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 17-31 have been examined in this application. Claims 1-16 have been canceled. This communication is the first action on merits. The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 6/27/2025 has been acknowledged by the Office.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species I, Subspecies Set 5, Subspecies VIII (Inclusive of Figs. 50-51) in the reply filed on 5/20/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “Applicant notes that the elected subspecies is one particular embodiment of an active mattress encasement within the Species identified in the Restriction Requirement as including Figures 1A, 2-2A, 5-7, 12-21, and 26-29. Accordingly, the subject matter of elected Species I, Subspecies Set 5, subspecies VIII is not limited solely to the discussion in the Specification of the specific features illustrated in Figures 50 and 51, but should instead also encompass any of the discussion of the features shown in at least 1A, 2-2A, 5-7, 12-21, and 26-29, which are generic to each of the subspecies sets and subspecies under Species I, including the elected species set and subspecies.” This is found persuasive in that the additionally identified Figures 1A, 2-2A, 5-7, 12-21, and 26-29 will be additionally encompassed under Applicant’s elected Species.
It is further noted that the Restriction Requirement between Invention I (Claims 1-8, and 14), Invention II (Claims 9-10), and Invention III (Claims 11-13, 15-16) in the restriction requirement dated 3/24/2026 has been rendered moot by Applicant’s amendment to the claims filed 5/20/2026 cancelling said claims, and is hereby withdrawn.
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 31 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 31 recites the limitation "the top layer of material and the bottom layer material" in lines 9-10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The top and bottom layers of material recited will be examined as best understood.
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) 17-22, 24, and 27-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 8,006,331 to Scarleski.
Regarding claim 17, Scarleski teaches: An active encasement for a mattress or foundation (see Title: “Active Mattress Spinner” and Fig. 24, [40]) comprising:
a top panel (see Fig. 24, top portion of cover [40]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, top of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] and opposing exterior surface);
a bottom panel (see Fig. 24, bottom portion of cover [40], approx surface [46]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, bottom of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] when contained within and opposing exterior surface);
an inflatable volume (see Fig. 3, 24, [121’]: inflatable volume/levitation device) formed at least in part from at least a portion of said bottom panel (see Fig. 24), said inflatable volume comprising a top layer of material and a bottom layer of material (see Fig. 3 and 24, bottom layer includes the cover [40], e.g. ‘top layer’ and inflatable volume portion [121/121’] as such, the inflatable volume may be considered a ‘bottom layer’ of material), an air inlet (see Fig. 3, [123]: nozzle) configured to be in communication with an external air supply (see Fig. 3, [127]: air supply/air pump) that delivers air into the inflatable volume (see col. 7, lines [34-35]), one or more air discharge holes (see Fig. 3, [131/133]: air discharge holes) configured to discharge air from the inflatable volume (see col. 5, lines [30-46]); and a plurality of attachment points that connect the top layer of material and the bottom layer of material (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”), wherein the plurality of attachment points form a stitch pattern (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”, the Examiner considers one or more stitches capable of forming a ‘pattern’); and
a plurality of side panels configured to selectively attach and detach the top panel with respect to the bottom panel to form said encasement (see Fig. 24, upper and lower “side panels” are formed on vertical side surfaces of cover [40] and selectively attached and detached from on another via a zipper [44] which opens and closes the opening [42]).
Regarding claim 18, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17 and also teaches: wherein at least one of said plurality of side panels includes a separable upper portion and a separable lower portion (see annotated Fig. 24 below), said separable upper portion and said separable lower portion being selectively attachable and detachable with respect to each other (see Fig. 24, upper and lower portions are selectively attachable via zipper [44]).
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Regarding claim 19, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17 and also teaches: wherein at least a portion of one of said plurality of side panels is integrally formed with the top panel (see Fig. 24, top panel is integrally formed with the upper portion of side panel, see also annotation of Fig. 24 above).
Regarding claim 20, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17 and also teaches: wherein at least a portion of one of said plurality of side panels is integrally formed with the bottom panel (see Fig. 24, bottom panel is integrally formed with the lower portion of side panel, see also annotation of Fig. 24 above).
Regarding claim 21, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17 and also teaches: wherein the air inlet comprises an air inlet nozzle (see Fig. 3, [123]: nozzle) and a conduit (see Fig. 3, [125]: conduit) configured to allow air from the external air supply to be delivered to the inflatable volume (see col. 7, lines [34-35]).
Regarding claim 22, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17 and also teaches: wherein the one or more air discharge holes comprise at least one non-adjustable air exit hole (see col. 5, lines [30-40], Scarleski is silent to holes [131/133] as allowing for adjustable air flow).
Regarding claim 24, Skarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17, and additionally teaches: wherein the one or more air discharge holes comprise at least one adjustable air discharge valve (see Fig. 3, [131/133]: air discharge hole, the examiner notes that the position of the structure [121] could be adjusted/rotated with respect to a lower supporting foundation [22 in Fig. 24] and as such the holes [131/133] may be considered “adjustable” under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding claim 27, Skarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17, and additionally teaches: wherein the stitch pattern defines at least a portion of a perimeter of the inflatable volume (see col. 5, lines [32-40]: “centrally located stitching” would define a least a perimeter of the inflatable volume).
Regarding claim 28, Skarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17, and additionally teaches: wherein the stitch pattern is within a perimeter of the inflatable volume (see Fig. 3 and 24, the Examiner notes the stitching as described in col. 5, lines [21-40] must be located internal to or at least on the edge of the perimeter of the inflatable volume [121/121’] in order to effect a proper connection with bottom panel [124]).
