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 .
Claims 1-14 are pending in the current application.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0066], line 5 of the specification recites “first edge 2123”. The examiner believes this should be “fifth edge 2123”.
Paragraph [0066] further recites “the fifth edge 2123 and sixth edge 2124 of second notch 212 of the support component 22 may be any of straight, curved, wavy, either along their length or only in the portions thereof away from the tips 223 of the second notch 212.” The examiner notes that the fifth edge 2123 and sixth edge 2124 are shown in Figure 2a to be on the connection sheet #21 and not on the support component #22.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 2-8, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 2 is not clear as the features specified in claim 2 refer to portions of the “bottom sheet” and the “connection sheet” before being assembled into the inflatable product of claim 1. The inflatable product of claim 1 does not have a first and second notch. In fact, in the inflatable product the edges need to be connected together in order to be inflatable. Claim 1 requires an “inflatable product already having the bottom sheet connected to the connection sheet to form a containing chamber and a support component disposed with the containing chamber to form the protrusion. In addition to claiming features no longer present in the final apparatus, claim 1 explicitly specifies the protrusion is formed by the support component being within the containing chamber. This conflicts with claim 2 which indicates the protrusion is formed by connecting the first edge to the second edge. Appropriate clarification is required to allow examination of the dependent claims indicated above.
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.
Claims 1 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR 2235038A1 (disclosed by applicant). FR 2235038 A1 discloses an inflatable product (see Fig. 1) comprising: an inflatable body (see Figs. 3-6) comprising a bottom sheet #3 extending in a longitudinal direction; a connection sheet #5 (see page 3 lines 11-13: “toile caoutchoule impermeable”) connected to the bottom sheet, such that a containing chamber is formed between the connection sheet and the bottom sheet (see Figs 4-6); and a support component #7 (keel) disposed within the containing chamber (see Figs. 4-6); wherein a protrusion protruding outwards at a bottom of the inflatable body is formed by the support component within the containing chamber (see Figs. 1 and 4-6).
Regarding claim 12: the examiner considers the protrusion to be shown extending in a middle position between the first end of the inflatable body and the second end of the inflatable body.
Regarding claim 13: Figures 2 and 3 show an inflatable boat further comprising a first inflatable tube and a second inflatable tube where the bottom sheet #3 is connected to the first and second inflatable tubes.
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.
Claims 9 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FR 2235038A1. FR 2235038A1 discloses the invention set forth above but does not explicitly disclose the support component is made of plastic, or where the inflatable body is an inflatable paddleboard. FR 2235038A1 discloses hull made of a sheet of rubberized fabric and further discloses various hull profiles can be obtained without departing from the scope of the present invention. The examiner considers using plastic for the support and changing the hull shape to an inflatable paddleboard to be common modification normally made by an artisan. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify FR 2235038A1 by choosing a plastic support component and by shaping the hull in the form of a stand-up paddleboard. Doing so uses known materials for inflatable boats and known hull forms of inflatable watercraft which provides flexibility in design and expanded product usage in various water activities.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 10500815 discloses an inflatable boat and paddleboard made from a bottom layer a connection sheet and a support component (See Figs 1, 2, 9 and 10) where the layers may be formed from materials of PVC, thermoplastic elastomer or thermoplastic polyurethanes. US 20150059635 discloses an inflatable watercraft comprised of a bottom layer and inflatable tubes. US 20230322337 discloses an inflatable watercraft comprised of layers, the layers having notches prior to assembly into a final product (See Figs. 11a, 11b).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY D WIEST whose telephone number is (571)270-5974. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:00 - 3:00.
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/ANTHONY D WIEST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615