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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-4 are pending, of which Claim 1 is amended. Claims 5-6 are canceled in the amendment filed on 10/2/2025. All claims are examined on the merits.
Examiner Comments
Upon an updated search, Examiner has discovered a new reference that anticipates the currently claimed invention. Thereby, a new grounds of rejection is presented below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2 & 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kajanthan et al. (US 2021/0030605).
Re Claim 1, Kajanthan discloses a durable absorbent pant (garment 400, Fig. 8A) comprising a front waist portion (see Fig. 8A), a rear waist portion (shown in Fig. 8B), a crotch portion ([0029]) bridging the front waist portion and the rear waist portion and comprising an outer body fabric (fabric body 200, [0029]), and left and right hip side portions joining the front waist portion to the rear waist portion to form a waist opening defined by front and rear waist opening edges and a pair of leg openings ([0063]) defined by leg opening edges ([0069] “For example, the garment 400 is a pair of underpants and the elastic bands 116 are arranged to surround the leg openings”);
an absorbent panel (absorbent pad 100) disposed at least in part in the crotch region and comprising:
a wearer-facing layer (wicking component, Fig. 10B) having a first perimeter edge proximate the leg opening (seen in Fig. 10B);
an absorbent layer (absorbent component 104); and
a barrier layer (barrier layer 106) having a second perimeter edge proximate the leg opening (Fig. 10B);
an upper tape material (top portion of first portion 112a of peripheral attaching element 112, Fig. 10B, [0078]) having an upper first portion affixed (via peripheral sealing element 110) to the wearer-facing layer along the first perimeter edge, and an upper second portion (upper half of second portion 112b of peripheral attaching element 112) extending laterally outwardly of the first perimeter edge (also clearly in shown in Fig. 10B); and
a lower tape material (lower portion of first portion 112a of peripheral attaching element 112, Fig. 10B, [0078]) having a lower first portion adhered (via peripheral sealing element 110) to the barrier layer along the second perimeter edge, and a lower second portion (lower half of second portion 112b of peripheral attaching element 112) extending laterally outwardly of the second perimeter edge;
the upper second portion and the lower second portions being joined together, and together joined, to the outer body fabric (by stitches 114, Fig. 10B),
wherein the wearer-facing layer and the barrier layer are held to each other and/or to the absorbent layer along perimeter edges thereof by a second stitching (stitches 115, Fig. 10B), and
wherein the second stitching is covered by one or both the upper tape material and lower tape material (clearly shown in Fig. 10B).
Re Claim 2, Kajanthan discloses claim 1 and further discloses wherein one or both of the upper and lower tape materials comprise an adhesive strip layer (peripheral sealing element 110, [0079]) and a fabric strip layer ([0080] “such as elastic fabric or textile material”).
Re Claim 4, Kajanthan discloses claim 1 and further discloses wherein the upper second portion and the lower second portions are joined to the outer body fabric via first stitching (stitches 114, see Fig. 10B).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kajanthan in view of Yip et al. (US 11,154,431).
Re Claim 3, Kajanthan discloses claim 1 but does not expressly disclose wherein the upper and lower tape materials are adhered together via an adhesive strip layer thereof. Yip discloses upper and lower tape materials (130, see Fig. 5) surrounding lateral edges of an absorbent panel (24 & 26), wherein the upper and lower tape materials extend beyond said lateral edges (laterally outer portion 38) and are adhered together (col. 6 lines 46-47). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to glean from Yip’s adhesively attached upper and lower tape materials to form a cuff that prevents side leakage of liquids.
Conclusion
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/SUSAN S SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3781 5 January 2026
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