enclosing a body of the user when worn (see figures 1 and 2, main body: 2), the main body comprising a hook and loop sealable pocket (releasable pocket: 23 and column 4, lines 37-43 and column 2, lines 45-48 details that the releasable means can be Velcro/hook and loop fasteners); a pair of hand portions (column 3, lines 25-32); wherein the main body consists of two body part portions releasably attachable to the main body via a zipper (sleeves: 12a, 12b, zippers: 33, 33); a padded waterproof head portion releasably attached to the main body and configured to substantially enclose a head of the user (head portion: 29, column 3, lines 53-67); wherein the at least two body portions are mosquito netting body portions configured to enclose a user's arms (figure 2, identifiers 12A, 12B; column 3, lines 21 and column 2, lines 58-64); wherein each hand portion is a mosquito netting mitten that is releasably attachable to one of the at least two body portions (arm portions may include gloves and mittens: column 3, lines 22-24; the arm portions have hand portions that are releasably attached thereto: column 3, lines 25-32; and the arm portions which include the hand/mitten portions can be made from mosquito netting: column 3, lines 16-21 and column 2, lines 58-64); wherein the two body portions are secured to the main body (see figures 1-3, column 5, lines 34-38); wherein a main entry to the sleeping bag component is provided by a zipper component (column 6, lines 1-4); and wherein the zipper extends continuously from a top of the main body to a bottom of the main body of the sleeping bag component (column 6, lines 1-4 and see annotated figure below, dashed line denotes top vs. bottom of the main body).
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However, Hope fails to teach wherein the zipper component has a string mechanism and the head covering comprising rayon of bamboo.
Ragot teaches a zipper component with a string mechanism (pull: 30; column 3, lines 26-29).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date to one having ordinary skill in the art to have provided the zipper of Hope with the string mechanism as taught by Ragot, since the zipper component of Hope provided with a string mechanism would provide a means to operate the zipper as needed (Ragot: column 3, lines 26-29).
Brault teaches the use of rayon of bamboo in a garment article (column 4, lines 44-49).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date to one having ordinary skill in the art to have provided the head covering of Hope with a rayon of bamboo material as taught by Brault, since the head covering of Hope having a layer of rayon of bamboo material would teach a head covering comprising a lightweight, slightly stretchy, easy to care for fabric making it comfortable against the user’s skin.
In regard to claim 19, the combined references fail to teach a plurality of indicia on the sleeping bag component. It is noted that indicia/printed matter when non-functionally related to the invention does not hold patentable weight (see MPEP 2111.5).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/16/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant remarks that Hope (US 6,334,221) in view of Ragot (US 7,096,506) and Braulet (US 10,631,582) fail to teach the limitations as amended into claim 16.
Hope teaches the main body consisting of two body part portions and wherein the zipper extends continuously from a top of the main body to a bottom of the main body as detailed above in the rejection.
Conclusion: 18/172,376 Page 11 Art Unit32
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALISSA L HOEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4985. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00-5:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clinton T Ostrup can be reached on (571)272-5559. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ALISSA L. HOEY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/ALISSA L HOEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732