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 amendments to claims 1-2, 6-7, 11-15, 17-18 and the cancellation of claims 3, 9, 16, and 19-22 in the response filed on 10/02/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-2, 4-8, 10-15, and 17-18 are now pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see amendment, filed 10/02/2025, with respect to the rejections under 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections under 35 USC 112(b) have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because Applicant incorporated the limitations of previously pending claims 3 and 9 into independent claim 1, and since each of the previously pending claims 3 and claim 9 depended from claim 1, Applicant has changed the scope of the claim such that the Examiner has to interpret the claim in a new light. As such, newly identified prior art of Thomas is now used also as a new ground of rejection of at least independent claim 1. Also, rejections relying on a combination of Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek is also laid out below.
Applicant’s arguments, regarding the amendment to claim 12 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 12 and any claims depending therefrom have been withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation "or PCB" in line 14 of claim 1 and in line 4 of claim 12 should either be deleted or be written as –(PCB). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: "the temperature" in line 2 should be written as –the heating pad temperature—to be consistent with the limitation in line 7 of claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: the recitation “or GPS” in line 9 should either be deleted or rewritten as –(GPS). Appropriate correction is required.
rejected under 35 USC 112(d) by nature of dependency.
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.
Claims 1-2, 6, 8, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas US 2018/0193185.
Regarding claim 1, Thomas discloses A smart heating pad system 100,100-2 (figs. 1A-4, 11A-11F, [0130]), comprising: a heating pad 100,1110 [0020] having a plurality of heating elements 202-1-202-12 (having plurality of heating elements, [0021,0130,0133]) attached to a base (substrate 200, [0030-0037,0130]), and a printed circuit board (PCBs 300. 1112, 1114,1118,1120, [0134-0139], figs. 3A-3D) attached to one edge of the base (fig. 3A,11D, shows at least 300,1120 is attached to one edge of substrate/base of 202-8,202-12, also 1114 spans the width of 202-12 from one longitudinal edge to another longitudinal edge, fig. 11D), wherein the printed circuit board (PCBs 300,1112, 1114,1118,1120) includes an attached dedicated battery (302 on 300 [0023], battery on PCB 1112 that is on PCB 1114, fig. 11D, [0314] also [0070]), a thermal sensor 418 (PCB 1120 includes temperature sensing module 412 which includes sensors 418 [0023,0071]), a wireless transceiver ([0071] via 404), a microprocessor (processing module 402), a microcontroller (via 402 which includes a microcontroller [0070-0071]), a wireless communication technology (communication module 404 includes wireless communication [0075]), and a plurality of motion sensors ([0023], fig. 4, sensors may include, but are not limited to, a temperature sensor, a motion sensor, an orientation sensor, and a pressure/force sensor [0023, 0034,0036], the orientation/motion sensors may be included along with the device electronics 300 [0036]); wherein a heating pad temperature is monitored and adjusted via an external device 102 (fig. 4) receiving and sending wireless information via 404 (fig. 4)[0024-0029]; wherein the printed circuit board (300,PCBs 1112, 1114,1118,1120) includes a charging port (104, [0025]) for recharging the attached dedicated battery, wherein the external device 102 (figs. 9A-9K) displays a visual map of the heating pad [0067] as located in a garment (multiple zones [0017, 0121]), while monitoring and controlling temperatures of the heating pad (user can pause and thus control usage operation time, [00121-0122]); and wherein the printed circuit board (PCBs 1112, 1114,1118,1120) includes an attached dedicated battery disposed on the printed circuit board or PCB ((battery on PCB 1112 that is on PCB 1114, fig. 11D, [0314] also [0070]).
Although, Thomas discloses port 104 for charging/power [0025] since the battery is rechargable, Thomas does not explicitly disclose the printed circuit board includes a plurality of charging ports. It is noted that in the written specification and instant application Applicant did not place any criticality on the number of charging ports of the printed circuit board, and as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board of Thomas with a plurality of charging ports 104 for the advantage of having backup ports in the event one fails, or for the advantage of attaching several charging cables with different ends that are compatible with different power sources providing more flexibility requiring different attachments. Furthermore, it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960), MPEP 2144.4-VI-B.
Regarding claim 2, Thomas discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the external device 102 is a computing device such as a Smartphone, a smart watch, a tablet, or any other computing device capable of receiving and sending wireless information (user’s cell phone/smartphone, [0024], figs. 1C,4,8,9A-9K).
