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 1-8 are pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. As of the date of this application, no Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) has been filed on behalf of this case.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over High et al. (US 2011/0290683) in view of Overton (US 2008/0190980).
In regards to Claim 1, High discloses a reinforcement device that can be equipped to a golf bag with stand legs, the reinforcement device comprising: left and right through-sleeves (High: Fig. 1; 30) through which the stand legs are passed when the reinforcing device is equipped; a first fabric part (High: Fig. 1; 20) disposed between the left and right through-sleeves; and second fabric parts (High: [0062], [0072]; elastic edging) disposed on the left and right of the thick fabric part.
High fails to explicitly disclose a thick fabric; and thin fabric. However, Overton teaches a thick fabric part; and thin fabric part (Overton: [0031]; recites relative thickness difference).
High and Overton are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. flexible fabric supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the elastic material in High to be thinner than the adjoining material as taught by Overton, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a specific material that is capable of stretching to match required dimensions during use and shrinking to a compact size when not in use, ensuring it can provide a taught structure when deployed and a non-obstructing form when retracted (Overton: [0031]; High: [0062], [0072] [0068], [0072]).
In regards to Claim 2, High, as modified, teaches the reinforcement device according to Claim 1, wherein at least upper parts of the left and right through-sleeves are treated with an anti-slip treatment (High: [0060]; non-slide surface coating).
In regards to Claim 4, High, as modified, teaches the reinforcement device according to Claim 1, wherein at least portions of an engagement portion between the thick fabric part and the thin fabric parts disposed on the left and right sides of the thick fabric part are reinforced (High: [0060], [0072]; edging includes stiffening member, stiffening member multi-layer hem or multiple layers of material).
In regards to Claim 6, High, as modified, teaches the reinforcement device according to Claim 1, wherein a surface of the thick fabric part has a display function as a banner or a display device (High: [0069]).
In regards to Claim 8, High, as modified, teaches the reinforcement device according to Claim 6, wherein a reinforcing material is used in an upper part of the thick fabric part (High: [0069]; reinforcing border).
Claims 3, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over High et al. (US 2011/0290683) in view of Overton (US 2008/0190980) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Belson (US 4,114,667).
In regards to Claim 3, High, as modified, teaches the reinforcing device according to Claim 1, wherein cord stoppers are used as anti-slip materials at least upper parts of the left and right through-sleeves.
However, Belson teaches a cord stopper (Belson: Fig. 1-4; 20)used as anti-slip materials at least upper parts of a sleeve.
High and Belson are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. flexible fabric supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sleeves with the integrated cord stopper from Belson, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a specific structure of an integrated connector mechanism that enables a user to tighten and securely tie the device to an object, thereby helping to prevent slipping of the device (Belson: Col. 3, Ln. 6-19; High: [0085]-[0088]).
Claim 5 is rejected, as set forth in the rejection of claim 4.
Claim 7 is rejected, as set forth in the rejection of claim 6.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for cited references.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Taylor Morris whose telephone number is (571)272-6367. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10AM-6PM PST / 1PM-9PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at (571) 272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Taylor Morris/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631
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