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 Group I (claims 1-13) in the reply filed on 12/17/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim 14 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 12/17/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6-7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “uneven portions” in claim 6, 7 and 11 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “uneven portions” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In particular the claims do not specify the degree, type or measurable characteristics of the unevenness (e.g. height, depth, roughness, protrusion, or surface variation), nor do they distinguish such uneven portions from surfaces that are smooth or that merely include normal manufacturing tolerances.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1- are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, either alone or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the claimed cartridge having a unitary sealing member disposed between a first container and a second container, wherein the sealing member comprises a first sealing portion extending along an outer wall of the first container and a second sealing portion extending along an inner wall of the first container, the first and second sealing portions being connected to each other, as recited in independent claim 1.
Specifically, Qui (US 2020/0163381) discloses a cartridge structure including multiple chambers; however, Qui does not disclose or suggest a single sealing member having connected sealing portions that simultaneously extend along both an inner wall and an outer wall of the same container to close an open side of a chamber. Rather, Qui relies on different sealing arrangements that do not provide a unitary seal bridging concentric walls of a partitioned container.
Baughman (US 2005/0269329) discloses a closure assembly for a container employing annular gaskets for sealing a threaded plug relative to a container wall. Baughman does not disclose a cartridge having an inner wall partitioning a container into chambers, nor does Baughman disclose a sealing member configured to extend along both inner and outer walls of a single container to close an open side of a chamber. The sealing structures of Baughman are directed to threaded closures and do not address the sealing configuration required by claim 1.
Trzecieski (US 2020/0163382) and Cortesi (US 2013/0312775) disclose vapor or aerosol devices having multiple chambers and sealing elements; however, these references fail to teach a unitary sealing member having connected sealing portions that simultaneously engage both inner and outer walls of a partitioned cartridge container as claimed.
Obrist (US 4,469,252) discloses a container-in-container aerosol system in which an inner container is disposed within an outer container. Obrist does not disclose an inner wall partitioning a container into a chamber and an insertion space, nor does Obrist disclose a sealing member having connected sealing portions extending along inner and outer walls of a single container. The structure and principle of operation of Obrist are materially different from the claimed cartridge.
Further, modifying any of the cited references to include the claimed sealing member would require substantial redesign and a change in the principle of operation of the respective devices, and such modification is neither taught nor suggested by the prior art.
Accordingly, the claimed subject matter as a whole, particularly the connected first and second sealing portions extending along respective outer and inner walls of the first container, is not taught or suggested by the prior art of record, either individually or in any combination.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-7739. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00am - 5:00pm.
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/JENNIFER A KESSIE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747