Regarding claim 6, Thomas discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the heating pad 100 is covered by a material selected from the group consisting of an insulating fabric, a thermal regulating fabric, Merino wool, or a graphene fabric (1006-1,1006-2 are made of fleece fabric which is an insulating material and encapsulates foam 1012, [0128,0129]).
Regarding claim 8, Thomas discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the printed circuit board is enclosed in a housing 1100 for protection [0130-0138] (figs. 11A-11F).
Regarding claim 10, Thomas discloses the invention as discussed above. Although, Thomas discloses the housing 100 includes an opening for the port 104 for charging/power the attached dedicated battery [0134], Thomas does not explicitly disclose the housing 1100 includes a plurality of charging ports. It is noted that in the written specification and instant application Applicant did not place any criticality on the number of charging ports of the printed circuit board, and as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the opening in the housing 1100 of Thomas with a plurality of charging ports 104 for the advantage of having backup ports in the event one fails, or for the advantage of attaching several charging cables with different ends that are compatible with different power sources providing more flexibility requiring different attachments. Furthermore, it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960), MPEP 2144.4-VI-B.
Regarding claim 11, Thomas discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the microprocessor 402 is programmed to control and maintain the temperature of the heating pad 100 according to a temperature set by the external device 102 [0029, 0032, 0033, 0039-0041, 0069-0083,0093, 0135,0138].
Claims 12-15 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas US 2018/0193185 in view of Swiatek US 2014/0353300.
Regarding claim 12, Thomas discloses a smart heating pad system 100,100-2 ([0019], heating device 100 may generally refer to any of the example heating devices), comprising: a heating pad 100,100-2 (figs. 1A-1C,11A-11F) having a plurality of heating elements 202-1,202-2 [0021] disposed on a top surface of the heating pad (on top of a substrate of heating pad); a plurality of connecting electrical contacts 1130 (electrical contacts, [0137]) connecting a printed circuit board or PCB 300,1118,1120 to the heating pad 100,100-2 (the electronics 300 as shown are circuitry which implicitly require a PCB as shown in figs. 3A-3D of Thomas and circuitry 300 is a representation of the PCBs in figs. 11A-11F as electronics 300 can be located in other parts of the device [0059-0069 and the connections would be represented by fig. 4 which are also included in figs. 11A-11D), and a smart battery (battery including battery housing 302,1100 [0138]) having a microcontroller 402, a wireless transceiver [0071], a cellular and/or satellite wireless gateway [0033] (fig. 8), a temperature sensor [0034], a rechargeable battery [0025], a 9-axis Inertial measurement unit with a gyroscope [0034], an accelerometer [0034], a magnetometer [0034], and a plurality of power and communication lines wherein the PCB includes an attached dedicated battery disposed on the PCB (see 302 in figs. 3A-3D, [0025]), wherein the PCB is a networked PCB (connected to network 804, fig. 8, [0067-0068]) that is in communication with a network 804 that includes Internet [0033, 0067] to operate the heating pad 100,100-2 in an Internet of Thins environment [0067], wherein the microprocessor is programmed to control and maintain a temperature of the heating pad 100,100-2 according to a temperature set forth by an external device 102 [0067] wherein the networked PCB includes the microcontroller and the wireless transceiver to enable operating the heating pad 100 (figs. 4, 8), wherein the microcontroller, the wireless transceiver, the cellular and/or satellite wireless gateway, the temperature sensor, the rechargeable battery, the 9-axis Inertial measurement unit, the gyroscope, the accelerometer, the magnetometer, are contained in a battery holder (battery housing 1100), and wherein the power and communication lines extend from the battery holder 1100 (via 104, [0130-0139]).
Although Thomas discloses plurality of electrical contacts 1130, Thomas does not explicitly disclose plurality of connecting pins connecting the printed circuit board or PCB to the heating pad. Thomas also does not explicitly disclose the smart battery having a global positioning system or GPS.
Swiatek teaches an analogous printed circuit board or PCB 50 that includes a plurality of connecting pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6 that are part of a wiring socket 56 that connects the PCB to an analogous heating pad (the heating pad being in a garment) [0043], the pins providing power inputs, outputs, grounds and power source grounds to provide power and charge to the PCB, the controllers, and the heating pad [0042]. Swiateck also teaches an analogous printed circuit board or PCB 92 having a smart battery thereon that in combination includes a GPS receiver to communication with the GPS receiver or accelerometers 112 built in a smartphone or tablet in order to allow motion sensing to determine velocity and/or location of a user in order to allow automatic adjustment of the heating/temperature of the heat pad or garment [0051].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board or PCB and the smart battery of Thomas with the plurality of connecting pins 1-6 and the global positioning system or GPS as taught by Swiatek in order to have provided an improved smart heating pad system that includes an improved printed circuit board that contains a smart battery that includes a plurality of connecting pins as means of relaying power input/output and grounding for efficient and secure connection while allowing motion sensing to determine velocity and/or location of a user in order to allow automatic adjustment of the heating/temperature of the heating pad using GPS (Swiatek [0042 et seq. 0051].
