Final Rejection
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 .
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)(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 1-6,8-17,19 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being clearly anticipated by Abry (WO 2014/058323 A1).
Referring to claim 1. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
a housing (7; Figure 1A) extending between a first end (top end of 7) and a second end (bottom end of 7) along a longitudinal axis (vertical axis through center of housing 7);
an access element (10) removably coupled to the first end, wherein the housing and the access element (10) form a hollow interior space (interior of 7) configured to receive a disposable wipe insert (15) comprising a plurality of disposable wipes (13), the access element (10) comprising a bottom edge (bottom edge of 10), a top edge (top edge of 10) comprising an inside perimeter (see Figure 1A), and a sidewall (side wall of 10) extending between the bottom edge and the top edge in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (see side wall of 10), wherein the sidewall comprises an elevated portion (rear portion of 10), a secondary portion opposite the elevated portion (front portion of 10), and a height from the bottom edge to the top edge (height of 10), wherein the height decreases from the elevated portion towards the secondary portion (rear portion of height of sidewall of 10 with respect to the front portion sidewall 10); and
a separator element (3; Figure 1A) coupled to the inside perimeter (interior of 10) and disposed at the elevated portion (top edge of 3 is disposed adjacent the elevated portion; see Figure 7), wherein the separator element (3; Figure 1A) is configured to receive one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) therethrough and retain the one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13; see Figure 7) within the hollow interior space (interior space of 10).
Referring to claims 2 and 13. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the second end (bottom end of 7) comprises a planar surface configured to support the housing in an upright position (see Figure 3) such that the first end (top end of 7) is disposed above the second end (bottom end of 7).
Referring to claim 3. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the first end (top end of 7) and the second end (bottom end of 7) are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (see Figure 3).
Referring to claim 4. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the housing is substantially cylindrical (see Figure 3).
Referring to claims 5 and 19. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the housing (7) comprises an exterior surface (exterior surface of 7) and an interior surface (interior surface of 7), wherein an entirety of the interior surface is disposed adjacent to the disposable wipe insert (15; see Figure 1A);
the exterior surface (exterior surface of dispenser 1) comprises at least one decorative element (slanted top surface of 10; Figure 3).
Referring to claim 6. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the exterior surface (exterior surface of 7) comprises at least one decorative element (rounded edges of dispenser).
Referring to claim 8. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
further comprising a lid (1; Figure 1A) coupled to the access element (10) and configured to selectively cover at least a portion of the top edge (top edge of 10),
the lid (1) configured to move between a closed position (as shown in Figure 5) and an open position (as shown in Figure 6), wherein the lid (1) provides access to the hollow interior space in the open position (see Figure 6).
Referring to claim 9. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the lid (1; Figure 1A) is configured to move between a closed position (Figure 2B) and an open position (Figure 2A), wherein the lid (1; Figure 1A) provides access to the hollow interior space (interior of 10) in the open position.
Referring to claim 10. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
further comprising a securing element (6) coupled to at least one of the lid (1) and the access element (10), wherein the securing element (10) is configured to selectively secure the lid (1) in the closed position (as in Figure 2B).
Referring to claim 11. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (see Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the separator element (3; Figure 1A) is further configured to separate one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) from the plurality of disposable wipes (15; Figure 2A) in response to at least one of a lateral force and a longitudinal force (pulling force of a user) exerted by the user onto the single disposable wipe (the wipe being pulled by a user).
