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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 30 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Elliott et al. (US 2022/0313030).
Claim 30, Elliott discloses a sheet product dispenser comprising: a first roll holder (22) configured to support a first product roll; a housing including a base portion (16) and a cover (40), wherein the cover (40) is movable relative to the base portion (16) to define an open position and a closed position; and a chassis (20) movably mounted to the base portion and movable between a retracted position and an extended position spaced apart from the retracted position (fig.5), wherein the chassis is at least partially outside of the base portion when in the extended position (fig.5), wherein the chassis is movable away from the base portion to the extended position when the cover (40) is in the open position.
Claim 30 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Johnson et al. (US 10,660,485).
Claim 30, Johnson discloses a sheet product dispenser comprising: a first roll holder (42) configured to support a first product roll; a housing including a base portion (fig.10; back of housing) and a cover (430), wherein the cover (430) is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position; and a chassis (440) movably mounted to the base portion (fig.10) and movable between a retracted position (fig.10a) and an extended position (fig.10b) spaced apart from the retracted position (fig.10a), wherein the chassis (440) is at least partially outside of the base portion when in the extended position (fig.10b), wherein the chassis is movable away from the base portion to the extended position when the cover (440) is in the open position.
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 1-10,13-17,28-29 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borke et al. (US 2017/0290473).
Claim 1, Borke discloses a sheet product dispenser comprising: a first roll holder (1131) configured to support a first product roll; a second roll holder (1136) configured to support a second product roll; a housing including a base portion (1112; fig.32a; bottom portion wherein 1137 protrudes) and a cover (1114), wherein the cover is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position (see figures); and a chassis (1190) movably mounted below the first roll holder and the second roll holder and movable between a retracted position (fig.32a) and an extended position (fig.32b) spaced apart from the retracted position, wherein the chassis (1190) is at least partially outside of the base portion when in the extended position, wherein the chassis is movable away from the base portion to the extended position when the cover is in the open position (fig.32).
Although Borke does not disclose a chassis (1190) mounted between the first roll holder (1131) and the second roll holder (1136), it would have been very obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement the chassis in any number of arbitrary positions within the housing since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claim 2, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) comprises: a first dispensing mechanism comprising a first drive roller (fig.32a; drive roller above 1137), wherein the first dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the first product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the first product roll; and a second dispensing mechanism (fig.32a; second drive roller above 1137 closer to 1113) comprising a second drive roller, wherein the second dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the second product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the second product roll.
Claim 3, Borke discloses wherein, when the chassis (1190) is in the retracted position (fig.32a), a user is unable to insert or remove a full size first product roll into the first roll holder (1131) or insert or remove a full size second product roll into the second roll holder (1136), wherein, when the chassis is in the extended position (fig.32b), the user is able to insert or remove the full size first product roll into the first roll holder or insert or remove the full size second product roll into the second roll holder.
Claim 4, Borke discloses wherein when the chassis (1190) is in the retracted position (fig.32a), a first opening (fig.32a) between a top edge of the base portion (fig.32a; bottom portion wherein 1137 protrudes) and a top edge of the chassis (1190) defines a first width and a second opening (fig.32a) between a bottom edge of the base portion and a bottom edge of the chassis defines a first width, wherein, when the chassis (1190) is in the extended position (fig.32b), the first opening between the top edge of the base portion and the top edge of the chassis defines a second width and the second opening between the bottom edge of the base portion and the bottom edge of the chassis defines a second width.
Although Borke does not explicitly disclose a first width that is less than a diameter of a full size first product roll and a first width that is less than a diameter of a full size second product roll; a second width that is greater than or equal to the diameter of the full size first product roll and the second opening between the bottom edge of the base portion and the bottom edge of the chassis defines a second width that is greater than or equal to the diameter of the full size second product roll, it would have been very obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement any number of desirable widths for the first and second opening when the chassis is in the retracted and extended positions since such modification merely require routine skill in the art to implement.
