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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Request for Continued Examination (RCE) filed on November 21, 2025 wherein Applicant argues against rejections under NSDP / 35 USC § 103 of claim(s) 1-12, 14-15, 17-19, 22, 25, 43. No claim(s) amendments presented on aforementioned response and claim(s) 13, 16, 20-21, 23-24, 26-42, 44 previously canceled. Therefore, claim(s) 1-12, 14-15, 17-19, 22, 25, 43 are pending and will be examined.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office Action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 November 21, 2025 has been entered.
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) 1, 12, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wise (U. S. Patent US5224635A) hereinafter WISE, in view of Cora et al. (China Patent Application Publication CN104939665A) hereinafter CORA.
Regarding claim 1, WISE teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 10 - FIG. 12 below) a container system W1-01 capable to be configured to hold phosphorous pentasulfide, the container system W1-01 comprising:
a container body 11, 211 comprising an interior W2-01 sized and shaped to hold the phosphorous pentasulfide;
a mouth 39 supported by the container body 11, 211, the mouth 39 defining a mouth opening 217 for communication with the interior W2-01 of the container body 11, 211;
a valve 223 supported by the container body 11, 211, the valve 223 including
a gate 279,
a drive shaft 285, and
a race 283, and
the drive shaft 285 being rotatable to selectively move the gate 279 in a first direction to permit communication between the mouth 39 and the interior W2-01 of the container body 11, 211 and to selectively move the gate 279 in a second direction to block communication between the mouth 39 and the interior W2-01 of the container body 11, 211.
WISE fails to teach the race 283 secured to the drive shaft 285 by a roll pin for conjoint rotation with the drive shaft 285 when the drive shaft 285 is rotated.
WISE fails to teach the roll pin extending through a bore of the drive shaft 285 and into openings in the race 283.
WISE fails to teach a lid for closing the mouth 39, the lid being configured to screw onto the mouth 39 to connect the lid and mouth 39 to close the mouth 39 to block the mouth opening 217.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified drive shaft 285 to include a roll pin / bore in the cornhole system 10 since these are regarded as mechanical equivalents as the structures present d in WISE and which are intended for securement purposes. MPEP 2144.06 Art Recognized Equivalence for the Same Purpose [R-01.2024]
Furthermore, CORA teaches (see FIG. 1. - FIG. 4 below) a container system 3, 5, comprising a lid 4 for closing the mouth 8, the lid 4 being configured to screw onto the mouth 8 to connect the lid 4 and mouth 8 to close the mouth 8 to block the mouth 8 opening for securement purposes.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified the mouth 39 in the container system W1-01 of WISE with mouth 8 as taught in the container system 3, 5 of CORA for securement purposes.
PNG
media_image1.png
780
970
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
791
984
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
586
768
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
898
783
media_image4.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image5.png
401
688
media_image5.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image6.png
318
758
media_image6.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image7.png
504
772
media_image7.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image8.png
341
883
media_image8.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image9.png
626
781
media_image9.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 12, WISE, and CORA (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. The combination of WISE (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 10 - FIG. 12 above) and CORA (see FIG. 1. - FIG. 4 above) further teaches container system W1-01, wherein the lid 4 is configured to form a seal with the mouth 39.
Regarding claim 14, WISE, and CORA (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. The combination of WISE (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 10 - FIG. 12 above) and CORA (see FIG. 1. - FIG. 4 above) further teaches container system W1-01, wherein the lid 4 includes a collar 14 configured to be received over the mouth 39 when the lid 4 is screwed onto the mouth 39.
Regarding claim 15, WISE, and CORA (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. The combination of WISE (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 10 - FIG. 12 above) and CORA (see FIG. 1. - FIG. 4 above) further teaches container system W1-01, further comprising a plurality of retainers 11 circumferentially arranged on the lid 4, the retainers 11 circumferentially spaced apart to define a plurality of gaps, each gap disposed between adjacent retainers 11, and further comprising a plurality of catches 10 circumferentially arranged on the other one of the mouth 39, each catch 10 arranged to pass through one of the gaps to screw the lid 4 on the mouth 39 and arranged to engage one of the retainers 11 when the lid 4 is rotated relative to the mouth 39 to screw the lid 4 on the mouth 39.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2-11, 17-18 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim(s) 19, 22, 25, 43 allowable since a combination of WISE, and CORA discloses a --valve 223--, --lid 4-- combination, they do not teach the specific structure of a:
--a locker configured to inhibit the lid from rotating relative to the container, the locker including a first pin being moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position and a second pin extending traverse to the first pin-- [claim 19, lines 11-13],
--closure including a plurality of elongated retainers circumferentially arranged on one of the mouth or the lid-- [claim 25, lines 6-7],
--a plurality of elongated retainers circumferentially arranged on the outer surface of the wall, the elongated retainers circumferentially spaced apart to define gaps-- [claim 43, lines 6-7].
Further, it would not be obvious to further modify the respective references to satisfy these limitations, as such modifications would cause the references to operate in a fashion that is inconsistent with that which was intended by their respective inventors. Accordingly, such modifications would be highly indicative of the use of improper hindsight reasoning.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments regarding rejections under NSDP / 35 USC § 103 filed on November 21, 2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejections does not rely on exactly all references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the Applicant’s arguments.
With respect to the art rejections, in accordance with MPEP 2111.01, during examination, the claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow. In re American Academy of Science Tech Center, 367 F.3d 1359, 70 USPQ2D 1827, 1834 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Coggings (U. S. Patent 5,322,177): teaches a “closure” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Davis et al. (U. S. Patent 5,353,944): teaches a “hatch” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Eizo et al. (South Korea Patent KR100191470B1): teaches a “cover” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Yi (China Patent CN210661337U): teaches a “door” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Blanc (Brazil Patent Application Publication BR102019013220A2): teaches a “pressure cooker” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Stelzner et al. (Germany Patent Application Publication DE102016125305A1): teaches a “lid” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS JAVIER RODRIGUEZ MOLINA whose telephone number is (571) 272-8947. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ANTHONY D. STASHICK can be reached on (571) 272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit ttps://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/M.J.R.M./
/Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735