DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The amendment and arguments filed on August 25, 2025 have been considered. In view of such the 112-2nd rejection has been withdrawn. However, the amendment has necessitated this office action to be made FINAL and the arguments are moot.
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.
Claim 1- 14 and 17- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Seunevel (US 3,602,917) in view of Han (US 5,794,266). Seunevel discloses a glove including a wrist region, a palm region extending outwardly from the wrist region, a plurality of digit regions extending outwardly from the palm region, at least one gripping zone provided on at least one of the palm region and the wrist region of the glove as shown in figures 1 and 5. Further, the at least one gripping zone includes one or more concave indentations formed in a material of the glove and projecting into an interior cavity of the glove with one or more convex projections (01-012) alternating with the one or more arcuate concave indentions and
extending outwardly from an exterior surface of the glove as shown in figures 1A, 6 and 9. Also, the at least one gripping zone is oriented orthogonally to an imaginary longitudinal axis of the glove, wherein the imaginary longitudinal axis extends from a tip of one of the plurality of digit regions to the palm region of the glove as shown in figures 5, 6 and 8.
Furthermore, the plurality of digit regions includes a thumb region and wherein the at
least one gripping zone is provided on the palm region between the thumb region and a bottom
end of the wrist region and formed partially in a front of the palm region, partially in a first side
of the palm region, and partially in a back of the palm region. as shown in figures 1-3. Also, the
at least one gripping zone is formed partially in a front of the palm region, partially in a second
side of the palm region, and partially in a back of the palm region as shown in figures 1-3, 1A,
and 5-8. The plurality of digit regions includes a little finger region and the at least one gripping
zone is provided on the palm region between the little finger region and a bottom end of the
wrist region as shown in figures 1 and 3. In addition, the at least one gripping zone is formed
partially in a front of the palm region, partially in a second side of the palm region, and partially
in a back of the palm region as also shown in figures 1-3, 1A and 6-9.
Additionally, the plurality of digit regions includes a thumb region and a little finger
region, wherein the at least one gripping zone defines a first gripping zone and a second
gripping zone wherein the first gripping zone is provided on the palm region between the
thumb region and a bottom end of the wrist region and wherein the second gripping zone is
provided on the palm region between the little finger region and the bottom end of the wrist
region as shown in figures 1 and 3. The at least one gripping zone (14) comprises one or more
gripping zones provided in the wrist region as shown in figures 1, 3 and 5, 6 and 8.
The at least one gripping zone further includes a gripping zone (11) provided in the palm
region longitudinally offset relative to the gripping zone and is laterally spaced
therefrom the gripping zone provided in each of a front and a back portions of the glove as
shown in figures 6- 9. However, Seunevel does not discloses a circumference of the glove passing through the at least one gripping zone is reduced relative to portions of the glove located longitudinally immediately adjacent the at least one gripping zone with a portion of the at least one gripping zone frictionally engaging the hand within an interior cavity.
Han discloses a glove having a portion of at least one gripping zone with frictional elements/projections (16) to frictional engage the hand within an interior cavity, col. 2, lines 51-56 and as shown in figures 2 and 4.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the
claimed invention that the glove of Seunevel substantially defines a circumference of the glove
passing through the at least one gripping zone is reduced/tapered relative to end portions of the
glove located longitudinally immediately adjacent the at least one gripping zone having a portion frictionally engaging the hand within an interior cavity as taught by Han in order to maintain the device fixed relative to the hand in order to prevents it from slipping/moving off or as known for particular application thereof.
With regard to claim 18, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the
effective date of the at least one gripping zone with one or more arcuate concave indention
which extends into the interior cavity made from a material of the glove of Seunevel in view of Han as shown in figure 1A can be defined but not limited to as one or more stays, etc. as known in the garment making art or as required for a particular application thereof.
With regard to claims 13-14 and 19-20 , it would have been obvious to one skilled in the
art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the glove of Seunevel when viewed with Han can include but not limited to a micro-etching texturing on an exterior surface, etc. for increased surface area for gripping as known in the glove making art or depending on end use thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would
be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base
claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure. The prior art reference cited on PTO-892 discloses a glove having gripping
zone with a gripping portion formed on an inner surface thereof.
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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December 7, 2025 /TAJASH D PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732