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
Claim 7 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group of invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on April 24, 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-6 and 8-11, drawn to a surface fastener in the reply filed on April 24, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: in the last line, the recitation “viewing engagement element” should be replaced with -- viewing the engagement element --. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuhara et al., US 2019/008239 in view of Murasaki, US 2002/0124359.
Regarding claim 1, Fukuhara discloses a surface fastener (1) made of synthetic resin (such as polypropylene, polyester, nylon…) and including a base part (2) and a plurality of engaging elements (10) formed integrally with the base part (2), the engaging elements (10) each including a stem portion (11) and an engaging head (12), the stem portion (11) projecting from a surface of the base part (2) in a thickness direction of the base part (2), the engaging head (12) being formed at a distal end part of the stem portion (11), a section (see the boundary 16) of at least an upper end part of the stem portion (11) orthogonally to the thickness direction having a circular or nearly circular shape (figure 3), the engaging head (12) having a shape which spreads overall from the distal end part of the stem portion (11) in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction (head 12 has a disc shape bulging from an upper end of the stem portion 11 toward an outside), wherein the stem portion (11) has frustum cone shape in which the cross sectional area gradually increases toward the base part (2), in which the outer surface of the lower half part of the stem portion (11) is curved toward the surface of the base part (2; figures 4, 6 & 7).
Fukuhara further discloses a lower half part of the stem portion (11) includes a part where an outer surface is formed straight or substantially straight (see the straight side wall at the lower half part of the stem portion; figure 4), and the lower half part includes a part (further below near the substrate) where an outer surface is curved toward the surface of the base part (so as to enlarge the outer peripheral surface at the base part).
Fukuhara does not explicitly disclose the part where the outer surface is formed straightly or substantially straightly in a first shape obtained by viewing the engagement element (10) from the machining direction (MD), the outer surface facing a cross direction (CD) orthogonal to the machining direction (MD), and the part where an outer surface facing the machining direction (MD) is curved toward the surface of the base part (2) in a second shape obtained by viewing engagement element (10) from the cross direction (CD), the outer surface.
Murasaki teaches a surface fastener comprising a stem portion (21) including a part (21a) where an outer surface is formed straight or substantially straight in a first shape (see W1 profile of 21a) obtained by viewing the engaging element (2) from one direction, the outer surface (of 21a) facing a cross direction orthogonal to a machining direction, and the lower half part (of 21a) includes a part (21b) where an outer surface (of 21b) facing the machining direction is curved towards the surface of the base part (1) in a second shape (see the W2 profile of 21b, decreasing gradually from the proximal end to the top and curved into the substrate at its bottom end) obtained by viewing the engaging element (2) from the cross section (see figures 1-3 in which the sidewall profile along the first column portion 21a differs from the sidewall profile along the orthogonal second column portion 21b).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the stem portion (11) of Fukuhara with the directionally different and non-rotational symmetry parts as taught by Murasaki, such that the straight first shape is presented in one viewing direction and the curved second shape is presented in the orthogonal view direction in order to increase stiffness of the column in the direction where the profile is straight while permitting the engaging head to fasten the mating pile (in the orthogonal direction) and thereby raising the engagement ratio (paragraphs [0023]-[0024] and [0072]).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener according to claim 1. Murasaki further teaches wherein: an upper half part of the stem portion (21) in the second shape (W2 profile of 21b) includes a part (upper portion) where the outer surface (of 21b) facing the machining direction is formed straightly or substantially straightly, and the part of the second shape where the outer surface is formed straightly or substantially straightly is provided in an area shorter than the part of the first shape (W1 profile of 21a) where the outer surface (of 21a) is formed straightly or substantially straightly (see figures 1-3; the width W2 is decreased gradually only from its intermediate portion downward and curves at its bottom end, so that the straight region of the second shape is shorter than the straight region W1 of the portion 21a).
