DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 1-2, 5-13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Woodyard (US 6,035,440) in view of Arnold et al. (US 11,684,094). Woodyard discloses
a personal apparatus/garment wearable by an individual and configured for use in association with a fall prevention safety harness (10) including at least a shoulder strap portion (12, 14), a back strap portion (16), and a waist belt portion (11), col. 2, lines 59-67. Further, the personal apparatus/garment includes a chest portion and a back portion, wherein, each of the chest portion and the back portion include a strap receiving portion/pocket openings (22, 27, 33), col. 3, lines 1-35 as shown in figures 2-4. The strap receiving portion does not include a cooling medium therethrough as figures 1, 2 and 4. In addition, the strap receiving portion (22,27, 33) is fixedly secured to at least one of the shoulder strap portion (12, 14) and the back strap portion (16) as also shown in figure 1. In addition, the chest portion includes rightward and leftwards sides as shown in figures 2 and 3. However, Woodyard does not show each of the chest and back portions having a cooling portion.
Arnold et al. (hereinafter Arnold) discloses a cooling garment having chest and back portions with a cooling portion (308-1, 308-2, 500) attached through a strap receiving portion/aperture (310-1, 310-2), col. 7, lines 56-67 and as shown in figure 3. Further, the cooling portion includes an inner layer, an outer layer, and a cooling medium/ice pack disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer; wherein the strap receiving portion of the personal
apparatus is securable to at least one of the shoulder strap portion, col. 9, lines 8-46 and as shown in figures 3 and 6. Also, the garment includes each of the chest and back portions having pockets (206, 406-1, 406-3) formed on outer layer (206-3, 406-3) for receiving the cooling medium (408-1, 408-3), col. 6, lines 56-65 and col. 8, lines 27-32 as shown in figures 2 and 4.
Also, the garment defines the chest portion extending from a collar portion to a waist portion, the chest portion having rightward and leftward sides that are detachably securable to one another using one or more of a zipper/slider (112) , hook and loop, one or more snaps, or one or more buttons, col. 5, lines 9-26.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that each of the chest and back portions with harness of Woodyard can be provided with a cooling medium through pockets formed on the outer layer as taught by Arnold in order to keep the wearer of the garment comfortable by easily replacing the cooling medium as needed or depending on end use thereof.
With regard to claims 6 and 11-13, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that each of the chest and back portions with a cooling medium as taught by Woodyard inserted through pockets as taught by Arnold can be
provided but not limited to openable/closeable zipper, snaps. etc. in order to maintain the cooling medium properly positioned within the pockets when the garment is worn.
Further, with regard to claim 7, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the rightward and leftwards sides of the chest portions of Woodyard can be fastened by a zipper fastening rightward and leftward as taught by Arnold as known in garment making art.
Furthermore, with regard to claim 9, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the strap receiving portion of Woodyard when viewed with Arnold can be secured but not limited to one of the shoulder strap portion and the back strap portion by stitching, etc. in order to maintain alignment of the safety harness relative to the garment or depending on end use thereof.
With regard to claim 16, col. 13, lines 38-45 discloses the cooling medium being filled with water or another filler substance. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the cooling medium/ice pack of Woodyard when viewed with Arnold includes but not limited to a cooling liquid, etc. to keep the user comfortable as the cooling medium substantially conforms about the body.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 14-15 and 17-23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of
the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 3 with is respective dependents are allowable
because the prior art does not teach or suggest the recitation therein including a garment having
each of the chest and back panels having a strap receiving channel that is detachably secured to
at least one of a shoulder strap portion and a back strap portion. Further, claim 17 with respective
dependents are allowable because the prior art does not teach or suggest the recitation therein a
garment having each of the chest and back panels having a cooling portion with at least one
channel that is fluidly connected to a pump directing a cooling fluid within the at least one
channel.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Each of the prior art references cited on PTO-892 discloses a harness attached to a garment having and/or cooling medium.
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February 24, 2026 /TAJASH D PATEL/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3732