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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment submitted on July 15, 2026, has been entered. No claims have been cancelled. Claims 1, 46, 12 – 14 and 17 - 19 have been amended and claim 20 has been added. Therefore, the pending claims are 1 – 20.
The amendment to the claims is sufficient to overcome the 35 USC 112 rejection to the claims set forth in the previous Office Action.
The 35 USC 102 and 35 USC 103 rejections over DE 202014009963 and RU 2263581 are withdrawn due to the amendment to claim 1 reciting that fabric is knitted directly in a three-dimensional shape as a unitary piece without stitching, since the prior art does not teach knit fabrics made without stitching.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. The claimed three-dimensional knit fabric is claimed as being made without stitching. In paragraph 16 of the application, the disclosure teaches producing a knitted structure as “a 3D structure in one piece without stitching, knitting may be done if appropriate from a single spool of yarn for the stitch yarn, while fabrics still require several distinct spools”. Hence, the disclosure suggests that the knit fabric is made from a stitch yarn. Further, as taught by Humpries (p 119),
Knitting is formed by a series of loops, intermeshing in rows, each hanging from the last. Each loop is called a stitch; a vertical row of stitches is a whale and a horizontal row of stitches is a course.
Thus, the disclosure suggests that yarns used to make the fabric are stitch yarns and the art teaches that knit fabrics are made from intermeshing loops which are called stitches. Therefore, stitches are the basic building block of a knit fabric.
Additionally, while the disclosure suggests materials and yarn structure in the knitted fabric the disclosure fails to provide any specific patterns, drawings, or fabric construction details to show how the fabric is made without stitching. Nor does the disclosure explain how a knit fabric is made without stitching and still be a knit fabric. While other types of fabrics such as woven or nonwoven fabrics are known in the art to be made without stitching, these structures are considered to be distinct from knit fabrics and not types of knit fabrics. If the knit fabric is made with stitch yarns as suggested by the applicant and knit fabrics require stitches as the basic structural unit of the fabric, it is unknown how the claimed knit fabric is produced without stitching. Thus, the claimed three-dimensional mat without stitching is not enabled by the disclosure. Claims 1 – 20 are rejected.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The phrase “a single electroconductive knitted fabric knitted directly in a three-dimensional shape as a unitary piece without stitching” in claim 1 is indefinite. It is unclear what is being excluded by the phrase “without stitching”. As taught by Humpries, knit fabrics are made from interconnected loops called stitches (page 119). Stitches are a basic building block of knit fabrics. Is the applicant excluding certain type of stitches or all stitches? Is the fabric intended to be limited to certain shapes or constructions? How can a knit fabric be made without stitches. Is the mat actually a woven or non-woven fabric instead of a knit fabric? Claims 2 – 20 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 1.
Conclusion
Due to the indefiniteness of the claim, as set forth above, no prior art can be applied at this time. References which include knit fabrics would inherently include stitching, and references which do not include stitching would be woven or non-woven fabrics and not knit fabrics.
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 Jenna Johnson whose telephone number is (571)272-1472. The examiner can normally be reached Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10am - 4pm.
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jlj
September 28, 2026
/JENNA L JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
