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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 17-18 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yuhara (US 6149008).
Regarding claim 17, Yuhara discloses a cosmetic compact assembly (Figures 1-5, and 7-32) comprising:
a product pan (101, best shown in Figure 1) having a cavity (not labeled but is the interior volume of 101, shown best in Figure 1, wherein cosmetic material, K, is disposed within the interior volume/cavity) defined at least in part by a bottom portion (bottom wall 101a @ Figure 1; 201a @ Figure 7; 301a @ Figure 21; 401a @ Figure 26) and a strip (side wall 101b @ Figure 1; 201b @ Figure 7, 301b @ Figure 21, 401b @ Figure 26) connected to the bottom portion (best shown in Figures 2-4, 7-14, 16, 18, 20-32) and configured to move between a resting position (position shown in Figures 2-3, 12, 16, 18, 20-21, 23-24, 26, 29) and a use position (position shown in Figures 4, 14, 25, 31; “upon elastic deformation…extracting a cosmetic material”, refer to Column 1, lines 8-12), a product (K) disposed within the cavity and having an upper surface (top surface with respect to Figure 1), and a mesh member (102b, Figure 1; 202b, Figure 7; 302b, Figure 21) extending across the cavity and configured to distribute a force applied (“This net requires to have a function, to transmit to the…brim of the inner case, the force associated with suppression of a cosmetic tool”, refer to Column 9, lines 16-20; additionally and/or alternatively, refer to Figure 4 wherein a force is applied to portion of the mesh by applicator 106, yet the entire surface of the mesh is deformed into a concave shape, i.e. the force applied at a point of the mesh is distributed across the mesh member, across the upper surface of the product) to the strip or to the mesh member across the upper surface of the product when the strip is in the use position (when is defined by Merriam-Webster as “at or during the time that”; during the time that the strip in the use position, the mesh is also distributing a force applied to the mesh; additionally refer to Figure 4); and
a housing (103, Figure 2; 203, Figure 14; 231, Figure 15; 241, Figure 17; 252, Figure 19; 321, Figure 25; 241, Figure 31) in which the product pan is disposed, a front access port (not labeled, but is the opening/port that permits a user to access and unlock a lid of the housing in order to access the product therein, see cropped and annotated figure 15 below) of the housing positioned adjacent (adjacent is defined by Merriam-Webster as “not distant” or “nearby”; the access port is disposed at a front of the housing, nearby the product pan and the strip defines a sidewall of the product pan, the front of the housing being nearby the product pan, thus, the strip is adjacent the access port) the strip of the product pan,
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wherein the strip is configured to pivot relative to the bottom portion to move between the resting position and the use position (referring to Figure 3, the strip 101b, in the at-rest position, is depicted as being substantially vertical such that the angle between the bottom portion and the strip is depicted as being greater than 90 degrees, refer to annotated Figure 3 below; referring to Figure 4, in the use position, the angle between the strip and the bottom wall is less than 90 degrees, thereby demonstrating that the strip and the bottom wall have moved closer to one another/pivoted/bent with respect to one another when moving between the resting position and the use position, refer to cropped and annotated Figure 4, below). While the figures may not be drawn to scale, they can still be relied upon for teaching the general conditions of the claim because the overall relationship is depicted.
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Regarding claim 18, Yuhara discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 17 further comprising an applicator (204, Figure 16), the housing including a storage compartment (232c, Figure 16) in which the applicator is disposed.
Regarding claim 22, Yuhara discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 17, wherein the strip is formed integrally with the bottom portion (“united body of an elastic synthetic resin”, refer to Column 6, lines 2-3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuhara in view of Song (KR20090006899U).
Regarding claim 19, Yuhara discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 18, as applied above. Yuhara does not disclose the applicator including a first head selectively connected to a body, the first head and the body positioned along a longitudinal axis, the first head configured to rotate relative to the body around the longitudinal axis. Rather, Yuhara discloses a cosmetic tool used with a compact “such as a puff or sponge” (refer to Column 8, line 58).
