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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tilman (US 6092931) in view of Todaka (US 11542065).
Tilman discloses a fitting tool comprising: a male side fitting member (28) in which a male side fitting portion (43/44) is provided on a surface of a band-shaped first base material along a longitudinal direction; and a female side fitting member (30) in which a female side fitting portion (45,46, 47, 49) is provided on a surface of a band-shaped second base material along the longitudinal direction, wherein the male side fitting portion and the female side fitting portion are detachably fit, each of the first base material and the second base material includes a main layer (32), a seal layer (36) provided on a side of the main layer opposite the male side fitting portion and the female side fitting portion, and an interlayer (34) provided between the main layer and the seal layer (see Fig. 4), both the first base material and the second base material are formed of a polyethylene-based resin obtained by polymerizing a monomer containing ethylene (product-by-process limitation; col. 5, ll. 20-25); except does not expressly disclose the specific material properties as claimed.
However, it has long been known in the art of flexible packaging to be able to vary the stiffness or rigidity of various components in order to design a package that can perform under specific conditions, perform specific functions, etc.
Tokada teaches it was well known in the art to have a relative rigid fastener tool (col. 1, ll. 52-55) as claimed, although does not teach a specific measurement range.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a material with rigidity in the claimed measurement range, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See also Ballas Liquidating Co. v. Allied industries of Kansas, Inc. (DC Kans) 205 USPQ 331.
In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984), the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device.
Regarding claim 3, Tilman as modified above discloses all limitations of the claim(s) as detailed above except does not expressly disclose the specific density as claimed.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a material with density in the claimed measurement range, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See also Ballas Liquidating Co. v. Allied industries of Kansas, Inc. (DC Kans) 205 USPQ 331.
Tilman as modified above further discloses the polyethylene-based resin forming the interlayer has a melting point of 125 °C or higher (col. 5, ll. 35-40); a bag main body that accommodates a content, wherein the bag main body is formed of a polyethylene-based resin obtained by polymerizing a monomer containing ethylene, and the fitting tool is attached to an inner surface of the bag main body (col. 5, ll. 45-50; Fig. 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER N. HELVEY whose telephone number is (571)270-1423. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am-7pm EST.
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/PETER N HELVEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
January 29, 2026
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