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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed with the written response received on April 9, 2026 have been considered and an action on the merits follows. As directed by the amendment, claims 1, 8 and 20 have been amended; claims 14, 17 and 18 are canceled. Accordingly, claims 1-13, 15, 16, 19 and 20 are pending in this application, with an action on the merits to follow.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s):
“adjustable drawstring waistband” (claim 1)
“adjustable hooded collar” (claim 8)
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: claim 8 has been amended to recite “an adjustable hooded collar”, although the Specification recites (in ¶ 0030)—“The collar 122 may be a functional protective collar such as, but not limited to, a mandarin collar, a flame-resistant collar, an adjustable collar, a reflective collar, a reinforced collar, a hooded collar, a protective flap collar, a neck-shield collar, etc., or any type of non-functional aesthetic collar.”. The Specification appears to describe “an adjustable collar” and “a hooded collar” as separate examples of a collar, but never recites “an adjustable hooded collar”.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 8, line 12: “a user’s arm” would be clearer if recited as “an arm of a user”
Claim 8, line 14: “a user’s leg” would be clearer if recited as “a leg of the user”
this suggestion is made under the assumption that the Claim 8, line 12 suggestion above is adopted, in order to establish antecedent basis for reference to “a user”
Claim 20, line 15: “a user’s arm” would be clearer if recited as “an arm of the user”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 8 (and claims 9-13, 15, 16 and 19 at least due to dependency from claim 8) is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 8, Applicant has amended to claim to recite “an adjustable hooded collar”. The originally-filed Specification recites (in ¶ 0030)—“The collar 122 may be a functional protective collar such as, but not limited to, a mandarin collar, a flame-resistant collar, an adjustable collar, a reflective collar, a reinforced collar, a hooded collar, a protective flap collar, a neck-shield collar, etc., or any type of non-functional aesthetic collar.”. The Specification appears to describe “an adjustable collar” and “a hooded collar” as separate examples of a collar, but never recites “an adjustable hooded collar”, and the concept of “an adjustable hooded collar” appears to contain new matter not supported by the disclosure as originally filed. Correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 15 and 16 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.
Regarding claim 15, Applicant recites “wherein the sleeve is comprised of a fifth fastener adapted to tighten the sleeve”. In independent claim 8, from which claim 15 indirectly depends, Applicant has amended the claim to recite “wherein the sleeve is configured to tighten around a user's arm via a sleeve tightening fastener”. It is unclear as to whether “a fifth fastener adapted to tighten the sleeve” of claim 15 is the same fastener as the “sleeve tightening fastener” of claim 8. Correction is required. For purposes of examination, “a fifth fastener adapted to tighten the sleeve” of claim 15 is being interpreted as the same fastener as the “sleeve tightening fastener” of claim 8, as best as can be understood.
Regarding claim 16, Applicant recites “wherein the pant leg is comprised of a sixth fastener adapted to tighten the pant leg”. In independent claim 8, from which claim 16 indirectly depends, Applicant has amended the claim to recite “wherein the pant leg is configured to tighten around a user's leg via a pant leg tightening fastener”. It is unclear as to whether “a sixth fastener adapted to tighten the pant leg” of claim 16 is the same fastener as “pant leg tightening fastener” of claim 8. Correction is required. For purposes of examination, “a sixth fastener adapted to tighten the pant leg” of claim 16 is being interpreted as the same fastener as “pant leg tightening fastener” of claim 8, as best as can be understood.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton (US 2021/0401072) in view of Hill et al. (hereinafter “Hill”) (US 2018/0000172), Martinez et al. (hereinafter “Martinez”) (US 2023/0200461), Laton (US 2007/0137012), Lurry (USPN 5,717,999) and Bay (US 2009/0077710).
Regarding independent claim 1, Blanton discloses a two-piece detachable coverall device (see garment of Fig. 8 of Blanton, showing a detached condition) comprising: a coverall body (generally constituted by jacket #180 and pant #140) comprised of: an upper half (jacket #180) comprised of a first fastener (waist-receiver fastener #210; Fig. 8 of Blanton) positioned on a bottom edge of the upper half (as shown in Fig. 8 of Blanton); a lower half (pant #140) comprised of a second fastener positioned on a top edge of the lower half (pant-waist fastener (¶ 0057 of Blanton, first sentence)). Blanton is silent to there being a closable pocket on a portion of the upper half securable via a magnetic pocket fastener (Examiner notes that the term "portion" is very broad and merely means "a section or quantity within a larger thing; a part of a whole" (Defn. No. 1 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com)), a tool receiving loop attached to a portion of the coverall body, and a padding on a portion of the coverall body, wherein the lower half of the coverall body is a flame-resistant fabric lower half, further wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation, and further wherein the lower half further comprises an adjustable drawstring waistband.
