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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on 2/08/2025 has been received; Claims 1-17 & 20-22 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bailey (US 2018/0332925).
Regarding Claim 1, Bailey discloses an article of footwear (14, Figure 1) comprising: a sole structure (10) having a cushioning component (12), the cushioning component including: a bladder (Figures 1-7) including a first barrier sheet (16) and a second barrier sheet (18), the first barrier sheet and the second barrier sheet together defining an interior cavity between opposing inner surface of the first and second barrier sheets (Para. 52 & 53), and the first barrier sheet and the second barrier sheet sealed to one another along a peripheral bond to enclose the interior cavity and retain a gas in the interior cavity (20, Para. 52 & 53); and a multi-sheet core (30) disposed in the interior cavity, spaced entirely inward of the peripheral bond (Figure 3), and directly bonded to the opposing inner surfaces of the first and second barrier sheets (Figure 3); wherein the multi-sheet core is displaced from the opposing inner surfaces at unbonded areas of the multi-sheet core such that the gas in the interior cavity is in fluid communication around the multi-sheet core without the multi-sheet core creating any sealed chambers within the bladder that are not in fluid communication with the interior cavity (Para. 52-54); and wherein no bonds securing the multi-sheet core to the opposing inner surfaces extend continuously from a medial edge of the multi-sheet core to a lateral edge of the multi-sheet core (Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 2, Bailey discloses anti-weld material is disposed on the multi-sheet core at the unbonded areas (Para. 55).
Regarding Claim 3, Bailey discloses the multi-sheet core lays flat within the bladder with the unbonded areas contacting the opposing inner surfaces of the first and second barrier sheets when the interior cavity of the bladder is uninflated (Figure 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-17 & 20-22 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 4-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/KATHARINE G KANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732