DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 1/17/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-5 and 8-22 remain pending in the application. Claims 6-7 were cancelled.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/17/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/11/2025 was filed after the filing date of the application on 3/09/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 13, line 8, “said container engaging lip in contact with said affixed foil seal” should be “said container engaging lip is configured to be in contact with said affixed foil seal” for clarity.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Azmi (US 20200038977 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Azmi teaches A foil cutter, comprising:
a unitary container (assembly of 122 and 130) engaging sleeve having
a cylindrical outer shell (122),
a cylindrical container top receiving cavity that defines a bottle top receiving opening, said bottle top opening configured to encompass a container opening and a foil seal affixed to and operatively sealing said container opening (see Figure 8),
a container engaging lip (lip of 122 near the blade, see Figure 8) having an interior diameter smaller than a diameter of said container top receiving cavity, said container engaging lip in contact with said affixed foil seal, and a blade retainer defined on an interior of said outer shell (see Figure 8);
a unitary foil cutter assembly (assembly of 126 and 124) having
a cylindrical body defining an interior and an exterior (124), said cylindrical body inserted within said outer shell, a sleeve stop terminating said body and engaging and affixed with a first longitudinal end of said cylindrical outer shell (see Figures 7-8),
a cutting blade retainer recessed into said cylindrical body exterior (recess for 126); and a cutting blade completely captured and retained between said cutting blade retainer and said container engaging sleeve blade retainer indent, said cutting blade configured to pierce said affixed foil seal; wherein said unitary container engaging sleeve selectively circumscribes and encloses said unitary foil cutter assembly cylindrical body and said cutting blade with said blade retainer inserted into said cutting blade retainer recess (See Figures 7-8)
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.
Claims 1-5, 8-9 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azmi (US 20200038977 A1) in view of Gailor (US 2039643).
Regarding claim 1, Azmi teaches a foil cutter, comprising:
a unitary container engaging sleeve (assembly of 122 and 130) having
an outer shell (122),
a cylindrical container top receiving cavity defining a cylindrical container top longitudinal axis and configured to encompass a container opening and a foil seal affixed to and operatively sealing said container opening (See Figure 7), and
a blade retainer indent (128) defined on said outer shell and having a longitudinal axis parallel from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis (see Figure 8);
a unitary foil cutter assembly (assembly of 124 and 126) having
a cylindrical body (124) defining an interior and an exterior, said cylindrical body inserted within said outer shell (see Figure 8),
a cutting blade retainer (flat area for the blade see Figures 7 and 8) recessed into said cylindrical body exterior and having a longitudinal axis angularly offset from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis (see Figures 7-8); and
a cutting blade (126) parallel from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis, said cutting blade completely captured and retained between said cutting blade retainer and said blade retainer indent with said blade retainer indent inserted into said cutting blade retainer recess, said cutting blade configured to pierce said affixed foil seal (see Figure 8);
wherein said unitary container engaging sleeve circumscribes and encloses said unitary foil cutter assembly cylindrical body and said cutting blade (See Figure 8).
Azmi fails to teach a blade retainer indent defined on said outer shell and having a longitudinal axis angularly offset from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis; a cutting blade angularly offset from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis.
Gailor teaches a container opener with blades angularly offset from and pointing inward toward said cylindrical container top longitudinal axis (see Figure 9).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to modify Azmi to change the orientation angle of the blades, as taught by Gailor, in order to better the center of the work (page 2 lines 52-75 of Gailor).
Regarding claim 2, modified Azmi further teaches said container top receiving cavity defines a bottle top receiving opening (see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 3, modified Azmi further further teaches said outer shell is cylindrical (see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 4, modified Azmi further teaches said unitary container engaging sleeve further comprises a container engaging lip (lip next to the blade 126) having an interior diameter smaller than a diameter of said container top receiving cavity (see Figure 8).
