DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-14 are pending. Claim 1 is amended.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 February 17, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on February 17, 2026. As directed by the amendment: claim 1 has been amended. Thus, claims 1-14 are presently pending in this application with claims 3-6 being withdrawn from consideration.
Applicant’s amendment to the specification has overcome the specification objection.
Applicant’s amendment to the claims has overcome the 35 USC §112(b) rejections.
Applicant’s amendment to the claims has overcome the 35 USC §103 rejections, however all claims remain rejected under §103.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims 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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, each of the ECU and battery being received in a respective recess must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 § 112
Claims 1, 2, and 7-14 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 written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 recites that “each of the inflator, the ECU, and the battery is received in a respective recess”. The Examiner finds no support for a respective recess for the ECU and the battery. At best the Examiner finds support for the combination of ECU and battery being in a recess that is separate from the recess accommodating an inflator. p. 7, the final two lines says ECU, inflators, and battery may be received in one or more recesses, but does not state respective recesses.
p. 2, l. 26 says the inflator is received in a recess which provides support that the inflator could be in its own recess.
p. 2, l. 29 says “The ECU and battery may be received in a recess” and “if the ECU and battery are received in the recess”, ll.30-31 which provides support that the ECU and battery are collectively received in a single recess.
p. 7, final two lines says ECU, inflators, and battery may be received in one or more recesses, but does not state respective recesses.
In Fig. 2, ECU 13 and battery 14 are depicted as pointing to the same black rectangle, which similarly also in the same black rectangle to which 15, which relates to one or more recesses, points. Thus, there is no support that the ECU and battery are each received in a respective recess.
The dependent claims inherit(s) the deficiency by nature of dependency.
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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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 7-10, and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukaya et al. (JP 2003265638) in view of De Roaldes et al. (WO 2010037931).
Regarding claim 1, Fukaya describes a wearable safety system (wearable body 1, bag 2, inflation device 3, sensors 4 and 5), comprising:
a harness (1) comprising a back protection panel (back portion 1b), two shoulder straps (strap like portions 1d) and a hip belt (belt 1e, 1f), with the two shoulder straps comprising a buckle arrangement (see annotated Fig. 1 below, the straps have adjustment components that provide a junction between the strap components and thus are considered a “buckle arrangement” inasmuch as claimed),
said harness being configured to be worn on the torso of a wearer (configured to be worn on a torso of a wearer);
and
an airbag (airbag 2),
wherein the wearable safety system is configured to generate an activation signal upon detection of an accident (detection of a fall, activates, para. 0037),
said ECU (control unit 6) being arranged in communication with the at least one inflator (inflation device 3, para. 0018);
and
wherein the airbag is configured to be inflated upon the generation of the activation signal and to be deployed to form at least one inflated body having an extension across at least one of the head and shoulders of the wearer, the thorax area of the wearer and the hips of the wearer (bag 2 inflated when switches are activated, para. 0039).
Fukaya does not explicitly describe wherein, the back protection panel is formed by a rigid material and has an extension along the longitudinal extension of a back wall of the harness;
the back protection panel supports an inflator, an ECU and a battery, said ECU being arranged in communication with the inflator;
wherein one or more recesses or through openings are formed in the back protection panel, and each of the inflator, the ECU, and the battery is received in a respective recess, or in a through-going opening such that the received inflator, ECU, and battery are positioned below or in level with at least one of the two opposing major surfaces of the back protection panel.
In related art, De Roaldes describes wherein, the back protection panel (backplate 52) is formed by a rigid material (expanded polypropylene, para. 0094) and has an extension along the longitudinal extension of a back wall of the harness (see annotated Fig. 8a);
the back protection panel supports an inflator, an ECU and a battery (gas generator, control unit, para. 0063, batteries, para. 0159, 0169) said ECU being arranged in communication with the inflator (control unit activating gas generator, para. 0053);
wherein one or more recesses or through openings are formed in the back protection panel (control unit and gas generators in recesses, para. 0063), and each of the inflator, the ECU, and the battery is received in a respective recess (recess 52a for inflator, recess 52b for control unit, para. 0162), or in a through-going opening such that the received inflator, ECU, and battery are positioned below or in level with at least one of the two opposing major surfaces of the back protection panel (see annotated Figs. 8b and 8c).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of filing the instant application to modify the harness of Fukaya to include the back protection panel as described in De Roaldes in order to provide the components to be locked into position (para. 0169) to provide protection to provide protection to the back of the user (standard functions of a backplate, para. 0063) as well as to protect the components from damage (para. 0063).