Hill teaches a two-piece garment with pockets (#10 and #16) disposed on both an upper half (shirt #14) of the garment and on a lower half (pants #20) of the garment (see Fig. 1 of Hill). Hill teaches that the pockets have a flap #22 that is foldable along the top edge #24 of the pouch, the flap and pocket having a closure means that can be mating magnets #26 and #28 (¶ 0015 of Hill).
Martinez teaches a garment with several retainers #14 that are configured to selectively engage a respective tool #32 of a plurality of tools of a trade so that the tool is removable engaged to the garment (¶ 0020 of Martinez) via the retainers. Martinez teaches that the retainers may be a plurality of loops (¶ 0021 of Martinez). Martinez also teaches that the knee portions of the pant legs of the garment can include a respective pad #88 for cushioning the knees of the user when the user is in a kneeling position (¶ 0030 of Martinez).
Laton teaches a protective garment, that can include jackets and trousers (¶ 0003 of Laton), wherein the garment can be made of NOMEX® IIIA fabric, which has a blend of meta-aramid, para-aramid and anti-static fibers (¶ 0026, 0027 and 0047 of Laton).
Lurry teaches a modular clothing system that includes a jacket component and a pants component, wherein the pants component can have an adjustable drawstring-type waistband #3c (Fig. 4 of Lurry; Col. 1, Lines 59-61 of Lurry).
Bay teaches an upper body garment in the form of a jacket that has vertical front zippered openings #120/140/148, which when unzipped, reveal a panel of breathable material #160 that is perforated with holes for deployable ventilation in the jacket (¶ 0034 of Bay).
Blanton, Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay all teach analogous inventions in the field of garments. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the magnetically-closeable flapped pockets of Hill to the upper and lower halves of the garment of Blanton in order to permit the user to store items therein, as such is a very-well known concept in the art. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the retainers, as loops (as taught by Martinez) and the knee pads of Martinez, to the garment of Blanton in order to provide the user with capability to retain tools in said loops and to protect the user’s knees when kneeling, as taught by Martinez. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have used NOMEX® IIIA fabric (which contains meta-aramid and para-aramid fibers, which are flame-resistant fibers), as taught by Laton, as a material of choice for forming the garment of Blanton, in order to render the garment to be flame-resistant in the event of a motorcycle accident, since Blanton teaches that its garment can be used during motorcycle riding. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated an adjustable drawstring waistband in the pants of Blanton in order to permit the user to adjust the tightness of fit around their mid-section, which is a very well-known concept in the art of lower-torso garments.
It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added the front vertical zippered openings and underlying breathable panel with holes taught by Bay into the jacket #180 of Blanton in order to provide additional (and selectively deployable) ventilation to the upper body when needed, as taught by Bay. As a result of the modifications, there would be a closable pocket on a portion of the upper half securable via a magnetic pocket fastener (via the teachings of Hill incorporated into Blanton; Examiner notes that the term "portion" is very broad and merely means "a section or quantity within a larger thing; a part of a whole" (Defn. No. 1 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com)), a tool receiving loop attached to a portion of the coverall body, and a padding on a portion of the coverall body (via the teachings of Martinez incorporated into Blanton), wherein the lower half of the coverall body is a flame-resistant fabric lower half (via the teachings of Laton incorporated into Blanton; as noted above, the NOMEX® IIIA fabric includes flame-resistant fibers), further wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation (via the teachings of Bay incorporated into Blanton) and further wherein the lower half further comprises an adjustable drawstring waistband (via the teachings of Lurry incorporated into Blanton).
Regarding claim 2, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the upper half is comprised of a sleeve (sleeves #120; Fig. 8 of Blanton).
Regarding claim 3, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the lower half is comprised of a pant leg (see Fig. 8 of Blanton).
Regarding claim 4, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the first fastener and the second fastener are comprised of a pair of reciprocating fasteners (¶ 0031 of Blanton discloses various examples of contemplated reciprocating fasteners for attaching components, including attaching the jacket to the pants).
Regarding claim 5, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the first fastener and the second fastener are comprised of a zipper assembly (“zippers”; ¶ 0031 of Blanton).
Regarding claim 6, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the first fastener and the second fastener are comprised of a snap button assembly (“snap fasteners”; ¶ 0031 of Blanton).
