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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions II and III. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 30 December 2025.
Applicant’s election with traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 30 December 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-4 are encompassed by elected Species I as represented by Figs. 3-3”. Applicant’s reasons for traverse for Species II, III, and IV in the reply filed on 30 December 2025 are persuasive. Species II is represented by Figs. 3A-1 - 3A-2 (but not related to Fig. 3A), Species III is represented by Figs. 3B-1 - 3B-2 (but not related to Fig. 3B), and Species IV is represented by Figs. 3A-D (instead of only Figs. 3C-D).
Examination of elected Claims 1-4 proceeds below.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 4 is being interpreted under 35 USC 112(f) because of the limitations “means for obtaining, at a time t1, a baseline pressure” and “means for adjusting, at a later time t2, the firmness”. However, it is not rejected under 35 USC 112 because Specification [0041-42] clarifies that the means for obtaining is a computer connected to sensors and Specification [0055-58] clarify that the means for adjusting are leaves.
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(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20230000261 A1 to Webster.
Re Claim 1, Webster teaches:
A method for adjusting the firmness or height or sag of a body support device (at least [Abstract] “a plurality of collapsible airtight vertical cylindrical chambers displaced across the first section and which defines a top surface and each vertical chamber includes valves, controlled by a central controller that is programmable and controls the flow of air in and out of each chamber, thereby providing a method to alter the vertical dimension of each chamber and affect movement to a person on the top surface mattress”), comprising:
obtaining, at a time t1, a baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile of the body support device when a body is being supported by the body support device (at least [0063] “While in the baseline rest or a stabilizing state, the pressure in the middle and lower pressurized compartments also provide the necessary support for occupant during feeding, bathing, toileting, exiting the mattress and other daily activities. It is in this baseline state that a user may be placed or transferred on or off the mattress structure. For conventional programming, the air pressure at the baseline rest or stabilizing state will not change for that occupant”);
and adjusting, at a later time t2, the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support device based on the baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile obtained at the time t1 (at least [0093] “Once the programming is complete, the user activates the ‘inflate’ switch. The control center then causes the air compressor pump to force sufficient air into the lower pressurized compartment 110 to properly support all functions of the mattress structure, given the weight, age, and height of the occupant. After the lower pressurized compartment is adequately inflated, the middle-pressurized compartment 111 inflates and maintains the required pressure for the mattress structure to enter a ‘baseline’ rest position, given the occupant's weight, age, and height” and [0102] “ just after the mattress structure enters or returns to the baseline rest position for that occupant and while the occupant is on the mattress structure, the upper pressurized compartment consisting of the vertical air chambers may be pressurized slightly to provide a slight elevation off the mattress structure and to correspond to the occupant's weight distribution across the vertical air chambers, providing a zero gravity experience or the ‘equilibrium’ position while lying on the mattress structure. For the water motion or wave experience, while in a ‘equilibrium’ position, the pressure in the slightly pressurized vertical air chambers then can be randomly increased or decreased in small degrees, which will provide the sensation of floating”).
Re Claim 2, Webster teaches:
The method according to claim 1, the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support is adjusted (at least [0093] “Once the programming is complete, the user activates the ‘inflate’ switch. The control center then causes the air compressor pump to force sufficient air into the lower pressurized compartment 110 to properly support all functions of the mattress structure, given the weight, age, and height of the occupant. After the lower pressurized compartment is adequately inflated, the middle-pressurized compartment 111 inflates and maintains the required pressure for the mattress structure to enter a ‘baseline’ rest position, given the occupant's weight, age, and height”) to increase comfort (at least [0115] “provides physical comfort, (9) can assist with natural spine alignment, (10) can assist with low and gradual motion transfer and (1) promotion of emotional comfort and stability.”).
Re Claim 3, Webster teaches:
The method according to claim 1, the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support is adjusted (at least [0093] “Once the programming is complete, the user activates the ‘inflate’ switch. The control center then causes the air compressor pump to force sufficient air into the lower pressurized compartment 110 to properly support all functions of the mattress structure, given the weight, age, and height of the occupant. After the lower pressurized compartment is adequately inflated, the middle-pressurized compartment 111 inflates and maintains the required pressure for the mattress structure to enter a ‘baseline’ rest position, given the occupant's weight, age, and height”) to make sure the body's backbone is straight (at least [0115] “can assist with natural spine alignment”.).
Re Claim 4, Webster teaches:
A body support device with adjustable firmness or height or sag (at least [Abstract] “a plurality of collapsible airtight vertical cylindrical chambers displaced across the first section and which defines a top surface and each vertical chamber includes valves, controlled by a central controller that is programmable and controls the flow of air in and out of each chamber, thereby providing a method to alter the vertical dimension of each chamber and affect movement to a person on the top surface mattress”), comprising:
means for obtaining, at a time t1, a baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile of the body support device when a body is being supported by the body support device (at least [0063] “While in the baseline rest or a stabilizing state, the pressure in the middle and lower pressurized compartments also provide the necessary support for occupant during feeding, bathing, toileting, exiting the mattress and other daily activities. It is in this baseline state that a user may be placed or transferred on or off the mattress structure. For conventional programming, the air pressure at the baseline rest or stabilizing state will not change for that occupant”);
and means for adjusting, at a later time t2, the firmness or height or sag of at least a portion of the body support device based on the baseline pressure or compression/decompression or sag profile obtained at the time t1 (at least [0093] “Once the programming is complete, the user activates the ‘inflate’ switch. The control center then causes the air compressor pump to force sufficient air into the lower pressurized compartment 110 to properly support all functions of the mattress structure, given the weight, age, and height of the occupant. After the lower pressurized compartment is adequately inflated, the middle-pressurized compartment 111 inflates and maintains the required pressure for the mattress structure to enter a ‘baseline’ rest position, given the occupant's weight, age, and height” and [0102] “ just after the mattress structure enters or returns to the baseline rest position for that occupant and while the occupant is on the mattress structure, the upper pressurized compartment consisting of the vertical air chambers may be pressurized slightly to provide a slight elevation off the mattress structure and to correspond to the occupant's weight distribution across the vertical air chambers, providing a zero gravity experience or the ‘equilibrium’ position while lying on the mattress structure. For the water motion or wave experience, while in a ‘equilibrium’ position, the pressure in the slightly pressurized vertical air chambers then can be randomly increased or decreased in small degrees, which will provide the sensation of floating”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE SUN whose telephone number is (571)270-7221. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00am-4:00pm.
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/GEORGE SUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673