Regarding claim 13, Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the heating pad 202-9 includes a temperature sensor 310 disposed on a middle portion of the heating pad 202-9 (See fig. 3C, [0035,0064]).
Regarding claim 14, Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Although Thomas discloses the temperature sensor 310 can be located farther from the heating elements on the substrate [0034-0035, 0063-0065, 0092], Thomas in view of Swiatek does not explicitly disclose the heating pad includes the temperature sensor disposed on an edge of the heating pad.
However, it would have been obvious ton one of ordinary skill in the art to have disposed at least one temperature sensor 310 on an edge of the heating pad 202-9 in order for the temperature sensor 310 to have been further away from the heating elements in order to provide for more accurate temperature sensing at a location where heat is being delivered to the user via the heating pad [0035]. Moreover, Applicant is reminded that it has been held that shifting (rearrangement of) the position of the temperature sensor would not have modified the operation of the device In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). It has also been held that the particular placement of a temperature sensor on the heating pad would merely be an obvious matter of design choice In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975).
Regarding claim 15, Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above.
Thomas in view of Swiatek does not explicitly disclose wherein the connecting pins are disposed on an outer edge of the housing pad that connect the PCB to the heating pad.
However, Swiatek teaches the connecting pins (see annotations of figs. 1-3 of Swiatek below) are disposed on an outer edge of an analogous heating pad 22 that connect an analogous PCB 50 to the heating 22 via wiring (figs. 1-3, [0037-0048]], electrically connecting the heating pad to the various control, power, driver, and wiring features of the PCB such that the temperature of the heating pad is optimally controlled [0043-0044].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have disposed the outer edge of the heating pad of Thomas in view of Swiatek with the connecting pins that connect the PCB to the heating pad as further taught by Swiatek in order to have provided a smart heating pad system that has an improved heating pad that can electrically connect the heating pad to the various control, power, driver, and wiring features of any compatible PCB such that the temperature of the heating pad is optimally controlled in the event of the need to replace the PCB [0043-0044].
Regarding claim 17, Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the microprocessor 402 is programmed (process is implicitly programmed or is in contact with a memory that contains a program as part of its circuitry) to control and maintain a temperature of the heating pad 100-2 according to the temperature set forth by the external device 102 (402 and its circuitry is in communication with 102, [0020, 0024, 0027, 0032, 0039, 0040, 0041, 0057, 0066, 0067, 0068, 0075-0076, 0108, 0109].
Regarding claim 18, Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Thomas further discloses the PCB 300 is the networked PCB that is in communication with a network 804 that includes Internet [0033, 0067] to operate the heating pad 100-2 in a client server 802 environment (fig. 8).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas US 2018/0193185 in view of Swiatek US 2014/0353300 0353300 further in view of Larsen US 2014/0200637.
Thomas in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above.
Thomas in view of Swiatek is silent on the heating pad includes a temperature sensor disposed on a middle portion of the heating pad.
However, Larsen teaches an analogous heating pad 2 [0027-0029] includes a temperature sensor 12 disposed on a middle portion of the heating pad 2 (fig. 2B, [0030-0033] in order to detect, measure, and indicate a thermal condition of the heating element or a thermal condition of a surface proximate to and confronting the heating pad [0031].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the middle portion of the heating pad of Thomas in view of Swiatek with the temperature sensor disposed on a middle portion of the heating pad as taught by Larsen in order to have provided heating pad system that has an improved heating pad with temperature sensor positioned in the middle thereof such that the sensor could more efficiently detect, measure, and indicate a thermal condition of the heating element or a thermal condition of a surface proximate to and confronting the heating pad for more accurate temperature control (Larsen, [0031]).
Claims 1, 2, 4-5, 7-8, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vandenheste US 2020/0081462 in view of Chung US 2018/0352877 in view of Strecker US 10893576 further in view of Swiatek US 2014/0353300.