Regarding claim 7, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Laton, Lurry and Bay, as applied to claim 1 above) renders obvious that the first fastener is comprised of a hook fastener and the second fastener is comprised of a loop fastener (“hook and loop fasteners such as Velcro®”; ¶ 0031 of Blanton).
Claims 8-13, 15 and 16, as best as can be understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL to CatEye - Wearable X (hereinafter “NPL-CatEye”)(URL = “https://www.cateye.com/intl/products/safety_lights/SL-WA100/”), Bay and Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim”) (US 2023/0094829).
Regarding independent claim 8, Blanton discloses a two-piece detachable coverall device (see garment of Fig. 8 of Blanton, showing a detached condition) comprising: a coverall body (generally constituted by jacket #180 and pant #140) comprised of: an upper half (jacket #180) comprised of a first fastener (waist-receiver fastener #210; Fig. 8) positioned on a bottom edge of the upper half (as shown in Fig. 8), a neck hole (see Fig. 8), and a sleeve (sleeves #120; Fig. 8 of Blanton); a lower half (pant #140) comprised of a second fastener positioned on a top edge of the lower half (pant-waist fastener (¶ 0057 of Blanton, first sentence)), and a pant leg (see Fig. 8 of Blanton). Blanton is silent to there being a closable pocket on a portion of the lower half, a tool receiving loop attached to a portion of the coverall body, and a battery powered repositionable light attachable to the coverall body, wherein the neck hole comprises an adjustable hooded collar (although, Blanton does disclose that the collar may include a hood #170 attachable to its collar; ¶ 0066 of Blanton), and wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation. Blanton is silent to the sleeve being configured to tighten around a user's arm via a sleeve tightening fastener, or wherein the pant leg is configured to tighten around a user's leg via a pant leg tightening fastener.
Hill teaches a two-piece garment with pockets (#10 and #16) disposed on both an upper half (shirt #14) of the garment and on a lower half (pants #20) of the garment (see Fig. 1 of Hill). Hill teaches that the pockets have a flap #22 that is foldable along the top edge #24 of the pouch, the flap and pocket having a closure means that can be mating magnets #26 and #28 (¶ 0015 of Hill).
Martinez teaches a garment with several retainers #14 that are configured to selectively engage a respective tool #32 of a plurality of tools of a trade so that the tool is removable engaged to the garment (¶ 0020 of Martinez) via the retainers. Martinez teaches that the retainers may be a plurality of loops (¶ 0021 of Martinez).
NPL-CatEye teaches an LED that can be attached to clothing via a one-touch clip, wherein the LED includes a lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery (see Page 4 of NPL document provided herewith). The clip allows for the LED to be clipped onto various articles, given the functionality of the depicted clip.
Bay teaches an upper body garment in the form of a jacket that has vertical front zippered openings #120/140/148, which when unzipped, reveal a panel of breathable material #160 that is perforated with holes for deployable ventilation in the jacket (¶ 0034 of Bay). Bay further teaches that the jacket includes a collar #18, which can include an adjustable closure such as components or materials that contract or cinch to provide a close-fit around the neck of the wearer, for example (¶ 0022, first sentence of Bay).
Kim teaches a garment with an upper body portion with sleeves and a lower body portion with legs (see Fig. 4 of Kim), wherein each of the sleeves includes wrist elastic #93 at the wrist openings #92/94, and each of the legs includes ankle elastic #97 at the leg openings #96/98, in order to provide a snug fit for the wearer’s wrists and ankles, respectively (¶ 0129 of Kim).
Blanton, Hill, Martinez, Bay and Kim teach analogous inventions in the field of garments, and NPL-CatEye teaches that its LED device can be attached to garments. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the magnetically-closeable flapped pockets of Hill to the upper and lower halves of the garment of Blanton in order to permit the user to store items therein, as such is a very-well known concept in the art. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the retainers, as loops (as taught by Martinez), to the garment of Blanton in order to provide the user with capability to retain tools in said loops, as taught by Martinez. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added an instance of the clippable, Li-ion rechargeable battery LED of NPL-CatEye to the garment of Blanton in order to provide the user with improved capability to be seen in a dark environment for improved safety, and further since the concept of lights attachable to clothing is very well-known in the art. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added the front vertical zippered openings and underlying breathable panel with holes taught by Bay into the jacket #180 of Blanton in order to provide additional (and selectively deployable) ventilation to the upper body when needed, as well as to have incorporated the adjustable collar of Bay into Blanton’s jacket in order to allow the user to tighten the collar around the neck to a desired fit (thus resulting in an adjustable collar that is hooded, as Blanton already includes an attachable hood #170, as explained above). It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated the elastic wrist material #93 and the elastic ankle material #97 into the wrist and ankle cuffs of the jacket and pants components of Blanton, in order to provide the wearer with a snug fit at the wrist and ankles, as taught by Kim.
