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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission filed on May 12th, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 8 were amended. Claims 1-5 and 7-12 are pending. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the claim objection and 112b rejection previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed on February 12, 2026. Claims 1-5 and 7-12 are examined in this action.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/26/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the Final Office Action on 2/12/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
(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.
Claims 1, 3, and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20220072725 A1 by Drori.
Regarding claim 1, Drori discloses a cover (see Examiner annotated Drori Figure 4,
hereinafter “EADF4”; cover) for an applicator head (EADF4, applicator head) of a personal
care product (EADF4, personal care product) comprising: a first portion (see Examiner
annotated Drori Figure 1, hereinafter “EADF1”; 1st portion) comprising a planar outer
surface (EADF1, planar outer surface); a second portion (EADF1, 2nd portion) comprising a
cavity (EADF1, cavity) and a planar inner surface that does not comprise any apertures (EADF3 planar inner surface); a third portion (see Examiner annotated Drori Figure 3, hereinafter
“EADF3”; 3rd portion) comprising an inner rim (EADF3, inner rim) around a portion of a
perimeter of said cavity (EADF3, cavity), said inner rim configured to frictionally engage the
applicator head of said personal care product when said applicator head is disposed in said cavity
(see Drori Figures 4A-4C; see also EADF4, applicator head); and a fourth portion (EADF3,
4th portion) comprising one or more planar tabs (EADF3, planar tabs) protruding beyond said
inner rim (EADF3, inner rim); wherein the cover (EADF4, cover) for an applicator head of a
personal care product is formed as one-piece having no hinges, springs, or assembled
components (Drori, para. 30, “One skilled in the art will also recognize that although each
element of the frame and grate are illustrated as seamlessly integrated with one
another…”).
PNG
media_image1.png
454
342
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
448
456
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
503
509
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, Drori discloses said first, second, third, and fourth portions are
integrally formed (Drori, para. 30, “One skilled in the art will also recognize that although
each element of the frame and grate are illustrated as seamlessly integrated with one
another…”).
Regarding claim 9, Drori discloses said third portion further includes an outer rim
(EADF1, outer rim) that extends around a perimeter of said planar outer surface (EADF1,
planar outer surface).
Regarding claim 10, Drori discloses said outer rim (EADF1, outer rim) is perpendicular
to said planar outer surface (EADF1, planar outer surface).
Regarding claim 11, Drori discloses said cavity (EADF3, cavity) has a planar inner
surface (EADF3, planar inner surface) configured to receive said applicator head (see Drori
Figures 4A-4C).
Regarding claim 12, Drori discloses said planar inner surface (EADF3, planar inner
surface) of said cavity (EADF3, cavity) comprises a polygonal shape (see shape in Drori
Figure 3) or a substantially circular shape.
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 2, 4, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US
20220072725 A1 by Drori in view of US 20110005089 A1 by Bridges et al. (hereinafter
“Bridges”).
Regarding claim 2, Drori does not explicitly detail a tab length.
Bridges, however, does teach one or more tabs extend a tab length (Bridges, Fig. 1, flange 66) ranging from about 3 mm to about 30 mm (Bridges, para. 13, “the flange 66 may have a width w1 that extends out from the front wall 52, the back wall 54, and the pair of side walls 56 and 58 by about 0.5 mm, 0.75 mm, or 1 mm to about 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, or 3 mm...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of invention to modify the tabs of Drori to have a tab length ranging from about 3 mm to about 30 mm as taught by Bridges to provide the cover more support when frictionally engaged with the applicator head (Bridges, para. 13, “The flange 66 may enhance the rigidity of the reversible cover 50 to increase the force required to remove the reversible cover 50 from the shaving razor cartridge 20 to prevent unintentionally removal of the reversible cover 50”).
Regarding claim 4, Drori does not explicitly disclose a cover material.
Bridges, however, does teach said cover is comprised of a rigid plastic (Bridges, para. 11, “the reversible cover 50 may be injection molded or thermoformed from a polymer material, including but not limited to, poly vinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET)… polypropylene (PP), or any combination thereof”) or metal.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of invention to modify the cover of Drori to be a rigid plastic as taught by Bridges as the use of a known technique (in this case, the use of a rigid plastic from Bridges for a protective cover) to improve similar devices (in this case, the cover of Drori for a personal care product) in the same way (in this case, Drori using rigid plastic as a material that would be able to properly protect the personal care product).
Regarding claim 5, Drori does not explicitly disclose a cover material.
