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
Applicant’s amendment, filed 23 January 2026, is reviewed and entered. This Office Action is a final rejection.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Status of Claims
Amended
1-2 and 17-19
Canceled
4 and 7
Pending
1-3, 5-6, and 8-19
Presented for Examination
1-3, 5-6, and 8-19
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 23 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Drawing Objections, Specification Objections, 112(a) Rejections
Overcome by the amendments and withdrawn.
103 Rejections
The arguments are drawn to newly amended subject matter and are addressed in the rejections below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 1, 5-6, 8, 11-14, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christou-Kelly et al. (US 20100050315 A1) in view of Moore (US 20160128391 A1) and Eisenberg (US 20050262614 A1).
As to claim 1, Christou-Kelly discloses a medical gown for a patient (“HOSPITAL GARMENT,” title), the medical gown comprising:
a top part arranged to cover a patient's torso (shirt-like portion 22), the top part comprising sleeves (sleeves 30) and a front- facing opening with a wrap-around fastening (figs 1A, 2, and 5, and para. 0043-0044); and
a bottom part (pants 24), separate to the top part and arranged to extend from patient's waist downwards to cover at least a portion of the patient's legs (figs 1A-5);
wherein the top part comprises at least one slit positioned in a back or side portion of the top part and arranged to allow medical examination of the patient's torso through the at least one slit without removal of the top part (the sleeves 30 have a slit as described in para. 0045-0046 and shown open in fig 5, the sleeve slit is in a side portion of the top part),
the top part further comprising a belt (top tie closures 28),
wherein the belt is adapted to be arranged around the patient’s waist above the hip of the patient (Examiner notes that the term "around" is very broad and merely means "in or near one's current location". (Defn. No. 7 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com); the belt is capable of and intended to be around at least a portion of the patient’s waist as shown in fig 2 and is capable of and intended to be arranged above the hip as shown in fig 2) and the top part comprises a lower free portion below the belt (see annotated fig 2 below), wherein the lower free portion is adapted to cover a lower abdomen of the patient (capable of and intended to cover as shown in fig 2; fig 6 shows the lower free portion opened to expose the wearer’s lower abdomen, and one of ordinary skill would recognize that when closed, the lower free portion is covering the lower abdomen).
Christou-Kelly does not disclose the at least one slit comprises an underarm examination slit extending vertically along the side portion of the top part under one of the sleeves and arranged to allow examination of the patient's underarm; and
one or more lower slits located below the belt, extending upwards from a lower edge of the top part, and terminating below the belt to facilitate examination of the lower abdomen of the patient.
Moore teaches a similar medical gown (shirt 12, para. 0002) including at least one slit comprises an underarm examination slit extending vertically along the side portion of the top part under one of the sleeves and arranged to allow examination of the patient's underarm (FIG 1, defined by edges 17 and 18); and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the top part of Christou-Kelly with an underarm examination slit as taught by Moore, for the purpose of allowing the user to don the garment using only one hand (Moore abstract).
Eisenberg teaches a similar medical gown (FIGS 1-4 and para. 0005) including one or more lower slits located below the belt (FIG 2 shows a slit extending up from the lower edge), extending upwards from a lower edge of the top part (FIG 2), and terminating below the belt to facilitate examination of the lower abdomen of the patient (FIG 2 shows a configuration where the slit terminates below the belt, capable of facilitating examination).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the gown of Christou-Kelly with a lower slit as taught by Eisenberg, for the purpose of facilitating donning and doffing.
PNG
media_image1.png
782
505
media_image1.png
Greyscale
As to claim 5, Christou-Kelly as modified does not disclose the medical gown of claim 1 wherein the underarm examination slit is at least 10cm in length.
Moore teaches a garment for a human wearer, and a garment for a human wearer would be in a limited range of sizes. An underarm slit at least 10cm in length would be within the scope of a garment for a human wearer. Moore teaches the length of the slit is adjustable depending on how many of the hook and loop fasteners are fastened or unfastened, and further adjustable by how much of each hook and loop fastener is fastened.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the underarm examination slit at least 10cm in length, in order to provide a garment suitable for a human wearer and to expose the desired amount of torso.