Regarding claim 5, modified Azmi further teaches said container engaging lip is in contact with said affixed foil seal (see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 8, modified Azmi further teaches said container engaging sleeve blade retainer (see Figure 8) comprises an indent in said outer shell (see Figures 7 and 8), said cutting blade further comprises an aperture (see Figure 7), and wherein said foil cutter assembly cutting blade retainer further comprises a cutting blade detent extending at least partially into an aperture in said cutting blade (see Figure 7 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 9, modified Azmi further teaches said foil cutter assembly further comprises a sleeve stop (top surface of the ring 124) engaging and affixed with a first longitudinal end of said outer shell (inner flange of 122, see Figures 7 and 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 21, modified Azmi further teaches said unitary container engaging sleeve is reversibly affixed to said unitary foil cutter assembly and thereby configured to be separable therefrom, wherein said blade is field replaceable (symmetrical shape allow reversibly snap, see Figures 7-8 of Azmi).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azmi (US 20200038977 A1) in view of Gailor (US 2039643) and in further view of Rho (US 20090301988 A1)
Regarding claim 10, modified Azmi further teaches all elements of the current invention as set froth in claim 1 above.
Modified Azmi fails to teach said foil cutter assembly further comprises: a foil centering post defining a longitudinal central axis of said unitary container engaging sleeve, a foil retaining bulb terminating a first end of said foil centering post and configured to puncture and retain said affixed foil seal, and a cross extending radially between said foil centering post and said unitary container engaging sleeve.
Rho teaches said foil cutter assembly further comprises: a foil centering post defining a longitudinal central axis of said unitary container engaging sleeve (62, see Figure 4 of Rho), a foil retaining bulb terminating a first end of said foil centering post and configured to puncture and retain said affixed foil seal (see Figure 4 of Rho), and a cross extending radially between said foil centering post and said unitary container engaging sleeve (see Figure 4 of Rho).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of modified Azmi to add the post, as taught by Rho, in order to better collect the foil, see Figure 4 of Rho).
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azmi (US 20200038977 A1) in view of Gailor (US 2039643) and in further view of Rho (US 20090301988 A1) and in further view of Miller (US 2712176).
Regarding claims 11-12, modified Azmi teaches all elements of the current invention as set forth in claim 10 above.
Modified Azmi fails to teach a seal pusher having a plunger hand grip and stop, and a foil pushing cross extending from said plunger hand grip and stop, said foil pushing cross configured to pass between radial portions of said cross and extending radially from adjacent said foil centering post to adjacent said unitary container engaging sleeve to thereby displace any foils captured on said foil centering post (as required by claim 11), said cross defines four distinct openings, and wherein said foil pushing cross comprises four protrusions extending from said plunger hand grip and stop, each one of said foil pushing cross comprises four protrusions configured to pass through a unique one of said cross four distinct openings (as required by claim 12)
Miller teaches a lid opener including a seal pusher (assembly of 24 and 28) having a plunger hand grip and stop (24), and a lid pushing fingers/protrusions (28) extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (See Figure 2), said cross defines two distinct openings, wherein said foil pushing fingers comprises two protrusions extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (see Figure 2), each one of said foil pushing fingers/protrusions comprises two protrusions configured to pass through a unique one of said cross two distinct openings (see Figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of modified Azmi to add the seal pusher, as taught by Miller, in order to better eject the cut out material (claim 2 of Miller).
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to the seal pusher to have any number of fingers/protrusions and arrange them in whatever form or shape was desired or expedient by the end user. This includes that is a cross with four protrusions. Since a change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ 47. MPEP 2144.06 IV. B.
The resulting device of modified Azmi teaches a seal pusher having a plunger hand grip and stop, and a foil pushing cross extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (as modified by Miller), said cross defines four distinct openings, (as modified by Miller and change of shape) and wherein said foil pushing cross comprises four protrusions extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (as modified by Miller and change of shape) , each one of said foil pushing cross comprises four protrusions configured to pass through a unique one of said cross four distinct openings (as modified by Miller and change of shape).