Referring to claim 12. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
a housing (7; Figure 1A) extending between a first end (top end of 7) and a second end (bottom end of 7) along a longitudinal axis (vertical axis through center of housing 7), wherein the second end (bottom end of 7) is configured to support the housing in an upright position such that the first end is disposed above the second end (see configuration in Figure 1A);
an access element (10) removably coupled to the first end (top end of 7), wherein the housing (7) and the access element (10) form a hollow interior space (interior of 7) configured to receive a disposable wipe insert (15) comprising a plurality of disposable wipes (13), the access element (10) comprising:
a bottom edge (bottom edge of 10) extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (vertical axis through center of housing 7);
a top edge (top edge of 10) disposed above the bottom edge (bottom edge of 10) in the upright position (see Figure 1A), the top edge (top edge of 10) comprising an outside perimeter (outer perimeter of 10) and an inside perimeter (inner perimeter of 10); a sidewall (sidewall of 10) extending between the bottom edge and the top edge in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (see Figure 1A), wherein the sidewall (sidewall of 10) comprises an elevated portion (rear portion of 10), a secondary portion (front portion of 10) opposite the elevated portion (rear portion of 10), and a height that decreases from the elevated portion towards the secondary portion (rear portion of height of sidewall of 10 with respect to the front portion sidewall 10); and
a separator element (3; Figure 1A) coupled to the inside perimeter (interior of 10) and disposed adjacent to the elevated portion (see in Figure 7), wherein the separator (3; Figure 1A) element is configured to receive one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) therethrough and retain (see Figure 7) the one of the plurality of disposable wipes within the hollow interior space (interior of 11);
a lid (1) configured to selectively move between an open position (as in Figure 2B) and a closed position (as in Figure 2A), wherein the lid (1) covers the top edge (top edge of 11) and comprises a downward slope in the closed position (see sloped forward portion of lid 1); and
a securing element (6) coupled to the access element (10), wherein the securing element (6) is configured to selectively secure the lid (1) in the closed position (as in Figure 2B).
Referring to claim 14. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
wherein the lid (1) provides access to the hollow interior space (interior of 7) in the open position.
Referring to claim 15. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
wherein the lid (1) is coupled to the access element (10) via a hinge (14) disposed adjacent to the elevated portion (rear portion of 11).
Referring to claim 16. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
wherein the securing element (6) is disposed adjacent to the secondary portion (front portion of 11) and wherein the securing element (6) is configured to engage at least a portion of the lid (1) in the closed position.
Referring to claim 17. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
wherein the securing element (6) comprises a depressible button (6; see Figure 1A) coupled to the access element (10) and wherein the lid (1) is biased with respect to the access element (10) via a biasing element (hinge 14), wherein the depressible button (6) is configured to automatically release the lid (1) to the open position in response to being depressed (see Figure 1A).
Referring to claims 21 and 22. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister system (see Figure 1) comprising:
wherein the separator element (3; Figure 1A; Figure 7) spans a rear of the inside perimeter such that the separator element (3) defines an opening (11) between the separator element (3) and a front of the inside perimeter (front of 10; see Figure 7), the opening (11) providing access to the hollow interior space (interior of 7), the separator element (3) including a second opening (21) configured to receive one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) therethrough and retain one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) within the inside perimeter adjacent to the elevated portion (11) and opposite the secondary portion (front of 10), the opening configured to provide an area for the one of the plurality of disposable wipes to fall forward into the hollow interior space (11).
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 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abry (WO 2014/058323 A1)(alone).
Referring to claims 7 and 18. Abry discloses a reusable decorative canister apparatus (se Figure 1) configured to retain and dispense disposable wipes (13), comprising:
wherein the sidewall (side wall of 10) comprises a slope from the elevated portion (rear side wall of 10) to the secondary portion (front side wall portion of 10), wherein the slope is 9.5 degrees (the inclined slope angle when measured is about 19 degrees; see incline portion in Figure 3).
Abry does not specifically disclose wherein the slope is 9.5 degrees.
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have comprised the slop as being 9.5 degrees as opposed to 19 degrees taught by Abry, since it has been held that the provision of adjustability, where needed, involves only routine skill in the art. In re Stevens, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/02/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See modified rejections cited above.
Applicant argues the claimed limitation “a separator element coupled to the inside perimeter and disposed at the elevated portion, wherein the separator element is configured to receive one of the plurality of disposable wipes therethrough and retain the one of the plurality of disposable wipes within the hollow interior space” are not disclosed.
In view of the Examiner, Abry discloses a separator element (3; Figure 1A) coupled to the inside perimeter (interior of 10) and disposed at the elevated portion (top edge of 3 is disposed adjacent the elevated portion; see Figure 7), wherein the separator element (3; Figure 1A) is configured to receive one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13) therethrough and retain the one of the plurality of disposable wipes (13; see Figure 7) within the hollow interior space (interior space of 10).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAKESH KUMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-8314. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH from 8AM-6:30PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAKESH KUMAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651