Claim 5, Borke discloses wherein the first roll holder (1131) is mounted within the base portion (1112) at a first position, wherein the second roll holder (1136) is mounted within the base portion at a second position, wherein the first position is vertically above the second position (fig.32a).
Claim 6, Borke discloses wherein the first roll holder (1131) is vertically aligned with the second roll holder (1136).
Claim 7, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) is movable from the retracted position (fig.32a) to the extended position (fig.32b) in a direction that is perpendicular to a plane corresponding to a wall that the sheet product dispenser is mounted on or within (fig.32; para.0093).
Claim 8, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) automatically moves to the extended position (fig.32b) as the cover (1114) moves to the open position.
Claim 9, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) is biased to the extended position (fig.32b).
Claim 10, Borke discloses wherein the cover (1114) defines a chassis (1190) movement feature that is configured to interact with the chassis (1190) to cause movement of the chassis from the retracted position (fig.32a) to the extended position (fig.32b).
Claim 13, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) is configured to move to the extended position (fig.32b) in response to receiving user input (para.0205; chassis can be configured to automatically pivot out of the housing; this inherently occurs as a result of a user input).
Claim 14, Borke discloses wherein the cover (1114) defines a center opening (see dispensing slot depicted in fig.1), wherein, when the cover is in the closed position, the first dispensing mechanism (fig.32a; drive roller above 1137) is configured to dispense the portion of the sheet product of the first product roll through the center opening and the second dispensing mechanism (fig.32a; second drive roller above 1137 closer to 1113) is configured to dispense the portion of the sheet product of the second product roll through the center opening.
Claim 15, Borke discloses wherein the cover (1114) defines a lower portion (fig.3b; fig.32a) extending below the center opening, wherein the lower portion slopes horizontally back toward a wall on which the sheet product dispenser is mounted to provide a space beneath the center opening for a user’s hand to retrieve the dispensed portion of sheet product from the first product roll or the dispensed portion of sheet product from the second product roll without the user’s hand touching the lower portion of the cover (do note this greatly depends on the size of the user’s hands whether or not the hand touches the lower portion of the cover).
Claim 16, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) is movably mounted in a center of the base portion (fig.32a; bottom portion wherein 1137 protrudes).
Claim 17, Borke discloses a user activation sensor (actuation sensor; para.0065) mounted and oriented to sense a user within a sense zone relative to the cover (1114), wherein the sense zone is vertically lower than the chassis and vertically above a bottom edge of the cover (1114; this would inherently occur in order for the first and second dispensing mechanism to be activated; para.0065).
Although Borke does not explicitly disclose where the activation sensor (para.0065) is mounted, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement a user activation sensor mounted to the chassis or any portions near the cover since there’s only a limited number of places the sensor can be mounted in order to sense the presence of a user.
Claim 28, Borke discloses a vibration sensor (para.0342) configured to sense vibration of a tear bar (3210), wherein the tear bar is configured to vibrate during removal of a dispensed portion of the sheet product from the first product roll or a dispensed portion of the sheet product from the second product roll.
Claim 29, Borke discloses wherein the housing is sized such that a full size first product roll and a full size second product roll fit within the housing when the cover (1114) is in the closed position (fig.32a).
Claims 18-19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borke et al. (US 2017/0290473) in view of Bartman et al. (US 2021/0085136).
Claim 18, Borke discloses a controller and a plurality of sensors (see figures).
Borke does not disclose a plurality of conductive sensors distinctly positioned relative to a front surface of the cover, wherein a capacitance of each of the plurality of conductive sensors is measurable by the controller, wherein the controller is configured to: sense a relative capacitance of the plurality of conductive sensors; determine an instance in which the relative capacitance indicates that a user is present within a sense zone relative to the cover, wherein the sense zone is vertically lower than the chassis and vertically above a bottom edge of the cover; and cause, in response to determining that the user is present within the sense zone, a dispense operation to occur.