As to claim 6, Christou-Kelly discloses the medical gown of claim 1 wherein the front-facing opening is a full front opening positioned between two opposing portions of closure fabric (see annotated fig 1A below), the two opposing portions of closure fabric arranged to wrap consecutively around the patient to cover the patient's torso (figs 1A-5).
PNG
media_image2.png
1082
572
media_image2.png
Greyscale
As to claim 8, Christou-Kelly discloses he medical gown of claim 1 wherein the bottom part comprises trousers (pants 24).
As to claim 11, Christou-Kelly discloses the medical gown of claim 1 wherein the sleeves have a length such that they do not extend beyond the elbow when worn by a patient (capable of not extending beyond the elbow, depending on the length of the wearer’s arm relative to the sleeve length).
As to claim 12, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 11 wherein one of the sleeves comprises a slit extending from an opening at an end of the one of the sleeves towards the underarm when worn by the patient.
Moore teaches one of the sleeves comprises a slit extending from an opening at an end of the one of the sleeves towards the underarm when worn by the patient (see annotated FIG 1 below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the top part of Christou-Kelly with an underarm examination slit and one or more lower slits as taught by Moore, for the purpose of facilitating donning and doffing.
PNG
media_image3.png
650
479
media_image3.png
Greyscale
As to claim 13, Christou-Kelly discloses the medical gown of claim I wherein the at least one slit comprises fastenings arranged to hold the at least one slit closed (this is the result of the modification presented in the rejection of claim 1 above, where Moore’s slits comprise hook and loop fastener 19 and 20, see para. 0014).
As to claim 14, Christou-Kelly discloses the medical gown of claim 13 wherein the fastenings comprise snap fastenings or hook and loop fastenings (this is the result of the modification presented in the rejection of claim 1 above, where Moore’s slits comprise hook and loop fastener 19 and 20, see para. 0014).
As to claim 19, Christou-Kelly discloses the medical gown of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more lower slits extending upwards from a lower edge of the top part are positioned in a side portion of the top part to further facilitate lifting of individual parts of the lower portion of the top part to facilitate examination of the lower abdomen of the patient (this is the result of the modification presented in the rejection of claim 1 above, where Moore’s lower slit is positioned in a side portion of the top part).
Claim(s) 2-3, 9-10, and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christou-Kelly et al. (US 20100050315 A1) in view of Moore (US 20160128391 A1) and Eisenberg (US 20050262614 A1) as applied to claim 1 or 8 above, and further in view of Thomas (US 20190364992 A1).
As to claim 2, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 1 the at least one slit comprises: a back-examination slit positioned centrally in the back of the top part above the belt such that the back-examination slit terminates above the belt.
Thomas teaches a similar medical gown (“EASY ACCESS APPAREL,” title) including a back-examination slit positioned centrally in the back of the top part (fig 1C, opening 2d).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the back of the top part with a back-examination slit positioned centrally for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
The modification would obviously result in the “slit positioned… above the belt such that the back-examination slit terminates above the belt” because Christou-Kelly’s belt is positioned at the approximate waist portion and Thomas’ slit terminates above the approximate waist portion. Therefore, when Christou-Kelly’s back is provided with Thomas’ slit, the result is the slit being above the belt such that the slit terminates above the belt.
As to claim 3, Christou-Kelly as modified discloses the medical gown of claim 2 wherein the back-examination slit is positioned to run vertically down the centre of the back and is at least 20cm in length (Thomas fig 1C and 20 cm is equivalent to 7.87 inches, and Thomas para. 0117 teaches opening 2 can be “7 inches, 8 inches, … and the like, and any number in-between”).
As to claim 9, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 8 wherein the trousers comprises two hip examination slits, each hip examination slit positioned on an outer side of the trousers and running vertically along the length of the trousers to allow medical examination of the hip.
Thomas teaches a similar medical gown (“EASY ACCESS APPAREL,” title) including two hip examination slits (fig 6A-6C, openings 2e and 2h), each hip examination slit positioned on an outer side of the trousers and running vertically along the length of the trousers to allow medical examination of the hip (fig 6B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a hip examination slit such as Thomas 2e on each of the left and right outer sides of the trousers, for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
As to claim 10, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 8 further comprising a groin examination slit running vertically along an inner side of an upper portion of a leg of the trousers and arranged to allow medical examination of the groin.
