DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. Claims 14-15 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/25/2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 11/25/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
3. Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 2 of the claim, “comprising” is grammatically incorrect and likely the Applicant intends “comprises”.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 2-3 of the claim, “an being” is grammatically incorrect and likely the Applicant intends “and being”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-2 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dam (US 20100322699 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Dam teaches a writing utensil sanitizing assembly (10, Fig. 1A-1G) configured for sanitizing an outer surface of a writing utensil ([0081]), said assembly comprising:
a housing (14, Fig. 1A) having a first end wall (end member 90b attached to first opening 26, Fig. 1J, 1E, and [0063]), a second end wall (another end member 90b attached to second opening 30, Fig. 1J, 1E, and [0063]), and a perimeter wall being attached to and extending between said first and second end (external wall of upper and lower housing members 58 and 62, Fig. 1G),
said first end wall having a first aperture extending therethrough (aperture defined by passage 54 of first opening end member 90b, Fig. 1J), said second end wall having a second aperture extending therethrough (aperture defined by passage 54 of second opening end member 90b, Fig. 1J), said first and second apertures being axially aligned with each other (both circular apertures are axially in line with passage 54, Fig. 1E) and being configured to receive the writing utensil (Fig. 7); and
an absorbent medium being positioned within said housing (sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E), said absorbent medium having an open conduit extending therethrough (passage 54 of sponge 38, Fig. 1E) and being aligned with each of said first and second apertures (aperture defined by passage 54 of both end members 90b are axially aligned, Fig. 1E and 1J), said open conduit being configured to receive said writing utensil such that the writing utensil abuts a surface of the open conduit (Fig. 7), said absorbent medium being configured to absorb a sanitizing fluid for application onto the writing utensil (“a sanitization fluid absorbed in the sponge applicator. In some embodiments, the sanitization fluid is a liquid”, [0015]) when the writing utensil passed through said open conduit ([0081]).
Regarding claim 2, Dam teaches a mount (stand 74, Fig. 1A) being engaged with the housing (14, Fig. 1A) and being configured to support the housing when the writing utensil is passed through the housing ([0010]).
Regarding claim 10, Dam teaches wherein said absorbent medium (38, Fig. 1E) comprises a sponge material (sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E).
Regarding claim 11, Dam teaches wherein said first end wall comprises a cap (end member 90b physically impedes sponge applicator 38 from being exposed to the environment and is thus a “cap”, Fig. 1J) releasably engaged to said perimeter wall (Because the housing 14 can be disassembled, Fig. 1G, and end members 90b are separate, the end members are detachable from the perimeter wall bounded by upper and lower housing members 58 and 62, Fig. 1G) , said first end wall including an outer plate and a peripheral shoulder being attached to an being co-extensive with an exterior edge of said plate (see drawing below),
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said peripheral shoulder extending over said perimeter wall when said first end wall is engaged with said perimeter wall (because end member 90b is coupled to an inner surface of the housing, [0063], the coupling interface requires at least the peripheral shoulder to be in contact with the housing).
6. Claims 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dam (US 20100322699 A1) in an alternate mapping version.
Regarding claim 1, Dam teaches a writing utensil sanitizing assembly (10, Fig. 1A-1G) configured for sanitizing an outer surface of a writing utensil ([0081]), said assembly comprising:
a housing (14, Fig. 1A) having a first end wall (housing 14 portion A, see drawing below), a second end wall (housing 14 portion B, see drawing below), and a perimeter wall being attached to and extending between said first and second end (housing 14 portion C, see drawing below),
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said first end wall having a first aperture extending therethrough (first opening 26, Fig. 1E), said second end wall having a second aperture extending therethrough (second opening 30, Fig. 1E), said first and second apertures being axially aligned with each other (both circular apertures are axially in line with passage 54, Fig. 1E) and being configured to receive the writing utensil (Fig. 7); and
an absorbent medium being positioned within said housing (sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E), said absorbent medium having an open conduit extending therethrough (passage 54 of sponge 38, Fig. 1E) and being aligned with each of said first and second apertures (aperture defined by passage 54 of both end members 90b are axially aligned, Fig. 1E and 1J), said open conduit being configured to receive said writing utensil such that the writing utensil abuts a surface of the open conduit (Fig. 7), said absorbent medium being configured to absorb a sanitizing fluid for application onto the writing utensil (“a sanitization fluid absorbed in the sponge applicator. In some embodiments, the sanitization fluid is a liquid”, [0015]) when the writing utensil passed through said open conduit ([0081]).