Song discloses an applicator (10, Figures 1-3c) including a plurality of detachable (“removably positioned”, refer to Page 3 of the translation) applicator heads (25, 27, see Figure 3b) including a first head (27) selectively connected (“removably positioned”, refer to Page 3 of the translation) to a body (10) positioned along a longitudinal axis (not labeled, referring to Figure 3b, the longitudinal axis extends lengthwise through a center of body, 10), the first head configured to rotate relative to the body (see rotational arrow in Figure 3b) around the longitudinal axis (best shown in Figure 4b), wherein the applicators may be puffs or sponges (see Page 5 of the translation). Song’s rolling type applicator is provided so as to aid in “spread[ing] evenly” (refer to Page 2 of the translation) a cosmetic material and additionally for providing a more compact storage means for a plurality of makeup applicators. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yuhara’s compact to comprise an applicator comprising a plurality of detachable heads including a first head selectively connected to a body, the first head and the body positioned along a longitudinal axis, the first head configured to rotate relative to the body around the longitudinal axis, as taught by Song, since such a modification provides the advantage of aiding a user in more evenly applying a cosmetic product and for providing a more compact means for storing a plurality of cosmetic applicators.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Yuhara and Song discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 19, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 19, the applicator of Song was incorporated into Yuhara’s cosmetic compact assembly wherein Song’s applicator further comprises a second head (25), the second head configured to connect with the body interchangeably with the first head (“In other words, the second applicator 25 is composed of any one selected from a sponge or puff or brush is used for make-up, or vertical roller unit 27 and the vertical roller, may be configured by a vertical shaft 29 passing through the (27). Wherein said vertical roller unit 27 is located in a longitudinal direction and extension of the handle portion 10, the one side of the vertical shaft 29 is inserted into the insertion portion (not shown) of the handle section 10, the vertical roller The unit 27 is configured to rotate to a vertical shaft 29 in the axial”, refer to Page 6 of the translation; i.e. the left side of the applicator that is shown to have the roller, is interchangeable with any type of applicator), the second head having at least one of a different shape, size, texture, or material composition than the first head (referring to Figure 3b, the second head is shown to have a different shape than the first head; additionally, Song discloses that the second applicator 25 may be a sponge, a puff, or a brush, wherein these are different types/textures of applicators). Thus, the combination of Yuhara and Song discloses all the limitations of claim 20.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuhara.
Regarding claim 21, Yuhara discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 17, as applied above. Yuhara does not explicitly disclose wherein the strip is configured to pivot between 10 and 45 degrees relative to the bottom portion when moving between the resting position and the use position. Rather, Yuhara is silent to the particular angle of pivot.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the angle of pivot would result in a difference in function of Yuhara’s device. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying Yuhara’s assembly would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such modification and it appears that the assembly would function as intended being given the claimed angles. Lastly, applicant has not disclosed that the claimed range solves any stated problem, indicating that the angle is “approximately” between 10 and 45 degrees and further that “pivoting outside this range is also possible”, (refer to Paragraph [037] of applicant’s specification) and therefore there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pivot angle of Yuhara’s assembly to be between 10 and 45 degrees, as an obvious matter of design choice within the skill of the art.
Claims 25-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuhara (US6149008) in view of Go (KR20210002306A).
Regarding claim 25, Yuhara discloses a cosmetic compact assembly (Figures 1-5, and 7-32) comprising:
a product pan (101, best shown in Figure 1) having a cavity (not labeled but is the interior volume of 101, shown best in Figure 1, wherein cosmetic material, K, is disposed within the interior volume/cavity) defined at least in part by a strip (side wall 101b @ Figure 1; 201b @ Figure 7, 301b @ Figure 21, 401b @ Figure 26) configured to move between a resting position (position shown in Figures 2-3, 12, 16, 18, 20-21, 23-24, 26, 29) and a use position (position shown in Figures 4, 14, 25, 31; “upon elastic deformation…extracting a cosmetic material”, refer to Column 1, lines 8-12), a product (K) disposed within the cavity and having an upper surface (top surface with respect to Figure 1), and a mesh member (102b, Figure 1; 202b, Figure 7; 302b, Figure 21) extending across the cavity and configured to distribute a force applied (“This net requires to have a function, to transmit to the…brim of the inner case, the force associated with suppression of a cosmetic tool”, refer to Column 9, lines 16-20; additionally and/or alternatively, refer to Figure 4 wherein a force is applied to portion of the mesh by applicator 106, yet the entire surface of the mesh is deformed into a concave shape, i.e. the force applied at a point of the mesh is distributed across the mesh member, across the upper surface of the product) to the strip or to the mesh member across the upper surface of the product when the strip is in the use position (when is defined by Merriam-Webster as “at or during the time that”; during the time that the strip in the use position, the mesh is also distributing a force applied to the mesh; additionally refer to Figure 4); and
a housing (103, Figure 2; 203, Figure 14; 231, Figure 15; 241, Figure 17; 252, Figure 19; 321, Figure 25; 241, Figure 31) in which the product pan is disposed.