Thomas teaches a similar medical gown (“EASY ACCESS APPAREL,” title) including a groin examination slit running vertically along an inner side of an upper portion of a leg of the trousers and arranged to allow medical examination of the groin (figs 6A-6C, openings 2a and/ or 2b).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a groin examination slit running vertically along an inner side of an upper portion of a leg of the trousers, for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
As to claim 15, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim I wherein the top part and/or bottom part are made from Lyocell fibre.
Thomas teaches a similar medical gown (“EASY ACCESS APPAREL,” title) including a part (Garment 1) made from Lyocell fibre (para. 0113).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the top part and/or bottom part made from Lyocell fibre, since it is 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. See MPEP 2144.07.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the top part and/or bottom part made from Lyocell fibre in order to provide a suitable medical gown material (Thomas para. 0113) for wearer comfort.
As to claim 16, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 2 wherein the back-examination slit begins at a position of around 10 cm below a collar of the top part and extends downwards for a length of 25 cm to 40 cm.
Christou-Kelly as modified by Thomas does disclose the back examination slit begins below a collar of the top part (Thomas fig 1c) and extends downwards for a length of 25 cm to 40 cm (25-40cm is equivalent to 9.8-15.7 inches and Thomas para. 0117 teaches opening 2 can be “3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 7 inches, 8 inches 9 inches, 10 inches, 11 inches, 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, and the like, and any number in-between”).
The only difference is that Christou-Kelly as modified by Thomas does not expressly disclose the distance between the collar and the position.
However, claimed garment and the prior art garments are all intended for human wearers, and human wearers are in a limited range of sizes and therefore so are their garments. Based upon Thomas’ fig 1C, one of ordinary skill would expect the distance between the collar and position to be “around 10 cm,” and a distance “around 10 cm” would be a matter of obviousness.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a distance of “around 10 cm,” since discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a distance of “around 10 cm,” in order to provide a slit that opens at the intended portion of the wearer’s anatomy.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christou-Kelly et al. (US 20100050315 A1) in view of Thomas (US 20190364992 A1) and Eisenberg (US 20050262614 A1).
As to claim 17, Christou-Kelly discloses a medical gown for a patient (“HOSPITAL GARMENT,” title), the medical gown comprising:
a top part arranged to cover a patient's torso (shirt-like portion 22), the top part comprising sleeves sized not extend beyond elbows of the patient when the medical gown is word by the patient (a pair of 3/4 length Raglan sleeves 30, capable of not extending beyond the elbows, depending on the length of the wearer’s upper arm) and a front-facing opening (vest placket 34) with a wrap-around fastening (figs 1A, 2, and 5, and para. 0043-0044);
a belt adapted to be arranged all the way around the top part and a waist of the patient when the medical gown is worn by the patient (Examiner notes that the term "around" is very broad and merely means "in or near one's current location". (Defn. No. 7 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com); top tie closures 28, is around the top part and at least apportion of the wearer’s waist);
trousers separate from the top part and arranged to extend from the waist of the patient downwards (pair of pants 24).
Christou-Kelly does not disclose a back-examination slit, positioned centrally in a back of the top part beginning at a position of around 10 cm below a collar of the top part and extending downwards for a length of 25 cm to 40 cm;
an underarm slit extending vertically under each of the sleeves and having a length of at least 10 cm; and
a sleeve opening of at least 30 cm at an end of each of the sleeves; and
the trousers comprising:
a hip examination slit extending for at least 15 cm down each leg of the trousers from a position near a waistband of trousers; and
an inner thigh slit extending for 10 cm to 20 cm down an inner side of one leg of the trousers.
Thomas teaches a similar medical gown (“EASY ACCESS APPAREL,” title) including a back examination slit (2d in fig 1C) positioned centrally in a back of the top part beginning at a position of around 10 cm below a collar of the top part (11) and extending downwards for a length of 25 cm to 40 cm (25-40cm is equivalent to 9.8-15.7 inches and Thomas para. 0117 teaches opening 2 can be “3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 7 inches, 8 inches 9 inches, 10 inches, 11 inches, 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, and the like, and any number in-between”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the back of the top part with a back-examination slit positioned centrally for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
The above modification would obviously result in the “back-examination slit terminates above the belt” because Christou-Kelly’s belt is positioned at the approximate waist portion and Thomas’ slit terminates above the approximate waist portion. Therefore, when Christou-Kelly’s back is provided with Thomas’ slit, the result is the slit being above the belt such that the slit terminates above the belt.
