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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/10/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Fujiwara does not teach the claim amendment of an annular outer wall stating its segmented in the reference. However, drawings and pictures can anticipate claims if they clearly show the structure which is claimed. In re Mraz, 455 F.2d 1069, 173 USPQ 25 (CCPA 1972). In this case, Fujiwara clearly depicts the outer wall being annular at some point, even if the end wall of the outer wall is segmented as you move down in depth from the end wall the outer wall is indeed annular as seen in Figs. 4A-4B. Further delineation is needed to adequately define the claimed invention from the prior art of record.
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) 15-23 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujiwara et al. (US Patent No. 9,962,724 herein after Fujiwara).
Re: Claim 15, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including a frame applicable to a bottle of the dispensing device (101) with nozzle assembly (14, 29) (Fig. 7), a frame (11) applicable to a bottle (2) of the dispensing device (1) including
a piston chamber (22) supported by the frame and a piston (24) sealingly slidable in the piston chamber along a piston axis (Y), the piston being actuated by a trigger (34) (Fig. 7);
a dispensing duct (39) in communication with the piston chamber to bring a product to be dispensed from the piston chamber towards an external environment, ending with a dispensing end (16a) (Fig. 7);
a suction duct (105a) in communication with the piston chamber to bring the product from the bottle to the piston chamber (Fig. 7);
pre-compression valve means (32) configured to operate between the piston chamber and the dispensing duct to allow the product to pass, during a dispensing step, from the piston chamber towards the dispensing duct only when pressure in the piston chamber exceeds a predefined threshold value, and to prevent air from returning from the dispensing duct towards the piston chamber during a suction step (Fig. 7, allows fluid to pass only when pressure exceeds a predefined threshold value);
suction valve means (31) configured to operate between the piston chamber and the suction duct to allow passage of the product from the bottle to the piston chamber during the suction step and to prevent the product from returning from the piston chamber to the bottle during the dispensing step (Fig. 7, Col. 1, lines 15-25, suction valve means preventing ingress of fluid back into bottle).
a nozzle assembly (40) applied at the dispensing end of the dispensing duct, comprising a nozzle (41) applied to the frame (Fig. 9B)and equipped with a base provided with a nozzle passage (41f) having an outer mouth (44), and a foamer (42) fastened to the nozzle and adapted to mix the product with air from the external environment to generate a foam (Figs. 2);
wherein the foamer comprises:
an annular inner wall (51) that delimits an inner chamber (at 44 as seen in fig. 11) in which the nozzle passage emerges (Depicted in Fig. 2 & 11), the annular inner wall comprising at least one inner opening (52) (Figs. 1-2) configured to permit air from an outer chamber to enter the inner chamber (Depicted in Fig. 11); and
an outer wall (42a, 42b), placed radially outside and concentrically the annular inner wall (Fig. 10B), the outer chamber being delimited circumferentially and continuously between the annular inner wall and the outer wall (Depicted in Fig. 4A-4B, depicts at a certain depth into the wall continuously annualr, and Fig. 11), the annular outer wall comprising at least one outer opening (Depicted in Figs. 10A-10B, a cut out in the bottom portion of the outer wall forming an opening), so that during dispensing of the product from the outer mouth of the nozzle, air is drawn from the external environment into the outer chamber and through the at least one inner opening into the inner chamber to be mixed with the product and produce a desired foam (Depicted in Fig. 11) except for the outer wall being annular in shape. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include an annular outer wall, since it has been held that the configuration of the claimed feature was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed feature was significant. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966);
wherein the annular outer wall of the foamer further comprises an end section (42b) proximal to the base of the nozzle, and wherein at least one side outer opening (cutouts between end section segments form openings) opens in the end section (Figs. 10B).
Re: Claim 16, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the foamer is snap applied onto the nozzle (Fig. 11, Col. 9, lines 13-20, snap connection).
Re: Claim 17, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the base of the nozzle comprises at least one window (45); and the annular outer wall of the foamer comprises at least one flap (on wall 42B are inward extending flaps) configured to be snap inserted into the at least one window to couple the foamer and the nozzle (Fig. 11, Col. 9, lines 13-20, snap connection).
Re: Claim 18, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the annular inner wall of the foamer comprises a proximal section, proximal to the base of the nozzle, and wherein the at least one inner opening (52) opens through the proximal section (Fig. 11).
Re: Claim 19, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the at least one inner opening opens at an edge of the proximal section (Fig. 11 depicts opening at an edge).