Regarding claim 3, Fukuhara discloses a surface fastener made of synthetic resin and including a base part (2) and a plurality of engaging elements (10) formed integrally with the base part (2), the engaging elements (10) each including a stem portion (11) and an engaging head (12), the stem portion (11) projecting from a surface of the base part (2) in a thickness direction of the base part (2), the engaging head (12) being formed at a distal end part of the stem portion (11), a section of at least an upper end part of the stem portion (11) orthogonally to the thickness direction having a circular or nearly circular shape (figure 3), the engaging head (12) having a shape which spreads overall from the distal end part of the stem portion (11) in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction (figure 4).
Fukuhara does not explicitly disclose wherein: when, in the engaging element seen from a machining direction, a length of a joint part of the stem portion jointing to the base part in a cross direction orthogonal to the machining direction is defined as a first dimension; and, in the engaging element seen from the cross direction, a length of the joint part in the machining direction is defined as a second dimension, the stem portion has a shape such that the second dimension is greater than the first dimension, and when peel strengths of the surface fastener in a case that the surface fastener and a loop member that are in engagement with each other are peeled from each other in the machining direction and in the cross direction are respectively defined as MD peel strength and CD peel strength, the stem portion has a shape such that the CD peel strength is greater than the MD peel strength.
Murasaki teaches a joint part of the stem portion (21) having a length in a first direction (see W1 of the portion 21a) defined as a first dimension and a length in an orthogonal direction (see W2 of the portion 21b at its proximal end, which is increased relative to the top end) defined as a second dimension, the stem portion (21) having a cross-shaped section in which the second dimension (proximal W2 of 21b) is greater than the first dimension (W1 of 21a), and having direction-dependent engagement and separation behavior due to the cross-shaped sectioning (see paragraphs [0023]-[0024] and [0071]-[0073]; figures 1-3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the stem part of Fukuhara with the joint part stem portion as taught by Murasaki such that the second dimension (in the MD direction) is the greater dimension in order to increase stiffness along the larger section axis while preserving pile engagement along the orthogonal direction. It is noted that resistance to peeling is greater in the cross direction (CD) than in the machining direction (MD) due to the larger section at the joint.
Regarding claim 4, Fukuhara discloses a surface fastener made of synthetic resin and including a base part (2) and a plurality of engaging elements (10) formed integrally with the base part, the engaging elements each including a stem portion (11) and an engaging head (12), the stem portion projecting from a surface of the base part (2) in a thickness direction of the base part, the engaging head (12) being formed at a distal end part of the stem portion (11), a section of at least an upper end part of the stem portion (11) orthogonally to the thickness direction having a circular or nearly circular shape (figure 3), the engaging head (12) having a shape which spreads overall from the distal end part of the stem portion (11) in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction (figure 4).
Fukuhara does not explicitly disclose wherein: CD flexibility is higher than MD flexibility, the CD flexibility being exerted when a part of the surface fastener that extends in a cross direction orthogonal to a machining direction is bent in the thickness direction, the MD flexibility being exerted when a part of the surface fastener that extends in the machining direction is bent in the thickness direction.
