Patent Application 18844358 - IMPROVED GARMENT PROTECTING AGAINST DROWNING

Title: IMPROVED GARMENT PROTECTING AGAINST DROWNING
Application Information

Invention Title: IMPROVED GARMENT PROTECTING AGAINST DROWNING
Application Number: 18844358
Submission Date: 2025-05-22T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2024-09-05T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2024-09-05T00:00:00.000Z
Examiner Employee Number: 88647
Art Unit: 3732
Tech Center: 3700
Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 0
103 Rejections: 1
Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:
Office Action Text


    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 Claims
Claims 10-18 are pending in this application.

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, the “first housing” and “second housing” 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112

The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a)  IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same,  and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.

The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.

Claims 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement.  The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA  the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.  

Regarding claims 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as introducing the phrase “…first housing…” without support in the specification as originally filed. 

Regarding claims 10, 15, 16, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as introducing the phrase “…second housing…” without support in the specification as originally filed. 



CLAIM INTERPRETATION

The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.

The following is a quotation of pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.

Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) (pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph).  The presumption that § 112(f) (pre-AIA  § 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function. 

Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) (pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph).  The presumption that § 112(f) (pre-AIA  § 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function. 

Claim elements in this application that use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed to invoke § 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.  Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed not to invoke § 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. 
In the instant case there does not appear to be any means for language in the claims and/or language to be considered under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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.  

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.


The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.

Claims 10-18 are is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bailhe US 2607934 A (herein after Bailhe) in view of Beach-Drummond US 20140057510 A1 (herein after Beach-Drummond).

Regarding claim 10, Bailhe discloses a protective garment (Abstract,) to protect against drowning (Col 5, lines 29-34), comprising: an item of clothing comprising a front face (as seen in annotated Figures 1, 2 and 3) intended to cover an abdomen of a user (as seen in annotated Figures 1, 2 and 3), and a rear face (as seen in annotated Figures 6 and 7) intended to cover the back of the user (as seen in annotated Figures 6 and 7); an inflatable bladder (23, 24 and 25) comprising two abdominal floats (24) connected to each other by a cervical portion (25); wherein the front face of the item of clothing (as seen in annotated Figures 1, 2 and 3) comprises a first housing (22, Col 4, lines 40-50 and Col 4, lines 53-65) shaped to receive the two abdominal floats of the inflatable bladder (Col 4, lines 53-65), the first housing opening out via two openings arranged to allow an assembly of the inflatable bladder to the item of clothing (Col 2 lines 23-52) in a removable manner by inserting each abdominal float into the first housing through a respective opening (Col 4, lines 51-65), and wherein the rear face of the item of clothing (as seen in annotated Figures 6 and 7) comprises a second housing (17) configured to house the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder in a deflated state (Col 4, lines 51-65, as seen in annotated Figures 6 and 7), and to open to release the cervical portion when the inflatable bladder is inflated (as seen in annotated Figures 6 and 7).  

[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Bladder)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second housing.)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Front face)][AltContent: arrow]
    PNG
    media_image1.png
    625
    468
    media_image1.png
    Greyscale



[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (First housing)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second housing.)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Rear face of the garment)]
    PNG
    media_image2.png
    625
    435
    media_image2.png
    Greyscale

Bailhe fails to disclose an inflator of the inflatable bladder, configured to inflate the inflatable bladder automatically when the inflator is in contact with water. 

Beach-Drummond teaches an inflator of the inflatable bladder (Abstract, paragraph 0010), configured to inflate the inflatable bladder automatically (Abstract, paragraph 0010) when the inflator is in contact with water (Abstract,as seen in annotated Figure 8)
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (An inflator of the inflatable bladder.)]
    PNG
    media_image3.png
    652
    433
    media_image3.png
    Greyscale


Bailhe is analogous art to the claimed invention as it relates to inflatable protective garments.  Beach-Drummond is analogous art to the claimed invention in that it relates to inflatable protective garments.

