DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 1-3, 5-6, 18, 20, 22, 27, 34, 37 and 39-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hines et al. (CA 2919527 A1). Hines et al. (hereinafter Hines) discloses a coat (12) including a garment portion including a body portion configured to cover the torso, a pair of sleeves (28, 29) coupled to the body/torso portion (24) and configured to cover the arms and an elastic pleat/gusset positioned adjacent to one of the sleeves, subparagraph 8. Further, at least one piece of elastic material/connector (70) is directly coupled to the pleats at opposite ends the garment body, subparagraph 46 but not positioned in or on the one of the sleeves as shown in figure 4. Furthermore, a supplemental pleat is coupled to the other one of the sleeve as shown in figure 4. Also, the body portion includes an outer shell having a back panel extending continuously between the pleat and the supplemental pleat as shown in figure 4. Also, the body portion includes an outer shell having a front panel and a portion of the pleat on the front and a back being made of a separate piece that extends generally circumferentially around each of the pair of sleeves and configured generally as an inverted “U” in side view as shown in figures 1-4.
However, Hines does not discloses the at least one piece of elastic material configured to bias pleat to a retracted position from an expanded position.
Subparagraph 8 of Hines discloses the elastic pleat has elastic recovery to substantially return the material to an original shape after extension. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the elastic pleat and
the supplemental pleat attached directly to each of the sleeves and to the elastic material having
elastic recovery of Hines will substantially bias the pleat to a retracted position from an
expanded position once load/stretching of the arms are relaxed while wearing the coat.
With regard to claim 5, subparagraph 587 of Hines disclose various layers of garment material may be attached or coupled together by any suitable means. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the back panel on a back of the coat and portions of the supplemental pleat on the back of the coat of Hines can but not limited to made of a single, unitary seamless piece of material, etc. in order to make the coat in a cost effective manner or as required for a particular application thereof.
With regard to claim 6, subparagraph 8 of Hines discloses the elastic pleat has elastic recovery to substantially return the material to an original shape after extension. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the coat of Hines has a greater effective width across the back in the expanded position compared to the coat in the retracted position.in in order to substantially minimize stress on the back by having the pleats on each of the sleeves attached to the elastic material
With regard to claim 35, 37 and 40, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art
before the effective date of the claimed invention that the pleat of Hines substantially extends
about 150 degree about the sleeves in a continuous manner at the shoulders defining a pair of
lower ends below the shoulders as shown in figure 4 that will substantially bias the pleat attached
to the supplemental pleat being moveable to a retracted position from an expanded position once
load/stretching of the arms are relaxed while wearing the coat.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8, 14, 24, 26, 30 and 35 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. Clams 7-8, 14, 24, 26, 30 and 35 are allowable because the prior art does not teach or suggest the recitation therein including the coat with a moisture barrier lining having the pleat with an inner ply and an outer ply, wherein the pleat is configured such that when the pleat is in the retracted position the inner ply and outer ply are generally overlapping in a thickness direction and when the pleat is in the expanded position the inner ply and outer ply are not generally overlapping, or are less overlapping as compared to when the pleat is in the retracted position.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Each of the prior art references cited on PTO-892 discloses
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May 27, 2026 /TAJASH D PATEL/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3732
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