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 without traverse of group I claims 1-4 in the reply filed on 06/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 5-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected groups II & III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/18/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wipo Patent Document WO2018150815 hereinafter referred to as Takaoka. Takaoka discloses
As per claim 1 a mattress 300 fig.12 comprising: a mattress cushion 320 fig.12 on which a plurality of persons is capable of laying in a left/right direction, wherein the mattress cushion includes a plurality of cushion members 321a-323a, 321b-323b fig.12 which is capable of being separated in the left/right direction, each of the cushion members is formed with a filament three-dimensional bonded member which includes a plurality of filaments (see abstract), and includes a contact surface which is in contact with an other cushion member adjacent to the cushion member (see fig.12), and ends of the filaments of the cushion member do not enter the other cushion member adjacent to the cushion member (This limitation is support by the fact the exterior of the cushion members are smooth.).
As per claim 2 wherein in the cushion member, the ends of the filaments do not protrude outward of the contact surface in all regions of the contact surface (This limitation is supported by the fact the exterior of the cushion member is smooth).
As per claim 4 wherein the cushion member includes a smooth surface layer in the contact surface (see abstract).
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takaoka. Takaoka discloses the claimed invention except for wherein a repulsive force of the cushion member is equal to or greater than 100 N and equal to or less than 200 N, and a contact friction force on the contact surface between the cushion members adjacent to each other is greater than 0 N and less than 50 N. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was files that a repulsive force of the cushion member would be equal to or greater than 100 N and equal to or less than 200 N, and a contact friction force on the contact surface between the cushion members adjacent to each other is greater than 0 N and less than 50 N, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. The cushion members of Takaoka is the same as applicant’s being a “three-dimensional filament bonded material has a thickness of 10-25 cm, a filament diameter of 0.5-2 mm, and a bulk density of 30-150 kg/cm3. The mattress cover has, on a circumferential surface portion, a stretch-preventing member for preventing the mattress cover from stretching in the length direction”. Additionally the arrangement is the same as applicant’s wherein the smooth surfaces of the contact surface reduces “a contact friction force generated by the entrance of ends of the filaments of one of the cushion members (cut ends of the filaments and projections of loops of the filaments) into the filaments of the other cushion member” as the result “it is possible to suppress the transmission of a vibration caused by the turning over of one of the users to the other user”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (see notice of references cited).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IFEOLU A ADEBOYEJO whose telephone number is (571)270-3072. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/IFEOLU A ADEBOYEJO/Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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