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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/26/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Policicchio (USPN 10694915), Cameron (PGPub 20150266633) and Policicchio (PGPub 20140224698).
With regards to claim 19, Policicchio (‘915) teaches a product comprising a container (packaging, col. 14, lines 52-55) and a plurality of cleaning wipes (10) contained in said container, wherein said cleaning wipes have a longitudinal axis (LA) extending between opposing transverse edges that cross said longitudinal axis and longitudinal edges spaced apart from said longitudinal axis and extending between said transverse edges, wherein said cleaning wipes each comprise: a first nonwoven (fig. 2a, b, 3a, top set of 27; col. 4, lines 5-7) extending along said longitudinal axis and comprising a plurality of first nonwoven strips (17) extending from first nonwoven fixed ends, wherein said first nonwoven fixed ends are oriented towards said longitudinal axis; a second nonwoven (fig. 2a, b, 3a; middle set of 27, col. 4, lines 5-7) extending along said longitudinal axis, wherein said second nonwoven is joined to said first nonwoven along a central bonded portion (38) and comprises a plurality of second nonwoven strips (17) extending from second nonwoven fixed ends to second nonwoven free ends, wherein said second nonwoven fixed ends are oriented towards said longitudinal axis, wherein along said central bonded portion said second nonwoven is below said first nonwoven (figure 2a, b).
With regards to claim 20, the first nonwoven is gate folded (folds in figure 2a) and comprises a first nonwoven main portion (center of 27) that extends across said longitudinal axis, a pair of first nonwoven fold lines on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis, and a pair of first nonwoven gate portions each of which extend from one of said first nonwoven fold lines towards said central bonded portion and are bonded to said first nonwoven main portion (figure 2a).
With regards to claim 21, the first nonwoven comprises more than 40% by weight pulp (col. 8, lines 59-61).
Policicchio teaches all the essential elements of the claimed invention however fails to teach that the second nonwoven strips are interlaced with the first nonwoven strips within the container (claim 19).
Policicchio teaches that fluffing will occur after removed from the container. However, Policicchio (‘698) teaches a cleaning wipe with layers that is pre-fluffed prior to being placed in the container (paragraph 0011, 0028, 0047-0048). By pre-fluffing the nonwoven layers will deform out of the XY plane and become twisted, bent and interlaced. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Policicchio so that the wipes are pre-fluffed as taught by Policicchio (‘698) to provide ready-to-use performance without the need for a separate fluffing step (paragraph 0011).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6, 8-14, 17-18, 22-23 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 1 and 23 include the limitation that in the container, the wipe has more than 10% by number of by number of said second nonwoven strips are bent so that said second nonwoven free ends are out of plane relative to said second nonwoven fixed ends and are above portions of the first nonwoven strips.
In response, the closest prior art of Policicchio (‘915) in view of Policicchio (‘698) teaches cleaning wipe with several layers that is pre-fluffed prior to being placed in a container, however fails to teach that more than 10% of the second nonwoven strips are bend so that the free ends are out of plane relative to the second nonwoven fixed ends and above portions of the first nonwoven strips. After reviewing the applicant’s remarks, it is clear that after the pre-fluffing, there is linear compression that occurs. This linear compression will keep the free ends interlaced; however, the free ends will not be located out of plane or above each other since they are linearly compressed. Thus, the claims are free from the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 8/26/26, with respect to claim 1 has been fully considered and is persuasive. The rejection of claim 1 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, with respect to claim 19, filed 8/26/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that Policicchio (‘698) teaches pre-fluffing but also teaches linear compression so that the second nonwoven strips would not be interlaced with the first nonwoven strips. In response, once the cleaning wipe has been fluffed, interlacing would occur between the first and second nonwoven strips. By adding linear compression to the wipe, it would not separate the layers, but instead just flatten the layers as they are. Therefore, the interlacing would still be present between the first and second layers, they would just be flattened together.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAY LYNN KARLS whose telephone number is (571)272-1268. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th (6am-5pm).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Monica Carter can be reached at 571-272-4475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAY KARLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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