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 .
The amendments filed 10/7/2025 have been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 11, 12, 15-17, and 20-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PG Pub No. 2002/0179647 (Hall et al. hereinafter).
In re claim 1, with reference to the Figs. below, Hall et al. discloses: A baby bottle for controlling the flow of a feeding fluid, the bottle comprising: a main body (110); a tube (130) in fluid communication with said main body and having a hollow volume and two opposing ends (at junctions with 140 and 120); a baby bottle nipple (140) in fluid communication with said tube and configured to allow fluid to pass therethrough when the baby bottle is either full of fluid or less than completely full of fluid and is inverted, placing the nipple below the main body (see Fig. 2 for example); and a cutoff (150) mechanism comprising a connecting ring, a pinch mechanism and said tube, wherein said pinch mechanism includes a plunger for obstructing flow of fluid through said tube; wherein said pinch mechanism has a button configured to pace the flow of fluid through the tube and baby bottle nipple during use of the baby bottle for feeding by obstructing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is pressed and allowing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is released (150 is pressed to “pinch” the tube and control/allow/stop flow, paragraph 0020).
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It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed (i.e. for baby feeding fluid) does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. See MPEP 2114, II.
In re claim 2, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said tube (130) extends from a tip of the baby bottle nipple (140) to the main body (110).
In re claim 5, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including a feeding reservoir formed in said baby bottle nipple (inner volume/channel of 140), and wherein said tube (130) extends from said feeding reservoir to said main body (110).
In re claim 11, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses: A baby bottle for controlling the flow of a feeding fluid, the bottle comprising: a main body; a tube in fluid communication with said main body and having a hollow volume and two opposing ends; a baby bottle nipple in fluid communication with said tube and configured to allow fluid to pass therethrough when the baby bottle is inverted, placing the nipple below the main body; and a cutoff mechanism comprising a connecting ring and a pinch mechanism positioned proximate to said tube; wherein said pinch mechanism has a button configured to pace the flow of fluid through the tube and baby bottle nipple during use of the baby bottle for feeding by obstructing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is pressed and allowing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is released (as in re claim 1 above); and wherein said cutoff mechanism is biased toward said open state (see Fig. 1) and will move to said closed state only upon action of a user of said baby bottle to press said button (paragraph 0020).
In re claim 12, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said tube extends from the tip of the baby bottle nipple to the main body (as in re claim 2 above).
In re claim 15, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein a feeding reservoir formed in said baby bottle nipple, and wherein said tube extends from said feeding reservoir to said main body (as in re claim 5 above).
In re claim 21, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said connecting ring is releasably fixed to said baby bottle nipple (by indirect attachment via the tube) and said main body and secures said cutoff mechanism to said baby bottle nipple and said main body (i.e. device of Hall et al. moves in one piece, therefore all components are considered attached to one another).
In re claim 22, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said connecting ring is releasably fixed to said baby bottle nipple and said main body and secures said cutoff mechanism to said baby bottle nipple and said main body (as in re claim 21 above).
In re claim 23, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said connecting ring is releasably fixed to said baby bottle nipple and said main body and secures said cutoff mechanism to said baby bottle nipple and said main body (as in re claim 21 above).
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 16, 17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al.
In re claim 16, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses: A baby bottle for controlling the flow of a feeding fluid, the bottle comprising: a main body; a tube in fluid communication with said main body and having a hollow volume and two opposing ends; a baby bottle nipple in fluid communication with said tube and configured to allow fluid to pass therethrough when the baby bottle is inverted, placing the nipple below the main body; and a cutoff mechanism comprising a connecting ring and a pinch mechanism positioned proximate to said tube; wherein said pinch mechanism has a button configured to pace the flow of fluid through the tube and baby bottle nipple during use of the baby bottle for feeding by obstructing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is pressed and allowing the flow of fluid through said tube when said button is released (as in re claim 11 above).
