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 .
This Office Action acknowledges the applicant’s amendment filed on 7/24/2025. Claims 1-17 and 24-25 are pending in the application. Claims 18-23 are cancelled. Claims 24-25 are new.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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Claim(s) 1, 10-17 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE JP 2017-171309 A, previously presented in Applicant’s IDS, in view of Harrison US 2021/0061540 A1.
With regards to claim 1, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses a cup-shaped reusable plastic container 1, said reusable plastic container (Para. 0001-0003) comprising a container jacket 2, said container jacket having one open end and one closed end with a base 3, wherein a longitudinal axis of the reusable plastic container extends between the open end and the closed end, and wherein the open end has a sealing edge 4 with a sealing surface 7, said sealing surface being configured such that the sealing surface is connectable with a first sealing foil (peelable lid; not shown), wherein the container jacket 2 has a wall thickness (T5), said wall thickness being from 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm (Para. 0027), and wherein the sealing edge 4 has a sealing edge thickness (T1), said sealing edge thickness extending in the axial direction of the longitudinal axis, and said sealing edge thickness being from 0.8 mm to 4.0 mm (Para. 0015 and 0017).
The reusable plastic container of MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE is capable of being cleaned.
MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses a peelable lid (sealing foil) but it does not specifically disclose the sealing surface is configured to such that the sealing surface is resealable with a further sealing foil after and after removal of a first sealing foil from the sealing surface of the sealing edge.
However, Harrison teaches that it was known in the art to have a reusable plastic container 11 (Para. 0020) that is resealable with a further sealing foil 12 after cleaning of the reusable plastic container and after removal of a first sealing foil 11 from the sealing surface of the sealing edge. (Para. 0016, 0071-0072 and Claim 18)
The inventions of MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE and Harrison are both drawn to the field of containers that are capable of holding items such as food items. Each container includes a foil (film) layer lid attached to the container. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the container in MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE by providing a further sealing foil to the container after cleaning as taught by Harrison for the purposes of reducing waste and cost.
With regards to claim 10, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses a detectable element 19 is applied to or incorporated into the container jacket 2.
With regards to claim 11, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses a sealing aid is applied to the sealing surface 7 of the sealing edge 4. (Para. 0045)
With regards to claim 12, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the open end can have a thread, said thread being engageable with another thread of a sealing element configured as a screw top. (with structure 8)
With regards to claim 13, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the open end has a press lip (at 7), said press lip being engageable with a sealing element configured as a press-on lid. (Para. 0045)
With regards to claim 14, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the sealing edge 4 is configured such that the sealing edge can be engaged with snap-in elements of a sealing element configured as a reusable plastic lid. (with structure 8)
With regards to claim 15, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the reusable plastic container 1 is configured as a combination packaging container and comprises an outer component 19, said outer component being wrapped around the reusable plastic container, wherein the outer component is formed by a pre-cut part, said pre-cut part having a substantially circular ring segment basic shape, said pre-cut part having a first end portion and a second end portion, wherein the pre-cut part is wrapped to form a jacket and the first end portion and the second end portion are joined with one another in an overlap area, wherein the outer component further has a first end face and a second end face and the first end face and the second end face are spaced apart from one another, wherein the outer component has a longitudinal extension extending from the first end face to the second end face. (Para. 0040-0041)
With regards to claim 16, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the jacket of the outer component 19 has a receiving area and an area, said area being arranged between the receiving area and the second end face when viewed in the longitudinal extension, and wherein an area of the open end is received in the receiving area of the jacket of the outer component. (Para. 0040-0041)
With regards to claim 17, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the base area of the container 1 is configured to fix and/or position the container. (Fig. 1)
With regards to claim 25, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the base area of the container comprises a groove or an elevation to fix and/or position the container. (Fig. 1; annotated figure shown above)
Claim(s) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE JP 2017-171309 A, previously cited in Applicants IDS, in view of Harrison US 2021/0061540 A1 and further in view of KUO et al. US 2022/0033173 A1, previously cited.
With regards to claim 2, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE in view of Harrison disclose the claimed invention (container jacket 2) as stated above but it does not specifically disclose the container jacket has a conical section, said conical section extending from the closed end towards the open end, and wherein the container jacket has a cylindrical section, said cylindrical section extending from the open end towards the closed end, wherein when viewed in the radial direction to the longitudinal axis a circular cross section of the cylindrical section is larger than a maximum circular cross section of the conical section.
