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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application.
Drawings
As best understood by the examiner figures 1-7 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
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.
Claims 10, 13, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The term “inelastic” in claims 10, 13 and 18 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “inelastic” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The term “low friction material” ion claim 17 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “low friction material” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-9, 11, 12 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Brown et al., US 20200031440 (disclosed by applicant).
Regarding claims 1 and 19: Brown discloses a personal protection garment (33) configured to cover at least a part of a wearer's body in use, wherein the protection garment includes an inflatable chamber (9) configured to provide buoyancy to support the wearer's body on water when inflated (see paragraph 0023, "According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an inflation control system for use with an in-water survival system, the inflation control system comprising a selectively sealable chamber configured to contain water-triggered automatic inflation device of the survival system.") to save the wearer from drowning.
Regarding claims 3-9, 11, 12, 14-18 & 20: The claims do not appear to contain any additional features which, in combination with the features of any claim to which they refer, meet the requirements of novelty in view of Brown (Figs. 6-16B, 19 & 20; paragraphs [0003], [0007], [0020-0023] & [0121-0124]. With regard to claims 11 & 12, the "inner garment layer" referred to therein is considered to be the belt-like strap around the wearer's chest right underneath bladder (9) shown in e.g. Figs. 7A, 7B, 9A & 9B.
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.
Claims 2, 10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown. Brown discloses the invention set forth above. The additional features introduced by said claims are either already disclosed in said document, or relate to well-known and obvious design/constructional options, which the person skilled in the art would adopt/implement depending on the needs/circumstances. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make a garment used for emergency protection out of fire-resistant materials and to incorporate material of the inner and outer layers surrounding an inflatable bladder to be more inelastic than the inflatable bladder so that as the bladder inflated the pressure would allow the burst zipper to function and the bladder to deploy.
It is noted that claim 2 fails to clarify/specify what the technical limitations/ requirements deriving from "the garment is configured to protect the wearer from fire, high G-acceleration and/or effects of altitude." Nevertheless, as shown in Figs. 1-7 and the accompanying description sections of the present application, protection garments combining fire, acceleration, altitude, flight effects and drowning protection are well-known and devoid of any inventiveness.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 11097817 discloses a flotation device including an inflatable chamber, a burst zipper and automatic trigger mechanism that activate the inflation of the bladder upon contact with water to provide buoyancy to the wearer. US8715024 discloses a personal flotation device that wraps around the neck and shoulder of a user and includes an inflatable bladder and a burst zipper.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY D WIEST whose telephone number is (571)270-5974. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:00 - 3:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel Murano can be reached at 571 272 6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY D WIEST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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