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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 4/28/26 is acknowledged. Applicant amended Claims 11, 12, and 14 to properly depend from claim 1, and Group 1 by removing the separate subject matter. However, newly added claims 21-26 contain the subject matter of non-elected Group II and are therefore considered withdrawn without traverse.
This leaves claims 1-12 and 14 currently active and pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
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.
Claims 1-12 and 14 are 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 term “inner fabric layer” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “inner fabric layer” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In the instant case, ‘inner’ relative to…what? A second unrecited layer? another fabric layer? a film layer? For purposes of examination, any given fabric layer may be considered an ‘inner’ fabric layer.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Meir (US 2016/0088893).
Regarding claim 1, Meir teaches a fabric strap (Meir 175), note that ‘for a wearable electronic device’ is intended use of the fabric strap, and any fabric strap that meets the claimed structure may be used as such (see MPEP 2111.02). Meir teaches the fabric strap comprises: an “inner fabric layer” (see 112b, above) having first and second opposing surfaces (Meir annotated fig 1, below), wherein the inner fabric layer is configured to elongate along a first direction (Meir annotated fig 1, below); ribs on the first and second opposing surfaces of the inner fabric layer (Meir annotated fig 1, below; para 52), wherein the ribs have respective openings that each extend along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (Meir annotated fig 1, below); and load-modifying structures in the ribs that each span across a respective one of the openings (Meir fig 6, item 608, fig 14-17 item 1410 “tensile element”).
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Regarding claim 2, Meir teaches a fabric strap as above for claim 1. Meir further teaches the load-modifying structures are each separated from the inner fabric layer by a distance when the inner fabric layer is in an unstretched state (Meir annotated fig 1, 6, above; para 80).
Regarding claim 3, Meir teaches a fabric strap as above for claim 2. It logically follows that if the load modifying structure has a first distance in an unstretched state, this distance will intrinsically become smaller as the fabric is stretched (Meir annotated fig 2, 6, above; para 80).
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Meir teaches a fabric strap as above for claim 2. Meir further teaches that the load-bearing structures may be elastane (elastic) and thus may be considered springs, as they stretch and contract (Meir para 94-95), further figures 14-17 illustrate that they are parallel to the inner fabric layer (Meir fig 14-17). These may further be considered to be ‘multiple’ springs, as they may form chains of more than one element (Meir para 94-95).
Regarding claim 9, Meir teaches a fabric strap as above for claim 1. Meir further teaches that the load modifying structures may be individually placed, or continuous, or both, and thus may be considered ‘removable’ as they do not have to be present in every rib (Meir para 93).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA B FIGG whose telephone number is (571)272-9882. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9a-6p Mountain.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Frank Vineis can be reached at (571) 270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA B FIGG/Examiner, Art Unit 1781 7/16/26
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