Regarding claim 10, Dam teaches wherein said absorbent medium (38, Fig. 1E) comprises a sponge material (sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claims 3-5, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dam (US 20100322699 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Dam teaches wherein said mount (74, Fig. 1A) includes: a base (flat base of stand 74, Fig. 1A); and a support (first end 78, Fig. 1G) being attached to and extending upwardly from said base (extends from flat base, Fig. 1G), said support releasably coupling said housing to said base (ball joint 86 releasably couples stand 78 to lower housing member 62, Fig. 1G), where there can be more than one support (“the mount includes at least one of: a stand configured to support the apparatus relative to a surface”, [0010]), but fails to teach a pair of supports being attached to and extending upwardly from said base, said pair of supports releasably coupling said housing to said base.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have duplicated the stand of the Fig. 1A-1G embodiment (yielding the predictable result of further supporting the housing 14 and thus the sterilization apparatus 10, Fig. 1A) because “mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced” (see MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)).
Regarding claim 4, modified Dam teaches an adhesive being positioned on a bottom surface of said base and being configured to secure said base to a planar surface (“the stand (e.g., second end 82 of the stand) comprises an adhesive (e.g., such that second end 82 can be attached to a surface)”, Fig. 1G and [0061]).
Regarding claim 5, modified Dam teaches wherein each of said supports (ball-and-socket-joint 78/86, Fig. 1G) includes a vertical wall (vertical wall that extends from flat horizontal base of stand 74 to hold the ball, Fig. 1G) including a first mating member (ball of ball-and-socket-joint 78/86, Fig. 1G).
Regarding claim 8, modified Dam teaches a trough (hollow channel between housing members and sponge applicator, see drawing below) being attached to said mount (housing 14 is attached to stand 74, Fig. 1A) and extending laterally away therefrom (hollow channel has a depth, Fig. 1E),
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said trough having an open upper side (upper hollow channel, see drawing above) and being configured to hold a quantity of sanitizing fluid (excess sanitizing fluid in sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E can be held in the hollow channels due to gravitational forces, even the upper one at specific mounting orientations, especially because the ends of the sponge applicator 38 are fluid-impermeable, [0008]), said trough including a bottom wall being co-extensive and co-planar with said base (interior walls of lower and upper housing members 58 and 62 defining the chamber interior 34 extends from the base and is horizontally planar relative to the flat base of stand 74, Fig. 1E), a peripheral wall (curved portions of interior 34 defined by interior wall of upper and lower housing members 58 and 62, Fig. 1E) being attached to (curved portions are part of the housing members) and extending upwardly from said bottom wall (both pairs of curved portions extend upward, giving the channels its depth, see drawing above).
Regarding claim 9, Dam teaches wherein said first and second apertures (aperture defined by passage 54 of both end members 90b, Fig. 1E and 1J) each having a circular shape (circular as defined by passage 54, Fig. 1J) and a diameter being less than .75 inches (0.1-0.5 inches, [0008]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have tried and thus selected 0.2 inches from the disclosed relaxed inner diameter range of 0.1-0.5 inches with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP § 2143, I, Part E).
This modification reads on the limitation of: said housing having a length from said first end wall to said second end wall being between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches (because drawings are to scale, [0039], meaning the distance end-to-end between end members 90b is approximately 2.2 inches, see drawing below).
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9. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dam (US 20100322699 A1), further in view of Owens (US 20140134070 A1, provided in Applicant’s IDS filed 05/17/2023).
Regarding claim 12, Dam teaches a first end wall in contact with a perimeter wall (end member 90b on first opening 26, Fig. 1J and 1E), but fails to teach a seal being positioned at a juncture of said first end wall and said perimeter wall.
Owens teaches a writing instrument sanitization apparatus (10, Fig. 1) utilizing a sanitizing fluid absorbed by a sponge (28, Fig. 1 and [0008]), wherein a seal ([0023]) is positioned at a juncture of said first end wall (cover 22, Fig. 1) and said perimeter wall (wall of vessel 20, Fig. 1) in order to create a “liquid-tight seal through which a sanitizing fluid cannot pass” ([0023]).
Dam and Owens are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of writing utensil sanitization devices utilizing a sponge material having absorbed sanitization fluid.
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 contact area between the end member and housing wall of Dam by incorporating a seal positioned between the two contact surfaces as taught by Owens in order to create a “liquid-tight seal through which a sanitizing fluid cannot pass” (Owens, [0023]).
10. Claims 2-3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dam (US 20100322699 A1) in said alternate mapping version as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Still et al. (US 5647084 A).
Regarding claim 2, Dam teaches a mount (stand 74, Fig. 1A) being engaged with the housing (14, Fig. 1A) and being configured to support the housing when the writing utensil is passed through the housing ([0010]).
Still teaches a cleaning apparatus for hoses, pipes, and other rod-like objects (10, Fig. 1-2, utilizing water source 80 as the cleaning agent, Fig. 1), wherein the object passes through the inlet (50, Fig. 1) through the brushes (70, Fig. 2), and exits through the outlet (60, Fig. 2), where the mounting means (mounting bracket 110 and rods 100, Fig. 1) is at an alternate configuration.
Dam and Still are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of cleaning apparatuses for rod-like objects having a pass-through conduit/passage cleaned by liquid.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have substituted the stand of Dam with the mounting structure as taught by Still, because this substitution yields the predictable result of supporting/holding the cleaning apparatus (MPEP 2143, Rationale B).
