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
Claims 9-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species B and C, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/23/2025.
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(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Strickland et al. (US Patent No. 7,269,969).
Re: Claim 1, Strickland discloses the claimed invention including a container, comprising:
a base including an outer wall (40), an insulation layer (48), and an inner wall (44) (Fig. 5);
a lid (62) movably coupled to the base at a first end thereof (Fig. 2);
a plurality of spigots (56, 58) coupled to a front wall of the base at a second end thereof (Depicted in Fig. 2), the second end being opposite the first end, the front wall being opposite a rear wall, and the front wall being connected to the rear wall by a pair of side walls (Depicted in Fig. 4, opposite rear wall to the front wall with spigots); and
a plurality of flow channels formed in the inner wall of the base (Depicted in Fig. 6),
wherein the plurality of spigots are fluidly coupled to the plurality of flow channels (Depicted in Fig. 6, spigots coupled to flow channels in base).
Re: Claim 2, Strickland discloses the claimed invention including each spigot includes: a housing that is coupled to the inner wall of the base, the housing defining a cavity therein; a spigot body secured within the cavity and including a spout, a spout bearing, and a press tab; and a gasket coupled to the housing and the spigot body within the cavity (Depicted in Annotated Fig. 2 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
425
445
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Re: Claim 3, Strickland discloses the claimed invention including each spigot defines a flow channel aperture therethrough, and wherein the flow channel aperture is coupled to a channel in the plurality of flow channels (Depicted in Fig. 6).
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.
Claim(s) 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strickland et al. (US Patent No. 7,269,969) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Levey et al. (US 2004/0251444 A1).
Re: Claims 4, Strickland discloses the claimed invention except for rotating the the spigot. However, teaches the spigot (10) is configured to be rotated between a closed position (Levey:Fig. 1) and an open position (Levey: Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include a spigot to be rotated as taught by Levey, since such a modification provides an art regonized alternative to conventional spigots, and further Levey states in paragraph 8 that such a modification provides a spigot that can be operated easily at various positions and heights, and that closes automatically to seal the outlet effectively and reduce the occurrences of drips.
Re: Claim 5, Strickland as modified by Levey in the rejection of claim 4 above teaches a spring (60) is coupled to the spigot body within the cavity and is configured to rotate the spigot in a first direction towards the closed position, and wherein pressing the press tab rotates the spigot in a second direction toward the open position (Levey: Figs. 1-2, Para. 34, spring for automatically closing the spigot).
Re: Claim 6, Strickland as modified by Levey in the rejection of claim 4 above teaches a locking bar (78) is coupled to the housing and is configured to selectively engage with the press tab (68) to lock the spigot in the open position (Levey: Fig. 1, Para. 31, locking bar for keeping in an open position).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strickland et al. (US Patent No. 7,269,969).
Re: Claim 7, Strickland discloses the claimed invention including the outer wall defines a y-axis that extends between the first end and the second end of the container (Depicted in Fig. 3), and wherein the container further includes a plurality of lid fasteners (66) coupled to the lid (Figs. 3-4, Col. 4, lines 28-40 shows a fastener loop on either side of the lid able to receive a plurality of ties). Further It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include a plurality of lid fasteners, 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(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strickland et al. (US Patent No. 7,269,969) as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Jacob (US 2022/0170683 A1).
Re: Claim 8, Strickland discloses the plurality of spigots are horizontally aligned with respect to the y-axis except for also with the of lid fasteners. However, teaches aligning a spigot (112) with a lid fastener (116) with respect to the y-axis (Depicted in Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include the aligned spigot and fastener of Jacob, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References cited on the PTO-892 provide additional examples of containers with spigots and lids with fasteners.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES P. CHEYNEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul Durand can be reached at 571-272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHARLES P. CHEYNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
Prosecution Insights