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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 29, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed with the written response received on December 29, 2025 have been considered and an action on the merits follows. As directed by the amendment, claims 1, 8 and 20 have been amended (Examiner notes that claims 13 and 16 contain marked-up language that was made in a previous amendment, and suggests Applicant only include marked-up language in future correspondence for any amendments made in said future correspondence); claims 14, 17 and 8 are canceled. Accordingly, claims 1-13, 15, 16, 19 and 20 are pending in this application, with an action on the merits to follow.
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), Huang (US 2020/0149215) and Bay (US 2009/0077710).
Regarding independent claim 1, 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, 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 waterproof fabric lower half, and further wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation.
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).
Huang teaches an item of cloth material that may be applied to form clothing, including an upper wear, pants, a coat, etc., wherein the item of cloth is both waterproof and permeable (¶ 0013 of Huang).
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, Huang 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 formed the pant #140 of Blanton from a waterproof cloth material, as taught by Huang, in order to render the pant resistant to water, which is a very well-known concept in the art of pants. 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 waterproof fabric lower half (via the teachings of Huang incorporated into Blanton), and further wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation (via the teachings of Bay incorporated into Blanton).
Regarding claim 2, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, Huang 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, Huang 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, Huang 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, Huang and Bay, as applied to claims 1 and 4 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, Huang and Bay, as applied to claims 1 and 4 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, Huang and Bay, as applied to claims 1 and 4 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 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/”) and Bay.
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 collar, and wherein the upper half further comprises a perforated portion for ventilation.
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 previously). 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).
Blanton, Hill, Martinez and Bay 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.
Regarding claim 9, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye and Bay, 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 and Bay, 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 and Bay, 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 and Bay, 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 and Bay, as applied to claims 8 and 12 above) renders obvious 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).
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye and Bay as applied to claims 8, 12 and 13 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim”) (US 2023/0094829).
Regarding claims 15 and 16, the modified device of Blanton (i.e. Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye and Bay, as applied to claims 8, 12 and 13 above) renders obvious all the limitations of claims 8, 12 and 13, as set forth above, but is silent to specifying whether the sleeve is comprised of a fifth fastener adapted to tighten the sleeve (claim 15) and whether the pant leg is comprised of a sixth fastener adapted to tighten the pant leg (claim 16).
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).
Modified Blanton and Kim teach analogous inventions in the field of full-body coverage 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 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.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blanton in view of Hill, Martinez, NPL-CatEye and Bay 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 and Bay, 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, Threlkeld et al. (hereinafter “Threlkeld”) (US 2017/0340038) and Bay.
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, 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-microbial 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).
Threlkeld teaches a garment that can include jackets and pants (analogous to Blanton’s jacket and pant; ¶ 0026, 0071 and claim 12 of Threlkeld), wherein the garment can be made permanently antimicrobial with a treatment (¶ 0044 of Threlkeld).
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 and Cuaz teach analogous inventions in the field of openable coverall garments. Blanton, Hill, Martinez, Threlkeld and Bay 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 applied an antimicrobial treatment to the jacket and pant of Blanton, as taught by Threlkeld, in order to protect the garment from fostering microbial growth, as such is a well-known concept in the garment 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.
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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMESON COLLIER whose telephone number is (571)270-5221. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
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, CLINTON OSTRUP can be reached at (571)272-5559. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAMESON D COLLIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732