Regarding claim 1, Vendenheste discloses a smart heating system 300 (fig. 3, [0079-0080]), comprising a heating pad 305 attached to a base (a garment/jacket, [0080-0088]), a printed circuit board 303 attached to the base (smart garment includes the circuit 303 and so it is implicit that the circuit is attached to the garment/base, [0080]), wherein the printed circuit board 303 includes an attached dedicated battery [0007 and claim 1 of Vandenheste], a thermal sensor via 301, a wireless transceiver 306 (wif-fi/bluethooth, [0083], a microprocessor (computer processors, [0007,0083]), a microcontroller (IC and memory, [0007,0083]), a wireless communication technology (wi-fi, GPS), and a plurality of motion sensors (GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometer, [0087]), wherein the heating pad temperature is monitored (via sensors) and adjusted via an external device 320 receiving and sending
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wireless communication [0087-0091], and wherein the printed circuit board 303 includes a charging port for recharging the attached dedicated battery [0016].
Vandenheste does not disclose the heating pad having a plurality of heating elements attached to the base; the printed circuit board attached on edge of the base; and wherein the printed circuit board includes a plurality of ports. Vandenheste is also silent on the printed circuit board includes an attached dedicated battery disposed on the printed circuit board or PCB.
However, Chung teaches an analogous heating pad 2 having a plurality of heating elements 22 (each interpretation/undulation of 22 is considered a heating element thus having a plurality of heating elements laid out on the heating pad 2, see annotation of fig. 5 of Chung below,[0021]) attached to an analogous base 13,14,23 (23 is a base that is embedded in the garment 13,14), an analogous printed circuit board 3 attached on an edge of the base 23, wherein the analogous printed circuit board 3 includes an analogous attached dedicated battery 21 [0016-0032], wherein the printed circuit board 3 includes a charging port 4,51 for recharging the attached dedicated battery [figs. 5-6], providing a heating pad system that has a heating layer that is electrically connected to the battery via the printed circuit board to control the heating of the heating pad in a manner to save battery and energy [0025-0028] providing the advantages of a compact assembly space, reduced power consumption, and concentrated heat source [0005].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the heating pad 305 and to have modified the printed circuit board 303 of Vandenheste with the plurality of heating elements attached to the base and to have attached the printed circuit board to one edge of the base while providing the circuit board with charging port as taught by Chung in order to have provided a smart heating pad system that has an improved heating element that is electrically connected to the battery via the printed circuit board to control the heating of the heating pad in a manner to save battery and energy while providing the advantages of a compact assembly space, reduced power consumption, and concentrated heat source (Chung, [0005] et seq. [0025-0028]).
Vandenhest in view of Chung discloses the invention as discussed above. Although, Vandenheste in view of Chung disclose port 4,51 for charging as taught by Chung, Vandenhest in view of Chung do not explicitly disclose the printed circuit board includes a plurality of charging ports. It is noted that in the written specification and instant application Applicant did not place any criticality on the number of charging ports of the printed circuit board, and as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board of Vandenhest in view of Chung with a plurality of charging ports 4,51 for the advantage of having backup ports in the event one fails, or for the advantage of attaching several charging cables with different ends that are compatible with different power sources providing more flexibility requiring different attachments. Furthermore, it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960), MPEP 2144.4-VI-B.
Vandenhest in view of Chung discloses the invention as discussed above.
Although Vandenhest discloses the external device 320 displays sensor data near the pads regarding the temperature as they are located in a garment, while monitoring and controlling temperatures of each of the heating pad 305 [0008,0009,0076,0097], Vandenhest in view of Chung is silent on the external device displays a visual map of the heating pad as located in a garment, while monitoring and controlling temperatures of the heating pad, wherein the printed circuit board includes an attached dedicated battery disposed on the printed circuit board or PCB.
However, Strecker teaches an analogous external device 700 (Fig. 7) displays via 702 a visual map of analogous heating elements 500,502 (col. 8, lines 60-67, col. 9, lines 1-26), 57-57, col. 10, lines 1-12) via 716,718 (jacket/garment has zones, col. 4, lines 55-67, col. 7, lines 25-67, col. 8, lines 1-7) as located in a garment 100, while monitoring and controlling temperatures of the heating elements 500,502 via 808, providing an external device that displays the temperature readings as monitored in the garment for the various zones and visually displaying the heat settings permitting a finder granularity of heating setting controls by a user (col. 7, lines 25-67).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified the external device of Vandenhest in view of Chung with the external device displays a visual map of the heating pad as located in a garment, while monitoring and controlling temperatures of the heating as taught by Strecker in order to have provided a smart heating pad system that has an improved external device that that visually displays the temperature readings as monitored in the garment for the various zones and visually displaying the heat settings permitting a finder granularity of heating setting controls by a user (Strecker, col. 7, lines 25-67).
Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strcker discloses the invention as discussed above.
Vandenhest in view of Chungin view of Strecker is silent on the printed circuit board includes an attached dedicated battery disposed on the printed circuit board or PCB.
However, Swiatek teaches an analogous printed circuit board 92 that includes an attached dedicated battery 100 disposed on the printed circuit board or PCB 92 (figs. 4-6, [0048-0050], providing a mobile battery that can be recharged by an external power supply through ports.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board of Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker with the attached dedicated battery disposed on the PCB as taught by Swiatek in order to have provided the smart heating pad system with an improved printed circuit board that has a dedicated rechargeable battery attached thereon such that the printed circuit board is mobile such that it can be recharged from an external power supply as needed (Swiatek, [0049]).
Regarding claim 2, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Vandenhest further discloses wherein the external device 320 is a computing device such as a Smartphone, a smart watch, a tablet, or any other computing device capable of receiving and sending wireless information [0087].
Regarding claim 4, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Vandenhest further discloses a garment is a jacket [0080].
Regarding claim 5 Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Vandenhest further discloses a garment is a shoe (footwear, [0071]. Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek further discloses a garment is a scarf (as taught by Chung, fig. 7) or a diving vest (vest as taught by Chung in fig. 4 [0071] which one skilled in the art would recognize a diver could wear during diving).
Regarding claim 7 Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above. Vandenhest in view of Chung further discloses wherein the charging ports 4,51 are USB ports 4 [0023-0025,0033] as taught by Chung.
Although, Vandenheste in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiateck disclose port 4,51 for charging as taught by Chung, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek do not explicitly disclose the printed circuit board includes a plurality of charging ports that are USB ports. It is noted that in the written specification and instant application Applicant did not place any criticality on the number of USB charging ports of the printed circuit board, and as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board of Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek with a plurality of USB charging ports 4,51 for the advantage of having backup USB ports in the event one fails, or for the advantage of attaching several charging cables with different ends that are compatible with different power sources providing more flexibility requiring different attachments. Furthermore, it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960), MPEP 2144.4-VI-B.
Regarding claim 8, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above.
Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek do not explicitly disclose the printed circuit board is enclosed in a housing for protection.
Chung further teaches the analogous printed circuit board 3 is enclosed in a housing 5 for protection [0033], for the advantage of protecting the circuit board and the port 4.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have provided the printed circuit board of Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek with the housing 5 as further taught by Chung in order to have provided an improved printed circuit board that has a housing for protecting the circuit and the port from damage and interferences while making it easy for CE marking and sale outside of the United States (Chung, [0033]).
Regarding claim 10, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek discloses the invention as discussed above.
Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek further discloses the housing 5 includes an opening 51 for the port 4,51 for recharging the attached dedicated battery 21 as taught by Chung [0033]. With regards to the recitation “opening for the ports”, it is noted that in the written specification and instant application Applicant did not place any criticality on the number of openings and ports on the housing, and as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the opening 51 in the housing 5 of Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker in view of Swiatek to include a plurality of ports 4 for the advantage of having backup ports in the event one fails, or for the advantage of attaching several charging cables with different ends that are compatible with different power sources providing more flexibility requiring different attachments. Furthermore, it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960), MPEP 2144.4-VI-B.
Regarding claim 11, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker discloses the invention as discussed above. Vandenhest further discloses the microprocessor is programmed to control and maintain the temperature of the heating pad 305 according to a temperature set by the external device 320 [0083,0087-0093, 0103].
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vandenheste US 2020/0081462 in view of Chung US 2018/0352877 in view of Strecker US 10893576 in view of Swiatek US 2014/0353300 further in view of Zhu CN 202843017 U (see machine translation).
Regarding claim 6, Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker discloses the invention as discussed above.
Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker is silent on the heating pad is covered by a material selected from the group consisting of an insulating fabric, a thermal regulating fabric, Merino wool, or graphene fabric.
However, Zhu teaches an analogous heating pad [0022], wherein the heating pad is covered by a material 2 (insulating layer 2 and/or 3) which is an insulating fabric (cotton layer, artificial cotton, [0022-0023]), for ensuring heat cannot be dissipated through the insulation layer allowing for the user to feel warm (Abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided/covered the heating pad 305 Vandenhest in view of Chung in view of Strecker with the insulating fabric 2 or 3 as taught by Zhu in order to have provided an improved heating pad that has an optimized insulation layer that ensures heat cannot be dissipated through the insulation layer allowing for the user to feel warm (Zhu, Abstract).
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.
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/ALIREZA NIA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3786