Claims 14-20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azmi (US 20200038977 A1) in view of Rho (US 20090301988 A1) and Miller (US 2712176).
Regarding claim 14, Azmi teaches A foil cutter, comprising:
a container engaging sleeve having an outer shell (assembly of 122 and 130),
a container opening receiving cavity configured to encompass a container opening having an affixed foil seal (see Figure 8),
a container engaging lip (bottom lip of 122 near the blade) having an interior opening smaller than an interior opening of said container top receiving cavity, said container engaging lip configured to contact with said affixed foil seal (see figure 8), a foil cutter assembly receiving cavity; and a blade retainer defined on an interior of said outer shell;
a foil cutter assembly (assembly of 124 and 126) having a body defining an interior and an exterior, said body inserted within said outer shell foil cutter assembly receiving cavity and circumscribed by said outer shell (see Figure 8),
a cutting blade retainer defined on the exterior of said body (see Figure 8),
a cutting blade (126) completely captured and retained between said cutting blade retainer and said container engaging sleeve blade retainer, said cutting blade configured to pierce said affixed foil seal (See Figure 8).
Azmi fails to teach a foil centering post defining a longitudinal central axis of said container engaging sleeve, a foil retaining bulb terminating a first end of said foil centering post and configured to puncture and retain said affixed foil seal, and a cross extending radially between said foil centering post and said unitary container engaging sleeve; a seal pusher having a plunger hand grip and stop, and a foil pushing cross extending from said plunger hand grip and stop, said foil pushing cross configured to pass between radial portions of said cross and extending radially from adjacent said foil centering post to adjacent said unitary container engaging sleeve to thereby displace any foils captured on said foil centering post.
Rho teaches said foil cutter assembly further comprises: a foil centering post defining a longitudinal central axis of said unitary container engaging sleeve (62, see Figure 4 of Rho), a foil retaining bulb terminating a first end of said foil centering post and configured to puncture and retain said affixed foil seal (see Figure 4 of Rho), and a cross extending radially between said foil centering post and said unitary container engaging sleeve (see Figure 4 of Rho).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of Azmi to add the post, as taught by Rho, in order to better collect the foil, see Figure 4 of Rho).
Miller teaches a lid opener including a seal pusher (assembly of 24 and 28) having a plunger hand grip and stop (24), and a lid pushing fingers/protrusions (28) extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (See Figure 2), said cross defines two distinct openings, wherein said foil pushing fingers comprises two protrusions extending from said plunger hand grip and stop (see Figure 2), each one of said foil pushing fingers/protrusions comprises two protrusions configured to pass through a unique one of said cross two distinct openings (see Figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of modified Azmi to add the seal pusher, as taught by Miller, in order to better eject the cut out material (claim 2 of Miller).
Regarding claim 15, modified Azmi further teaches said foil cutter assembly further comprises a sleeve stop (top surface of the ring 124) engaging and affixed with a first longitudinal end of said outer shell (inner flange of 122, see Figures 7 and 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 16, modified Azmi further teaches said outer shell further comprises a cylinder (cylinder body portion of the outer shell, see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 17, modified Azmi further teaches said unitary foil cutter assembly further comprises a cylinder (cylinder body portion of the outer shell, see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 19, modified Azmi further teaches said container engaging sleeve is unitary (see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 20, modified Azmi further teaches said foil cutter assembly is unitary (see Figure 8 of Azmi).
Regarding claim 22, modified Azmi further teaches said unitary container engaging sleeve is reversibly affixed to said unitary foil cutter assembly and thereby configured to be separable therefrom, wherein said blade is field replaceable (symmetrical shape allow reversibly snap, see Figures 7-8 of Azmi).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5 and 8-22 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.
Conclusion
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/LIANG DONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 3/26/2026