Fukaya as modified does not explicitly describe that the battery is located in a respective recess.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of filing the instant application to modify the plate to include a recess for the battery depending on the connection mechanism to the control unit. That is, if the battery were connected by wires to the control unit then a separate recess for the battery would logically follow to lock the battery in position (para. 0169) and protect the components from damage (para. 0063). Various connection mechanisms between batteries and control modules are well known and thus this arrangement is within the abilities of one of ordinary skill in the art.
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Regarding claim 2, Fukaya as modified describes wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein the airbag (2) is configured to be inflated and deployed to form an inflated body having an extension across the head and shoulders of the wearer, the thorax area of the wearer and the hips of the wearer (includes portions 2a, 2s, 2c which extend across head, shoulders, thorax, and hips, see Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 7, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein the inflator (inflation device 3) is configured to inflate one or more airbags.
Regarding claim 8, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one movement sensor from a group consisting of a gyroscopic sensor and an accelerometer (acceleration sensor 5), and wherein the ECU (control unit 6) is configured to determine, based on an input signal from the at least one movement sensor, existence of an accident and to generate the activation signal (operates inflation device based on sensor 5, para. 0018).
Regarding claim 9, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein the hip belt also includes a buckle arrangement (connecting member 1g), the buckle arrangement of the shoulder straps and/or the hip belt comprises a buckle sensor (switch 1h), the buckle sensor being configured to generate a coupling signal indicating if the wearable safety system is coupled or not to the body of the wearer by using the buckle arrangement (turns on and off in response to connecting and disconnection, para. 0019).
Regarding claim 10, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one airbag (2) is integrated in one or more of an upper end portion of a back wall of the harness, the two shoulder straps and the hip belt (is located within each of the areas listen, see Figs. 7, 10, 11, 1, and 2).
Regarding claim 13, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein:
the at least one airbag (2) comprises a first flap (see annotated Fig. 11) portion configured to, in a deployed condition, form an inflated body providing a protection to a first part of the wearer's body, and
a second flap portion (see annotated Fig. 11) configured to, in a deployed condition, form an inflated body providing a protection to a second part of the wearer's body;
a connector (see annotated Fig. 11) of the first flap portion is connectable to a connector of the second flap portion;
whereby, in a condition when the at least one airbag is deployed, the first and second inflated bodies are forced to jointly deploy and conform to and at least partly encircle the first and second parts (partly surround left and right shoulders) of the wearer's body.
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Regarding claim 14, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, wherein the harness is integral with or is removably connectable to a bag (storage bag 8), thereby forming a backpack.
Claim 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukaya et al. (JP 2003265638) in view of De Roaldes et al. (WO 2010037931) and Pretto (WO2008044222).
Regarding claim 11, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 10, but does not explicitly describe wherein the two shoulder straps and the hip belt comprise one or more split lines configured to rupture during inflation of the at least one airbag.
In related art for inflation systems, Pretto describes an inflatable device that includes seams 150 with thread calibrated to break at a particular tension (p. 7, ll. 12-18).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of filing the instant application to modify the pockets that hold the airbags of Fukaya to include breakable seams such as described in Pretto in order to maintain the airbag in place until it is meant to be activated. That is, by utilizing particular threads with particular breaking tension the airbags would be deployed only when the threads experience the correct amount of tension thus maintaining the airbag in place when not activated.
Claim 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukaya et al. (JP 2003265638) in view of De Roaldes et al. (WO 2010037931) and Buckman (US 20050067816).
Regarding claim 12, Fukaya as modified describes the wearable safety system according to claim 1, but does not explicitly describe wherein the at least one airbag is removably attached to the harness by means of at least one quick-coupling arrangement.
In related art for garments with inflatable protection components, Buckman describes wherein the at least one airbag is removably attached to the harness by means of at least one quick-coupling arrangement (airbags held in pockets by fasteners such as snaps, VELCRO, zippers, buttons and the like, para. 0044, each considered a quick-coupling arrangement).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the time of filing the instant application to modify the system of Fukaya to include the fasteners of Buckman in order to maintain the airbags in place and to permit easy removal for cleaning of the garment (para. 0044, Buckman).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Su (CN21263494) is considered highly relevant and includes many of the claimed features and thus could be utilized in further 35 USC §103 rejections.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK J LYNCH whose telephone number is (571)272-1145. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th, Alt F: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clint Ostrup can be reached on 571-272-5559. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PATRICK J. LYNCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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