Claims 11-20 are pending in this application.
DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1 The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
2 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 11-20 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.
Claims 11-15 and 18-20 recite a method for processing hides and fabric, while the method’s steps include hides only. It is unclear if the claimed method comprising the steps of treating hides only? Or the steps include treating hides and fabrics? Clarification or correction is required.
Claims 13 and 14 recite the limitation “said water”. It is unclear if the water is cold water? Or the water in different state of temperatures such at room temperature? cold? or hot temperature?. Clarification or correction is required.
Claims 14 and 15 recite the limitation “said shaved hides”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Claims 13 and 14 dependent upon claim 11. Claim 11 does not recite “said shaved hides”. Correction is required.
Claim 17 recites the limitation “said liquid”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 17 dependent upon claim 11. Claim 11 does not recite “said liquid”. Correction is required.
Claims 18 and 19 recite the term “substantially”.
Claim 16 dependent upon rejected claim. Therefore, claim 16 is rejected as well.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3 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.
4 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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lei et al. (CN 110938717 B) in view of Sun et al. (CN 107938392 A) English translations of the Patent (CN 110938717 B) and the Patent (CN 107938392 A) are used in this Office action.
Lei et al. (CN’ 717 B) teaches a process of manufacturing leather, comprising treating a wet leather with water in a drum, treating the wet hides with a degreasing agents, retaining the leather, neutralizing the leather, dyeing in the leather to get dyeing leather, fatliquoring the leather by adding a fatliquoring agent, and drying the leather as claimed in claim 11 (see pages 13-14, Embodiment 2 and claim 1).
The instant claim differs from teaching of Lei et al. (CN’ 717 B) by reciting a method for processing hides carried out in a controlled-atmosphere environment which is thermally insulated from the surrounding environment and predetermined temperature and/or humidity conditions being generated and maintained within said controlled-atmosphere environment as claimed in claimed 11.
However, Lei et al. (CN’ 717 B) teaches a process of manufacturing leather, comprising treating wet leather with water in a drum (see claim 1).
Sun et al. (CN’ 392 A) in analogous art of dyeing leather, teaches a leather retaining dyeing technique under the condition of drum leather processing wherein the drum leather treatment temperature is 35-37 degree centigrade (see claim 4).
Therefore, in view of the teaching of Sun et al. (CN’ 393 A) it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to be motivated to modify the process of manufacturing leather of Lei et al. (CN’ 717 B) by utilizing the drum as taught by Sun et al. (CN’ 393 A) to arrive at the claimed invention. Such a modification would be obvious base of the teaching of Sun et al. (CN’ 392 A) that refers the drum which considered as a controlled-atmosphere environment at pre-defined temperature as taught in claim 4, and thus, a person of the ordinary skill in the art would expect that processing steps are performed in a controlled-atmosphere environment including temperature control, and would expect such a process to have similar results to those claimed, absent unexpected results.
Conclusion
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/EISA B ELHILO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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