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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. 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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/2/2026 has been entered.
Allowable Subject Matter
3. The indicated allowability of claims 1-20 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Berge 2024/0067419. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Drawings
4. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “a second outer cylindrical wall” as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-2, 8-14, 16, 18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Berge 2024/0067419.
Berge discloses a closure (310), which comprises a first longitudinal axis; an overcap (320) comprises a body configured to couple to a container neck (190) of a container (192), the body defining a first opening in fluid communication with a storage compartment in the container as seen in Figure 6, the body comprising a first inner cylindrical wall (332) that extends downward into the container neck, wherein the first inner cylindrical wall is centered on the first longitudinal axis as seen in Figure 6; and a lid (350) pivotally coupled to the body via a hinge (412) as seen in Figure 6; and an insert (370) interfacing with the body thereby frictionally engaging the insert with the overcap as seen in Figure 6, the insert comprises a second inner cylindrical wall (372) configured to engage an interior of the container neck as seen in Figure 6, a cover (as seen in Figure 6) detachably coupled to the second inner cylindrical wall, and a pull tab (182) coupled to the cover, the second inner cylindrical wall comprising a first inner surface that faces towards the first longitudinal axis, wherein the pull tab circumferentially extends around a second longitudinal axis that is not colinear with the first longitudinal axis as seen in Figure 6; the cover configured to detach from the first inner cylindrical wall in response to a user pulling on the pull tab as seen in Figure 6; the second inner cylindrical wall interfacing with the first inner cylindrical wall as seen in Figure 6; wherein the pull tab extends from a first end to a second end, each of which are rigidly coupled to the cover as seen in Figure 6; wherein the pull tab is at least partially between the first opening and the storage compartment of the container as seen in Figure 6; wherein the cover is centered on the first longitudinal axis as seen in Figure 6; wherein the lid pivotally actuates between a closed position and an open position with respect to the body, wherein the lid blocks the first opening when the lid is in the closed position and the lid does not block the first opening when the lid is in the open position as seen in Figure 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 3-7, 15, 17, 19 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.
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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 Monday-Thursday at 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 at 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
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