Christou-Kelly as modified by Thomas does not expressly disclose the distance between the collar and the position.
However, the claimed garment and the prior art garments are all intended for human wearers, and human wearers are in a limited range of sizes and therefore so are their garments. Based upon Thomas’ fig 1C, one of ordinary skill would expect the distance between the collar and position to be “around 10 cm,” and a distance “around 10 cm” would be a matter of obviousness.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a distance of “around 10 cm,” since discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a distance of “around 10 cm,” in order to provide a slit that opens at the intended portion of the wearer’s anatomy.
Eisenberg teaches a similar top part (“Clothes for persons requiring bodily device attachments,” title) including at least one slit comprises an underarm slit extending vertically under each of the sleeves (FIG 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the top part of Christou-Kelly with an underarm slit, in order to facilitate donning and doffing (Eisenberg abstract).
The claimed garment and the prior art garments are all intended for human wearers, and human wearers are in a limited range of sizes and therefore so are their garments. Based upon Eisenberg’s figures, one of ordinary skill would expect the underarm slit to have a length of at least 10cm.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the underarm slit to having a length of at least 10cm, for the purpose of providing an opening large enough to facilitate donning and doffing.
The claimed garment and the prior art garments are all intended for human wearers, and human wearers are in a limited range of sizes and therefore so are their garments. Based upon Christou-Kelly’s figures, one of ordinary skill would expect the sleeve opening to be at least 30 cm at an end of each of the sleeves.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a sleeve opening of at least 30 cm at an end of each of the sleeves, for the purpose of providing an opening large enough to allow a human arm to extend therethrough while not being so large as to expose the torso of the wearer or to impede movement.
Thomas teaches a hip examination slit extending for at least 15 cm down each leg of the trousers from a position near a waistband of trousers (fig 6A-6C, openings 2e and 2h; 15 cm is equivalent to 5.9 inches and Thomas para. 0117 teaches opening 2 can be “5 inches, 6 inches, …and the like, and any number in-between”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a hip examination slit such as Thomas 2e on each LEG, for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
Thomas teaches an inner thigh slit extending for 10 cm to 20 cm down an inner side of one leg of the trousers (figs 6A-6C, openings 2a and/ or 2b; 10-20 cm is equivalent to 3.9-7.87 inches and Thomas para. 0117 teaches opening 2 can be “3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 7 inches, 8 inches, …and the like, and any number in-between”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide an inner thigh slit, for the purpose of “facilitating accessibility to a PAS on the body of a subject” (Thomas para. 0115) and/ or “so that the particular area of skin of a subject can be accessed, for example, to access a PAS” (Thomas para. 0115).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christou-Kelly et al. (US 20100050315 A1) in view of Moore (US 20160128391 A1) and Eisenberg (US 20050262614 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Steverson (US 4718122 A).
As to claim 18, Christou-Kelly does not disclose the medical gown of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more lower slits extending upwards from a lower edge of the top part are positioned below the belt in the back to further facilitate lifting of individual parts of the lower portion of the top part to facilitate examination of the lower abdomen of the patient.
Steverson teaches a similar gown (“Convertible garment,” title; capable of being worn in a medical setting, capable of being worn by a patient) including wherein at least one of the one or more lower slits extending upwards from a lower edge of the top part are positioned below the belt in the back to further facilitate lifting of individual parts of the lower portion of the top part to facilitate examination of the lower abdomen of the patient (rear vent 70 in FIG 4 extends upward from a lower edge 12 and is positioned below the belt 48 and is capable of facilitating lifting individual parts of the lower portion such as one lateral side independently of the other lateral side).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the lower edge of the top part of Christou-Kelly with the slit taught by Steverson, for the purpose of ease of movement, to allow for selective ventilation and insulation, and to conceal the desired portions of the wearer’s body (Steverson col 4 line 64 – col 5 line 2).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the 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 SALLY HADEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6731. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clinton Ostrup can be reached at 571-272-5559. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
SALLY HADEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/SALLY HADEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732