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 .
This is a non-final Office action responsive to the reply filed on 07/06/2026.
Claims 1, 2, 5 and 7 have been amended.
Claim 8 has been canceled.
Claims 1-7 are pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/06/2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a slider body of the slider includes: an upper blade; a lower blade; a connection post connecting the upper blade and the lower blade; left and right upper flanges extending from left and right side edges of the upper blade toward the lower blade; and left and right lower flanges extending from left and right side edges of the lower blade toward the upper blade, wherein at least one of the upper flanges and the lower flanges are slidable to the steps of the fastener elements, wherein a gap in which the upper flange or lower flange of the slider is received is formed outside the step in the tape width direction in each of the plurality of fastener elements, from claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 2 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 18 “the dimension” should be - - a dimension - -.
Claim 1, line 31 “the upper flange or lower flange” should be - - the upper flanges or the lower flanges - -.
Claim 2, line 7 “the position of the sewing portion” should be - - a position of the sewn portion - -.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Defazio et al. (US Patent No. 3,449,764), in view of Kusayama et al. (US Patent No. 7,624,482).
Regarding claim 1, Defazio et al. discloses a slide fastener-attached product comprising:
a pair of fastener stringers, each including a fastener tape and a plurality of fastener elements arranged on the fastener tape at equal intervals in a tape length direction (see annotated Fig. 1);
a fastener-receiving member including a pair of stringer attachment edges to which the fastener stringers are attached respectively and that are positioned to face each other (see annotated Fig. 1);
wherein each of the fastener stringers is attached to a corresponding one of the stringer attachment edges with a sewn portion formed of a sewing thread (see annotated Fig. 1),
wherein each of the stringer attachment edges includes a double-layer portion bent in a U-shape in a sectional view taken along a plane orthogonal to the tape length direction (see annotated Fig. 1),
wherein the double-layer portion includes a first strip portion, a bent portion, and a second strip portion in the sectional view, the first strip portion being disposed away from the fastener tape, the bent portion extending from the first strip portion and having a bent shape, and the second strip portion extending from the bent portion and being disposed in the first strip portion overlappingly (see annotated Fig. 1),
wherein a part of the sewn portion is disposed between a lower surface of the first strip portion and an upper surface of the second strip portion of the double-layer portion (see annotated Fig. 1),
wherein the bent portion is disposed in contact with the plurality of fastener elements (see Fig. 2),
wherein a waterproof region is formed between the sewn portion and the plurality of fastener elements (see annotated Fig. 1), and
Defazio et al. does not disclose,
wherein each of the plurality of fastener elements includes an element base including a portion having a constant thickness, a fin portion extending outward in a tape width direction from the element base and having a dimension less than the dimension of the element base in a tape thickness direction, and a step provided between the element base and the fin portion,
wherein a slider body of a slider includes: an upper blade; a lower blade; a connection post connecting the upper blade and the lower blade; left and right upper flanges extending from left and right side edges of the upper blade toward the lower blade; and left and right lower flanges extending from left and right side edges of the lower blade toward the upper blade, wherein at least one of the upper flanges and the lower flanges are slidable to the steps of the fastener elements, and
wherein a gap in which the upper flange or lower flange of the slider is received is formed outside the step in the tape width direction in each of the plurality of fastener elements
However, Kusayama et al. teaches,
wherein each of the plurality of fastener elements includes an element base including a portion having a constant thickness, a fin portion extending outward in a tape width direction from the element base and having a dimension less than the dimension of the element base in a tape thickness direction, and a step provided between the element base and the fin portion (see annotated Fig. 3),
wherein a slider body of a slider includes: an upper blade; a lower blade; a connection post (4c) connecting the upper blade and the lower blade; left and right upper flanges extending from left and right side edges of the upper blade toward the lower blade; and left and right lower flanges extending from left and right side edges of the lower blade toward the upper blade, wherein at least one of the upper flanges and the lower flanges are slidable to the steps of the fastener elements (see annotated Fig. 3 and Fig. 4), and
wherein a gap in which the upper flange or lower flange of the slider is received is formed outside the step in the tape width direction in each of the plurality of fastener elements (see annotated Fig. 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the plurality of fastener elements from Defazio et al. with the the plurality of fastener elements from Kusayama et al. in order to have a stronger fastener elements and slider to be able to prevent damaged even when a strong tearing force is applied to the slide fastener.
