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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/1/26, 3/11/26 and 7/9/26 have been considered by the examiner.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 63/379,000, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. The provisional application does not disclose a bladder and reservoir which are fluidly interconnected. There is no mention of a reservoir. Accordingly, claims 1-20 are not entitled to the benefit of the prior application. The filing date of the current application is 12/10/2024.
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)(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 11 and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2024/0049828 (ALLISON ET AL).
Regarding claim 11: The reference discloses a protective device comprising an outer shell and a carrier where a shock absorber including a bladder and reservoir are fluidly interconnected between the outer shell and carrier, and wherein the bladder transfers fluid to the reservoir when a load is applied to the shell. See claims 1-2 and Figures 1-13.
Regarding claim 13: The shell and carrier are spaced apart. See Figures 13.
Regarding claim 14: The reservoir surrounds the bladder. See Figures 1-3.
Regarding claim 15: The bladder is formed in contact with the shell and carrier. See Figures 1-13.
Regarding claim 16-17: The reservoir has an initial undeformed shape, a second deformed shape, and returns to the initial undeformed shape in an unloaded situation. See claim 10 and Figures 1-3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 and 18-20 are allowed.
Claim 12 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claims are indicated allowable because the prior art does not teach or suggest a protective device having an outer shell and carrier, wherein a shock absorber formed of a bladder and reservoir which are fluidly connected is formed between the shell and carrier and wherein at least one of the bladder and reservoir are positioned in a pocket in the carrier.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH EVANS MULVANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-1527. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4:30pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 571-272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELIZABETH E MULVANEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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