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 Arguments
Applicant argues that the amended independent claims 12 and 17 are in condition for allowance.
In response, the Applicant is herein referred to the new obviousness rejection using new prior art presented in the office action.
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 12,14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Case et al. (US
2011/0210198) in view of Anderson (US 2007/0290094).
Claim 12, Case discloses a dispenser for sheet materials comprising: a back frame assembly (110)
and a front cover assembly (115) configured to form a housing having an interior volume so as to retain
at least one roll of sheet material; one or more roll support members (120) disposed within the housing
to retain the at least one roll of sheet material, the one or more roll support members including a first
end (190) configured to support a roll of sheet material and a second end (141) configured to securely
attach to the back frame assembly, at least one of the one or more roll support members includes a
connection hub (185,190) having at least two diameters (see fig.6 which illustrates 2 diameters) to
facilitate supporting of rolls of sheet material having varying widths (para.0031).
Case does not disclose a connection hub having at least two diameters to facilitate supporting of rolls of sheet material having varying core diameters.
Anderson discloses a connection hub (40R) having at least two diameters (40R,50) to facilitate supporting of rolls of sheet material having varying core diameters (see abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Case with a connection hub having at least two diameters to facilitate supporting of rolls of sheet material having varying core diameters to further enable the dispenser to allow dispensing sheets from a versatile core size tissue dispenser.
Claim 14, Case discloses a dispensing mechanism (117) contained within the housing for
dispensing the sheet material.
Claim 15, Case discloses an opening (118) configured to allow a user to access the sheet
material.
Claim 16, Case discloses wherein the roll of sheet material comprises a roll of paper towels (see figures) for dispensing paper towels from the dispenser.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Case et al. (US
2011/0210198) in view of Anderson (US 2007/0290094) in view of Danis (US 2020/0196807).
Claim 13, Case does not disclose wherein the connection hub (185,190) includes one or more
spring- loaded telescoping portions, the housing configured to receive the one or more spring-loaded
telescoping portions of the connection hub.
Danis discloses wherein the connection hub (104) includes one or more spring- loaded
telescoping portions (para.0031), the housing (16) configured to receive the one or more spring-loaded
telescoping portions of the connection hub. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the dispenser of Case with wherein the
connection hub includes one or more spring- loaded telescoping portions, the housing configured to
receive the one or more spring-loaded telescoping portions of the connection hub because It's a very
well-known conventional configuration in the art and does not impart any novelty on the claim
limitation.
Claims 17,19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elliot et al.
(US 2022/0313030) in view of Tharp (US 5,149,003).
Claim 17, Elliot discloses a dispenser for dispensing sheet materials, comprising, a back frame (fig.1; inner portions of housing of 10) assembly and a front cover assembly (40) configured to form a housing having an interior volume so as to retain at least one roll of sheet material; a support panel (20) secured having a first end secured to the back frame assembly (fig.1a); and one or more roll support members (22,24), the one or more roll support members including a first end (fig.3b; by point A) configured to support a roll of sheet material and a second end (fig.2b; fig.5; end by 26) configured with a hinge (fig.5; by 24 that allows pivoting in and out of the dispenser) secured to the back frame assembly (see figures) such that the one or more roll support members (22,24) is capable of pivoting about
the hinge (fig.5; by 24 that allows pivoting in and out of the dispenser) in order to accommodate rolls of sheet material having varying widths (see figures; varying widths of rolls can be accommodated inside the dispenser as long as they fit onto 22,24), wherein a first side of the at least one roll of sheet material is supported by the support panel (20) and a second side of the at least one roll of sheet material is supported by the one or more roll support members (22,24).
Elliot does not disclose a second end configured with a spring loaded hinge.
Tharp discloses a second end (16) configured with a spring loaded hinge (26). Therefore, it
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the
dispenser of Elliot with a second end configured with a spring loaded hinge in order to have a side
arm that is pivotally mounted so as to pivot about an axis, which is a configuration well-known in the art
for roll dispensers.
Claim 19, Elliot discloses wherein the support panel (20) includes one or more
supporting nubs (22b,24b) and/or one or more connection hubs for supporting the at least one roll of sheet
material.
Claim 20, Elliot discloses wherein the dispenser is configured to support at least four rolls of
sheet material (see figures; the dispenser of Elliot is fully capable of supporting at least four rolls of
sheet material because this greatly depends on the size of the rolls of sheet materials).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elliot et al. (US 2022/0313030) in view of Tharp (US 5,149,003) in view of Danis (US 2020/0196807).
Claim 18, Elliot discloses wherein the first end (fig.3b; by point A) of the one or more roll support members (22,24) is configured with a connection hub (fig.6a-6b).
Elliot does not disclose the connection hub including one or more spring-loaded telescoping
portions.
Danis discloses the connection hub (104) including one or more spring-loaded telescoping
portions (para.0031. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to provide the dispenser of Elliot with the connection hub including one or more
spring-loaded telescoping portions because It's a very well-known conventional configuration in the art
and does not impart any novelty on the claim limitation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 are allowed.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: A dispenser for sheet
materials including "the back frame assembly including one or more mounting tracks disposed on an
internal surface of the back frame assembly; and one or more roll support members, the one or more
roll support members including a first end configured to support a roll of sheet material and a second
end configured to engage the one or more mounting tracks to attach the one or more roll support
members to the back frame assembly, wherein the one or more roll support members can be positioned
at various locations in the one or more mounting tracks in order to accommodate rolls of sheet material
having varying widths " in combination with the remaining claim language is not taught by the prior art.
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 AYODEJI T OJOFEITIMI whose telephone number is (571)272-6557. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, GENE CRAWFORD can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AYODEJI T OJOFEITIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651