DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 1, line 7, “the expanding member” should be --the at least one expanding member--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-4, 6-10, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Forster et al. (WO 01/59486).
Forster et al. disclose a smart device for a beverage vessel as seen in Figures 5 and 6A, which comprises a domed surface (36) at a distal end, the domed surface adjacent a wall terminating at a lip (39), the smart device comprises a housing (12): and at least one expanding member (14), the at least one expanding member being one of integral to the housing, attached to the housing as seen in Figure 1, the at least one expanding member configured to be manipulated by way of a force, the smart device housing and the expanding member being configured to fixably attach to the beverage vessel enabling a secure fit between the lip and the domed surface of the beverage vessel as seen in Figures 6A-6C; wherein the at least one expanding member is an extendable protrusion (the extended portion of element 14); wherein the at least one expanding member has a shape, the shape being adaptable to become a shape enabling the secure fit between the lip and the domed surface of the beverage vessel as seen in Figures 6B-6C; wherein the at least one expanding member has a shape, the shape being compliant to become a shape enabling the secure fit between the lip and the domed surface of the beverage vessel as seen in Figures 6B-6C; wherein the at least one expanding member is configured to be locked in a deployed state so that the smart device will attach to a beverage vessel enabling to enable a locking fit between the lip and the domed surface of the beverage vessel as seen in Figures 6B-6C.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 13-18 are allowed.
7. Claims 5, 11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
8. Applicants’ arguments with respect to claims 1-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Further, receipt is acknowledged of the Terminal Disclaimer filed on December 4, 2025, which has been fully considered and approved in this action.
Conclusion
9. Applicants' submission of an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the timing fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) on 12/4/2025 prompted the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 609.04(b). 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.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICK C NICOLAS whose telephone number is (571)272-4931. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM -: 4:00 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 R. Durand can be reached on 571-272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FREDERICK C NICOLAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754