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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to Amendments made on 8/13/2025, in which: claims 1, 10, 12-14, 19-20, 29 are amended, claim 28 is previously presented, claims 2-8, 11, 15, 17-18, 21, 23 remain as filed originally and claim 9, 16, 22, 24-27, 30-31 are cancelled.
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.
Claim 17 is 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.
Regarding claim 17, the claim depends from canceled claim 16 which renders the claim indefinite as the dependency of the claim is unclear. As such, claim 16 has not been examined on the merits. Applicant should amend to clearly and distinctly point out the dependency of the claims.
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 1-2, 4-8, 10-13, 19-21, 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertwell (D326562) in view of Hurwitz (US 2007/0144451).
Regarding claims 1-2, 4-8, 10-13, 19-21, 28-29, Bertwell discloses an animal grooming device comprising: a body (body, see figure below); a plurality of grooming elements (grooming elements, see figure below) secured to a bottom side (bottom side, see figure below) the body (body, see figure below), said grooming elements (grooming elements, see figure below) having substantially similar shapes and being spaced uniformly from one another (Figs. 1-4, 6-7) along the bottom side (bottom side, see figure below); an upper peripheral rim (upper peripheral rim, see figure below) extending continuously around a periphery (Figs. 1, 5) of a top side (top side, see figure below) of the body (body, see figure below), said upper peripheral rim (upper peripheral rim, see figure below) extending above the top side (top side, see figure below); a plurality of indentations (indentations, see figure below) formed along an outer side edge (outer sides, see figure below) of the body (body, see figure below); at least one depression (depressions, see figure below) formed on an end (outer ends, see figure below) of the body (body, see figure below); and wherein said top side (top side, see figure below) of the body (body, see figure below) and said upper peripheral rim (upper peripheral rim, see figure below) form a reservoir (reservoir, see figure below) for holding a quantity of material (the device is capable of holding a material therewithin) therein, wherein said grooming elements (grooming elements, see figure below) are conical shaped (Figs.1-7), said at least one depression (depressions, see figure below) includes two depression (upper and lower depressions, see figure below), one depression (depressions, see figure below) being located at each opposite end (upper and lower ends, see figure below) of the body (body, see figure below), said grooming device (device, see figure below) is symmetrical along a transverse axis (axis splitting the upper and lower sections of Fig. 5) thereof that extends transversely to a length (top to bottom) of the body (body, see figure below), said upper peripheral rim (upper peripheral rim, see figure below) has a peripheral plurality of indentations (indentations, see figure below) that correspond with and extending uniformly with respect to said plurality of indentations formed on said outer side edge (Figs. 1-3, 5) of the body (body, see figure below), and opposite ends (top and bottom ends, shown in figure 5) of the body (body, see figure below) have outwardly curving side edges (the edges of the depressions extend outwardly, see figure below), but does not expressly disclose a first applicator pad placed in said reservoir, a pressure cover placed over said first applicator pad wherein pressure applied to the pressure cover causes dispensing of the material from said first applicator pad, the material is at least one of shampoo, conditioner, medications, or pheromones and a plurality of passageways formed through said body for selectively dispensing material in said reservoir or said first applicator pad and wherein the grooming device is symmetrical along a longitudinal axis thereof that extends along a length of the body.
However, Hurwitz discloses a similar livestock brush (50) having a first applicator pad (59) placed in said reservoir (53), a pressure cover (61) placed over said first applicator pad (59) wherein pressure applied to the pressure cover (61) causes dispensing of the material ([0054] infused or saturated with liquid gel perfume, fragrance and/or other active composition) from said first applicator pad (59), the material ([0054] infused or saturated with liquid gel perfume, fragrance and/or other active composition) is at least one of shampoo, conditioner, medications, or pheromones ([0054] infused or saturated with liquid gel perfume, fragrance and/or other active composition) and a plurality of passageways (58, 62) formed through said body (50) for selectively dispensing material ([0054] infused or saturated with liquid gel perfume, fragrance and/or other active composition) in said reservoir (53) or said first applicator pad (59) and wherein the grooming device (Fig. 1) is symmetrical along a longitudinal axis thereof that extends along a length of the body (50).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Bertwell, by having a first applicator pad placed in said reservoir, a pressure cover placed over said first applicator pad wherein pressure applied to the pressure cover causes dispensing of the material from said first applicator pad, the material is at least one of shampoo, conditioner, medications, or pheromones and a plurality of passageways formed through said body for selectively dispensing material in said reservoir or said first applicator pad, as taught by Hurwitz, for the purpose of providing direct delivery of the active compounds from the reservoir to the coat of the animal for optimal penetration and effectiveness of the products treatment.
