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 .
This is a second non-final Official action because dependent claim 8 rejected herein was not amended in a way that requires new rejection reasoning or new prior art.
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 7-8 and 11-15 - are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oliver (11,268,276) in view of Sonoda (5,357,724) and Totten (4,181,764).
Claim 7 - Oliver teaches a staircase comprising:
at least one stringer 274;
at least one stair tread (38) coupled with the at least one stringer, the at least one stair tread comprising a length of dimensional lumber (the treads are dimensional lumber because they are standard 5/4 wood decking planks, col. 13, lines 21-24, dimensional lumber being wood that has been cut and milled to specific, standardized sizes, making it suitable for immediate use in construction).
Oliver does not teach the tread comprises a substrate and a coating over at least a portion of the substrate, the coating comprising rubber and urethane and exhibiting a thickness of 0.375 inch. Sonoda teaches a tread comprising a substrate (“core”) and a coating (“synthetic rubber”) over at least a portion of the substrate, the coating comprising rubber and urethane (“polyurethane rubber”) and Totten teaches dimensional lumber comprising a substrate coating over at least a portion of the substrate, the coating exhibiting a thickness of 0.375 inch, col. 2, lines 65-66. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to coat the Oliver tread as taught by Sonoda and coat it to a thickness of 0.375 inch, as taught by Totten for “weather and abrasion resistance”, col. 1, lines 7-9.
8. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Oliver further teaching the at least one stair tread is coupled directly to the at least one stringer by way of a wood screw, col. 8, lines 21-25.
11. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Oliver further teaching the at least one stringer includes at least two stringers spaced apart from one another, fig. 11E.
12. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Sonoda further teaching the coating entirely envelopes the substrate (rubber encases core, abstract, also see figs. 2-4).
13. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Sonoda further teaching a pattern of raised features 8 is molded into a surface of the coating.
14. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Oliver further teaching the at least one stair tread is attached to the at least one stringer by way of a bracket 276.
15. Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten teaches the staircase of claim 7, Oliver further teaching the at least one stringer includes a plurality of stringers, fig. 11E, and wherein the at least one stair tread includes a plurality of stair treads, fig. 11A.
Claim 9 - is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten and in further view of Djerf (2011/0155820).
9. The Sonoda rubber does not comprise recycled rubber. Djerf teaches a coated substrate is recycled rubber, para. 12. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten rubber to be recycled for cost savings.
Claim 10 - is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten and in further view of Penney (9,907,993) and Davis (2017/0175349).
10. The Sonoda coating does not comprise water and a colorant. Penney teaches a rubber coating comprises water (“water-based polyurethane”, clam 8) and Davis teaches it is old in the art to add colorant to rubber, para. 66. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the Oliver in view of Sonoda and Totten tread coating to include colorant to allow the end-user to choose a color preference and to include water for easier processing a viscosity reduction.
Conclusion
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/DANIEL J KENNY/Examiner, Art Unit 3633
/BRIAN E GLESSNER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3633