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 I – fig. 1, in the reply filed on 11-05-2025 is acknowledged.
It is noted that claims 8-9 are directed to features not supported in the elected species and are withdrawn.
Remarks
This communication is in response to Application No. 18/814,732 filed on 08/26/2024 and the 11-05-2025 reply.
Claims 8-9 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-7 and 10 are currently pending and have been examined.
Drawings
The drawings filed 08/26/2024 are acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“macroencapsulated phase change materials”. (plural lacks antecedent basis and is considered a typographical error).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation Under 35 USC § 112
No claim elements in this application are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
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 3 and 5 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
As to claim 3, the claim recites “… wherein the permeable material…” which lacks antecedent basis. It appears claim 3 should depend from claim 2.
As to claim 5, the claim recites “..the mixture of phase change materials” which lacks antecedent basis.
As to claim 5, the use of “about” is a term of degree and renders the claim indefinite. It is noted that the specification defines the use of “about” with regard to quantity and not temperature.
NOTE: any prior art rejection provided below is made as best understood in view of the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issues above.
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 of this title, 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, 3, 4, 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2023/0102164, hereinafter D1, in view of US 2014/0189951, hereinafter D2.
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As to claim 1.
D1 discloses (fig. 1) a mattress assembly comprising:
an upholstery foam layer (topper layer 14) proximate to a sleeping surface (cover layer 12) of the mattress assembly comprising a plurality of channels (topper layer defines channels 22) and a macroencapsulated phase change material (microencapsulated phase change material 20 disposed within channels 22) including a sealed capsulate ([0037]) and a bulk amount of phase change material ([0037]) within the sealed capsulate provided within at least one or more of the channels (fig. 1 and [0037]); and
an underlying layer (spacer layer 24) including a pump and a plurality of conduits configured to exhaust air from the upholstery layer ([0019] The spacer layer is in fluid communication with a pump configured to provide a positive or negative air pressure in the spacer layer between sleep cycles, i.e., during periods of non-use. The flow of air into or out of the mattress assembly provides effective dissipation of the thermal load that may have been retained by the phase change materials during a sleep cycle).
D1 does not explicitly disclose the underlying layer (spacer layer 24) includes a pump. It is noted that D1 does use a pump in fluid communication with the spacer layer 24.
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D2 is in a related field of active airflow temperature controlled bedding and teaches it is known to place a pump ([0018] An air supply 70 is fluidly coupled to the fluid conduits 20 via conduits 72 in fluid communication with an air blower 74 configured to provide a flow of air through the fluid conduits 72, 20 and through the ventilated tubes 32 to provide air flow to the uppermost layers of the bedding assembly) within a mattress foundation ([0020]).
An invention is obvious where some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention. The prior art of D2 suggests placing a pump within a mattress layer. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the teachings of D2 to modify the pump location of D1 to place the pump within an underlying layer for the purpose of providing a more compact and unitary mattress/pump arrangement. An invention created through a substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious.
As to claim 2.
D1 discloses wherein the macroencapsulated phase change material further comprises a permeable material infused with the phase change material or a mixture of phase change materials within the sealed capsulate ([0045]).
As to claim 3.
D1 discloses wherein the permeable material comprises foam ([0045]).
As to claim 4.
D1 discloses wherein the phase change material comprises coconut oil (claim 4).
As to claim 5.
D1 discloses wherein the phase change material or the mixture of phase change materials has a melting point in a range of about 22°C to about 36°C ([0053]).
As to claim 10.
D1 discloses wherein the macroencapsulated phase change material[[s]] partially fill the channels to create a space within the channel (fig. 1).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2023/0102164, hereinafter D1, in view of US 2015/0359351, hereinafter D3.
As to claim 6.
D1 discloses further comprising an additional layer (mattress body 16) underlying the upholstery layer (topper layer 14) comprising a plurality of air bladders (air bladders [0037]) but does not explicitly disclose the bladders are fluidly coupled to the pump and configured to change a pressure within the plurality of air bladders.
D3 is in a related field of bedding and teaches it is known to use a pump fluidly coupled to the bladders and configured to change a pressure within the plurality of air bladders ([0039] he mattress assembly 210 also includes an air pump 270 that, like the mattress assembly 110 shown in FIGS. 5-6, is operably connected to a controller 274 for delivering air into the air bladders 230a, 230b, 230c, 230d, 230e, 230f via conduit lines 272 that place the air pump 270 and the air bladders 230a, 230b, 230c, 230d, 230e, 230f in fluid communication with one another).
An invention is obvious where some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention. The prior art of D3 suggests using a pump to control bladder inflation. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the teachings of D3 to modify the bladders of D1 to provide controlled inflation the purpose of providing an adjustable mattress firmness.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 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 on the attached PTOL-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as each further discloses a state of the art.
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or pointed out by the examiner.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to J. T. Newton, Esq. whose telephone number is (313)446-4899. The examiner can normally be reached 0700-1500 M-F.
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, SPE Justin Mikowski can be reached at (571) 272-8525. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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J. T. Newton, Esq.Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673
/J. T. Newton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673 12 January 2026