Bridges, however, does teach said one or more tabs (Bridges, Fig. 1, flange 66 & reversible cover 50) are comprised of a rigid plastic (Bridges, para. 11, “the reversible cover 50 may be injection molded or thermoformed from a polymer material, including but not limited to, poly vinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET)… polypropylene (PP), or any combination thereof”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of invention to modify the tabs of Drori to be a rigid plastic as taught by Bridges as the use of a known technique (in this case, the use of a rigid plastic from Bridges for a protective cover) to improve similar devices (in this case, the tabs of Drori for a cover of a personal care product) in the same way (in this case, Drori using rigid plastic as a material that would be able to properly protect the personal care product).
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US
20220072725 A1 by Drori in view of JP 2018102554 A by Shimoda.
Regarding claim 7, Drori discloses the cover (EADF4, cover) is configured to support
the personal care product on a resting surface (Drori, Abstract, “The guard is secured over the
blade retaining cartridge of the razor. When disposed over the blade retaining cartridge,
the grate portion of the guard spaces any blades retained in the cartridge from the surface
of a user’s skin”), wherein said personal care product (EADF4, personal care product)
comprises a center of gravity (EADF4, COG). Drori does not explicitly disclose tabs extending
along the resting surface.
However, Shimoda does teach said one or more tabs (Shimoda, Fig. 3, support legs 27)
extend a tab length along the resting surface (see Shimoda Figure 5) that exceeds a length between the inner rim and a projection of the center of gravity onto the resting surface, the projection in a direction parallel to an axis that is normal with the resting surface (see Shimoda English Machine Translated Document, hereinafter “SEMTD”; para. 28, “By providing a locking slit 41 on the upper end edge of the support leg 27 biased toward the cap part 21… the center of gravity is prevented from moving away from the center of the cap part 21, and the electric shaver can be placed in a stable state”).
While Shimoda does not explicitly teach that the one or more tabs extend a length greater
than the length between a projection of a center of gravity and the inner rim, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to optimize and arrive at a greater tab length, recognizing that the length is directly correlated to how well the product can stably support the care product by keeping the center of gravity relatively centered (SEMTD, para. 28, “By providing a locking slit 41 on the upper end edge of the support leg 27 biased toward the cap part 21… the center of gravity is prevented from moving away from the center of the cap part 21, and the electric shaver can be placed in a stable state”; SEMTD, para. 32, “the
lower end of the electric shaver is held in a space surrounded by the pair of support
legs 27 and the bridging wall 45. With this upright position holding part 44, the
lower end of the electric shaver is surrounded by the pair of support legs 27 and the
bridging wall 45 to prevent it from wobbling…”), 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 of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re
Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 8, Drori discloses said personal care product comprises a center of gravity (EADF4, COG) including a projection (EADF4, projection) onto a plane that is parallel to at least one of the planar outer surface and the flat treatment sheet (see EADF4). Drori does not explicitly disclose tabs extending further than a length between a projection and inner rim.
However, Shimoda does teach wherein a tab length (see Examiner annotated Shimoda
Figure 13a, hereinafter “EASF13A”; tab length) of said one or more tabs (Shimoda, Fig. 13, support legs 27) along the plane (EASF13A, plane) beyond the inner rim exceeds a length (EASF13A, length 1) between said projection (EASF13A, projection) and the inner rim along the plane.
PNG
media_image4.png
632
477
media_image4.png
Greyscale
While Shimoda does not explicitly teach that the one or more tabs extend a length greater than the length between a projection of a center of gravity and the inner rim, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to optimize and arrive at a greater tab length, recognizing that the length is directly correlated to how well the product can stably support the care product by keeping the center of gravity relatively centered (SEMTD, para. 28, “By providing a locking slit 41 on the upper end edge of the support leg 27 biased toward the cap part 21… the center of gravity is prevented from moving away from the center of the cap part 21, and the electric shaver can be placed in a stable state”; SEMTD, para. 32, “the lower end of the electric shaver is held in a space surrounded by the pair of support legs 27 and the bridging wall 45. With this upright position holding part 44, the lower end of the electric shaver is surrounded by the pair of support legs 27 and the bridging wall 45 to prevent it from wobbling…”), 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 of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues that Drori does not teach a planar inner surface that does not comprise any apertures. However, as necessitated by the claim amendments, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of US 20220072725 A1 by Drori. The rejection of claim 1 now refers to a planar inner surface of Drori which does not comprise any apertures. Therefore, Applicant’s arguments are considered moot and claim 1 and all its dependent claims are subsequently rejected as detailed above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLA LORRAINE KEENA whose telephone number is (571)272-1806. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00 pm ET.
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, Boyer Ashley can be reached at (571) 272-4502. 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.
/ELLA L KEENA/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 /BOYER D ASHLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3724
Prosecution Insights