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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/5/26 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9-24, 28-38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gaines et al, U.S. Patent No. 3,058,863 in view of Cooper, U.S. Patent No. 3,660,152 and Mason et al, U.S. Patent No. 5,024,897.
Gaines discloses a composite material comprising a polyethylene or polypropylene fabric ply such as a woven fabric having a polyolefin film on one or both sides. The film is applied extrusion. The film can have a thickness of 1-20 mils. See col 1, lines 58 – col. 2, line 40. The film can be formed by extruding, drawing, applying to the fabric layer and laminating with pressure. See col. 2, line 61 – col. 3, line 59. While Gaines teaches polyethylene and polypropylene it does not explicitly teach HDPE, however, since HDPE is a well-known type of polyethylene, it would have been obvious to have selected from among well-known and conventional types of polyethylene to form the structure of Gaines.
Gaines differs from the claimed invention because it does not teach that the fabric is woven from tapes.
However, Cooper teaches that forming impermeable fabrics comprising polyolefins from tapes produces particularly strong materials. See col. 1, lines 5-14.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have employed tapes to form the woven fabric of Gaines in order to provide an extremely strong structure as taught by Cooper.
Gaines differs from the claimed invention because it does not disclose that the polyolefin film includes an additive as claimed.
However, Mason discloses a composition comprising 50-99.4 percent by weight of polyolefin, 0.5-50 weight percent polyamide and 0.1-10 percent by weight of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer. See col. 1, lines 48-55. The polyolefins can be polyethylene or polypropylene. See col. 2, lines 59-64. The composition can be used to form films and laminates. See col. 5, lines 63-65. The films can be from 0.5-5 mils. See col. 6, lines 10-17. The films are especially useful in forming materials requiring excellent barrier resistance. See col. 6, lines 21-25.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have included EVOH and polyamide to the polyolefin of Gaines in order to provide an improved structure having excellent barrier resistance. Once the additive was present in the film of Gaines, it is reasonable to expect that the structure of Gaines would have the claimed barrier properties.
Claim(s) 6-8, 25-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gaines in view of Cooper and Mason as applied to claims above, and further in view of Baines, U.S. Patent No. 10,799,07.
Gaines in view of Cooper and Mason does not disclose providing a coating on one or both sides of the fabric layer.
However, Baines discloses coating a fabric layer with an antimicrobial coating before the fabric is bonded to an impermeable film such as a polyolefin film. See abstract and col. 1, lines 28-64; col. 3, lines 30-41.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have applied a coating on one or both sides of the fabric of Gaines in order to provide antimicrobial properties and to have coated the side of the fabric which was not going to be bonded so that the fabric face which was exposed would have the antimicrobial properties.
Applicant's arguments filed 5/5/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Mason does not teach the fabric is formed from tapes. This arguments is persuasive and a modified rejection is set forth above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH M IMANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Wednesday 7AM-7:30; Thursday 10AM -2 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marla McConnell can be reached at 571-270-7692. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELIZABETH M IMANI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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