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Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertwell (D326562) and Hurwitz (US 2007/0144451) in view of Belschner (US 4343265).
Regarding claim 3, Bertwell/Hurwitz disclose the invention substantially as set forth above, but do not expressly disclose the grooming elements have a durometer hardness of between about 40-60 durometer hardness.
However, Belschner discloses a similar grooming brush (10) with grooming elements (20) having a durometer hardness of between 40-60 (Column 4 lines 5-14, #1 has a hardness of 55).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Bertwell, by making the hardness of the grooming elements between 40-60, as taught by Belschner, for the purpose of selecting the best physical characteristics of grooming elements for animals that is most effective and desirable.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertwell (D326562) and Hurwitz (US 2007/0144451) in view of Burd (US 10334994).
Regarding claims 14-15, Bertwell/Hurwitz discloses the invention substantially as set forth above, but does not expressly disclose the first applicator pad has at least two layers and a second layer of said first applicator pad has a rougher texture than said first layer.
However, Burd discloses a similar structure that uses a pad (50) with a least two layers (51, 52) and a second layer (52) of said first applicator pad (50) has a rougher texture (Figs. 2A, 2B) than said first layer (51).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Bertwell, by making the pad of at least two layers with one layer being rougher than the other, as taught by Burd, for the purpose of providing a cleaning pad that can have different components and structures to meet the cleaning needs of the user (Column 6).
Claims 18, 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertwell (D326562) and Hurwitz (US 2007/0144451) in view of Johnson (US 2018/0368363).
Regarding claims 18, 23, Bertwell/Hurwitz disclose the invention substantially as set forth above, but do not expressly disclose a second applicator pad releasably secured adjacent to or against the bottom side of said body, said second applicator pad having a plurality of openings to receive the grooming elements such that said second applicator pad is frictionally held in place by the openings being in contact with said grooming elements.
However, Johnson discloses a similar pet grooming brush (2) with a second applicator pad (34) releasably secured adjacent to or against the bottom side (30) of said body (2), said second applicator pad (34) having a plurality of openings (36) to receive the grooming elements (20) such that said second applicator pad (34) is frictionally held in place by the openings (36) being in contact with said grooming elements (20).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Bertwell, by adding a second applicator pad releasably secured adjacent to or against the bottom side of said body, said second applicator pad having a plurality of openings to receive the grooming elements such that said second applicator pad is frictionally held in place by the openings being in contact with said grooming elements, as taught by Johnson, for the purpose of cleaning the bristles and depositing the entrained pet hair onto the outer surface (Abstract).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/13/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
In response to applicant’s arguments that prior art Hurwitz does not teach passageways through the body of the brush structure and that there is no reservoir communicating with the passageways, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Hurwitz as stated above in the rejections of each independent claim discloses a body (50) having multiple portion making up different components of the body (50), a deformable membrane (56) is inserted into the cavity/reservoir (53) of the base (52). The deformable membrane (56) has apertures (62) which align with the apertures of bristle elements (57) and the bristle element apertures (58), the bristle element apertures extend from the cavity/reservoir (53) of the base (52) of the body (50) to the ends of each bristle element (57, Figs. 1a-1c). Each of the elements of the claims are taught by the combination of references as disclosed and as such, the claims stand rejected as stated above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 AARON M RODZIWICZ whose telephone number is (571)272-6611. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Michener can be reached at (571) 272-1467. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AARON M RODZIWICZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3642 /JOSHUA J MICHENER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642