It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date
of the invention to have modified the garment of Bailhe, by including an inflator of the inflatable bladder, configured to inflate the inflatable bladder automatically when the inflator is in contact with water, as taught by Beach-Drummond in order to deploy the device when the wearer is unable to. The modification  would be a simple modification to obtain predictable results, improved life saving capabilities.  The ability to deploy the bladders when in contact with water ensures they will deploy even if the wearer is rendered incapable to do so.

Regarding claim 11, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein said each abdominal float (24 of  Bailhe) of the inflatable bladder is connected to the cervical portion by a narrowed portion (25 of Bailhe), with a reduced width compared to a width of an abdominal float (as seen in annotated Figure 8 of Bailhe), and a width of each opening of the first housing being between the width of the narrowed portion and the width of the abdominal float (Col 2, lines 23-52, as seen in annotated Figure 8 of Bailhe).  

Regarding claim 12, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the front face of the item of clothing comprises at least two superimposed textile layers (Col 2, lines 23-52, Col 3, lines 66-75 of Bailhe), and the first housing is defined between said at least two superimposed textile layers (Col 2, lines 23-52 of Bailhe). 

[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second housing)][AltContent: textbox (First housing)]
    PNG
    media_image4.png
    280
    141
    media_image4.png
    Greyscale


Regarding claim 13, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the first housing comprises two compartments (as seen in annotated Figures 3 and 8 of Bailhe), each compartment being shaped to receive an abdominal float of the inflatable bladder (as seen in annotated Figures 3 and 8 of Bailhe), said each compartment being delimited by a seam between said at least two superimposed textile layers (Col 5, lines 51-58 of Bailhe).  

[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Two compartments)]
    PNG
    media_image5.png
    217
    220
    media_image5.png
    Greyscale

[AltContent: textbox (Compartments)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (First housing)]
    PNG
    media_image6.png
    347
    303
    media_image6.png
    Greyscale


Regarding claim 14, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the item of clothing (as seen in annotated Figure 1 and 6 of Bailhe) is shaped so that the cervical portion (as seen in annotated Figure 8 of Bailhe) of the inflatable bladder is external to the rear face of the item of clothing in an inflated state (as seen in annotated Figure 6 of Bailhe).  

Regarding claim 15, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the second housing (17 of Bailhe) comprises a removable fastener (26 of Bailhe).  

Regarding claim 16, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the rear face of the item of clothing (as seen in annotated Figure 1 of Bailhe) comprises two superimposed textile layers (as seen in annotated Figure 5 of Bailhe) between which the second housing is defined (as seen in annotated Figure 5 of Bailhe).  

[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Two textile layers)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second housing.)]
    PNG
    media_image7.png
    235
    291
    media_image7.png
    Greyscale


Regarding claim 17, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the two superimposed textile layers comprise a bottom textile layer (Col 5, lines 43-50 of Bailhe) and a top textile layer (as seen in annotated Figure 3 of Bailhe) comprising a cutout defining two panels (as seen in annotated Figure 3 of Bailhe), each panel carrying a part of the removable fastener (12 of Bailhe) so that the two panels can be removably joined by the removable fastener (Col 5, lines 48-58 of Bailhe).  

[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (A bottom textile layer)][AltContent: textbox (A top textile layer)]
    PNG
    media_image6.png
    347
    303
    media_image6.png
    Greyscale


Regarding claim 18, the modified protective garment of the combined references discloses wherein the second housing (17 of Bailhe) comprises a flange (Col 4, lines 40-50 of Bailhe) shaped to contain the cervical portion (as seen in annotated Figure 6 of Bailhe) of the inflatable bladder when the inflatable bladder is deflated (Col 4, lines 40-50 of Bailhe).

Conclusion

The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. 
US-11975809-B2, US-9139271-B2, US-7150668-B2, US-5759076, US-3441963, US-2950488-A, US-20200189698-A1. 

Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE M FERREIRA whose telephone number is (571)270-5916, fax number (571) 270-6916.  The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 9:00 am- 5:00 pm.

If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, ALISSA J. TOMPKINS, 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 an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system.  Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.  Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.  For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.


/Catherine M. Ferreira/
Examiner, Art Unit 3732

/ALISSA J TOMPKINS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3732