Regarding claim 9, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the lower half is comprised of a fly closure (see #850 in Fig. 8 of Blanton, which shows a fly closure).
Regarding claim 10, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the lower half is comprised of a waistband closure (see #850 in Fig. 8 of Blanton, which shows a pant-closing fastener located at a waistband of the pant).
Regarding claim 11, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious all the limitations of claim 8, as set forth above, but is silent to the lower half being comprised of a belt loop. However, Martinez teaches that the top of its trousers can include a plurality of belt loops #18 at the waistband, and it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a plurality of belt loops to the top waistband of the pant of Blanton, as taught by Martinez, in order to allow the user to wear a belt to adjustably tighten the pant around the waist of the wearer, and further since belt loops on a pant are very well-known in the art.
Regarding claim 12, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the sleeve is comprised of a third fastener that allows a first portion of the sleeve to be removed from a second portion of the sleeve (¶ 0047 of Blanton describes central sleeve fastener #440, which serves to change the length of the sleeve depending on the attached or detached sleeve extension #420; Examiner notes that the term "portion" is very broad and merely means "a section or quantity within a larger thing; a part of a whole" (Defn. No. 1 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com)).
Regarding claim 13, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the pant leg is comprised of a fourth fastener that allows a first portion of the pant leg to be removed from a second portion of the pant leg (¶ 0059 of Blanton describes leg fasteners #840, which serves to change the length of the pant legs depending on the attached or detached leg extensions #830).
Regarding claim 15, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the sleeve is comprised of a fifth fastener adapted to tighten the sleeve (as taught by Kim and incorporated into modified Blanton, as explained in the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 8 above; see the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claim 15, regarding the interpretation of this limitation, as best as can be understood).
Regarding claim 16, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious that the pant leg is comprised of a sixth fastener adapted to tighten the pant leg (as taught by Kim and incorporated into modified Blanton, as explained in the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 8 above; see the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claim 16, regarding the interpretation of this limitation, as best as can be understood).
Claim 19, as best as can be understood, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Clements (US 2014/0259269).
Regarding claim 19, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye, Bay and Kim, as applied to claim 8 above) renders obvious all the limitations of claim 8, as set forth above, but is silent as to whether the coverall body is comprised of a reflective element (although, one may recognize that any visible material reflects light at least to some extent).
Clements teaches a jacket #801 that can include reflective band #110/113s (¶ 0024 and 0028 of Clements; Figs. 1 and 8 thereof), wherein the garment is a safety garment that can be used by a motorcyclist (¶ 0024 of Clements).
Modified Blanton and Clements teach analogous inventions in the field of motorcycle jackets. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the reflective bands #110/113 of Clements into the jacket of Blanton in order to further increase the visibility of the user in low-light environments (for example, if the rechargeable battery light is blocked by the user to an on-looker, or if the battery drains completely before being able to recharged), as is well-known in the art, wherein the reflective bands are reflective elements, as required by the claim.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton in view of Cuaz (USPN 6,944,883), Hill, Martinez, Bay, Laton and Kim.
Regarding independent claim 20, Blanton discloses a method of using a two-piece detachable coverall device, the method comprising: providing a two-piece detachable coverall device (see garment of Fig. 8 of Blanton, showing a detached condition) comprised of a coverall body (generally constituted by jacket #180 and pant #140) comprised of an upper half (jacket #180) removably attached to a lower half (pant #140) via a set of reciprocating fasteners (waist-receiver fastener #210; pant-waist fastener (¶ 0057 of Blanton, first sentence)); placing the upper half around an upper body of a user and the lower half around a lower body of the user (¶ 0028 of Blanton describes that the jacket can be “worn” (i.e. the upper half is placed around an upper body of a user); ¶ 0056 of Blanton discloses the pant #140 has an opening “for each leg” (i.e. the pants are disclosed as being able to be worn on the legs of the wearer, which is part of the lower body)), and then connecting the upper half to the lower half by connecting the set of reciprocating fasteners; separating the set of reciprocating fasteners to separate the upper half from the lower half; and re-attaching the upper half to the lower half by securing the set of reciprocating fasteners back together (¶ 0057 of Blanton discloses that the jacket and pants are attachable to one another via the pant-waist fastener being releasably connected to the jacket waist connector #210). Blanton does not disclose method steps of using a restroom while the upper half and the lower half remain around the upper body and the lower body of the user, tightening a sleeve of the upper half around a user's arm via a sleeve tightening fastener, securing a tool within a tool receiving loop attached to a portion of the coverall body, and placing an object into a closable pocket on a portion of the lower half and securing a flap to the closable pocket with a magnetic fastener, and is silent to the coverall body being an anti-static material coverall body, wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation.