Yuhara does not disclose the housing including a bezel having a chamber for the product pan, the chamber defined by a base, a lateral boundary surface, and a front access port positioned adjacent the strip of the product pan, the front access port including an open area with a perimeter defined by the base and the lateral boundary surface.
Go discloses a similar compact assembly comprising a product pan (130) stored within a housing (110 + 120), the housing including a bezel (not labeled, refer to annotated Figure below) having a chamber for the product pan (not labeled but is the interior volume depicted in Figure 1 that houses the cosmetic product pan), the chamber defined by a base (referring to annotated Figure 1, below, the base is the horizontal wall, as indicated), a lateral boundary surface (not labeled but is the vertical walls, as indicated below in the annotated Figure 1, below), and a front access port (refer to annotated Figure 2, below) positioned adjacent the strip of the product pan (adjacent is defined by Merriam-Webster as “not distant” or “nearby”; the access port traverses left and right sides of the housing, such that when the product pan is disposed within the chamber, the sides of the product pan will be nearby/adjacent sides of the access port, as best shown in Figure 1, thus, the strip is adjacent the access port), the front access port including an open area (refer to annotated Figure 2, below) with a perimeter defined by the base and the lateral boundary surface (refer to annotated Figure 2, below), the housing provided as a means for securely storing the cosmetic product pan. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yuhara’s housing to include a bezel having a chamber for the product pan, the chamber defined by a base, a lateral boundary surface, and a front access port positioned adjacent the strip of the product pan, the front access port including an open area with a perimeter defined by the base and the lateral boundary surface, as taught by Go, since such a modification would have involved simple substitution of one known element (the housing of Go) for another known element (the housing of Yuhara) to obtain the predictable result of securing a cosmetic product pan within a cosmetic compact to protect the cosmetic product stored therein.
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Regarding claim 26, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 25, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 25, the housing of Yuhara was replaced by the housing of Go, wherein Go’s bezel is disposed in a casing (121, Go Figure 1) including a port cover (122, Go Figure 1) configured to selectively cover the front access port (refer to Go Figures 1-2) and a cap (110, Go Figure 1) configured to selectively cover the bezel (referring to Go Figure 1, wherein cap 110 is depicted as being hingedly connected to the casing). Thus, the combination teaches all the limitations of claim 26
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 26, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 25, the housing of Yuhara was replaced with the housing of Go, wherein Go’s port cover and cap can each rotate from an open position providing access to the product pan to a closed position preventing access to the product pan (“The upper case 110 is composed of a case body 120 and a hinge connection”, refer to Go Page 2 and “The fixing plate 121 and the separation plate 122 are movable along the rail 123 included in the fixing plate 121 by means of a rail protrusion 124 included in the separation plate 122”, refer to Go Page 2; additionally refer to Go Figure 1, wherein the port cover is shown to be rotated/pivoted; additionally refer to Go Page 2 which recites “In order to prevent the cosmetic material storage unit 130 from falling out in the form in which the case body 120 is coupled”, i.e. the product pan is intended to be retained within the housing during use).
Regarding claim 28, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 27, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 25, Yuhara’s housing was replaced by Go’s housing, wherein Go’s port cover has a shield (not labeled, refer to annotated Go Figure 1, below) to cover the open area of the front access port and a lip (not labeled, refer to Go Figure 1, below) disposed at an angle (referring to Figure 1, the angle is depicted as being approximately 90 degrees between the shield and the lip) relative to the shield.
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Regarding claim 29, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 28, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 25, the housing of Yuhara was replaced by Go, wherein Go’s cap includes a front surface (not labeled, refer to annotated Go Figure 1, below), and the lip of the port cover is positioned adjacent the front surface of the cap when the port cover and the cap are each in the closed position (the condition in which the port cover and the cap are closed is not depicted in the figures; however, one of ordinary skill in the art understands that in the closed condition, the cap is rotated such that the two latching members depicted in the figures couple with one another, this coupling requires the front surface to be adjacent/nearby the lip).
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Regarding claim 30, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 25, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 25, Yuhara’s housing was replaced with Go’s housing, wherein Go’s lateral boundary surface includes a first side (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below), a second side (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below), and a third side (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below), the first side positioned parallel to the third side (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below), and the second side connected to the first side and to the third side (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below) and positioned parallel to the front access port (refer to Annotated Go Figure 1, below, wherein the front access port is disposed at a closer end of the cavity and extends in a left to right direction).
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Claims 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Yuhara and Go as applied to claim 26 above, and further in view of Lee (KR200450653Y1).
Regarding claim 31, the combination of Yuhara and Go discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 26, as applied above. The combination does not disclose a storage compartment disposed between the casing and the cap.
