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 01/22/2026 has been entered. Claims 9-10 and 13-15 are currently pending in the application. Any rejection(s) and/or objection(s) made in the previous Office action and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant's amendments and/or arguments in the response filed on 01/22/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 15, " the double layer bag structural portion " appears to read "the do the double layer bag structure portion" for consistency and proper antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being which renders the claim indefinite. for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the first layer structure portion". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, the limitation has been construed to be the single layer structure portion.
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 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 9-10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fan (US 2017/0172227 A1) in view of Dealey (US 2020/0375316 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Fan discloses a knitted material (a warp-knitted fabric; paras. 0036-0037) comprising:
a hollow fiber (a microtube; para. 0036) having a tube wall with micropores (being porous; fig. 12; paras. 0036, 0042; claim 26);
a double layer bag structure portion (the hollow fiber is embedded as an inlay in the fabric; therefore, the knitted material must have a double layer bag structure portion for embedding the hollow fiber; para. 0036) formed of a first layer and a second layer that are separated and spaced apart from each other (two separated layers must exist at the location of embedding the hollow fiber),
wherein the hollow fiber is located as an insertion thread (as an inlay; paras. 0036-0037) in the double layer bag structure portion (as the hollow fiber is embedded in the knitted material; para. 0036) so that the knitted material is configured to allow water to flow through the hollow fiber and permeate from the micropores (a porous microtube being capable of allowing water to flow through the tube and permeate from the micropore).
Fan does not explicitly disclose wherein the knitted fabric comprising a single layer structure portion composed of the first layer and the second layer overlapped and jointed together. However, one of ordinary skill of the art would recognize that it has been a common practice to configure an inlaid element in a knitted material to wind through the knitted material back and forth between two knitted surfaces, thus forming a single layer in some areas and forming a double layer bag structure portion in other areas. Further, Dealey, in an analogous art, teaches a warp knitted material (warp knitted fabric 122; figs. 1-5; paras. 0014-0015, 0018; claim 19), the warp knitted material comprising: an inlaid thread (cable 126; figs. 1-5; para. 0018); a single layer structure portion (a portion when cable 126 being exposed to outside of the knitted material; figs. 1-5; paras. 0022, 0029-0030) composed of a first layer and a second layer overlapped and jointed together (first layer 146 and second layer 148; see fig. 4 and annotated fig. 5; paras. 0022, 0029-0030); and a double layer bag structure portion (figs. 4-5; paras. 0022, 0029-0030) formed of the first layer and the second layer that are separated and spaced apart from each other (forming channel 152; figs. 4-5; paras. 0022, 0029-0030), wherein the inlaid thread is located as an insertion thread in the double layer bag structure portion (cable 126 being embedded inside channel 152; figs. 4-5; para. 0032).
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Annotated Figs. 4-5 from US 2020/0375316 A1
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have configured the knitted material as disclosed by Fan, with wherein the knitted fabric comprising a single layer structure portion composed of the first layer and the second layer overlapped and jointed together as taught by Dealey, in order to use a common inlay configuration in knitting to wind the hollow fiber through two knitted layers thereby facilitating a cooling function. By this configuration, the knitted material would be configured to allow water to flow through the hollow fiber and permeate from the micropores.
Regarding claim 10, Fan and Dealey, in combination, disclose the knitted material according to claim 9. As discussed for claim 9, wherein each of the first layer and the second layer is warp-knitted.
Regarding claim 15, Fan and Dealey, in combination, disclose the knitted material according to claim 9. As discussed for claim 9, by combination of Fan and Dealey, the first layer and the second layer overlapped would be knitted together in the single layer structure portion, and the hollow fiber would be located in the double layer bag structural portion where the first layer and the second layer are not knitted.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fan (US 2017/0172227 A1) and Dealey (US 2020/0375316 A1) and further in view of Chen (US 2003/0068353 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Fan and Dealey, in combination, disclose the knitted material according to claim 9, except for a combination of the knitted material and a liquid, and the liquid permeated from pores of hollow fiber. However, Chen teaches, in an analogous art, a knitted material (para. 0026) comprising a hollow fiber (micro-porous hollow fiber; paras. 0008, 0021) having a tube wall with micropores (micro-pores; para. 0021) configured to allow water to permeate from the micropores (the micro-pores having a diameter of up to 5 micrometers, which allows water to permeate from the micropores; paras. 0020-0021); and Chen further teaches a combination of the knitted material and a liquid, and the liquid permeated from pores of hollow fiber (the form of the active agent is a liquid state; paras. 0023, 0026). Therefore, 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 substance enclosed in the hollow fiber as disclosed by Fan to be a liquid as taught by Chen, in order to provide a knitted fabric capable of carrying and releasing various active agents based on specific needs (Chen; para. 0022). By combination of Fan and Chen, a combination of the knitted material and a liquid would be obtained, and the liquid permeated from pores of hollow fiber. Such a modification is within the level of one of ordinary skill of the art.
Regarding claim 14, Fan, Dealey and Chen, in combination, disclose the combination according to claim 13. Fan does not disclose wherein the liquid contains perfume, or an insect-repellent odor. However, Chen teaches wherein the liquid contains perfume, or an insect-repellent odor (the active agent is perfume, mosquito repellent or fly repellent; para. 0022). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have varied the liquid carried in the hollow fiber, with wherein the liquid contains perfume, or an insect-repellent odor as taught by Chen, in order to provide a knitted fabric for releasing various active agents through the micro-pores based on specific needs (Chen; para. 0022).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the amended claims have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection as discussed supra.
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 AIYING ZHAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3326. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am - 4:30 pm EST.
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/AIYING ZHAO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732