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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 20 January 2026 has been entered.
Claim Amendments
The Applicant is reminded that claim amendments must comply with 37 C.F.R. 1.121 and should refer to MPEP 714 II. C. for guidance. The claims are examined in this Action as best as could be understood.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed in the Remarks of 20 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that independent claim 1 has been amended to now require a divider component comprising a pair of plates with co-aligned apertures that are repositionable between (i) a segregated state that separates a dry storage compartment from a liquid storage compartment and (ii) a communicative state that permits mixing of the contents.
The Applicant further contends that the cited reference fails to disclose or suggest a pair of plates that rotate with respect to each other to selectively transition between these states, nor does it disclose an externally actuated turning mechanism configured to rotate the pair of plates to control internal communication between compartments.
The Applicant argues that independent claim 16 has been amended to now require a divider component comprising a pair of plates secured together via a pin pivot and rotatable between a closed position in which apertures are non-aligned to maintain separation of components and an open position in which the apertures are aligned to permit communication between compartments. Claim 16 further recites a turning mechanism positioned on an exterior of the cylindrical container configured to rotate the pair of plates, as well as a locking mechanism configured to prevent unintended mixing. The Applicant further contends that these limitations are not disclosed or suggested by the cited reference.
The amended limitations are addressed in this Action, below.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9, 12, 13 and 15 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the juice" in line six of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 2-9, 12, 13 and 15 depend from claim 1 and thus inherit the deficiencies thereof.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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.
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) 1-5, 8, 12, 13 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Keenan (U.S. Pub. 2021/0085566).
Regarding claim 1, Keenan discloses a compartmentalize beverage container device comprising:
a cylindrical container (100 comprising a dry liquid storage compartment (150) are separated by a divider component (120, 130) comprising a pair a pair of plates (126, 136) with co-aligned apertures (128, 138);
where in the dry storage compartment is secured above the liquid storage compartment (seen in Figs. 1A, 2A);
wherein the dry storage compartment is configured to rotate in a first direction while the liquid storage compartment is configured to rotate in an opposite direction (plates 126, 136 pivot about a pin 137 which allow the plates to rotate in opposite directions, ¶ [0030-0031]) to align the apertures to allow the liquid, such as juice, for mixing; and
a locking mechanism (160A, 160B interacting with 135A, 135B) operatively coupled to the divider component to prevent unintended mixing unless by deliberate unlocking by a user (¶ [¶ [0028]).
Regarding claim 2, Keenan discloses that the cylindrical container is hollow and sealed at a bottom end to form a cavity.
Regarding claim 3, Keenan discloses that the dry storage compartment comprises a dry formula (abstract) for protein powder (¶ [0025])
Regarding claim 4, Keenan discloses that the liquid storage compartment comprises water. (¶ [0005])
Regarding claim 5, Keenan discloses that the compartmentalized beverage container device is configured as a baby bottle. (abstract)
Regarding claim 8, Keenan discloses that the compartmentalized beverage container device can be configured as a beverage container. (¶ [0005])
Regarding claim 12, Keenan discloses that the pair of plates are rotatable between an open position with the co-aligned apertures aligned and a closed position with the co-aligned apertures nonaligned.
Regarding claim 13, Keenan discloses that the dry storage compartment is twisted in one direction while the liquid storage compartment is twisted in a respective opposite direction, which aligns the co-aligned apertures in the pair of plates and allows a content from the dry storage compartment to enter the liquid storage compartment but does not specify the direction of rotation of each compartment relative to each other (¶ [0029]); however, Keenan is capable of aligning the apertures by turning in either direction.
Regarding claim 15, Keenan discloses a locking mechanism (160A, 160B interacting with 135A, 135B) to prevent an unintended mixing of a content of the dry storage compartment and a content of the liquid storage compartment. (¶ [0028]: “locking mechanism”)
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan (U.S. Pub. 2021/0085566) in view of Wahlstrom (U.S. Pat. 8,292,099) and Stroud (U.S. Pat. 6,073,788).
Regarding claim 16, Keenan discloses a compartmentalized beverage container device for selectively mixing contents (such as a formula, protein shake or other drink (¶ [0025])), the compartmentalized beverage container device comprising:
a cylindrical container (10) comprising a dry storage compartment (150) and a liquid storage compartment (12) separated by a divider component (120, 130);
a locking mechanism (¶ [0028]) to prevent an unintended mixing of a content of the dry storage compartment and a content of the liquid storage compartment; and
a turning mechanism (outside wall of 140) is a turning wheel (140 is cylinder) positioned on an exterior of the cylindrical container and configured to engage a divider component (120, 130) by rotating a pair of plates (126, 136) with respect to each other;
wherein the dry storage compartment is positioned above the liquid storage compartment (seen in Fig. 1);
wherein the divider component comprises a pair of plates (126, 136) are secured together via a pin pivot (137), the pair of plates being rotatable between (i) a closed position in which a plurality of apertures are non-aligned to maintain separation of the components (such as in Fig. 1) and (ii) an open position in which the plurality of apertures are aligned to permit communication between the compartments (¶ [0031]: “the unlocking of the top housing from the bottom housing permits the rotation of the top housing member 140 with the cup body 130 and the silicone body 150 so as to align both sets of apertures 128 and 138 and release the formula or powder into the mixing baby bottle or athletic bottle”);
wherein the turning mechanism is configured to rotate the pair of plates with respect to each other to transition the divider component between the closed position and the open position (¶ [0031]: “the unlocking of the top housing from the bottom housing permits the rotation of the top housing member 140 with the cup body 130 and the silicone body 150 so as to align both sets of apertures 128 and 138 and release the formula or powder into the mixing baby bottle or athletic bottle”).
