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 .
Status of the Application
Claims 1-13 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on merits. The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 12/19/2024 has been acknowledged by the Office.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites both “a user’s body” and “a body” (referring to a portion of a mattress). Due to the similar wording for both elements, some confusion may be introduced. Suggest modifying the terminology for at least one of the “body” elements to add further distinction. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0165382 to Ermalovich et al. (hereinafter Ermalovich).
Regarding claim 1, Ermalovich teaches: A bed (see Fig. 1A, adjustable bed 2) comprising:
a mattress (see Fig. 1C, mattress 8) including a topper for supporting a user's body (see Fig. 1C, upper top layer of mattress 8 is considered “a topper”), and a body disposed below the topper to support the topper (see Fig. 1C, primary portion of mattress 8);
a frame supporting the mattress (see Fig. 1A, frame 10);
one or more air receiving parts (see Fig. 1A-C, pneumatic adjustment modules) supported by the body and configured to expand by receiving air or contract by discharging air (see para [0006, 0028]) to raise or lower the topper in an up-down direction to stretch the user's body (see Fig. 1C, where at least head end of mattress 8 and top layer of mattress are shown raised/lowered via pneumatic modules);
a pump (see Fig. 3B and 4, pump 46) configured to operates to inflate or deflate the one or more air receiving parts (see para [0030]);
a lifting part (see Fig. 1A-1C, support panels 12, 14, 16, 18) which is supported by the frame and moves up and down to raise and lower the mattress in the up-down direction to stretch the user's body (see Fig. 1A-C, see at least upward articulation of upper body support panel 12); and
a controller (see Fig. 4, controller 48) for controlling the operation of at least one of the pump and the lifting part to adjust an upward movement distance of the topper (see para [0030-0031]).
Regarding claim 2, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the one or more air receiving parts are arranged to overlap with a region extending directly upward from the lifting part so that the one or more air receiving parts are moved upward together with the mattress when the lifting part moves upward (see Fig. 1C as shown, head end pneumatic modules 3 are above upper body support panel location and move concurrently).
Regarding claim 3, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the lifting part includes: a lifting member supported by the frame to be movable up and down and configured to move the mattress up and down (see Fig. 1C, support panel 12 is supported by the frame portions 11a-b, 13a-b); and a driving member for providing driving force to the lifting member (see Fig. 1B-C, unlabeled rod extending from support panel 12 to frame).
Examiner Note: Structure and articulation of Emalovich’s adjustable bed is incorporated by reference from U.S. Patent 10,932,583, per para [0027]).
Regarding claim 4, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the controller (see Fig. 4, controller 48) controls the operation of the pump so that the one or more air receiving parts are expanded to raise the topper by a first movement distance (see Fig. 1A, head panel 12 is horizontal while head tilt actuators 6 are raised by pneumatic modules), and controls the operation of the pump and the lifting part so that the one or more air receiving parts are expanded and the lifting part is moved upward to raise the topper by a second movement distance greater than the first movement distance (see Fig. 1B, head panel 12 is shown raised simultaneously while head tilt actuators 6 are raised by pneumatic modules 3 to a greater distance than shown in Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 5, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the controller (see Fig. 4, controller 48) controls the operation of the pump and the lifting part so that the topper is raised by one of the one or more air receiving parts and the lifting part, and then the topper is further raised by the other one of the one or more air receiving parts and the lifting part (see Fig. 1A and 1B, in Figure 1A the panel 12 is flat and pneumatic modules 3 are inflated, in Fig. 1B both the panel 12 is raised and the pneumatic modules are inflated thus further raising the mattress and topper 8, see Fig. 1C).
Regarding claim 6, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: further comprising: an air flow path (see Fig. 3A-C, and 4, inflation conduits 42) for allowing the pump and the one or more air receiving parts to communicate with each other (see para [0030]); and a valve configured to be opened and closed to allow or restrict flow of air in the air flow path (see Fig. 4, regulating valves 44); wherein the one or more air receiving parts include: a lower cell (see Fig. 2A-C, middle expansion segment 30); and an upper cell (see Fig. 2A-C, uppermost expansion segment 30) disposed on top of the lower cell (see Fig. 2A-C, as shown), and wherein the controller controls the operation of the pump and the valve so that the lower cell and the upper cell are sequentially expanded (see para [0028]: “In certain implementations, the segments 30 may be individually and sequentially inflated to provide incremental predetermined tilt positions within the overall tilt range”).
Regarding claim 7, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 6, and additionally teaches: wherein the upper cell and the lower cell are formed such that the height of the expanded upper cell and the height of the expanded lower cell are the same (see Fig. 2A-2B, middle segment 30 and upper segment 30 appear to have the same height when expanded).
Regarding claim 8, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein a lifting distance of the lifting part is smaller than a height of the one or more air receiving parts expanded (see Fig. 1A, when head panel 12 is horizontal, its lifting distance is smaller than the height of expanded pneumatic modules 3).
Regarding claim 9, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 6, and additionally teaches: wherein the lower cell includes a plurality of lower cells (see Fig. 5A-B, 7A-C, plurality of lobes 50 for segments 30), and the plurality of lower cells are arranged adjacent to each other in a width direction of the bed (see Fig. 5A-B, and 7A-C, a plurality of lower lobes 50 are present across the width of the bed in two areas, denoted by 6) so that the user's body supported by the topper is positioned in a region extending directly upward between the plurality of lower cells (see Fig. 1C and 5A).
Regarding claim 10, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 6, and additionally teaches: wherein the upper cell is formed in a bar-like shape extending in a width direction of the bed (see Fig. 2A-C, upper segment 30 is “bar-like” and extends across the width direction of bed) so that the user's body supported by the topper is positioned in a region extending directly upward from the upper cell (see Fig. 1C).
Regarding claim 11, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: further comprising an air flow path (see Fig. 3A-C, and 4, inflation conduits 42) connected to the pump and the one or more air receiving parts to provide a passage through which air flows (see para [0030]), wherein the frame has a frame hole (see Fig. 1A-1B, frame 10 generally has an open space area between side rails 11a/b and end rails 13a/b), the body has a body hole (see Fig. 3B, apertures 43 in panels 12/14, see para [0030]), the frame hole and the body hole communicate with each other (see Fig. 3B, apertures communicate with frame opening (described above) through which conduits 42 run), and the air flow path passes through the frame hole and the body hole and is connected to the one or more air receiving parts (see para [0030]).
Regarding claim 12, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the lifting part moves a lower surface of the body up and down in the up-down direction to raise or lower the topper (see at least Fig. 1A-1C).
Regarding claim 13, Emalovich teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 1, and additionally teaches: wherein the frame includes: a support frame (see Fig. 1A-1C, frame 10 includes side rails 11a/b and end rails 13a/b) supporting the lifting part (see Fig. 1A-1C, support panel 12) and the one or more air receiving parts (see Fig. 1A-1C, pneumatic modules are located on panels 12); and one or more rotation frames arranged to be rotatable relative to the support frame (see Fig. 1C, at least frames 12 and 18 are rotatable upward relative to frame 10).
Examiner Note: Structure and articulation of Emalovich’s adjustable bed is incorporated by reference from U.S. Patent 10,932,583, per para [0027]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited patents show person and patient supporting devices with similar properties to the claimed invention. They show the general state of the art and are of general relevance with respect to the claimed subject matter.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID R HARE whose telephone number is (571)272-4420. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 8:00 AM-5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Justin Mikowski can be reached at 571-272-8525. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Sincerely,
/DAVID R HARE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673
3/3/2026