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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 8/24/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hatton (US 2014/0224356).
Regarding claim 11, Hatton discloses a self-closing dispensing valve made of an elastic material (fig.1-9 and [0039]), said valve comprising a valve head (36) with a dispensing orifice (50), a circular peripheral retaining flange (60), and an integrally connected U-shaped (59) hinge portion therein between (see fig.9), wherein: the U-shaped hinge portion is U-shaped in cross section and includes first and second terminal ends, the first terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the valve head, the second terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the retaining flange (see fig.9), the elastic material is a thermoplastic elastomer ([0039]), the valve head has a dome shape with a concave exterior side and a convex interior side (see fig.9), and the U-shaped hinge portion has a uniform wall thickness (see shape and dimension of 59 in fig.9; also, a desired thickness cited in paragraph 0052: “size and shape of the valve head 36, can also be relevant to achieving some desired characteristics, and can be selected for accommodating the normal range of pressure differential that is expected to be typically applied across the valve head 36, and for accommodating the characteristics of the substance to be used with the system 20”).
Regarding claim 14, Hatton discloses the dispensing orifice is defined by two through slits in a T-configuration (see fig.6).
Claims 11 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Socier (US 2014/0209644).
Regarding claim 11, Socier discloses a self-closing dispensing valve made of an elastic material (fig.1-4 and [0044]), said valve comprising a valve head (12) with a dispensing orifice (28), a circular peripheral retaining flange (19), and an integrally connected U-shaped (20) hinge portion therein between (see fig.4), wherein: the U-shaped hinge portion is U-shaped in cross section and includes first and second terminal ends, the first terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the valve head, the second terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the retaining flange (see fig.4), the elastic material is a thermoplastic elastomer ([0044]), the valve head has a dome shape with a concave exterior side and a convex interior side (see fig.4), and the U-shaped hinge portion has a uniform wall thickness (see shape and dimension of 20 in fig.4 and [0046]).
Regarding claim 14, Socier discloses the dispensing orifice is defined by two through slits in a T-configuration (see fig.3).
Regarding claim 15, Socier discloses a dispensing closure (fig.1-7) including: a closure body (40) comprising: a deck in which a dispensing passage is formed (see top surface of 40 with a passage), a skirt depending from the deck and defining an interior space of the closure (see skirt in marked area 45), a valve seating portion formed in the interior space in line with the dispensing passage (see seating in marked areas 34, 38); and a self-closing dispensing valve (10), said self-closing dispensing valve made of an elastic material ([0044]) and comprising a valve head (12) with a dispensing orifice (28), a circular peripheral retaining flange (19), and an integrally connected U-shaped hinge portion (20) therein between, wherein: the U-shaped hinge portion is U-shaped in cross section and includes first and second terminal ends, the first terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the valve head, the second terminal end of the hinge portion being connected directly to the retaining flange (see fig.4), the elastic material is a thermoplastic elastomer or a plastomer ([0044]), the valve head has a dome shape with a concave exterior side and a convex interior side (see fig.4), the U-shaped hinge portion has a uniform wall thickness (see shape and dimension of 20 in fig.4 and [0046]); and wherein the self-closing valve is arranged and secured in the valve seating portion of the closure body (see fig.4), wherein the valve is exclusively engaged by the closure body at the retaining flange of the valve (see fig.4).
Regarding claim 16, Socier discloses the U-shaped hinge portion has a convex exterior side and wherein the convex exterior side of the U-shaped hinge portion of the valve is spaced apart from the deck of the closure body (see fig.4).
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.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Socier (US 2014/0209644) in view of Stull (US 2006/0006203).
Socier is silent in disclosing the dispensing closure is made of a thermoplastic material. However, Stull teaches the commonality of making the dispensing closure from a thermoplastic material ([0026]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the application to modify the material of the closure of Socier to a thermoplastic material as taught by Stull, in order to allow for a reliable performance in a wide range of applications where a good seal is required, while also being lightweight and often more cost-effective than traditional metal cap.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Socier (US 2014/0209644) in view of Gelov (US 2014/0263436).
Socier is silent in disclosing the dispensing closure is made of a PE and or PP. However, Gelov teaches the commonality of having a dispensing closure made of a PE and or PP ([0039]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the application to modify the material of the closure of Socier to a PP or PE as taught by Gelov, in order to make a use of Polypropylene (PP) for applications requiring high heat resistance and rigidity, and polyethylene (PE) for flexibility and cold resistance and both are strong, durable, and widely recyclable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 5-10 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the above claims 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bob Zadeh whose telephone number is (571)270-5201. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm E.
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/BOB ZADEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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