Murasaki teaches a stem structure that is directionally different between the machining direction and the cross direction so as to exhibit different bending and flexibility behavior (stem portion 21 having the portion 21a of width W1 oriented in the cross direction and a second portion 21b of width W2 oriented in the machining direction, provides stiffness that differs between the machine direction and the cross direction that is orthogonal to the machine direction; paragraphs [0023]-[0024] and [0072]), whereby the surface fastener exhibits a higher flexibility when bent in one direction than in the other (orthogonal) direction (the cross direction is provided with increased stiffness due to the wider column portion while permitting greater bending in the machine direction).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stem portion (11) of Fukuhara to have the directional cross sections taught by Murasaki such that the CD flexibility is higher than the MD flexibility, in order to provide a surface fastener whose bending behavior is tailored directionally for attachment and peeling. It is noted that flexibility and stiffness is governed by the stem cross sectional shape that the molding cavities create and CD/MD flexibility is a functional property arising from the claimed directional stem geometry.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 1. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the plurality of engaging elements (10) are arranged in a line at a regular pitch in the machining direction (MD) to form an element row (figure 1), a plurality of element rows (form by the elements 10; figure 1) are arranged at a regular interval in the cross direction (CD), the engaging elements (10) in each of the element rows are shifted by half the regular pitch in the machining direction relative to the engaging elements in another one of the element rows that is adjacent in the cross direction (the engaging elements 10 are arranged in a zigzag-shaped arrangement so that elements in adjacent rows are offset; paragraph [0128] and the corresponding penetrating holes 57 of the die wheel are formed in a staggered pattern shifted by ½ pitch; paragraph [0152]-[0153]; figures 12-13), and in regard to the machining direction, the engaging elements (10) are arranged at positions such that occupied areas occupied by the respective stem portions (11) of the engaging elements (10) include portions that overlap each other between the element rows that are adjacent to each other (in the staggered arrangement the areas occupied by the stem portions 11 and penetrating holes 57 overlap between adjacent rows) in the cross direction (CD).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 1. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the engaging elements (10) each include at least one pawl portion (14) projecting in the cross direction (CD) from an outer peripheral edge part of the engaging head (12).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 3. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the plurality of engaging elements (10) are arranged in a line at a regular pitch in the machining direction (MD) to form an element row (figure 1), a plurality of element rows (form by the elements 10; figure 1) are arranged at a regular interval in the cross direction (CD), the engaging elements (10) in each of the element rows are shifted by half the regular pitch in the machining direction relative to the engaging elements in another one of the element rows that is adjacent in the cross direction (the engaging elements 10 are arranged in a zigzag-shaped arrangement so that elements in adjacent rows are offset; paragraph [0128] and the corresponding penetrating holes 57 of the die wheel are formed in a staggered pattern shifted by ½ pitch; paragraph [0152]-[0153]; figures 12-13), and in regard to the machining direction, the engaging elements (10) are arranged at positions such that occupied areas occupied by the respective stem portions (11) of the engaging elements (10) include portions that overlap each other between the element rows that are adjacent to each other (in the staggered arrangement the areas occupied by the stem portions 11 and penetrating holes 57 overlap between adjacent rows) in the cross direction (CD).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 4. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the plurality of engaging elements (10) are arranged in a line at a regular pitch in the machining direction (MD) to form an element row (figure 1), a plurality of element rows (form by the elements 10; figure 1) are arranged at a regular interval in the cross direction (CD), the engaging elements (10) in each of the element rows are shifted by half the regular pitch in the machining direction relative to the engaging elements in another one of the element rows that is adjacent in the cross direction (the engaging elements 10 are arranged in a zigzag-shaped arrangement so that elements in adjacent rows are offset; paragraph [0128] and the corresponding penetrating holes 57 of the die wheel are formed in a staggered pattern shifted by ½ pitch; paragraph [0152]-[0153]; figures 12-13), and in regard to the machining direction, the engaging elements (10) are arranged at positions such that occupied areas occupied by the respective stem portions (11) of the engaging elements (10) include portions that overlap each other between the element rows that are adjacent to each other (in the staggered arrangement the areas occupied by the stem portions 11 and penetrating holes 57 overlap between adjacent rows) in the cross direction (CD).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 3. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the engaging elements (10) each include at least one pawl portion (14) projecting in the cross direction (CD) from an outer peripheral edge part of the engaging head (12).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Fukuhara and Murasaki teaches the surface fastener of claim 4. Fukuhara further discloses wherein: the engaging elements (10) each include at least one pawl portion (14) projecting in the cross direction (CD) from an outer peripheral edge part of the engaging head (12).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for similar art cited. For example, Nestegard (US 4,894,060) teaches a molded mushroom type fastener with disc shaped engaging heads but does not teach the claimed MD/CD different stem geometry; and Seifert (US 2010/0306969) discloses a surface fastener with non-rotational symmetry of the stem portion giving direction dependent takeoff force.
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/R.D./ Examiner, Art Unit 3677
/JASON W SAN/ SPE, Art Unit 3677
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