Defazio et al. also does not disclose the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 10.0 mm or less in a tape width direction of the fastener tape. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 10.0 mm or less in a tape width direction of the fastener tape, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the relative dimension of a component. A change in relative dimension is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Gardner v. TEC 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984). It will be obvious to have a relative distance between the sewn portion and the fastener elements for the design application being used.
Regarding claim 2, Defazio et al. discloses, the fastener tape has a tape front surface facing the second strip portion and a tape back surface disposed on a side opposite to the tape front surface (see annotated Fig. 1), and
the waterproof region is formed by forming a portion of the double-layer portion between the position of the sewing portion and a position of the bent portion as a flap on the tape front surface of the fastener tape (see annotated Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Defazio et al. discloses, wherein the fastener tape and the second strip portion are bonded to each other in at least a part of a region between the bent portion and the sewn portion (see annotated Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Defazio et al. discloses, wherein the bent portion is formed to enable maintenance of the bent shape of the bent portion by being subjected to a heat treatment (see annotated Fig. 1). The recitation limitation “a heat treatment” is directed to a product-by-process claim wherein the process relied upon is “a heat treatment”. This limitation is not given a patentable weight since the structural limitations of the claimed product are met (see annotated Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Defazio et al. discloses the claimed invention except for the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 0.5 mm or more in the tape width direction of the fastener tape. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 0.5 mm or more in the tape width direction of the fastener tape, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the relative dimension of a component. A change in relative dimension is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Gardner v. TEC 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984). It will be obvious to have a relative distance between the sewn portion and the fastener elements for the design application being used.
Regarding claim 6, Defazio et al. discloses the claimed invention except for a dimension from an outer surface of the first strip portion of the double-layer portion to an outer surface of the second strip portion of the double-layer portion in a tape thickness direction of the fastener tape is 0.25 mm or more and 5.0 mm or less. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have a dimension from an outer surface of the first strip portion of the double-layer portion to an outer surface of the second strip portion of the double-layer portion in a tape thickness direction of the fastener tape is 0.25 mm or more and 5.0 mm or less, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the relative dimension of a component. A change in relative dimension is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Gardner v. TEC 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984). It will be obvious to have a relative distance between the outer surface of the first strip portion and the outer surface of the second strip portion for the design application being used.
Regarding claim 7, Defazio et al. discloses, wherein the bent portion is close to a position of forming the sewn portion and to the plurality of fastener elements in a left-and-right direction (see annotated Fig. 1).
Defazio et al. does not discloses the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 0.5 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less in the tape width direction of the fastener tape. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the sewn portion is disposed away from the fastener elements by a separation distance of 0.5 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less in the tape width direction of the fastener tape, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the relative dimension of a component. A change in relative dimension is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Gardner v. TEC 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984). It will be obvious to have a relative distance between the sewn portion and the fastener elements for the design application being used.
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Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5 and 6, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made of Defazio et al., in view of Kusayama et al.
Kusayama et al. teaches a step is provided between an element base and a fin portion of each fastener element; at least one of the upper and lower flanges of a slider body of a slider are slidable to the steps of the fastener elements; and a gap in which the upper flange or lower flange of the slider is received is formed outside the step in the tape width direction in each of the plurality of fastener elements (see annotated Fig. 3).
Examiner’s Comment
In view of applicant’s amendments to the claims submitted in the reply filed on 07/06/2026, the claim rejections under 35 USC § 112 indicated in the prior Office action have been withdrawn.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LOUIS A MERCADO whose telephone number is (571)270-5388. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/LOUIS A. MERCADO/
Examiner
Art Unit 3677
/JASON W SAN/SPE, Art Unit 3677
Prosecution Insights