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 .
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 1-11 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 1 recites the both “the primary and second lid seal create a seal”. It is unclear what seals this is referring to.
Claim 1 recites “when the primary and secondary lids are coupled”. It is unclear if he lids are coupled to each other or another feature.
Prior Art
Foster (US-3494500-A) discloses a closure system with a closure 10 having a top wall 15, and a mounting ring 13 is fitted into a groove 20 with its lower end pressed into a layer 24 of sealing compound in the groove, and is anchored in place by at least one indentation 25 in the outer wall 18, rolled completely around the wall to clamp plastic between the walls of the groove. A second bead 27 is rolled into the outer wall around the upper edge of the ring to complete the anchoring and sealing of the ring 13 on the closure. The flap 12 is a circular plate of plastic that fits closely within the mounting ring and has a peripheral bevel 28 which reduces the thickness of plastic at the tear line to a thin membrane capable of being turn with relative ease as the flap is pulled away from the remainder of the closure.
Roth et al. (US-5085339-A) discloses a closure with an end panel 20 is provided with a pull tab 34 which is preferably integral with end panel 20 but may be formed separately and then secured thereto. Pull tab 34 includes a cut line 35 which provides an opening so that pull tab 34 can open into the form of a pull ring. Upon the application of an upward pulling force to pull tab 34, the seal between platform 28 and the marginal edge portion 30 is broken so that a displaceable panel portion 36, of end panel 20, is moved upwardly and outwardly for separating and displacing the displaceable panel portion 36 from the ring member 24 for forming an opening in the container 10 to provide access to the contents.
Stec (US-3419181-A) discloses a can 10 that includes a conventional body 11 which has the lower end thereof closed in any conventional manner. The upper end of the body 11 is closed by means of a conventional type of easy opening end, which end is generally identified by the numeral 12 and is of the full open type. The can end 12 is secured to the body 11 by means of a conventional double seam 13 which projects radially outwardly of the body 11 at the upper end thereof. A removable panel portion 17 constitutes substantially all of the end panel 15. A removable panel portion 15 may be torn from the end panel 15 in the opening of the can 10. In order to facilitate the tearing out of the removable panel portion 17, the removable panel portion 17 is provided with an integral rivet 18 which is utilized to secure thereto a pull tab 20. The pull tab 20 is positioned to engage a predetermined portion of the score line 16 so as to initiate the rupture of the end panel 15 along the score line 16.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fails to teach or reasonably suggest the claimed closure system with the claimed annular ring, primary lid and secondary lid with the corresponding sections wherein an axial elevation of the tamper evident panel of the central portion resides within a plane that is a lower extremity of the major groove of the middle portion of the primary lid, and below the inner peripheral edge of the annular ring.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY R ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7426. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
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, Nathan Jenness can be reached at (571)270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFREY R ALLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733