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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because, at the last line, it should read “hooked onto the two [[the]] lower hanging holes (61).” 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Published Application 2025/0344834 to Bai.
Regarding claim 1, Bai discloses a backpack with adjustable shoulder width, comprising: a bag body (1), wherein an upper back part of the bag body is sewn with an upper hanging band (50) along its width direction, and the upper hanging band is provided with a plurality of upper hanging holes (51) spaced apart along its length direction; straps (3), wherein the straps are two in number; bottom ends of the two straps are symmetrically attached at intervals on a lower back part of the bag body (Fig. 1); upper hanging buckles (52), wherein the upper hanging buckles are two in number and each is sewn to a top end of one of the straps (Fig. 3), the two upper hanging buckles are detachably hooked onto the plurality of upper hanging holes to expand or reduce a distance between the top ends of the two straps (Figs. 1, 3). Bai fails to disclose how the bottom ends of the two straps are attached to the bag body. However, elsewhere, Bai discloses portions of the backpack that are sewn (Fig. 3 – 50 is sewn to 12). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have used sewing to attach the bottom ends of the two straps to the bag body in Bai because the modification only involves choosing from a finite number of predictable material joining methods to use in a backpack.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai in view of US Patent 6,460,746 to Amram.
Regarding claim 2, Bai discloses a backpack with adjustable shoulder width, comprising: a bag body (1), wherein an upper back part of the bag body is sewn with an upper hanging band (50) along its width direction, and the upper hanging band is provided with a plurality of upper hanging holes (51) spaced apart along its length direction; straps (3), wherein the straps are two in number; upper hanging buckles (3), wherein the upper hanging buckles are two in number and each is sewn to a top end of one of the straps (Fig. 3), the two upper hanging buckles are detachably hooked onto the plurality of the upper hanging holes to expand or reduce a distance between the top ends of the two straps (Figs. 1, 3). Bai fails to disclose the claimed attachment for the bottom ends of the two straps. However, Amram discloses a backpack with adjustable shoulder straps in which the bottom attachment mechanism is the same attachment mechanism as the top attachment mechanism, but not adjustable (Fig. 7 – top has a snap hook and multiple rings to choose from, bottom has a snap hook and single ring). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have used a non-adjustable version of the top attachment mechanism in Bai to attach the bottom end of the two straps because the modification only involves a simple substitution of one known, equivalent strap attachment method for another to obtain predictable results. In the combination, an lower back part of the bag body is symmetrically sewn with two lower hanging bands (50 – Bai Fig. 3), and the two lower hanging bands respectively form lower hanging holes (51 – Bai Fig. 3) with the adjacent back of the bag body (Bai Fig. 3); lower hanging buckles (52 – Bai), wherein the lower hanging buckles are two in number and each is sewn to a bottom end of one of the straps (Bai Fig. 3), the two lower hanging buckles are detachably hooked onto two the lower hanging holes (Bai Figs. 1, 3).
Regarding claim 3, the combination from claim 2 discloses wherein a length of the straps is adjustable (Bai Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, the combination from claim 2 discloses wherein the two upper hanging buckles are respectively detachably hooked onto two of the upper hanging holes from bottom to top (Bai Fig. 3); the two lower hanging buckles are respectively detachably hooked onto two of the lower hanging holes from bottom to top (Bai Fig. 3).
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai and Amram, further in view of US Patent 9,101,189 to Vuckov.
Regarding claim 5, the combination from claim 2 discloses wherein the two upper hanging buckles and the two lower hanging buckles have the same structure and comprise a handheld plate (521 – Bai Fig. 4), an L-shaped connecting plate (522, 523 – Bai Fig. 4) the handheld plate is provided with a connecting hole (520 – Bai) for connecting to an end of the strap; the L-shaped connecting plate is fixed on the handheld plate and defines a hanging gap between the handheld plate and the L-shaped connecting plate (gap in Bai Fig. 4). The combination fails to disclose a hanging block. However, Vuckov discloses a clip that includes a hanging block (Fig. 2 – block at the lower end of 7) projecting from one of the members of the clip and located within the hanging gap of the clip (Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have included a block on the L-shaped connecting plate and within the hanging gap because it would improve retention and stability of the buckles in the holes and would prevent unwanted removal of the buckles.
Regarding claim 6, the combination from claim 5 discloses wherein a cross section of the hanging block is a right trapezoid (Vuckov Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai, Amram and Vuckov, further in view of US Published Application 2022/0000250 to Bolt.
Regarding claim 7, the combination from claim 5 fails to disclose a holding groove. However, Bolt discloses a buckle that includes a holding groove on the two opposite sides of the buckle (Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have included grooves on the two opposite sides of the handheld plate in the combination because the modification only involves a simple substitution of one known, equivalent buckle element shape for another to obtain predictable results.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai, Amram and Vuckov, further in view of EP 910,971 to Angele.
Regarding claim 8, the combination from claim 5 fails to disclose elastic plastic. However, Angele discloses a clip that is made from elastic plastic (page 2, 7th full paragraph of English translation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have made the buckle from elastic plastic because the modification only involves choosing from a finite number of predictable materials to use in a buckle assembly.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references disclose configurations similar to that disclosed by applicant.
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/SCOTT T MCNURLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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