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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/6/2026 has been entered.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 5, 6, and 18-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claims 1, 6, and 18-22 recite “The dental floss as recited in claim 15” it has been held that if the independent claim recites a method of making a specified product, a claim to the product set forth in the independent claim would not be a proper dependent claim if the product can be made by a method other than that recited in the base method claim, and thus, does not include the limitations of the base claim. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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) 5-6 and 15-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ochs (US 2005/0205107) in view of Seidler (US 5,031,647).
Regarding claim 15, Ochs discloses the method comprising the steps of providing a flosser comprising a base portion forming a handle (11) and terminating at a distal head portion, a pair of spaced apart arms (22, 23) extending from the head portion, each of the spaced apart arms having a proximal first end adjoining the head portion and a distal second end, and a length of dental floss (24) extending between the distal second ends of the arms, wherein a surface of at least one arm of the pair of arms defines at least one cavity (22B) between the first end and the second end forming a well, the cavity having side walls extending into the thickness of the arm forming a well for receiving composition, wherein the sidewalls of the cavity terminate in an outer portion, such a that a plane coincident with the surface of the at least one arm forms an acute angle with the outer portion of the side walls, and the remaining portion of the side walls extending from the outer portion into the thickness of the harm being parallel such that the dimensions of the cavity in a plane parallel to the surface of the at least one arm is substantially the same or greater than the dimensions of the bottom of the cavity (see Figure 3); providing a liquid bath of a composition comprising a flavor agent; providing a base (spatula handle) comprising a post (spatula end) extending from the base; positioning a flosser over the bath with the cavity opening vertically downward (as manipulated by the user); advancing the base from a first position where the base is submerged in the bath to a second position such that the post extends vertically from the bath and registers with the cavity for delivery of flavor agent to the well; and retracting the base to the first position after the composition has cooled to a temperature at which the composition begins to solidify and bond to the walls of the cavity such that the composition is deposited in the well (paragraph 38). Ochs does not disclose the parallel side walls terminate in an outer portion of the sidewalls of the cavity taper outwardly adjacent to the surface of at least one arm such that a plan coincident with the surface of the at least one arm forms an acute angle with the outer portion of the sidewalls such that the dimension of the cavity at the surface of the at least one arm is greater than the dimensions of the bottom of the cavity and a jig comprising the post. Seidler teaches a cosmetic device with a cavity, wherein the parallel side walls terminate in an outer portion of the sidewalls of the cavity taper outwardly adjacent to the surface of at least one arm such that a plan coincident with the surface of the at least one arm forms an acute angle with the outer portion of the sidewalls such that the dimension of the cavity at the surface of the at least one arm is greater than the dimensions of the bottom of the cavity (see Figures 14C-16; col. 5, lines 20-50) to help hold in the composition and prevent overflow. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the cavity of Ochs be made with parallel and tapering side walls as taught by Seidler to help hold in the composition. It further would have been obvious to try using a jig comprising the post extending from the jig to allow for multiple flossers to be simultaneously filled the with composition, since choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the flossing art. KSR International co. V. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. --, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Regarding claims 5 and 13, the cavity has a central longitudinal axis and a slot (23D) in the bottom of the cavity extending along the central longitudinal axis of the cavity, the slot having a length less than the respective dimension of the cavity along the central longitudinal axis corresponding to the cavity length, the cavity length being greater than a respective dimension of the slot (see Figure 3). Claims 19, 21, and 22, the cavity is sized to accommodate from about 5 mm3 to about 15 mm3 of the composition (paragraph 38). Claim 16, the distal end of the post is planar and has an area smaller than an area of the cavity defined in a plane at the surface of the arm (paragraph 38). Claim 17, the post is positioned centrally in the cavity (paragraph 38). Regarding claim 6, Ochs discloses the claimed invention except for the slot has a depth of about 0.41 mm, a width of about 1.00 mm, and a length of about 4.03 mm. However, one having ordinary skill in the art would find the parameters of the slot to be deemed matters of design choice, well within the skill of the ordinary artisan, obtained through routine experimentation in determining optimum results. Regarding claim 18, Ochs discloses an opening (22D) defined by the other surface of the at least one arm (see Figure 5A). Regarding claim 20, Ochs discloses a plurality of walls (23C) (see Figure 3); Ochs does not disclose the walls interconnecting the sidewalls of the cavity to form a plurality of wells. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the walls of Ochs connect to the sidewalls, since applicant has not disclosed that the connection solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the partial walls of Ochs.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 12/10/2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached at 571-270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
2/26/2026