However, KUO (Fig. 1a) teaches that it was known in the art to have a container 20 with a container jacket have a conical section 24, said conical section extending from the closed end towards the open end, and wherein the container jacket has a cylindrical section 242, said cylindrical section extending from the open end towards the closed end, wherein when viewed in the radial direction to the longitudinal axis (C1) a circular cross section of the cylindrical section is larger than a maximum circular cross section of the conical section. (Para. 0090-0091)
The inventions of MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE and KUO are both drawn to the field of containers that are capable of holding items such as food items. Each container includes a container jacket with a conical section. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the container jacket in MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE by providing a cylindrical section as taught by KUO for the purposes of allowing another container to nest inside of the container.
With regards to claim 3, KUO (Fig. 1c) further teaches a conical transition section 2443 is configured between the conical section 24 and the cylindrical section 242, wherein a first angle between the longitudinal axis (C1) and the conical section is smaller than a second angle between the longitudinal axis and the conical transition section. (Para. 0091)
With regards to claim 4, KUO (Fig. 1c) further teaches the container jacket is configured with indentations 244, said indentations extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (C1) across the cylindrical section 242.
With regards to claim 5, KUO further teaches the indentations 244 when viewed in the radial direction to the longitudinal axis (C1) has a depth, said depth being from 1% to 70% of the wall thickness of the container jacket. (Para. 0093)
Claim(s) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE JP 2017-171309 A, previously cited in Applicants IDS, in view of Harrison US 2021/0061540 A1 and further in view of Moran US 2002/0092855 A1, previously cited.
With regards to claim 6, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE in view of LEWANDOWSKI disclose the claimed invention as stated above but it does not specifically disclose a center of mass of the reusable plastic container is outside the longitudinal axis.
However, Moran teaches it was known in the art to have a container have a center of mass of the reusable plastic container outside the longitudinal axis. (Para. 0006)
The inventions of MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE and Moran are both drawn to the field of containers that are capable of holding items such as food and beverage items. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the container in MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE by providing a center of mass of the reusable plastic container outside the longitudinal axis as taught by KUO for the purposes of preventing spillage of the contents from the container.
With regards to claim 7, Moran further teaches the center of mass of the reusable plastic container is in a half of the container height facing the closed end when viewed along the container height. (Para. 0006)
With regards to claim 8, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the base 3 is circular and has different base thicknesses along its diameter, said base thickness T5 being between 0.5 mm and 4.0 mm. (Para. 0027)
With regards to claim 9, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses the wall thickness T5 of the container jacket 2 varies. (Para. 0027)
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE JP 2017-171309 A, cited in Applicants IDS, in view of LEWANDOWSKI US 2021/0394988 A1 and further in view of McLean US 2011/0138742 A1.
With regards to claim 24, MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE discloses a sealing aid in Para. 0045 of the specification but it does not specifically disclose the sealing aid comprises a residue-free removable sealing aid.
However, McLean teaches that it was known in the art to have container 12 that includes a lid 10 that has a sealing aid (heat seal coating) comprise of a residue-free removable sealing aid. (Para. 0034)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the sealing aid in MIZUKOSHI ISATAKE by providing residue-free removable sealing aid as taught by McLean for the purposes of allowing an easier removal of the seal from the container.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/24/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant states “Mizukoshi fails to disclose or suggest the feature "wherein the sealing surface is configured such that the sealing surface is resealable with a further sealing foil after cleaning of the reusable plastic container and after removal of a first sealing foil from the sealing surface of the sealing edge" as set forth in Applicant's amended independent claim 1. Although MIZUKOSHI does not specifically recite the container is cleaned and resealable with a further seal, as the claims are recited currently, it need only be capable of doing so. Additionally, newly cited prior art Harrison US 2021/0061540 A1, does teach that it is known in the art to have a plastic reusable container that is cleaned and resealable with a further film (Claim 18).
Conclusion
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 JENINE PAGAN whose telephone number is (313)446-4924. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday-Thursday.
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/JENINE PAGAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3736
/ORLANDO E AVILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3736