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 .
Status of the Application
Claims 1-20 are pending and Claims 1, 8, 10-16, and 19 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. As of the date of this application, the Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS) filed on 09/21/2023, 05/23/2024, and 09/08/2025 has/have been taken into account.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 6 in the reply filed on 12/16/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 2-7, 9, 17-18, and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/12/2025.
Claims 2 and 4-5 recite a securement device configured to insert the beverage holder into the ground, which is a feature of non-elected species 1-5. Claim 9 recites a horizontal member comprising a u-shaped portion, which is a feature of non-elected species 4 and 5.
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 8 and 19 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.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the first vertical member, and the second vertical member" in line(s) 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 19 recites “the first arm of the beverage receptacle is only connected to the first arm of the accessory receptacle”. As the beverage receptacle and accessory receptacle are subcomponents of a larger device, it is unclear how the first arm of the beverage receptacle can only be connected to one other component as it is indirectly connected to many others.
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 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Clifford (US 2001/0032915).
In regards to Claim 12, Clifford discloses a beverage holder comprising: a beverage receptacle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 2) configured to hold a beverage container; an accessory receptacle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 8, 28) configured to hold an accessory device; and a securement device (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 4) for securing the beverage holder to an object, the securement device comprising: a first securement component comprising: an upper plate (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 12); and a bottom plate (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 14) defining an opening; a second securement component comprising: a shaft (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 16) with a shaft handle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 18) at one end and a shaft plate (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 20) at another end, the shaft extending through the opening defined by the bottom plate so that the shaft plate is positioned between the upper and bottom plates; wherein rotation of the shaft adjusts a distance between the shaft plate and the upper plate.
In regards to Claim 13, Clifford discloses the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the upper and bottom plates (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 12, 14) of the first securement component are connected by at least one segment.
In regards to Claim 14, Clifford discloses the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the securement device (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 4) is directly connected to the beverage receptacle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 2).
In regards to Claim 15, Clifford discloses the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the securement device (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 4) is offset from the beverage receptacle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 2).
In regards to Claim 16, Clifford discloses the beverage holder of claim 14, wherein: the beverage receptacle (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 2) comprises a base (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 11, 24); and the accessory receptacle comprises a horizontal support member; and the horizontal support member (Clifford: Fig. 1-3; 28) of the accessory receptacle is directly connected to the base of the beverage receptacle.
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 1 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ernst (CH 217442) in view of Gugni (D526,170).
In regards to Claim 1, Ernst discloses a beverage holder comprising: a beverage receptacle (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; Rb) comprising: an opening configured to receive a beverage container; and a base (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; B) configured to support the beverage container; an accessory receptacle (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; Ra) comprising: a first arm (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; F1) defining an opening configured to receive an accessory device; at least one horizontal support member (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; H) configured to support the accessory device; and at least one vertical member (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; V1) connecting the horizontal support member and the first arm.
Ernst fails to explicitly disclose wherein each horizontal support member is directly connected to a base of a beverage receptacle. However, Gugni teaches horizontal support member (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; H) that is directly connected to a base (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; B) of a beverage receptacle.
Ernst and Gugni are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. article supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to directly connect the beverage and accessory receptacles together in Ernst as taught by Gugni, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a holder structure that positions the receptacles more closely together, thereby enabling a larger number of articles to be more readily supported (Ernst: Pg. 1, Ln. 30-33). [Note: The cited portion of Ernst shows that including receptacles is part of the invention, therefore one having ordinary skill in the art would find the teaching of Gugni to be a specific improvement to this aspect of Ernst.]
In regards to Claim 8, Ernst, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the first arm (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; F1), the horizontal support member (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; H), the first vertical member (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; V1), and the second vertical member (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; V2) of the accessory receptacle are unitary.
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ernst (CH 217442) in view of Gugni (D526,170) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hofferber (US 2011/0079696).
In regards to Claim 10, Ernst, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 1, but fails to disclose the accessory receptacle further comprising: a second arm connected to the at least one vertical member, wherein the second arm is positioned between the first arm and the horizontal support member.
However, Hofferber teaches a receptacle further comprising: a second arm (Hofferber: Fig. 3; 21) connected to at least one vertical member (Hofferber: Fig. 3; 13), wherein the second arm is positioned between a first arm (Hofferber: Fig. 3; 21) and a horizontal support member (Hofferber: Fig. 3; 20).