Regarding claim 3, Dam in view of Still teaches wherein said mount includes: a base (Still, base of mounting bracket 110, Fig. 1); and a pair of supports being attached to and extending upwardly from said base (Still, linear arms 115, Fig. 1), said pair of supports releasably coupling said housing to said base (Still, rods 100 can be attachable to one of the walls 10, Fig. 1 and col.3, 2nd paragraph, meaning if the rods can be attached, they can also be detached), for the same modification purpose as stated in claim 2 rejection above.
Regarding claim 5, Dam in view of Still teaches wherein each of said supports includes a vertical wall including a first mating member (Still, linear arms 115 are vertical relative to base of mounting bracket 110, Fig. 1), for the same modification purpose as stated in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 6, Dam in view of Still teaches a pair of second mating members (Still, rods 100, Fig. 1), each of said first and second end walls having one of said second mating members attached thereto (Still, both end walls that the rods 100 are attached to of Fig. 1 equates to Dam’s housing wall portion A and portion B), wherein the first mating member of each support of said pair of supports is engaged to one of the second mating members of the pair of second mating members (rod adjustment engagement 122, Fig. 1), for the same modification purpose as stated in claim 5 rejection above.
Regarding claim 7, Dam in view of Still teaches wherein each of said second mating members (Still, rods 100, Fig. 1) comprises a protrusion having an outer surface (Still, rods 100 protrude out of the housing end walls, Fig. 1) having a shape inhibiting rotation (rods 100 are attached to linear arms 115, which restrict rotation, Fig. 1) of said first and second end walls relative to said pair of supports (Still, because rod 100 is attached to the housing end walls and not mentioned to be hinged/pivotable, rotation is not plausible, especially because the intended use is for cleaning hoses and pipes, which would apply considerably high forces to the housing), for the same modification purpose as stated in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 8, modified Dam teaches a trough (hollow channel between housing members and sponge applicator, see drawing below) being attached to said mount (housing 14 is attached to stand 74, Fig. 1A) and extending laterally away therefrom (hollow channel has a depth, Fig. 1E),
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said trough having an open upper side (upper hollow channel, see drawing above) and being configured to hold a quantity of sanitizing fluid (excess sanitizing fluid in sponge applicator 38, Fig. 1E can be held in the hollow channels due to gravitational forces, even the upper one at specific mounting orientations, especially because the ends of the sponge applicator 38 are fluid-impermeable, [0008]), said trough including a bottom wall being co-extensive and co-planar with said base (interior walls of lower and upper housing members 58 and 62 defining the chamber interior 34 extends from the base and is horizontally planar relative to the flat base of stand 74, Fig. 1E), a peripheral wall (curved portions of interior 34 defined by interior wall of upper and lower housing members 58 and 62, Fig. 1E) being attached to (curved portions are part of the housing members) and extending upwardly from said bottom wall (both pairs of curved portions extend upward, giving the channels its depth, see drawing above).
Regarding claim 9, Dam teaches wherein said first and second apertures (aperture defined by passage 54 of both end members 90b, Fig. 1E and 1J) each having a circular shape (circular as defined by passage 54, Fig. 1J) and a diameter being less than .75 inches (0.1-0.5 inches, [0008]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have tried and thus selected 0.2 inches from the disclosed relaxed inner diameter range of 0.1-0.5 inches with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP § 2143, I, Part E).
This modification reads on the limitation of: said housing having a length from said first end wall to said second end wall being between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches (because drawings are to scale, [0039], meaning the distance end-to-end between end portion A and portion B as mapped in claim 1 rejection is approximately 1.8 inches, see drawing below).
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Allowable Subject Matter
11. Claim 13 is allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 13, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest the structural limitations of the present claim. The closest prior art to the claimed invention (Dam – of record) is set forth above but does not teach or suggest the combined features of:
a pair of second mating members, each of said first and second end walls having one of said second mating members attached thereto, wherein the first mating member of each support of said pair of supports is engaged to one of the second mating members of the pair of second mating members; and
said first end wall comprising a cap releasably engaged to said perimeter wall, said first end wall including an outer plate and a peripheral shoulder being attached to an being co-extensive with an exterior edge of said plate, said peripheral shoulder extending over said perimeter wall when said first end wall is engaged with said perimeter wall; a seal being positioned at a juncture of said first end wall and said perimeter wall.
Specifically, in the context of Dam, a specific mapping version is required to reject feature a) (see claim 6-7 rejection above), whereas an alternative mapping version is required to reject feature b) (see claim 11 rejection above). Because claim 13 recites both features a) and b) (equating to claims 6-7 and 11 in scope, verbatim), both features cannot work in conjunction with a single mapping version of Dam.
Conclusion
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 20190314536 A1.
13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Aham Lee whose telephone number is (703)756-5622. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Maris R. Kessel can be reached at (571) 270-7698. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Aham Lee/Examiner, Art Unit 1758
/MARIS R KESSEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1758