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 .
This document is responsive to applicant’s Election/Restriction response filed 8/17/2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species B in the reply filed on 8/17/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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.
Claim 2 (and 3 by dependency) is 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 limitation “and the tubular bodies” is indefinite because claim 1 only introduces “a” tubular body. Since there are two alternative structures in claim 1 that each separately form “a” tubular body, it is not clear if the plural bodies of claim 2 is attempting to claim both embodiments simultaneously even though they are alternatives.
In view of the rejections above under 35 USC § 112, the claims referred to in any and all rejections below are rejected as best understood. Any claims that depend upon claims rejected above are also considered rejected via dependency.
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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4-7, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bai et al. (US PG Pub 2021/0387700).
Regarding claim 1, Bai discloses:
An inflatable watercraft comprising: an upper wall (see fig 4 – top surface of inflatable floor 1); a lower wall (see fig , ref 31) connected to the upper wall so as to form a bottom main body; an inner wall (see fig 4 – inner wall of 21) extended longitudinally; an outer wall (see fig 4 – outer wall of 21) also extended longitudinally; wherein the inner wall, the outer wall and the upper wall are connected to form a tubular body around the bottom main body, or the inner wall, the outer wall and the lower wall are connected to form a tubular body around the bottom main body (see fig 4); wherein, when deflated, the tubular body collapses due to gravity so that the outer wall is superposed on the inner wall (as shown in fig 4 – the outer wall would necessarily superpose on the inner wall when deflated).
Regarding claim 2, Bai discloses:
The inflatable watercraft as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a conduit projected from the lower wall (see figs 2 and 3, ref 7), wherein the bottom main body and the tubular bodies are configured to form a cockpit, and the conduit connects an interior of the cockpit to an exterior of the cockpit (see fig 3).
Regarding claim 4, Bai discloses:
The inflatable watercraft as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a seat detachably connected to the tubular body (see fig 3).
Regarding claim 5, Bai discloses:
The inflatable watercraft as claimed in claim 4, wherein the seat comprises a strap and a hook connected to the strap (91), the tubular body comprises a plurality of fastening loops arranged longitudinally (see fig 6), and the hook is configured to selectively catch one of the fastening loops (see fig 4).
Regarding claim 6, Bai discloses:
An inflatable watercraft comprising: a bottom main body extended longitudinally (1, 31); two tubular bodies extended longitudinally and connected to the bottom main body (21); wherein each of the tubular bodies comprises an inner wall and an outer wall connected to the inner wall (see fig 4); wherein the inner wall is shorter than the outer wall in cross section (the outer wall encompasses the upper portion of the tube and is therefore taller than the shorter inner wall).
Regarding claim 7, see the rejection of claim 2.
Regarding claim 9, see the rejection of claim 4.
Regarding claim 10, see the rejection of claim 5.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is found in the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD G DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8am-6:00pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Collins can be reached on 571-272-6886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD G DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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