Ernst and Hofferber are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. article supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the receptacles in Ernst to have an additional arm, as taught by Hofferber, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a receptacle that is adapted to provide lateral support for articles of different sizes, thereby expanding the utility of the holder (Hofferber: [0026]).
In regards to Claim 11, Ernst, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 10, wherein: the beverage receptacle further comprises: a first arm (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; F2) defining the opening; and a second arm (Hofferber: Fig. 3; 21) positioned between the first arm and the base (Ernst: Annotated Fig. 1; B); wherein the second arm of the beverage receptacle is connected to the second arm of the accessory receptacle.
Claims 12-16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryan (US 7,475,884) in view of Gugni (D526,170) and Kramer (US 3,021,106).
In regards to Claim 12, Ryan discloses beverage holder comprising: an accessory receptacle (Ryan: Fig. 1-7; 130-side connected to 170, 140, 150, 170) configured to hold an accessory device; and a securement device (Ryan: Fig. 1, 3; 130-side connected to 160, 160, 200) for securing the beverage holder to an object.
Ryan fails to explicitly disclose both a beverage receptacle configured to hold a beverage container and an accessory receptacle configured to hold an accessory device. However, Gugni teaches a beverage receptacle (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; Rb) configured to hold a beverage container and an accessory receptacle (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; Ra) configured to hold an accessory device.
Ryan and Gugni are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. article supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the accessory receptacle in Ryan with the beverage receptacle taught by Gugni, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a means for the holder to support more than one article (Gugni: Fig. 7), thereby expanding its utility.
Furthermore, Ryan fails to disclose a securement device comprising: a first securement component comprising: an upper plate; and a bottom plate defining an opening; a second securement component comprising: a shaft with a shaft handle at one end and a shaft plate at another end, the shaft extending through the opening defined by the bottom plate so that the shaft plate is positioned between the upper and bottom plates; wherein rotation of the shaft adjusts a distance between the shaft plate and the upper plate. However, Kramer teaches a securement device (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 6, 12) comprising: a first securement component comprising: an upper plate (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 7); and a bottom plate (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 8) defining an opening (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 11); a second securement component comprising: a shaft (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 10) with a shaft handle at one end and a shaft plate at another end, the shaft extending through the opening defined by the bottom plate so that the shaft plate is positioned between the upper and bottom plates; wherein rotation of the shaft adjusts a distance between the shaft plate and the upper plate.
Ryan and Kramer are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem solving area e.g. article supports. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the securement device in Ryan such that it can be used with the plates and shaft of Kramer, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a means for the securement device to detachably connect to larger tubular members (Kramer: Col. 3, Ln. 3-10), thereby expanding the number of locations in which the holder can be mounted .
In regards to Claim 13, Ryan, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the upper and bottom plates (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 7, 8) of the first securement component are connected by at least one segment (Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 9).
In regards to Claim 4, Ryan, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the securement device is directly connected to the beverage receptacle (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; Rb). [Note: A portion of element 130 is included in the securement device of Ryan, as such when modified by Gugni, it is directly connected to the beverage receptacle.]
In regards to Claim 15, Ryan, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 12, wherein the securement device (Ryan: Fig. 1, 3; 130-side connected to 160, 160; Kramer: Fig. 1, 3; 6, 12) is offset from the beverage receptacle (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; Rb).
In regards to Claim 16, Ryan, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 14, wherein: the beverage receptacle comprises a base (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; B); and the accessory receptacle comprises a horizontal support member (Ryan: Fig. 1-7; 130-side connected to 170, 140); and the horizontal support member of the accessory receptacle is directly connected to the base of the beverage receptacle.
In regards to Claim 19, Ryan, as modified, teaches the beverage holder of claim 16, wherein: the beverage receptacle further comprises a first arm (Gugni: Annotated Fig. 1; A) positioned above the base; the accessory receptacle further comprises a first arm (Ryan: Fig. 1-7; 150) positioned above the horizontal support member; and the first arm of the beverage receptacle is only connected to the first arm of the accessory receptacle.
Annotated Figures
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557
729
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I: Ernst; Fig. 1
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667
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II: Gugni; Fig. 1
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 for cited references.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Taylor Morris whose telephone number is (571)272-6367. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10AM-6PM PST / 1PM-9PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at (571) 272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Taylor Morris/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631