DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Boucke et al (US Publication 20200063443).
Boucke discloses a multi-purpose tile system for a floor tile (abs). The tile comprises a base layer 102 (substrate layer) provided with coupling parts 103 and 104 (paragraph 72). The first coupling part 103 reads on applicant’s connecting portion and the second coupling part 104 reads on applicant’s overlapping portion formed on the other side and corresponds to the shape of the connecting portion 103 (figure 1). The tile further comprises a substrate layer (surface layer) affixed directly or indirectly onto the base layer (paragraph 16).
As to claim 2, the substrate layer can comprise a ceramic bead coating (paragraph 17) or formed of ceramic fibers (paragraph 14) further the uppers surface is formed to look like a stone or fibrous design (paragraph 17).
As to claim 3, the base layer can be formed of polymers (plastic material) or alternative can be wood or stone powder (paragraphs 95).
As to claim 4, the substrate layer can be affixed to the substrate layer by an adhesive layer (paragraph 16).
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 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boucke et al (US Publication 20200063443) in view of Pacione (US Publication 20200340253).
As to claims 5-7, Boucke anticipates claim 1 for the reasons noted above, however is silent to the specifics of the overlapping portion and connecting portion.
Pacione discloses a tile system for covering a surface wherein the tile comprises a connector comprising a first and complementary second component (abs). As seen in the figures Pacione discloses multiple different embodiments for the first and second component wherein the first component can comprise a first portion as a tenon and the second portion as groove, wherein the lateral recess is formed in an inner side of the overlapping portion and the groove has first and second vertical recesses and protrusions.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Boucke and used the tongue and groove connections as suggested by Pacione as it would be a suitable alternative and provide good connection between the tiles. See MPEP 2144.06
As to claim 8, Boucke anticipates claim 1 for the reasons noted above, however is silent to a hard or soft foam layer on the bottom of the substrate layer. Boucke further discloses a backing material affixed to the bottom of the base layer that has sound-dampening properties (paragraphs 19 and 20).
Pacione discloses a backing material such as foam can be used when the tile is installed on the floor (paragraph 320).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Boucke and used a foam material as the backing layer of Boucke as suggested by Pacione as it would be a suitable alternative as the foam material is known to provide sound dampening properties. See MPEP 2144.06.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER M POLLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8am till 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 5712721291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER M POLLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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