Bartman discloses a conductive sensor (a capacitance sensor is a conductive sensor) distinctly positioned relative to a front surface of the cover (911’; fig.3), wherein a capacitance of the conductive sensor is measurable by the controller (the capacitance of a conductive sensor is inherently measurable by a controller), wherein the controller is configured to: sense a relative capacitance of the conductive sensor (para.0128-0129); determine an instance in which the relative capacitance indicates that a user is present within a sense zone relative to the cover (para.0128-0129), wherein the sense zone is vertically above a bottom edge of the cover (fig.3b); and cause, in response to determining that the user is present within the sense zone, a dispense operation to occur (para.0128-0129). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the device of Borke with a plurality of conductive sensors distinctly positioned relative to a front surface of the cover, wherein a capacitance of each of the plurality of conductive sensors is measurable by the controller, wherein the controller is configured to: sense a relative capacitance of the plurality of conductive sensors; determine an instance in which the relative capacitance indicates that a user is present within a sense zone relative to the cover, wherein the sense zone is vertically lower than the chassis and vertically above a bottom edge of the cover; and cause, in response to determining that the user is present within the sense zone, a dispense operation to occur simply because the use of conductive/capacitance sensors for dispensing sheets is widely known in the art and such implementation merely require routine skill in the art to implement.
Although Bartman does not disclose a plurality of conductive sensors, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement such a configuration since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim 19, Borke does not disclose wherein the plurality of conductive sensors each comprise a conductive plate that is attached to the cover.
Bartman discloses wherein the conductive sensor (a capacitance sensor is a conductive sensor; para.0128-0129) comprise a conductive plate (capacitance sensors rely on a conductive surface that forms one plate of a capacitor) that is attached to the cover (fig.3).
Although Bartman does not disclose a plurality of conductive sensors, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement such a configuration since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim 27 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borke et al. (US 2017/0290473) in view of Zosimadis (US 8,833,691).
Claim 27, Borke discloses wherein the chassis (1190) moves from the retracted position (fig.32) when the cover (1114) is opened.
Borke does not disclose a cover switch configured to sense when the cover moves from the closed position, wherein the cover switch is configured to sense when the chassis moves from the retracted position.
Zosimadis discloses a cover switch (136) configured to sense when the cover (22) moves from the closed position. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the device of Borke with a cover switch configured to sense when the cover moves from the closed position, wherein the cover switch is configured to sense when the chassis moves from the retracted position to simply add an additional crucial safety and operational features that stops the machine from dispensing sheet when the cover is open, thus preventing accidents, tampering, and ensuring sanitary conditions.
Claims 31-32 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borke et al. (US 2017/0290473).
Claim 31, Borke discloses a sheet product dispenser configured for mounting to or within a wall (para.0093), the sheet product dispenser comprising: a first roll holder (1131; fig.32;) configured to support a first product roll; a second roll holder (1136) configured to support a second product roll; a housing including a base portion (1112) and a cover (1114), wherein the cover is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position; and a chassis (1190) mounted below the first roll holder and the second roll holder and movable between a retracted position (fig.32a) and an extended position (fig.32b) spaced apart from the retracted position, wherein the chassis (1190) is movable away from the wall to the extended position when the cover (1114) is in the open position, wherein the chassis comprises: a first dispensing mechanism comprising a first drive roller (fig.32a; drive roller above 1137), wherein the first dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the first product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the first product roll; and a second dispensing mechanism comprising a second drive roller (fig.32a; second drive roller above 1137 closer to 1113), wherein the second dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the second product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the second product roll.
Although Borke does not disclose a chassis (1190) mounted between the first roll holder (1131) and the second roll holder (1136), it would have been very obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement the chassis in any number of arbitrary positions within the housing since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claim 32, Borke discloses wherein, when the chassis (1190) is in the retracted position (fig.32a), a user is unable to insert or remove a full size first product roll into the first roll holder (1131) or insert or remove a full size second product roll into the second roll holder (1136), wherein, when the chassis (1190) is in the extended position (fig.32b), the user is able to insert or remove the full size first product roll into the first roll holder or insert or remove the full size second product roll into the second roll holder.