Re: Claim 20, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the annular outer wall comprises a front region (61) that connects the annular outer wall with the annular inner wall, at least one front outer opening (68 outer opening defined ) crossing the front region (Figs. 11).
Re: Claim 21, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the at least one front outer opening (68) is contained on an imaginary plane orthogonal to a nozzle axis (Depicted in Fig. 2).
Re: Claim 22, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including four front outer openings are provided, angularly equally spaced on the front region (Depicted in Fig. 10A, angularly equally spaced with at least 4 openings).
Re: Claim 23, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including the base of the nozzle comprises an outer face (41a) on which the outer mouth of the nozzle passage emerges, and wherein the outer face has a depression area that forms a dip (Fig. 9B), inside which the outer mouth opens (Figs. 9B and 11 depicts a depression area forming a dip inside with the outer mouth opens).
Re: Claim 25, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including a bottle (2) for containing a product to be dispensed; and the dispensing head of claim 15 as evidenced in the rejection of claim 15 above, and applied to the bottle (Fig. 7).
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujiwara et al. (US Patent No. 9,962,724), and further in view of Alluigi (US Patent No. 9,302,284).
Re: Claim 24, Fujiwara discloses the claimed invention including:
the piston chamber is connectable to the dispensing duct by a main duct (16) having an inner mouth (23) facing towards the piston chamber, and an opposite outer mouth (Fig. 7), except for the particulars sealing bands and membranes. However, Alluigi discloses a piston chamber (24) is connectable to a dispensing duct (30) by a main duct (93) having an inner mouth (90) facing towards the piston chamber, and an opposite outer mouth (92a’’) (Alluigi: Fig. 2a);
a main wall (92), supported by the frame, surrounds the outer mouth and has an inner side main surface (92a) on which there are a sealing band (92a’), proximal to the outer mouth, and a passage band, distal from the outer mouth and provided with a plurality of recesses (92b’) forming passages for the product (Alluigi: Fig. 7);
a main wall (11), supported by the frame, surrounds the outer mouth and has an inner side main surface (92a) on which there are a sealing band (92a’), proximal to the outer mouth, and a passage band, distal from the outer mouth and provided with a plurality of recesses (92b’) forming passages for the product (Alluigi: Fig. 7);
the pre-compression valves means comprise a valve assembly comprising a tang (208), an elastically deformable membrane (202) and an engagement portion (204) (Alluigi: Fig. 2a);
the tang has a portion slidable on the inner side main surface of the main wall (Alluigi: Depicted across Figs. 2a-2c) and configured so that
during a first sub-step of the dispensing step, wherein, via activation of the trigger, pressure of the product in the piston chamber increases, the tang slides maintaining contact with the sealing band, preventing passage of the product towards the dispensing duct (Alluigi: Depicted in Fig. 2b); and
during a second sub-step of the dispensing step, at the beginning of which pressure of the product is greater than or equal to a predefined threshold pressure, the tang slides on the passage band to allow passage of the product outside the tang, towards the dispensing duct (Alluigi: Depicted in Fig. 2c).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include a dispensing device with the above claimed features as taught by Alluigi, since Fujiwara states col. 16, line 42-52 that the nozzle assembly may be used interchangeably with any dispenser configuration, and further Alluigi states col. 6, lines 38-49 in that such a modification allows a high behavior repeatability of the dispenser to be obtained in dispensing, since the opening of the valve dispenser element is precise and repetitive, while keeping a simple structure thanks to the integration of the valve functions in few components.
Claim(s) 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujiwara et al. (US Patent No. 9,962,724) as applied to claim 25 above, and further in view of Konishi (US 2011/0180619 A1).
Re: Claim 26, Fujiwara discloses a trigger dispensing device according to claim 25; and a product to be dispensed (Fujiwara: Col. 10, lines 19-22, a foamable liquid) except for specifying a specific substance in the product composition, However, Konishi discloses wherein the product has a composition including one or more substances contained in one of the following groups: group I: Sodium nonyl sulphate, Sodium Hypochlorite, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Lauramine Oxide (Para. 45, Sodium Hypochlorite containing foaming liquid).
I It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include the claimed substance in the product composition as taught by Konishi, since Konishi states in para. 17 provides a useful product containing cleaning agents such as abrasives, oxygen or additional chlorine bleaches, disinfectants, deodorants, malodor counteractants, stain treating chemicals, rust chelators, and gelling agents, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES P. CHEYNEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
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/CHARLES P. CHEYNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754