Lee discloses a similar cosmetic compact assembly (100, Figures 2-5) comprising a casing (114) for storing a cosmetic product pan (122 is for storing a product pan), a cap (112), and further including a storage compartment (space defined between 119, refer to Figure 5) disposed between the casing and the cap (best shown in Figure 5), for retaining an applicator therein (see at least Figure 5), such that the storage compartment is disposed on a bottom surface of the casing (see detail view of Figure 3), the applicator accessible via an applicator opening (117) disposed in the bottom surface. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the assembly of the combination of Yuhara and Go to further comprise a storage compartment disposed between the casing and the cap on a bottom surface of the casing and comprising an applicator opening, as taught by Lee, since such a modification provides the advantage of increasing the convenience of the assembly by coupling an applicator thereto.
Regarding claim 32, the combination of Yuhara, Go, and Lee discloses the cosmetic compact assembly of claim 31, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 31, the storage compartment of Lee was incorporated into the cosmetic compact assembly of the combination of Yuhara and Go, wherein Lee’s casing includes a bottom surface (refer to the detail view provided in Lee Figure 3), and an applicator opening (117, refer to the detail view of Lee Figure 3) is provided in the bottom surface to access the storage compartment (refer to Lee Figure 3).
Response to Arguments
Specification
Applicant’s amendments to the specification overcome all previous objections; all previous specification objections are withdrawn.
35 USC § 112
Applicant’s amendments to the claims overcome all previous 35 USC 112(b) rejections; all previous 35 USC 112(b) rejections are withdrawn.
35 USC § 102/103
Applicant's arguments filed 01/02/2026 regarding claims 17-20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Argument #1:
The Yuhara reference does not teach that the product pan includes a cavity defined at least in part by a bottom portion and a strip connected to the bottom portion.
Response #1:
Yuhara teaches a product pan (101, best shown in Figure 1) having a cavity (not labeled but is the interior volume of 101, shown best in Figure 1, wherein cosmetic material, K, is disposed within the interior volume/cavity) defined at least in part by a bottom portion (bottom wall 101a @ Figure 1; 201a @ Figure 7; 301a @ Figure 21; 401a @ Figure 26) and a strip (side wall 101b @ Figure 1; 201b @ Figure 7, 301b @ Figure 21, 401b @ Figure 26) connected to the bottom portion (best shown in Figures 2-4, 7-14, 16, 18, 20-32).
Argument #2:
The reference does not teach the strip configured to pivot relative to the bottom portion to move between a resting position and a use position. The bending or folding of Yuhara is fundamentally different from a strip that pivots relative to a bottom portion as required by independent claim 17. Yuhara’s bottom wall (e.g. 101a) cannot be the claimed “strip” because it does not pivot relative to itself, and Yuhara’s side wall (e.g. 101b) bends or folds but does not pivot relative to the bottom portion.
Response #2:
Due to applicant’s amendments, the bottom wall is no longer being relied upon for the teaching of the strip. Strip/wall 101b bends/pivots with respect to the bottom portion as indicated in the figures below wherein, in the at-rest position (see Yuhara Annotated Figure 3, below), the angle between the strip and the bottom portion is greater than the angle between the strip and the bottom portion during the use position (see Cropped and Annotated Yuhara Figure 4, below).
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This reduction in angle is effected by a relative movement/bending/pivoting of the strip and the bottom portion.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 25 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.
In response to applicant’s argument that the Yuhara reference fails to show certain features of the invention, see Page 4 of applicant’s remarks regarding Yuhara’s teaching of the front access, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., a front access port that enables direct force application on a strip adjacent the port) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-24 are 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 23 requires “wherein the cavity is defined by the bottom portion, the strip, and a side portion, and the side portion is immobile relative to the bottom portion”. Yuhara discloses the cavity being defined by a bottom portion (bottom wall 101a @ Figure 1; 201a @ Figure 7; 301a @ Figure 21; 401a @ Figure 26) and the strip (side wall 101b @ Figure 1; 201b @ Figure 7, 301b @ Figure 21, 401b @ Figure 26), but does not disclose an additional side wall that is immobile relative to the bottom portion when the strip moves between the resting position and the use position; rather, the entirety of Yuhara’s cavity is defined by a “united body of an elastic synthetic resin” (refer to Column 6, lines 2-3); thus, no portion of the body would apparently be immobile relative to the bottom portion when the strip moves between the resting position and the use position since it is entirely elastic.
Claim 24 is allowable due to its dependency on claim 23.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/SARAH WOODHOUSE/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/EDELMIRA BOSQUES/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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