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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the drawings do not show element 11g of the invention specified in the claims. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: element 11g mentioned in the specification (page 3 line 10) is not defined in the drawings. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 – 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (JP S646733 Y2).
Regarding claim 1, JP S646733 Y2 discloses a compact container for makeup comprising: container (2 Fig. 2) for holding one or more products and a cover (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below) that is hingedly attached to the container so that the cover may rotate between a closed position and an opened position (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below); wherein: the cover (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below) comprises: a base plate (7 Fig. 1); a connecting plate (3 Figs. 1 – 3) that rises from a top surface (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below) of the base plate (7 Fig. 1), and is formed with an undercut (13 Fig. 1); and the container (2 Fig. 1) comprises: a top surface (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below), a bottom surface (11 Fig. 2), and a sidewall (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below) that extends between the top and bottom surfaces of the container. an interior space (4 Fig. 1) that is able to receive one or more products; one or more flanges (10 Fig. 1) connected to the lower portion of the sidewall (see Fig. 1) that extend inwardly to form one or more tracks (12 Fig. 1 – 4).
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Regarding claim 2, JP S646733 Y2 discloses a stack of two or more stackable compact storage containers comprising two or more stackable compact storage containers according to claim 1 (see attached annotated Fig. 3 below: JP S646733 Y2 discloses a stack of two stackable compact storage containers (first container, second container, and third container) comprising two stackable compact storage containers as set forth in claim 1 above ).
Regarding claim 3, JP S646733 Y2 discloses a stack of two stackable compact storage containers comprising: a first stackable compact storage container (first container, see annotated Fig. 3) according to claim 1; a second stackable compact storage container (second container, see annotated Fig. 3) according to claim 1; wherein the connecting plate (3 Fig. 3) of the second stackable compact storage container (second container, see annotated Fig. 3) is inserted into the one or more tracks (12 Fig. 2) of the first stackable compact storage container (first container,
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see annotated Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, JP S646733 Y2 discloses a number of stackable compact storage containers in a stacked configuration, wherein: all adjacent stackable compact storage containers are connected to each other by the connecting plate (3 Fig. 3) of a lower stackable compact storage container being inserted into the one or more tracks (12 Fig. 2) of an upper stackable compact storage container (see annotated Fig. 3 attached below).
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Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (KR 20110031789 A).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a stackable compact storage container comprising: a container (100 Figs. 1 and 2) for holding one or more products and a cover (200 Figs. 1 and 2) that is hingedly (300 Fig. 4) attached to the container so that the cover may rotate between a closed position and an opened position (see Figs. 1 and 2); wherein: the cover (200 Fig. 1) comprises: a base plate ((a) Fig. 1); a connecting plate (210 Fig. 1) that rises from a top surface (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below) of the base plate ((a) Fig. 1), and is formed with an undercut (see annotated Fig 2 attached below); and the container (100 Fig. 2) comprises: a top surface (see annotated Fig 2 attached below), a bottom surface (see annotated Fig. 1 attached below), and a sidewall (see annotated Fig 2 attached below) that extends between the top and bottom surfaces of the container (see Figs. 1 and 2 attached below). an interior space (130 Fig. 2) that is able to receive one or more products; one or more flanges (110 Fig. 1) connected to the lower portion of the sidewall (see annotated Fig 2 attached below; one of the element 110 of the presented embodiment is connected to the lower portion of the sidewall of 100 as best illustrated in Fig. 1) that extend inwardly to form one or more tracks (flange element 110 is bent inward to form a track as annotated in Fig. 1 attached below) .
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Regarding claim 2, Kim discloses stack of two or more stackable compact storage containers comprising two or more stackable compact storage containers according to claim 1 (see Fig. 5: Kim discloses a stack of two stackable compact storage containers (100 and 100’) comprising two stackable compact storage containers as set forth in claim 1 above ).
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(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20110031789 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of (JP S646733 Y2).
Kim discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
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Regarding claim 3, Kim further teaches a stack of two stackable compact storage containers comprising; a first stackable compact storage container (see annotated Fig. 5 attached below) according to claim 1; a second stackable compact storage container (see annotated Fig. 5 attached below) according to claim 1.
Kim is silent regarding claim 3 wherein the connecting plate of the second stackable compact storage container is inserted into the one or more tracks of the first stackable compact storage container.
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In the same field of endeavor, JP-S646733-Y2 teaches a compact container for makeup wherein the connecting plate (3, Fig. 3) of the second stackable compact storage container (labeled “second container” in the annotated Fig. 3 attached below) is inserted into the one or more tracks (12 Fig. 2) of the first stackable compact storage container (labeled “first container” in the annotated Fig. 3 attached below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stackable compact storage container disclosed by Kim to be configured with a connecting plate of a second container that can be inserted into the tracks of a first container to form a stack of compact containers as taught by JP-S646733-Y2. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make this modification in order to create stackable compact storage containers that can be easily stacked by fitting the connecting portion of one container to the corresponding tracks of another container to form a stack of compact containers as suggested by JP-S646733-Y2.
Regarding claim 4, Kim discloses a number of stackable compact storage containers according to claim 1 in a stacked configuration (see Fig. 5). Kim is silent regarding said number of stackable compact storage containers in a stacked configuration wherein: all adjacent stackable compact storage containers are connected to each other by the connecting plate of a lower stackable compact storage container being inserted into the one or more tracks of an upper stackable compact storage container.
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JP-S646733-Y2 further teaches a number of stackable compact storage containers in a stacked configuration, wherein: all adjacent stackable compact storage containers are connected to each other by the connecting plate (3 Fig. 3) of a lower stackable compact storage container being inserted into the one or more tracks (12 Fig. 2) of an upper stackable compact storage container (see annotated Fig. 3 attached below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stackable compact storage containers disclosed by Kim to be configured such that adjacent stackable compact storage containers are connected to each other by a connecting plate of a lower stackable storage container being inserted into one or more tracks of an upper stackable compact storage container. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make this modification in order to create a stackable compart storage containers which can be set in a stacked configuration by inserting the connecting plate of a lower compact storage container to the tracks of an adject upper compact storage container as suggested by JP-S646733-Y2.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIEMERIE C AZUBUOGU whose telephone number is (571)272-0664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached at (571)270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.A./ Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/ERIC J ROSEN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772