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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on November 23, 2025 has been entered. Claims 6-10 have been cancelled. As such, Claims 1-5 are currently pending in the application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, corresponding to Claims 1-5, in the reply filed on November 23, 2025 is acknowledged.
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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 112275045 to Zhu et al. (an English translation obtained from the PE2E database is referenced herein) (“Zhu”).
With regard to Claim 1, Zhu discloses a filter device formed from a cloth having more than two layers and comprising an electrospun film comprising electrospun fibers adjacent to a meltblown film comprising meltblown fibers. See, e.g., Abstract, entire document. Zhu shows that the cloth comprises an inner layer 12 (equated to the claimed base material) adjacent to a meltblown fabric layer 21 which is in turn adjacent to an electrospun fiber cloth layer 22. Figure 3 and page 7. Zhu discloses that the average fiber diameter of the meltblown fibers is 1 to 5 microns and the average fiber diameter of the electrospun nanofibers is 100 to 500 nm. Page 3.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0064928 to Bonneh (“Bonneh”).
With regard to Claim 1, Bonneh discloses a nonwoven material comprising a spunbond layer (equated to the claimed base material), a meltblown layer adjacent to the spunbond layer and including fibers having an average diameter between 2 and 5 microns, and an electrospun layer adjacent to the meltblown layer and including nanofibers having an average diameter between 100 and 400 nanometers. See, e.g., Abstract, entire document. Bonneh discloses that the layers are bonded to one another after being formed together. Paragraph [0059].
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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0324510 to Yung et al. (“Yung”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0040653 to Chin et al. (“Chin”).
With regard to Claim 1, Yung discloses a multilayer nonwoven structure having at least two nanofiber layers, such as a nanofiber layer produced by electrospinning and another nanofiber layer produced by meltblowing. See, e.g., Abstract, entire document. Yung discloses that the pore sizes of the nanofiber layers can be selected with varying valuations, paragraph [0007], such that the multilayer nonwoven structure can provide breathability and waterproofness. Paragraphs [0019], [0039], and [0083]. Yung discloses that the electrospun fiber layer is joined directly to the meltblown fiber layer, with the meltblown fiber layer acting as an adhesive web without the need for an additional adhesive layer. Figure 1 and paragraphs [0021] to [0022]. Yung discloses that the electrospun nanofiber layer has an average fiber diameter up to 300 nm, paragraph [0034], and the meltblown nanofiber has an average fiber diameter up to 1 micron. Paragraph [0035]. In the case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. M.P.E.P. 2144.05(I). Yung discloses that the multilayer nonwoven structure can be used in protective clothing and medical equipment. Paragraph [0083]. However, Yung does not disclose the presence of a base material. Chin is also related to multilayer nonwoven constructions comprising nanofibers for use as an ultra-light breathable protective garment. See, e.g., Abstract, entire document. Chin teaches that nanofibers can be provided with additional base layers of nonwoven fabric, such as a spunbond/meltblown/spunbond composite, to provide a base layer for the protective clothing or medical garments with splash protection. Paragraphs [0010] and [0052]. Chin also discloses that a waterproof and moisture permeable laminated fabric can be achieved by choosing the types of nonwoven layers and the pore size of the nanofiber layer. Paragraph [0086]. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to provide a base material to the multilayer nonwoven structure disclosed by Yung in order to provide the material with a suitable layered structure for protective clothing or medical garments having additional features, such as splash protection, as shown to be known in the art by Chin. With regard to Claim 2, Yung discloses that the nanofiber layers can be made from the same type of polymer, paragraph [0019], and the composite material has an air permeability greater than 0.7 cfm. Table 1 (Examples 1-4 show an air permeability of 113, 61, 44.5, and 21.2 l/m2/sec, which are converted to cfm by dividing by 5.08). Even though Yung, or the combination of Yung with Chin, does not disclose the properties of water pressure resistance larger than 6300 mmH2O and tensile strength larger than 50 kg-force, it is reasonable to presume that the claimed features are inherent to Yung, alone, or the combination of Yung with Chin. Support for the presumption is found because the prior art discloses using similar materials, i.e., a combination of an electrospun film having electrospun fibers with similar average diameter and a meltblown film having meltblown fibers with similar average diameter, made from similar processes, i.e. electrospinning and meltblowing, respectively, to form a similar end-use material, i.e. a cloth possessing both breathability and waterproofness. The burden is upon the Applicant to show otherwise. The Patent and Trademark Office can require applicants to prove that prior art products do not necessarily or inherently possess characteristics of claimed products where claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes; burden of proof is on applicants where rejection based on inherency under 35 U.S.C. § 102 or on prima facie obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103, jointly or alternatively, and Patent and Trademark Office’s inability to manufacture products or to obtain and compare prior art products evidences fairness of this rejection. In re Best, Bolton, and Shaw, 195 USPQ 431 (CCPA 1977). “[I]nherency may supply a missing claim limitation in an obviousness analysis where the limitation at issue is the natural result of the combination of prior art elements.” Persion Pharmaceuticals. V. Alvogen Malta Oper., 945 F.3d 1184, 1191 (Fed. Cir. 2019). A similar analysis applies to the softness value being less than 5 N/cm and the resistance to evaporative transfer being less 10 properties recited in Claim 5. With regard to Claim 3, Yung discloses that the meltblown fabric can be constructed using olefin-polymers, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, paragraph [0060], which possess melting points in the range of 80 to 150 degrees C. With regard to Claim 4, Yung discloses that the average pore size of the meltblown fiber layer can be greater than or equal to 1 micron. Paragraph [0049]. In the case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. M.P.E.P. 2144.05(I).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0023784 to Hassounah et al.; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0368654 to Higginson et al.; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0030855 to Anantharamaiah et al.; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0326658 to Singh et al.
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JEREMY R. PIERCE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1789
/JEREMY R PIERCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789