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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-3 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 15 December 2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II, the garment of claims 4-16, in the reply filed on 15 December 2025 is acknowledged.
Applicant's election with traverse of Species 3 shown in FIGS 3 and 5-6 and corresponding to claims 4-10 in the reply filed on 15 December 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “Figures 1, 3 through 5, and 9 all show the same structure such that it is not understood how these could possibly represent distinct species.” This is not found persuasive because the figures do not have all of the same structure., as set forth on page 4 of the restriction requirement. At least FIG 9 is drawn to “an exemplary embodiment in which the elongate strips 52, the blocks 66, and the first mating members 40 are disposed within the garment material, such as in a pocket that is stitched shut or sealed by adhesive or otherwise embedded in the material,” which is not a feature of any other embodiment.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in FIG 7, one of the apparent blocks is given the reference number “26” which is the reference number for the neck opening. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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(s) 4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Delano (US 20160021936 A1).
As to claim 4, Delano discloses an infant swaddling garment assembly (“CLOTHING TO AID IN SWADDLING AN INFANT,” title) comprising: an infant garment comprising a torso section having a plurality of sleeves attached thereto and being configured to receive a torso and arms of an infant, respectively (10 in FIG 3),
the plurality of sleeves including a left arm sleeve and a right arm sleeve (22 in FIG 3), the torso section having an upper edge being open and defining a neck opening (FIGS 1-2); and
a connection assembly releasably attaching the left arm sleeve and the right arm sleeve at respective selectable positions on a front side of the torso section (combination of 12, 14, and 16; please note that element 12 has two portions that connect together, a portion along the sleeve and a portion along the torso),wherein the connection assembly is configured to selectively position the arms of the infant in a releasably secured condition against the torso of the infant (capable of selectively positioning, such as what is shown in FIGS 1-4), wherein the connection assembly comprises:
a pair of first mating members being attached singly to terminal ends of the left arm sleeve and the right arm sleeve (14 and the portion of 12 that extends along the sleeve); and
a plurality of second mating members each being formed as a block and being disposed at different locations at a right portion and a left portion of the front side of the torso section (16 and the portion of 12 that extends along the torso; the term “block” does not lend any particular structure to the mating member and both the zipper 12 and snap 16 have portions that could be considered “blocks,” such as each of the zipper teeth although zipper 12 could also be snaps as disclosed in para. 0013, and the snap 16 is disc shaped and Applicant discloses the blocks are disc shaped on page 6 of the Specification), each defining a connecting point for a corresponding one of the pair of first mating members (FIG 2 shows both elements 12 connecting at a “connecting point” and FIG 4 shows 14 and 16 connecting at a “connecting point”).
As to claim 10, Delano discloses the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sleeves comprises a pair of leg sleeves configured to receive legs of the infant (FIGS 1-4).
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.
Claim(s) 5 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Delano (US 20160021936 A1) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Yao (US 10537460 B2).
As to claim 5, Delano does not disclose the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 4, wherein the second mating members are magnetically attracted to the first mating members such that each first mating member is releasably attachable and movable from one of the second mating members to another to selectively change the connecting point of each of the first mating members.
Delano para. 0013 discloses mating members 12 may be zippers, hook and loop fasteners, lace, pins, snap components, or the like and para. 0014 discloses mating members 16 may be snaps or any alternative number and/or type of fasteners known in the field may be used instead. Therefore, magnetic mating members are within the scope of the Delano reference.
Yao teaches a garment having a torso section (108), a sleeve (102), and a fastener (FIGS 7-9) for attaching the sleeve to the torso section so that the wearer's arm is releasably positionable against the wearer's torso. Furthermore, Yao teaches the fastener is a magnetic connector and/ or a mechanical connector such as a snap (col 3 line 5-20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the second mating members are magnetically attracted to the first mating members such that each first mating member is releasably attachable and movable from one of the second mating members to another to selectively change the connecting point of each of the first mating members, for the purpose of facilitating the attachment by having the fasteners be magnetically attracted to the proper alignment for fastening via the mechanical fastener.
As to claim 8, Delano as modified by Yao discloses the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 5, wherein the first mating members and the second mating members are magnetic and the first mating members are pole matched to the second mating members (broadly, “pole matched” is interpreted as either having like poles, or opposite poles so that the fasteners can be matched together to fasten, and Delano as modified by Yao necessarily has “pole matched” magnets so that they can fasten as intended).
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Delano (US 20160021936 A1) in view of Yao (US 10537460 B2) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Srivastava (US 20170035129 A1).
As to claim 6, Delano as modified does not disclose the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 5, wherein the first mating members are magnetic and the second mating members are paramagnetic.
Srivastava teaches paramagnetic garment fasteners (at least paras. 0005, 0009, 0012).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the first mating members are magnetic and the second mating members are paramagnetic, for the purpose of providing a known garment fastening means.
As to claim 7, Delano as modified does not disclose the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 5, wherein the first mating members are paramagnetic and the second mating members are magnetic.
Srivastava teaches paramagnetic garment fasteners (at least paras. 0005, 0009, 0012).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the first mating members are paramagnetic and the second mating members are magnetic, for the purpose of providing a known garment fastening means.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Delano (US 20160021936 A1) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Soileau (US 20120125347 A1).
As to claim 9, Delano does not disclose the infant swaddling garment assembly of claim 4, further including: the torso section having a slit positioned therein and extending from the neck opening downwardly into the torso section; and a closure being attached to the torso section to releasably close the slit.
Soileau teaches a similar garment assembly (“Bodysuit type garment for selective swaddling of an infant,” title) including the torso section (11) having a slit positioned therein (14) and extending from the neck opening (12) downwardly into the torso section; and a closure being attached to the torso section to releasably close the slit (para. 0024 teaches “a fastener 15, preferably comprising a zipper 16”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the torso section of Delano with a slit and closure such as the one taught by Soileau, for the purpose of providing access to the wearer (Soileau para. 0023) for donning and doffing and for selective opening and closing of the torso section (Soileau para. 0024) for donning and doffing and/ or ventilation and insulation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SALLY HADEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6731. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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SALLY HADEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/SALLY HADEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732