Claims 33-36 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borke et al. (US 2017/0290473).
Claim 33, Borke discloses a sheet product dispenser configured for mounting to or within a wall (para.0093), the sheet product dispenser comprising a first roll holder (31) configured to support a first product roll; a second roll holder (36) configured to support a second product roll; a housing (fig.3) including a base portion (below 11) and a cover (14), wherein the cover is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position (cover 14 opens & closes); and a chassis (fig.3a) comprising a first dispensing mechanism (68) comprising a first drive roller (68), wherein the first dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the first product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the first product roll; and a second dispensing mechanism (63) comprising a second drive roller (63), wherein the second dispensing mechanism is configured to receive sheet product of the second product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the second product roll, wherein the housing is sized such that a full size first product roll and a full size second product roll fit within the housing when the cover is in the closed position (fig.3).
Although Borke does not explicitly disclose wherein the housing defines a volume of 1500 in. or less, wherein the full size first product roll defines a diameter of at least 6.5 in., a width of 9.8 in. or less, and provides 500 feet or more of sheet product, wherein the full size second product roll defines a diameter of at least 6.5 in., a width of 9.8 in. or less, and provides 500 feet or more of sheet product, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement any arbitrary size for the housing to accommodate any arbitrary size of the first product roll and second product roll since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim 34, although Borke does not explicitly disclose wherein the housing (fig.3) has a height of 15 inches or less and, when mounted in a recessed manner within the wall (para.0093), extends 4 inches or less outwardly from the wall, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to implement any arbitrary size for the housing when mounted within the wall since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim 35, Borke discloses a movably mounted chassis (1190; fig.32) below the first roll holder (1131) and the second roll holder (1136), wherein the chassis (1190) is configured to move from a retracted position (fig.32a) to an extended position (fig.32b) to enable loading of a replacement full size first product roll or a replacement full size second product roll,
Although Borke does not disclose a chassis (1190) mounted between the first roll holder (1131) and the second roll holder (1136), it would have been very obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement the chassis in any number of arbitrary positions within the housing since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement wherein a distance between the retracted position and the extended position is 1.5 inches or less as disclosed by the Applicant since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 36, Borke discloses wherein the full size first product roll defines a diameter of at least 6.7 in., a width of 8.2 in. or less, and provides 550 feet or more of sheet product, wherein the full size second product roll defines a diameter of at least 6.7 in., a width of 8.2 in. or less, and provides 550 feet or more of sheet product. Claim 36 fails to further structurally limit the apparatus claim and only further limit the material handled by the apparatus and therefore does not determine patentability (see at least MPEP 2114,2115).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-12,20-26 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.
Claims 37-39 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: A sheet product dispenser configured for mounting to or within a wall including “ operate the sheet product dispenser to cause a dispense to occur according to parameters associated with the following: a dispense speed, a delay time period, a dispensed sheet length, and a type of dispense operation, wherein the dispense speed includes one of a low speed, a medium speed, and a high speed, wherein the delay time period includes one of a short delay and a long delay, wherein the dispensed sheet length includes one of a short length, a medium length, and a long length, wherein the type of dispense operation includes a hang mode and a hand sense mode; receive user input of a selection from among a plurality of selectable preset operation modes, wherein the plurality of selectable present operation modes includes at least a first operation mode, a second operation mode, and a third operation mode, wherein, in the first operation mode, the controller is configured to operate the sheet product dispenser according to the following first set of parameters: the medium speed, the short delay, the medium length, and the hand sense mode, wherein, in the second operation mode, the controller is configured to operate the sheet product dispenser according to the following second set of parameters: the high speed, the short delay, the long length, and the hang mode, wherein, in the third operation mode, the controller is configured to operate the sheet product dispenser according to the following third set of parameters: the low speed, the long delay, the short length, and the hand sense mode; and cause operation of the sheet product dispenser in accordance with the selection from among the plurality of selectable preset operation modes. “ in combination with the remaining claim language is not taught by the prior art.
Conclusion
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/AYODEJI T OJOFEITIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651