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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention III, Fastener Species 1, Container Species B and Plunger Holder Species i in the reply filed on 10/27/25 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-14 and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/27/25.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
The figures as submitted contain numerous hand written annotations and leaders which overlap one another and obscure the depictions of the inventions.
A number of the figures contain a reference letter and/or numeral which do not appear to be defined and do not appear to correlate with the figures. For example Fig. 13F has an “F”, while Fig. 13G has an “H” and Fig.14A has a B-2
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The amendment filed 4/2/25 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows:
Newly filed Figure 16 contains new matter as it is a new figure which appears to depict a new embodiment
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
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.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 10,413,139 (Singer).
Regarding claim 15, Singer discloses an apparatus comprising:
a plunger (20) including a base (22) and a handle (21);
a disposable cover (10) positionable over the base of the plunger and extending along the handle of the plunger (Fig. 6); and
a disposable cover fastener (30) configured to secure the disposable cover to the handle of the plunger.
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 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singer in view of US 11,346,091 (Shapiro).
Regarding claims 16-17, Singer states that the disposable cover is disposable but does not state that it degrades in water at a temperature at or above room temperature.
Shapiro teaches an apparatus comprising a plunger (20) which has a base (24) and a handle (22) as well as a disposable cover (10). Shapiro further teaches that the cover is made of a material that degrades when exposed to water at or above room temperature for a period of at least a minute (C3 L20-35, L56-63 – Dissolves in toilet water which is room temperature).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to construct the disposable cover out of a material which is water soluble in room temperature or warmer water after at least a minute, as taught by Shapiro, so that the disposable cover is configured to remain intact and operable as a cover during a plunger operation while also being disposable directly into the toilet water for convenience and sanitary purposes.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singer in view of US 5,413,394 (Mitchell).
Regarding claims 18-19, Singer discloses that the disposable fastener can be a resilient band or a tie but does not explicitly disclose use of a C-shaped cylinder made of an elastic material.
Mitchell teaches an assembly comprising a tool (11) comprising a head (15) and handle (13) for engaging in sanitation/waste management, a disposable tool covering bag (40) and a disposable bag fastener (21). Wherein the disposable bag fastener is C-shaped cylinder (Fig. 10) and constructed of a resilient and flexible (elastic) material (C3 L64- C4 L11) which is configured to secure the bag to the handle of the tool (C4 L47-63).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize an elastic C-shaped cylinder (clamp) to secure the disposable bag to the handle, as taught by Mitchell, since such a fastener facilitates quick and simple installation and removal of the fastener and bag and is compatible with a variety of bags providing additional value/functionality.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 6,109,429 (Cunningham) teaches an apparatus comprising a plunger and plunger holder wherein the plunger holder comprises hooks and containers on the sidewalls for supporting other accessories/toiletries.
US 7,124,450 (Davidson) teaches an apparatus comprising a toilet plunger and a disposable cover configured to dissolve in toilet water after a timer period.
US 7,523,510 (Biagi) is an apparatus comprising a toilet plunger and a disposable cover wherein the disposable cover is secured to a handle of the plunger.
US 8,020,223 (Falcon) teaches an apparatus comprising a plunger, disposable covers for the plunger and a container for holding a plurality of disposable covers with the container configured for attachment to the plunger handle.
US 10,053,846 (Rim) teaches an apparatus comprising a plunger and a cover configured to cover the plunger bell and handle.
US 10,202,744 (Patterson) teaches an apparatus comprising a plunger and a disposable cover configured to dissolve in water.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A ROS whose telephone number is (571)270-3577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Angwin can be reached at 571-270-3735. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS A ROS/Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/DAVID P ANGWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754