DETAILED ACTION
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 Species II, Claims 11-19 in the reply filed on 11-13-2025 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06-28-2024 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 (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 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) 11-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rehagen (2018/0035751) in view of Mason et al. (2018/0368516).
Regarding claim 11, Rehagen an article of footwear an upper; and a sole coupled to the upper (figs 6-7, para 0045), wherein the sole comprising:
an outsole configured to engage the ground (member 25),
a midsole core (member 12) disposed within the sole chamber, the midsole core comprising:
a base plate (member 20) disposed on the upper surface of the outsole, and
a plurality of hollow pillars (member 44) projecting upwardly from the base plate and filled with air, the plurality of pillars are arranged along the length of the sole from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole.
wherein the plurality of pillars include a first set of pillars fluidly connected together such that air is permitted to flow between the first set of pillars (para 0033).
Rehagen does not explicitly teach a midsole rim disposed on an upper surface of the outsole and extending along a perimeter of the outsole, the midsole rim comprises an exterior surface defining a sidewall of the sole, wherein the midsole rim and the outsole define a sole chamber.
Mason teach a sole structure having a midsole rim disposed on an upper surface of the outsole and extending along a perimeter of the outsole, the midsole rim comprises an exterior surface defining a sidewall of the sole, wherein the midsole rim and the outsole define a sole chamber (figs 1-7, member 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the sole of Rehagen by adding a midsole rim of Mason to add another layer of protection for the pillars structure and more cushioning to the sole structure.
Regarding claim 12, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the plurality of pillars include a second set of pillars, each pillar of the second set being fluidly isolated from the remainder of the pillars (Rehagen, para 0033 showing that just some of the pillars (i.e. sub chambers) are fluid communication with each other).
Regarding claim 13, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the first set of pillars are arranged along a length of the sole from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole (Rehagen, fig 7).
Regarding claim 14, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the plurality of pillars include: a lateral row of pillars extending from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole, a medial row of pillars extending from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole, and a central row of pillars disposed between the medial and lateral row of pillars and extending from the heel region of the sole to the forefoot region of the sole (Rehagen, fig 7).
Regarding claim 15, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the first set of pillars include the central row of pillars (Rehagen, fig 7).
Regarding claim 16, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason does not explicitly teach the first set of pillars include one or more pillars disposed in the lateral row located in the forefoot and heel region of the sole and one or more pillars disposed in the medial row located in the forefoot and heel region of the sole. However, Rehagen teaches in para 0033 that some of the sub chambers (i.e. pillar) are fluid communication with each other. Therefor, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling of the claim invention to modify the sole structure by using the fluid communication as specific location as needed. In addition, applicant does not provide any criticality or unexpected results why the pillar must be that specific area; therefore the court held that the particular placement of a structure was held to be an obvious matter of design choice. The prior art must provide a motivation or reason for the worker in the art, without the benefit of appellant’s specification, to make the necessary changes in the reference device." Ex parte Chicago Rawhide Mfg. Co., 223 USPQ 351, 353 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1984).
Regarding claim 17, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the plate includes a plurality of channels defined on the bottom surface of the plate, interconnecting the first set of pillars (Rehagen, para 0033).
Regarding claim 18, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the midsole core comprises: a first flange extending from a lateral side of the base plate in the forefoot region of the sole and a plurality of lateral forefoot pillars projecting upwardly from the first flange, and a second flange extending from the lateral side of the base plate in the heel region of the sole and a plurality of lateral heel pillars projecting upwardly from the second flange (Rehagen, fig 6, members, para 0035 and 0039).
Regarding claim 19, the modified footwear Rehagen-Mason discloses the midsole rim comprises a first recess disposed on a lateral side of the midsole rim in the forefoot region of the sole and a second recess disposed on the lateral side of the midsole rim in the heel region of the sole, and wherein the lateral forefoot pillars are received in the first recess of the midsole rim and the lateral heel pillars are received in the second recess of the midsole rim (Mason, fig 17, members 30a and 30b).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon, is listed on the attached PTO-892.
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BAO-THIEU L. NGUYEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/BAO-THIEU L NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732