DETAILED ACTION
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(s) 1, 4, 6-12, 14, 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Antunovic (US 9,386,863) in view of Gravett (US 2014/0013509).
Regarding claims 1, 4, and 6-12, 14, 16, 17, Antunovic discloses an infant carrier 200 (Figures 7-11) substantially as claimed, including: a back bag 210; a head-neck support 282/286 attached to an upper end of the back bag (Figures 7 and 8, col. 6 lines 39-55); a shoulder belt 205 connected to two opposite ends of the back bag along a longitudinal direction of the back bag; an awning 155 (col. 7 lines 27-36) connected to the back bag, wherein the awning comprises: a body portion 155; a connection portion (col. 7 lines 27-36) connected to an end of the body portion along a longitudinal direction of the body portion and connected to an upper end of the back bag (col. 7 lines 27-36); a hanging belt 165 connected to an end of the body portion and a wearing space being formed between the hanging belt and body portion, wherein the head-neck support 282/286 comprises a storage space 286, the awning 155 being storable in a storage space 286 (col. 7 lines 27-36), and the connection portion being detachably connected within the storage space 286 (col. 7 line 32-36), the storage space having a closable top opening (col. 6 lines 35-38) with a zipper; and wherein the hanging belt comprising two connection belts 165 being arranged at intervals along a transverse direction of the body portion, each of the two connection belts being provided with a connection member 170, and the connection member being any one of a fixing button and hole matched detachably, a drawstring, a buckle, and a Velcro, wherein a adjusting member 170 is provided on the two connection belts along the longitudinal direction of the body portion, the adjusting member has at least one adjusting section, so that the body portion has different use heights based on different connection positions of the two connection belts (col 4. Lines 55-60), and the adjusting member comprises a plurality of connection members 170 arranged at intervals along the longitudinal direction of the body portion.
Antunovic does not disclose the two connection belts 165 being detachably connected to each other. Antunovic also discloses awning member 155 being adaptable to usable as a nursing cover. Gravett teaches a related awning for nursing wherein the awning comprises a body portion 32 and an upper side having two connection belts 20 detachably connected to each other via connection members 56. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the connecting members 170 of Antunovic attachable to one another in order to create more space there under when using the awning as a nursing cover. Furthermore, connecting members 170 would form an adjusting member as claimed – see col. 4 lines 55-60.
Regarding claim 18, a width of the body portion 155 becomes wider in the claimed direction – see Figure 1.
Claim(s) 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Antunovic (US 9,386,863) in view of Gravett (US 2014/0013509), as applied to claim 1, and in further view of Moriguchi et al. (US 2007/0029356).
Modified Antunovic discloses the invention substantially as claimed, but does not disclose a fixing ring and a fixing buckle disposed between the storage space 286 and the connection portion of the awning 155 – (snaps are disclosed instead – col. 7 line 33). However, Moriguchi teaches that fixing rings and fixing buckles 25/52 are known connection means between two portions of a baby carrier. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to replace the snaps with fixing rings and buckles to substitute one known fastener with another well-known fastener that is used in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/18/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive as they do not apply to the rejection as now applied. More specifically, the rejection has been changed in view of the amended claims and now relies on a different embodiment disclosed by Antunovic (see embodiment II in Figures 7 and 8).
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COREY NELSON SKURDAL whose telephone number is (571)272-9588. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST.
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/COREY N SKURDAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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