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 .
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) 1-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quantrille et al, U.S. Patent No. 5,393,599 in view of Chen et al, U.S. Patent Application No. 7,390,760.
Quantrille discloses a composite elastic fabric. The composite fabric comprises two fibrous webs which are on either side of an elastomeric layer. The elastomeric layer can be a web, net or apertured film The layers can be combined by hydroentangling. See col. 3, lines 21-39. The fibrous layers can comprise two nonwoven layers which include some binder fibers. See col. 4, lines 34-53. The hydroentangling of the layers forces fibers through the elastomeric layer to form an entangled structure. See col. 6, lines 63 – col. 7, lines 15. Instead of hydroentangling, the layers can also be combined by needling. See col. 8, lines 25-40. A variety of nonwoven fabrics can be employed including carded web, air laid or wet laid structure, as well as spunbond and meltblown fabrics. See col. 8, lines 57-68. The nonwovens can include bicomponent and multi-component fibers. See col. 11, lines 20-34. The other fibers can include staple and/or natural fibers, including polyester, polyolefins, nylon, acrylic, modacrylic, rayon, cellulose acetate, biodegradable synthetics, aramid, fluorocarbons, polyphenylene sulfide fibers, as well as wool, cotton, wood pulp fibers and glass or carbon fibers. See col. 11, lines 35-45. The binder fibers are present in amounts of 5-50 wt%, noting that more binder fibers make the fabric stiffer or boardy feeling. See col. 11, lines 46-55. The first web of fibers can be the same or different compared to the second web of fibers. For example, the webs can vary as to how many binder fibers, how many other fibers, and the types of binder and other fibers which are used. See col. 6, lines 17-32.
Quantrille differs from the claimed invention because it does not clearly disclose the first nonwoven has a first average denier per square centimeter, a second nonwoven has a second average denier per square centimeter which is less than the first average denier per square centimeter, the particular claimed denier values, ratio of first to second deniers, or the third number of fibers per square centimeter having a third denier, or the fourth number of fibers per square centimeter having a fourth denier, or the ratio of third to fourth denier.
However, Chen discloses a nonwoven material which can have a gradient structure. See col. 1, lines 53- 65. The nonwoven can comprise a mixture of coarse and fine fibers. See col. 1, lines 40-42. The structure can be used to make a variety of items including garments. See col. 2, lines 52-67. The gradient can be discrete areas having measurable differences resulting from the presence of fibers having different average diameters or average diameter ranges and/or from the presence of fibers of different types. The gradient can be in the thickness or z direction. The gradient can produce differences in surface chemistry, wicking, contact angle, density, pore size, surface charge, zeta potential, fiber diameter, etc. See col. 9, lines 4-51. The gradient can also be in the x and/or y direction in addition to the z direction, and the gradients or zones can be hydrophobic, hydrophilic, elastomeric, non-elastomeric, highly porous, less porous, etc., based on the fibers present in each zone and further the basis weight and fiber diameter can also vary in different zones. See col. 12, lines 42-65. The asymmetric fabrics can be used to make garments which control moisture and move it away or towards a particular direction. See col. 21, lines 52-65. The fine fibers can have diameters of 0.5-100 microns while the coarse fibers can have diameters of 100-2000 microns. See col. 6, lines 50-67. These values would encompass the claimed deniers.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have employed layers having gradients as the nonwoven layers in Quantrille, and to have selected the various proportions of the coarse and fine fibers which produced a structure having the desired properties and to have selected the number of layers needed to provide a fabric having the desired properties. Since Chen teaches that the structure can be used to form garments which direct or wick moisture in a particular direction, it would have been obvious to have selected fiber deniers and types which produced the desired flow of moisture towards or away from an inner or outer face of the garment depending on how the garment was being used.
The terminal disclaimer filed on 7/8/26 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent No. 12,005,691 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Applicant's arguments filed 7/8/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that it would not have been obvious to have substituted the fibers already disclosed as being carded and thus aligned in Quantrille with electrospun fibers which are used in Chen. However, Chen is not limited to electrospun fibers but teaches the fibers can be any type of fiber. Additionally, to incorporate the teachings of Chen regarding forming gradients in nonwoven fabrics by employing different types of fibers and fibers having different diameters would not require using electrospun fibers. The teachings of Chen would be applicable to other types of fibers including those disclosed in Quantrille. Finally, Chen clearly teaches employing meltblown fibers, spun bonded fibers, paper making fibers, pulp fibers, fluff, cellulose fibers, nylon staple fibers and the like as the coarser fibers as well as the finer fibers. See col. 6, lines 50-67. Therefore, clearly Chen is not limited to electrospun fibers.
Applicant argues that Chen does not disclose the fibers are oriented in the machine direction. However, this feature is already taught in Quantrille.
Applicant argues that the fibers of Chen are not coarse and fine fibers but are all nanofibers. However, Chen teaches that the fine fibers can have diameters of 0.5-100 microns while the coarse fibers can have diameters of 100-2000 microns. See col. 6, lines 50-67. Whether a 2000 micron diameter fiber is considered a nanofiber or a microfiber depends on how that term is defined in a particular situation. There is no hard and fast definition or dividing line between nanofibers and microfibers.
Applicant argues that to combine Chen and Quantrille would render the prior art unsatisfactory or change its principle of operation, because Chen only teaches electrospun fibers. However, as set forth above, Chen is not limited to electrospun fibers. Further, it is not necessary for the entirety of the Chen structure to be bodily incorporated into the structure of Quantrille. Chen teaches forming gradients and zones as set forth above by, among other things, employing both fine and coarse fibers. This teaching is relevant to the structure of Quantrille because it would allow for the structure to have tailored properties by employing finer and coarser fibers together as taught by Chen, and would not require only employing electrospun fibers.
Similarly, while Applicant argues that electrospun fibers cannot be hydroentangled, Chen is not limited to electrospun fibers and it is not necessary that the exact fibers of Chen be used in the structure of Quantrille for the teaching of using different fibers to be incorporated into the structure of Quantrille.
Applicant argues that diameters of 0.5-100 microns and 100-200 microns would not necessarily encompass the deniers of 1.1-1.4 denier as claimed. However, for example, since the instant specification discloses PET as suitable fibers, (see paragraph 0075), a PET fiber having a denier of 1.1 has a diameter of approximately 10.6 microns. Note that the specification at paragraph 0075 also states that the diameter of a fiber has a direct correlation to the denier of the fiber. Since Chen teaches employing larger and smaller diameter fibers, it necessarily teaches employing larger and smaller denier fibers. Chen teaches a wide range of sizes of fiber diameters and one of ordinary skill would have been able to select different fiber diameters and thus deniers, which produced the desired properties in the final nonwoven product. Additionally, Chen teaches that the microfibers can include fibers having a denier of 0.5-1.5. See col. 7, lines 1-4.
With regard to the ratios of deniers, Chen is silent as to the ratios of deniers and discusses ratios of diameters which are not a one to one comparison and therefore, as set forth above, since Chen teaches selecting diameters which would appear to be within the claimed ranges, it would have been obvious to have selected the diameters or deniers of the coarser and finer fibers which would produce the desired properties in the final product, noting that a ratio of coarse denier to finer denier would necessarily be different than a ratio of coarse diameter to finer diameter.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/ELIZABETH M IMANI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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