Cuaz teaches a jumpsuit garment that has an upper body portion detachable from a lower body portion, with exception to a small part at the front that remains connected, wherein Cuaz teaches a method step of using a restroom while the upper and lower body portions are detached from one another, without having to take off the jumpsuit (Col. 2, Lines 27-34 of Cuaz).
Hill teaches a two-piece garment with pockets (#10 and #16) disposed on both an upper half (shirt #14) of the garment and on a lower half (pants #20) of the garment (see Fig. 1 of Hill). Hill teaches that the pockets have a flap #22 that is foldable along the top edge #24 of the pouch, the flap and pocket having a closure means that can be mating magnets #26 and #28 (¶ 0015 of Hill). Hill teaches a method of inserting an object (mat #17; Figs. 3A-3B of Hill) into the pockets to be held closed via the magnetic fasteners.
Martinez teaches a garment with several retainers #14 that are configured to selectively engage a respective tool #32 of a plurality of tools of a trade so that the tool is removable engaged to the garment (¶ 0020 of Martinez) via the retainers. Martinez teaches that the retainers may be a plurality of loops (¶ 0021 of Martinez).
Bay teaches an upper body garment in the form of a jacket that has vertical front zippered openings #120/140/148, which when unzipped, reveal a panel of breathable material #160 that is perforated with holes for deployable ventilation in the jacket (¶ 0034 of Bay).
Laton teaches a protective garment, that can include jackets and trousers (¶ 0003 of Laton), wherein the garment can be made of NOMEX® IIIA fabric, which has a blend of meta-aramid, para-aramid and anti-static fibers (¶ 0026, 0027 and 0047 of Laton).
Kim teaches a garment with an upper body portion with sleeves and a lower body portion with legs (see Fig. 4 of Kim), wherein each of the sleeves includes wrist elastic #93 at the wrist openings #92/94, and each of the legs includes ankle elastic #97 at the leg openings #96/98, in order to provide a snug fit for the wearer’s wrists and ankles, respectively (¶ 0129 of Kim).
Blanton and Cuaz teach analogous inventions in the field of openable coverall garments. Blanton, Hill, Martinez, Laton, Bay and Kim teach analogous inventions in the field of garments. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art for the user to utilize the openability of the attachment between the jacket and pant portions of the garment and use the restroom (if they have to relieve themselves in a situation where they are unable or unwilling to fully disrobe) while the jacket and pants are detached (without removing the garments outright from the user), as taught by Cuaz, and subsequently reattaching the garments together as desired, to continue their normal operations during the day. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the magnetically-closeable flapped pockets of Hill to the upper and lower halves of the garment of Blanton in order to permit the user to store items therein (and therefore obvious to have performed such a step of placing an object into the closable pocket on the portion of the lower half and securing the flap to the closable pocket with the magnetic fastener, as taught by Hill), as such is a very-well known concept in the art. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added instances of the retainers, such as loops (as taught by Martinez), to the garment of Blanton in order to provide the user with capability to retain tools in said loops (and therefore obvious to have performed such a step of securing a tool within the tool receiving loop attached to the portion of the coverall body), as taught by Martinez. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have used NOMEX® IIIA fabric (which contains anti-static fibers), as taught by Laton, as a material of choice for forming the garment of Blanton, in order to render the garment to be flame-resistant (structurally, the resulting garment would be anti-static, since the NOMEX® IIIA fabric includes anti-static fibers therein) in the event of a motorcycle accident, since Blanton teaches that its garment can be used during motorcycle riding. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added the front vertical zippered openings and underlying breathable panel with holes taught by Bay into the jacket #180 of Blanton in order to provide additional (and selectively deployable) ventilation to the upper body when needed. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated the elastic wrist material #93 and the elastic ankle material #97 into the wrist and ankle cuffs of the jacket and pants components of Blanton, in order to provide the wearer with a snug fit at the wrist and ankles, as taught by Kim, wherein a method step of tightening the sleeve of the upper half around the user’s arm via the elastic cuff (i.e. sleeve tightening fastener) would have been an obvious step that would be performed when the user don’s the sleeve around their arm, at the wrist, which has the elastic cuff that is tightened around the wrist.
Response to Arguments
In view of Applicant's amendment, the search has been updated, and new prior art has been identified and applied. Applicant's arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JAMESON D COLLIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
