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 .
This is the First Office Action on the merits of Application No. 19/046105, filed on 02/05/2025. Claims 1-14 are still pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 10 is 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.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the ends" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-6, 8-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 11,608,249 to Malloy et al (henceforth referred to as Malloy).
Regarding claims 1-3, 5-6, 8, Malloy discloses an elevator cover (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 10) comprising:
a body section (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 12), said body section having a top edge and a bottom edge and left and right side edges and an interior portion;
a strap (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 30) coupled to said body section, said strap having a top end coupled to a top edge of said body section and a bottom edge coupled to said interior portion of said body section;
a plurality of openings (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 34) disposed in said strap, said plurality of openings being disposed below said top edge of said body section.
Wherein said body section comprises three layers comprising a first outer layer made from a polymer, a central padding layer and an opposite outer layer comprising a polymer (i.e. Column 3, lines 12-15: “Cotton batting or other fill material is sandwiched between the two covers… The covers are made of vinyl fabric…” wherein vinyl is a type of polymer).
Wherein said plurality of openings comprised reinforced openings having stitching to reinforce each opening (i.e. Column 5, lines 4-7: “the loops… with two or more rows of stitching…”).
Wherein said plurality of openings comprise bell shaped openings (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 34 are bell shaped with open bottoms) having an open bottom end configured to receive prongs (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 64) of an elevator.
Wherein said plurality of bell shaped openings comprise reinforced openings having stitching to reinforce each opening (i.e. Column 5, lines 4-7: “the loops… with two or more rows of stitching…”).
Wherein the polymer outer layers are made from a polyvinyl chloride material (i.e. Column 3, lines 14-15: The covers are made of vinyl fabric…).
Regarding claims 9-14, Malloy discloses a process for making a cover (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 10) comprising the steps of:
making a first layer from a polymer material (i.e. Column 3, lines 12-15: “Cotton batting or other fill material is sandwiched between the two covers… The covers are made of vinyl fabric…” wherein vinyl is a type of polymer);
making a middle layer from a foam material (i.e. Column 3, lines 12-15: “Cotton batting or other fill material is sandwiched between the two covers… The covers are made of vinyl fabric…”);
making a third layer from a polymer material (i.e. Column 3, lines 12-15: “Cotton batting or other fill material is sandwiched between the two covers… The covers are made of vinyl fabric…” wherein vinyl is a type of polymer);
joining a first layer to said middle layer; and
joining said third layer to said middle layer (i.e. “protective pad is quilted and includes a front cover.. and a back cover…, with two covers joined together at their edges by bias edge trim strips”).
Further comprising sealing the ends of said first layer to said third layer to protect said middle layer from moisture (i.e. “protective pad is quilted and includes a front cover.. and a back cover…, with two covers joined together at their edges by bias edge trim strips”).
Further comprising coupling at least one hook and loop fastener (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 34) to at least one of said first layer and second layer.
Further comprising coupling a strap (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 30) to at least one of said first and second layer.
Wherein said first layer and said second layer are coupled together at an upper edge (i.e. Fig. 3, upper edge at ref. 32) and said strap (i.e. Fig. 3, ref. 30) is coupled to said upper edge.
Wherein said strap comprises a plurality of holes (i.e. Fig. 5, holes of ref. 34 which prongs, ref. 64 protrude through).
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) 4 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent No. 11,608,249 to Malloy et al in view of US Patent No. 4,924,973 to Miller (henceforth referred to as Miller).
Regarding claims 4 and 7, Malloy does not specifically teach metal ring reinforcing each of said plurality of openings. However, metal grommets used to hang protective elevator pads for moving purposes in elevators used in condominiums and apartments are known in the art. For example, Miller teaches in Fig. 1 and 2 known elevator pad (i.e. ref. 10) made of quilted material with metal grommets (i.e. not referenced but shown in Fig. 2) that are used to hang the protective pads onto mounts (ref. 14) attached to the elevator cabin (ref. 12). Miller teaches these pads are typically used to “prevent scratching of the walls when large or heavy objects are moved into the cab” (i.e. Column 1, lines 11-14). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use metal grommets as taught in Miller to reinforce the looped openings as taught in Malloy to prevent ripping of the loops when large and heavy objects push/pull against the pads during moving occasions in a condominium and there would have been reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent No. 10,392,228 to Miller et al teaches an elevator protection pad;
US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0121349 to De La Cruz teaches an elevator protection pad;
US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0255639 teaches an elevator protection pad.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEM M TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7825. The examiner can normally be reached M 9-5, W-F 10-2.
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/DIEM M TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3654