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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 9-11, 17-18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 2018/00722852 to An Junh Ho
Claims 1, 9, and 20, An discloses a mattress/bedding assembly comprising a core (110,140,150,160); and mattress cover, a first layer defined by a lower sheet 311b; a second layer defined by an upper sheet 311a; and an inlay layer defined by a flame-retardant layer (313,323), wherein the flame-retardant layer is between the first sheet layer and the second sheet layer wherein the upper sheet layer and lower sheet layer are attached to each other in a non-contact manner to the flame-retardant layer (fig. 3-4).
Claims 2 and 10, An discloses the mattress cover wherein the first lower sheet layer is a back layer, wherein the upper second sheet layer is a face layer, and wherein the lower back sheet layer is configured to be located closer to a mattress core covered by the mattress cover than the inlay layer and the face layer (fig. 3-4).
Claims 3 and 11, An discloses the mattress cover wherein the upper face layer is an outermost layer of the mattress cover (fig. 4).
Claim 17, An discloses the mattress assembly wherein the core (140,150,160) is composed of a foam agent.
Claim 18, An discloses the mattress assembly, wherein the back layer contacts the core (fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 4-5 and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 2018/00722852 to An Junh Ho in view of U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0198125 to Mater et al.
Claims 4-5 and 12-13, An discloses the mattress cover, but is silent to the flame-retardant layer comprised of cellulosic, rayon, viscose, polyester, acrylic, or nylon materials. Mater discloses several combinations of flame-retardant materials that include cellulosic fibers, rayon fibers, viscose fibers, polyester, acrylic, or nylon materials [0070][0083][0201][0202]. Selecting from a plethora of known materials is considered an obvious modification and it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the materials disclosed in Mater with the flame-retardant material of An with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided an equivalent and alternative flame-retardant material for the mattress of An.
Claim(s) 6 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 2018/00722852 to An Junh Ho in view of U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0210584 to Lim et al.
Claims 6 and 14, An discloses the mattress, but is silent to the flame-retardant
material having a limiting oxygen index (LOI) from 14 to 45. Lim discloses a fabric
made from heat resistant fibers having a Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of 26 or higher.
Selecting from a range of (LOI) values for heat resistant fibers is considered an obvious
modification and it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art
before the effective filing date of the invention to select the range as stated above with
the mattress of An with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have
provided an equivalent and alternative range of (LOI) to make the mattress of An.
Claim(s) 7-8, 15-16, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 2018/00722852 to An Junh Ho
Claims 7-8 and 15-16, An discloses the mattress, but is silent to the face sheet layer or the back sheet layer comprising a knit fabric material, a woven fabric material, cotton, bamboo, rayon, polyester, nylon, modal fabric, lyocell, polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, ultra-high density polyethylene, or combinations or blends thereof. Selecting from a plethora of known materials is considered an obvious modification and it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to select from the materials as stated above with the face or back sheet layers of An with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided an equivalent and alternative materials for the face or back sheet layers of An.
Claim 19, An discloses the mattress assembly wherein the face sheet layer is coupled to the back sheet layer in a non-contact manner, but is silent to the coupling comprising stitching. Selecting from a plethora of known means of connection is considered an obvious modification and it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to select stitching with the face or back sheet layers of An with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have provided an equivalent and alternative means to connect the face and back sheet layers.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0298668 to DeFranks discloses a mattress having a flame-resistant layer.
U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0245164 to Aneja et al. discloses a structure for having a fire-retardant layer between an outer face layer and a backing layer.
U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0048301 to Klancnik discloses a mattress having sacrificial combustible material and additional layers of materials between and outer face layer and a backing layer.
Conclusion
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/FREDRICK C CONLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679