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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 09/26/2025 has been entered.
Claim 14 has been cancelled
Claims 1-2, 4-13 and 15-19 are presented for examination
This action is Non-Final
Claim(s) 1 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2003/0089791) in view of Shi et al. (US 2020/0254129).
Claim 1. Chen discloses a container 10 for releasing volatile substances, comprising:
- a container body 20 that contains a liquid 30 with volatile substances and that is provided with an aperture (opening at T1) ([0048]; fig. 1);
- a porous membrane 40 that closes the aperture of the container body (fig. 1); and
characterized in that the porous membrane is transparent when it is in contact with the liquid in the container body ([0056-0057]).
Chen discloses a transparent porous membrane with the ability for both stored liquids and embossed indicia to be seen but fails to disclose a message or pattern on the container. Shi teaches a dispensing container that comprises a viewable message or pattern (fig. 1A);
the message or pattern is configured to be viewed by the user through the porous membrane when the porous membrane is transparent (fig. 1A, B, 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the container of Chen to include the logo design of Shi to easily identify the contents or packaging.
Claim 8. Chen-Shi discloses container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein the container body is transparent (Chen; [0021]).
Claims 9-11: Chen-Shi discloses a container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein the container body comprises a liquid residue area (Shi; pocket formed by porous membrane 13, 14).
Claim 12. Chen-Shi discloses the container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 1, wherein the porous membrane is opaque when it is not in contact with the liquid in the container body, and
the message or pattern is configured so that the user cannot see the message or pattern when the porous membrane is opaque (Chen; abstract).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2003/0089791) in view of Shi et al. (US 2020/0254129) in view of Martin et al. (US 5,788,155).
Claim 4. Chen-Shi disclose container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 1, but fails to disclose a pattern or message printed on the membrane. Martin teaches a porous membrane attached to a dispensing unit that comprises a viewable message or pattern 16/18 on the porous membrane (claim 9; fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the membrane of Chen to include the logo design of Martin to easily identify the contents or packaging.
Claim(s) 2 and 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2003/0089791) in view of Shi et al. (US 2020/0254129) in view of Santini et al. (US 10,814,029).
Claim 5. Chen-Shi discloses container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 1, but fails to disclose a printed support. Santini teaches wherein the message or pattern is printed on a printed support 18 (Martin; col. 6, ll. 15-25; fig. 1A, 3A,B). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the layers of Chen-Shi to include the printed support of Santini to maintain adhesion of the barrier while presenting an aesthetically pleasing product.
Claims 2, 6-7. Chen-Shi-Santini discloses container where Chen discloses a container including a porous membrane 40 for releasing volatile substances coupled to a container body 20 according to claim 5, but fails to include a barrier layer. Santini teaches the printed support 18A placed between the membrane 23 (acting as a sealing membrane) and the barrier layer 18B (fig. 1B).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2003/0089791) in view of Martin et al. (US 5,788,155).
Claim 13. Chen discloses a container 10 for releasing volatile substances, comprising:
a container body 20 that contains one or more 30 volatile substances 30 and that is provided with an aperture (opening at T1) ([0048]; fig. 1);
a porous membrane 40 that closes the aperture of the container body (fig. 1); and
wherein the porous membrane is transparent when it is in contact with the liquid in the container body ([0056-0057]).
Chen discloses a transparent porous membrane with the ability for both stored liquids and embossed indicia to be seen but fails to disclose a message or pattern on the transparent membrane. Martin teaches a porous membrane attached to a dispensing unit that comprises a viewable message or pattern 16/18 on the porous membrane;
the message or pattern is configured to be viewed by a user through the porous membrane when the porous membrane is transparent (claim 9; fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the container of Chen to include the logo design of Martin to easily identify the contents or packaging.
Claim 16. Chen-Martin discloses the container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 13, wherein the container body is transparent (Chen; [0021]).
Claim(s) 15, 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2003/0089791) in view of Martin et al. (US 5,788,155) in view of Shi et al. (US 2020/0254129).
Claim 15. Chen-Martin discloses the container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 13, wherein the porous membrane is opaque when it is not in contact with the liquid in the container body (Chen; abstract).
Chen discloses a transparent porous membrane with the ability for both stored liquids and embossed indicia to be seen but fails to disclose a message or pattern on the container. Shi teaches a dispensing container that comprises a viewable message or pattern (fig. 1A);
the message or pattern is configured to be viewed by the user through the porous membrane when the porous membrane is transparent (fig. 1A, B, 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the container of Chen to include the logo design of Shi to easily identify the contents or packaging.
Claim 17-19. Chen-Martin discloses container for releasing volatile substances according to claim 13, but fails to disclose a liquid residue area. Shi teaches a container 10 for releasing volatile substances wherein the container body comprises a liquid residue area (pocket formed by porous membrane 13, 14). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the chamber of Chen to include the residue area of Shi to allow easy passage of vapor from the volatile material in the adjacent cavity.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The rejection of claim 1 has been updated to clarify that since the porous membrane and container of Chen are transparent, modifying the container to include the embossed indicia of Shi would easily allow the indicia to be seen through the porous membrane of Chen. Claim 13 has also been updated to reflect these changes.
Regarding claim 4, Applicant has not addressed the modification of Chen-Shi with Martin. Martin teaches a porous membrane imprinted with a logo design. This design is capable of being imprinted in the porous membrane of Martin. With the above arguments, the rejection is respectfully maintained.
Conclusion
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/RAVEN COLLINS/Examiner, Art Unit 3735
/Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735