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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to Application filed on 8/17/2025 in which claims 1-15 were presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/17/2025 was considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the specification does not have references to the priority claimed on the ADS form, the reference should be included on page 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 13 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 6, line 2 change “protective layer” to –the protective layer--.; claim 13, line 2 change “cellular energy” to –the cellular energy--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 3-8 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 3-5 recite “sidewall/s”, “bottom/s” and recess/s” which is unclear what the metes and bound the applicant is claiming, it is recommended to delete “/”.
Claim 6 recite “the recess” on line 2, did the applicant meant to recite –the at least one recess--?
Claims 7-8 are rejected because they depend directly or indirectly on rejected claims.
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.
Claims 1-7 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chilson (U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0047110 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chilson discloses a helmet (See Figs. 4-5 identifier 100) comprising:
- at least a cellular energy-absorbing insert (122);
- a foam liner (130, para. 0017 describe foam) comprising at least one recess (between 420 and 440 where the insert 122 is inserted as shown in Fig. 4) shaped to accommodate the at least one cellular energy-absorbing insert (See Fig. 4 and para. 0022); the foam liner (130) also comprises at least one vent (109) (capable) for allowing an air transit from outside the helmet (100) to the cellular energy- absorbing insert (122) (as described in para. 0012); and,
wherein the at least one vent (109) is partially closed (as shown in Fig. 1 the vent opening is partially closed because of the slanted walls surrounding the bottom of the opening) such that the at least one cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) is not visible from outside the helmet (100) through the vent (109) (when worn on the head of the wearer in an upright position).
Regarding claim 2, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein the cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) comprises a plurality of interconnected open cells (para. 0014) configured (capable) to absorb energy by plastic deformation in response to a longitudinal compressive load applied to said cells (para. 0016).
Regarding claim 3, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein each cell (para. 0014) comprises a tube having sidewalls (514) and a longitudinal axis (extending along the cell walls), and the cells (para. 0014) are connected to each other through their sidewalls (See Figs. 4-5).
Regarding claim 4, Chilson discloses a helmet further comprising a protective layer (which is the cell walls adjacent the recess walls of the foam liner) attached to the foam liner (See above and Fig. 4) in correspondence of bottoms of said recesses (See above and Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein the protective layer (See above) is also attached to sidewalls (414) of said recesses (See above and Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein protective layer (See above) is a sheet layered over the recess (414) of the foam liner (130) (because the layer as described above is the wall of the cell adjacent the recess).
Regarding claim 7, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein the protective layer (See above) crosses the at least one vent (109 as shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 13, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) has synclastic properties (because it has the shape of a dome as shown in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 14, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein the cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) is configured (capable) to provide an improved shock absorbing protection as compared with the foam liner (because it deforms as described above).
Regarding claim 15, Chilson discloses a helmet wherein the foam liner (130) is made of a polymeric expanded foam (paras. 0011, 0017).
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 of this title, 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 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chilson (U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0047110 A1) in view of Broersma (U.S. Patent No. 5,309,576).
Regarding claim 9, Chilson discloses the invention substantially as claimed above.
Chilson does not disclose at least one plug shaped to fill at least in part the at least one vent.
However, Broersma teaches yet another helmet (10) having at least one vent (109) and at least one plug (Fig. 5 identifier 20) shaped to fill at least in part the at least one vent (See Figs. 3, 5-6a).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have manufactured Chilson helmet with at least one plug shaped to fill at least in part the at least one vent as taught by Broersma in order to provide climate control allowing a user to adjust airflow based on weather conditions.
Regarding claim 10, Chilson as modified by Broersma discloses a helmet wherein the plug (109) comprises at least one air channel (Fig. 5 identifier 25) through which the air can transit from outside the helmet (100) to the cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) (when modified).
Regarding claim 11, Chilson as modified by Broersma discloses a helmet wherein the at least one air channel (25) is configured (capable) to laterally divert the air.
Regarding claim 12, Chilson as modified by Broersma discloses a helmet wherein the plug (20) is shaped so as to form air passages (See Figs. 3, 5-6a) with the foam liner (130 when modified) through which the air can transit from outside the helmet (100) to the cellular energy-absorbing insert (122) (when modified).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered (See PTO-892) pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHALED ANNIS whose telephone number is (571)270-1563. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8 am-5 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alissa Tompkins can be reached at 571-272-3425. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KHALED ANNIS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732