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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/06/2026 has been entered.
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 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Manley,JR. (US 2014/0074006).
Regarding claim 1, Manley discloses a holder for a heating and cooling tool which is mounted on an upper arm (therapeutic bandages is configured to be mounted on upper arm), the holder comprising: a holding portion having a base portion and a pocket attached to a first surface of the base portion, wherein the pocket accommodates a heating tool or cooling [0013]; and a belt joined to the holding portion so that an insertion space into which the upper arm is inserted is formed between the belt [0017] and a back surface of the base portion opposite to the first surface (see annotated figure below), wherein the holding portion is made of a material that does not substantially stretch and contract [0017], wherein the belt is made of a material having stretchability to follow a change in a thickness of the upper arm accompanying bending and stretching of an elbow [0017], wherein a first end of the belt in a left-right direction is joined to a first end of the base portion in the left-right direction (the left-right direction maybe relative to any point of reference since the claim does not specify what that reference is, the direction is ambiguous), and a second end of the belt in the left- right direction (the left-right direction maybe relative to any point of reference since the claim does not specify what that reference is, the direction is ambiguous) is joined to a second end of the base portion in the left-right direction, and wherein the holder further comprises an adjustment portion (fig.3; fastener 20) that protrudes from the first end of the belt and from the first end of the base portion, and is joined to the belt to adjust a length of the belt ( fastener 20 protrudes from each first and second end of the belt).
Examiner note: While features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function, because apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does (Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990)). Thus, if a prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use as recited in the preamble, or elsewhere in a claim, then it meets the claim. In this case, the device of Manley is capable of being used on other body parts including upper arms.
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Regarding claim 3, Manley discloses the holder for a heating and cooling tool according to claim 1, wherein the belt includes one of a loop and a hook of a hook-and-loop fastener, and wherein the adjustment portion includes another of the loop and the hook of the hook- and-loop fastener (fig.3, see also [0012]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 3 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIGIST S DEMIE whose telephone number is (571)270-5345. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5Pm.
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/TIGIST S DEMIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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