Regarding claim 29, Skarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 17, and additionally teaches: wherein at least a portion of the interior surface of said bottom panel comprises a slick surface to facilitate rotation of said mattress with respect to said bottom panel as well as installation and removal of said mattress or foundation with respect to said encasement (see col. 5, lines [26-29], [44-48] and col. 8, lines [43-45]).
Regarding claim 30, Scarleski teaches: An active encasement for a mattress or foundation (see Title: “Active Mattress Spinner” and Fig. 24, [40]) comprising:
a top panel (see Fig. 24, top portion of cover [40]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, top of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] and opposing exterior surface);
a bottom panel (see Fig. 24, bottom portion of cover [40], approx surface [46]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, bottom of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] when contained within and opposing exterior surface) the bottom panel comprising at least two layers, including a top layer of material and a bottom layer of material (see Fig. 3 and 24, bottom layer includes the cover [40], e.g. ‘top layer’ and inflatable volume portion [121/121’] as such, the inflatable volume may be considered a ‘bottom layer’ of material);
an inflatable volume (see Fig. 3, 24, [121’]: inflatable volume/levitation device) formed from the at least two layers of the bottom panel (see Fig. 24), said inflatable volume comprising an air inlet (see Fig. 3, [123]: nozzle) configured to be in communication with an external air supply (see Fig. 3, [127]: air supply/air pump) that delivers air into the inflatable volume (see col. 7, lines [34-35]), and one or more air discharge holes (see Fig. 3, [131/133]: air discharge holes) configured to discharge air from the inflatable volume (see col. 5, lines [30-46]); and a plurality of attachment points that connect the top layer of material and the bottom layer of material (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”), wherein the plurality of attachment points form a stitch pattern (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”, the Examiner considers one or more stitches capable of forming a ‘pattern’)
a plurality of side panels configured to selectively attach and detach the top panel with respect to the bottom panel to form said encasement (see Fig. 24, upper and lower “side panels” are formed on vertical side surfaces of cover [40] and selectively attached and detached from on another via a zipper [44] which opens and closes the opening [42]);
wherein the side panels selectively attach the top panel to the bottom panel in a normal mode of operation (see Fig. 24, normal mode of operation the zipper [44] would connect upper and lower panels) and at least partially detach the top panel from the bottom panel in an alternate rotating or sliding mode of operation to enable at least a portion of said top panel to be at least partially removed from said mattress or foundation to enable movement of said mattress or foundation with respect to the bottom panel (see Fig. 24, in alternate mode, zipper [44] would be open and allow for removal of mattress [28] from encasement [40]).
Regarding claim 31 (as best understood), Scarleski teaches: An active encasement for a mattress or foundation (see Title: “Active Mattress Spinner” and Fig. 24, [40]) comprising:
a top panel (see Fig. 24, top portion of cover [40]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, top of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] and opposing exterior surface);
a bottom panel (see Fig. 24, bottom portion of cover [40], approx surface [46]) defining an exterior surface and an interior surface (see Fig. 24, bottom of cover [40] has two surfaces, an interior surface facing mattress [28] when contained within and opposing exterior surface);
a plurality of side panels configured to selectively attach and detach the top panel with respect to the bottom panel to form said encasement (see Fig. 24, upper and lower “side panels” are formed on vertical side surfaces of cover [40] and selectively attached and detached from on another via a zipper [44] which opens and closes the opening [42]).
a cover attachable to the bottom panel (see Fig. 3 and 24, bottom layer 121 forms a cover), the cover comprising a panel having an exterior surface (see Fig. 3 and 24, bottom layer 121 is a panel having an exterior surface), and an inflatable volume (see Fig. 3, 24, [121’]: inflatable volume/levitation device) formed at least in part from at least a portion of the exterior surface of the panel (see Fig. 24), the inflatable volume comprising an air inlet (see Fig. 3, [123]: nozzle) configured to receive air from an external air source (see Fig. 3, [127]: air supply/air pump) an air discharge hole (see Fig. 3, [131/133]: air discharge holes); and a plurality of attachment points that connect the top layer of material and the bottom layer of material (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”), wherein the plurality of attachment points form a stitch pattern (see col. 5, lines [21-23]: discusses inflatable volume [121] being attached to cover via “sewing”, the Examiner considers one or more stitches capable of forming a ‘pattern’).
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) 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 8,006,331 to Scarleski in view of CN 204427422 U (hereinafter Frank).
Regarding claim 25, Scarleski teaches all the limitations as described in the rejection of claim 24, however it does not teach the following: wherein the at least one adjustable air discharge valve comprises as zipper.
Frank teaches: wherein the at least one adjustable air discharge valve comprises as zipper (see Fig. 2, [2]: air tight zipper valve. “In particular, inflatable cushion 1 further comprises at least one airtight slide valve 2, and the opening of the inner space sealed to allow air inflow/outflow of the sealed inner space…Because the zipper so as to control air flow into/out of the inflatable cushion, therefore, herein referred to as "tight zipper valve.”)
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Scarleski with these aforementioned teachings of Frank by replacing the air discharge holes of Scarleski with an improved zipper discharge valve as taught by Frank with the motivation of “to greatly improve the air inflow/outflow speed and flow of the air [in/out of the] cushion.” (see Frank, disclosure).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23 and 26 are 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 closest prior art of record, U.S. Patent 8,006,331 to Skarleski, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0139316 to Rabbany, and CN 204427422 U to Frank do not teach nor fairly disclose an encasement for a mattress having a top and bottom
panel, an inflatable volume with one or more discharge holes, wherein the air
discharge holes comprise at least one non-adjustable air exit hole that includes a
corner cut-out.
Conclusion
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
6/8/2026
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