Keenan discloses that the locking mechanism has a pin stop (135A, 135B) and a spring pin (271), and an O-ring (247) for controlling the pair of plates, but does not disclose a pull-pin safety latch or the spring pin in more detail
Wahlstrom discloses compartmentalized baby bottle with a pair of relatively rotatable plates (20, 22) which comprise a spring pin (32) which mates with a concave lipped (seen in Figs. 2D, 2E) spring pin lock port (34) and a locking mechanism comprising a pull-pin safety latch (28). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Wahlstrom’s concave lipped spring lock port to mate with Keenan’s spring pin to provide the user with positive feedback when the spring “pops” into the spring lock port, aligning the apertures and allowing the formula to mix with the water (Wahlstron: col. 9, lines 15-19) and to substitute Keenan’s locking mechanism with Wahlstrom’s locking mechanism, since doing so would be a mere substitution of one known locking mechanism for another known locking mechanism with the expected results that the substituted locking mechanism would prevent undesired rotation of the plates (col. 16, lines 41-43) (see MPEP 2143 I B).
Keenan does not specify indicia integrated into the cylindrical cylinder. Stroud discloses a baby bottle with indicia (34) integrated into the bottle. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Stroud to integrate indicia, such as a volume indicator, molded into the cylindrical cylinder. (col. 4, lines 22-26)
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan, Wahlstrom and Stroud as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Jeter (U.S. Pat. 6,793,075).
Regarding claim 18, Keenan does not specify that the cylindrical container comprises a graduated measurement scale. Jeter discloses a beverage container with a graduated measurement scale (26). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Jeter’s graduated measurement scale to accurately reflect the fluid level in the container.
Regarding claim 19, Keenan does not specify the volume of the dry storage compartment, such that it is one quarter of a total internal volume of the cylindrical container; however, Keenan teaches in ¶ [0003] that “powder baby formula is typically measured in a proper ratio, depending on the baby or infant's age, to the amount of water in the bottle and then immediately added to the water and mixed just minutes prior to feeding and consumption.” Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to design the compartment volume as a ratio of the total internal volume of the cylindrical container, such as a quarter of the total internal volume of the cylindrical container, to ensure the proper ratio of powder to water for mixing. (¶ [0003])
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan (U.S. Pub. 2021/0085566) in view of Wahlstrom (U.S. Pat. 8,292,099) and Small (U.S. Pat. 8,939,301).
Regarding claim 20, Keenan discloses a compartmentalized beverage container device for mixing a protein shake, health drink or formula (¶ [0025]) capable of performing the steps of:
providing a compartmentalized beverage container device comprising a dry storage compartment (150) and a liquid storage compartment (10) separated by a divider component (120, 130);
securing the ingredients within the device by securing the dry storage compartment on top of the liquid storage compartment and securing a lid (20, 30) on the dry storage compartment;
turning a turning knob positioned on an outside of the compartmentalized beverage container device to rotate a pair of plates along a pivot pin (137) of the divider component such that the dry ingredients are released and drop down into the liquid storage compartment; and
and shaking the device to mix the dry and liquid ingredients together for use.
Keenan does not specify the volume of the dry storage compartment, such that it is one quarter of a total internal volume of the cylindrical container; however, Keenan teaches in ¶ [0003] that “powder baby formula is typically measured in a proper ratio, depending on the baby or infant's age, to the amount of water in the bottle and then immediately added to the water and mixed just minutes prior to feeding and consumption.” Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to design the compartment volume as a ratio of the total internal volume of the cylindrical container, such as a quarter of the total internal volume of the cylindrical container, to ensure the proper ratio of powder to water for mixing. (¶ [0003])
Keenan discloses a locking mechanism (¶ [0028]) with a pin stop (135A, 135B), but does not disclose a pull-pin safety latch.
Wahlstrom discloses compartmentalized baby bottle with a pair of relatively rotatable plates (20, 22) and a locking mechanism comprising a pull-pin safety latch (28). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute Keenan’s locking mechanism with Wahlstrom’s locking mechanism, since doing so would be a mere substitution of one known locking mechanism for another known locking mechanism with the expected results that the substituted locking mechanism would prevent undesired rotation of the plates (col. 16, lines 41-43) (see MPEP 2143 I B).
Keenan is silent in regards to stamping indicia onto an exterior of the device. Small discloses a container and teaches that indicia may be stamped onto an exterior of a container. (col. 7, lines 57-60).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Small to stamp indicia, such as a contents, graduations, warnings, etc.
Claim(s) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan, as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Perez, et al. (“Perez”) (U.S. Pub. 2007/0014100).
Regarding claim 6, Keenan does not specify if the dry storage compartment is slightly angled a third of a way from a top of the compartmentalized beverage container device. Perez discloses a bottle that is angled a third of a way from the top. (Seen in Fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Perez by angling the compartmentalized beverage container device a third of a way from the top to facilitate easy use. (Perez: ¶ [0020])
Regarding claim 7, Keenan discloses that the device comprises a bottle cap (30) and a nipple (20).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan, as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Shepard, et al. (“Shepard”) (U.S. Pat. 10,512,347).
Regarding claim 9, Keenan discloses that the beverage container comprises a screw-on lid (threaded cap 30 onto threads 146) but does not disclose that the lid has an opening for drinking and an opening for a straw. Shepard discloses (Fig. 8) a screw-on lid (50) with an opening for drinking (58) and an opening (62) for a straw (64).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Shepard’s lid to provide greater versatility by including both a pour spout for higher volume dispensing and a sip spout for lower volume dispensing. Also, the drinking vessels herein provide the ability to drain the entire contents of a drinking vessel. In addition, drinking vessels herein provide the benefit of being more easily cleaned. (Shepard: col. 2, lines 30-36)
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL J. MELARAGNO/Examiner, Art Unit 3754