Hall et al. fails to disclose wherein and wherein said cutoff mechanism is biased toward said closed state and will move to said open state only upon action of a user of said baby bottle to press said button.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have merely reversed the functionality of the pinch mechanism of Hall et al. to be biased towards being closed, and opened when actuated by a user (and held open by the ratchet teeth shown on 150 of Hall et al. for example), since it has been held that a mere reversal of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Einstein, 8 USPQ 167. Please note that in the instant application, paragraph 054, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations, or how biasing towards the closed state is critical and novel compared to biasing towards the open state.
In re claim 17, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein said tube extends from the tip of the baby bottle nipple to the main body (as in re claim 2 above).
In re claim 20, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein a feeding reservoir formed in said baby bottle nipple, and wherein said tube extends from said feeding reservoir to said main body (as in re claim 21 above).
Claim(s) 3, 13, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al. as applied to claims 1, 11, and 16 above, and further in view of US Patent No. 7,600,656 (Karl et al. hereinafter).
In re claims 3, 13 and 18, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention except wherein said main body is a rigid bottle.
However, Karl et al. discloses a portable fluid delivery device wherein the main body (32) is rigid (page 5, lines 46-52: “body 32 of reservoir 20 is formed as a rigid or semi-rigid structural shape and is intended to be resistant to substantial deformation (e.g. "collapse," "buckle," "flatten," etc.) and retain a substantially "fixed" shape. The body is intended to have sufficient stiffness to act as a "frame" for the holder and maintain the shape of the holder when the personal hydration system is used”).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the main body of Hall et al. to have been rigid as taught by Karl et al. for the purposes of allowing the body to have sufficient stiffness to act as a "frame" and maintain the shape of the device when the system is used (Karl et al. column 5, lines 46-52).
Claim(s) 6, 7 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US PG Pub no. 2016/0161004 (Thompson hereinafter).
In re claim 6, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. discloses the claimed invention except wherein a control system for controlling said pinch mechanism and a motor, and wherein said control mechanism instructs said motor to alter the positioning of said plunger of said pinch mechanism.
However, with reference to Fig. 11 below, Thompson discloses a control system for controlling a pinch mechanism and a motor, wherein said control mechanism instructs said motor to alter the positioning of said plunger (58/90) of said pinch mechanism (paragraph 0027 and 0035).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the pinch mechanism of Hall et al. to have been controlled by a controller and motor as taught by Thompson for the predictable purposes of automating the control of the mechanism and/or serving to relieve the hands of a user from being required to manually force the tube closed or open.
In re claim 7, with reference to the Figs noted above, Hall et al. in view of Thompson disclose the claimed invention including wherein said tube extends from the tip of the baby bottle nipple to the main body (as in re claim 2 above).
In re claim 10, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. in view of Thompson discloses the claimed invention including a feeding reservoir formed in said baby bottle nipple, and wherein said tube extends from said feeding reservoir to said main body (as in re claim 5 above).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al. in view of Thompson as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Karl et al.
In re claim 8, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Hall et al. in view of Thompson discloses the claimed invention except wherein said main body is a rigid bottle.
However, Karl et al. discloses a portable fluid delivery device wherein the main body (32) is rigid (page 5, lines 46-52: “body 32 of reservoir 20 is formed as a rigid or semi-rigid structural shape and is intended to be resistant to substantial deformation (e.g. "collapse," "buckle," "flatten," etc.) and retain a substantially "fixed" shape. The body is intended to have sufficient stiffness to act as a "frame" for the holder and maintain the shape of the holder when the personal hydration system is used”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the main body of Hall et al. in view of Thompson to have been rigid as taught by Karl et al. for the purposes of allowing the body to have sufficient stiffness to act as a "frame" and maintain the shape of the device when the system is used (Karl et al. column 5, lines 46-52).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the pending claim(s) 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 ANDREW T KIRSCH whose telephone number is (571)270-5723. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9a-5p EST.
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/ANDREW T KIRSCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733