DETAILED ACTION
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
All objections have been overcome.
Applicant's arguments filed 10/15/2025 in response to Office Action 6/18/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for at least the following:
Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues that the amendment “substantially 1:1” overcomes the prior art (page 8, para 1). Examiner disagrees, it is obvious. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues that pulp material is made from a different process (page 8, para last). Examiner points out processes are moot in an apparatus claim. MPEP 2113.
Regarding claim 7, Applicant argues that the amendment of “ring structure in U shaped cross section” in the cover overcomes the prior art cover structure (page 8, para 3). Examiner disagrees, the ring U shape is shown. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Regarding claim 8, Applicant argues that the amendment of “ring structure in U shaped cross section” in the container rim/mouth overcomes the prior art container rim/mouth structure because the prior art shows a circle cross section (page 8, para 3). Examiner disagrees since there is a U shape in the rim anyways. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-2 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, last line “substantially 1:1” is not supported. The maximum disclosed is “1:1”, whereas “substantially” indicates greater than 1 (i.e. 1:1.8 for example).
Claims 2 and 4-6 are rejected for depending from a rejected parent claim.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, last line “substantially 1:1” is not clear on how high above “1” the ratio allows in total and in its parts, since “substantially” is a relative term of degree usually allowing for values above and below the stated value (i.e. the term allows 1:0.2 and 1:1.8 or vice versa flipping the number’s sides for example). 1:1 is the maximum specified by the Applicant. See 35 USC 112a above.
Claims 2 and 4-6 are rejected for depending from a rejected parent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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.
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 and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub 20190283938 by Strachan (hereinafter “Strachan”) in view of US Pub 20210053727 by Betzen et al. (hereinafter “Betzen”).
Regarding claim 1, Strachan teaches a cover (see examiner annotated Strachan Fig 1E, hereinafter “EAFS1E”; EAFS1E, cover) of a container assembly (assembled to a container of Fig 2), the container assembly further including
a container having a mouth portion surrounding an axis (Fig 2, the container shows a mouth portion in the top end), said cover being configured to be detachably connected to the mouth portion of the container and being configured to cooperate with the container to define a receiving space (EAFS1E, cover is shown detachable and capable of cooperating with the container, defining a receiving space inside, Fig 2),
said cover comprising:
a cover portion (EAFS1E, cover portion); and
a connecting portion connected to a periphery of said cover portion and integrally formed as one piece with said cover portion (EAFS1E, connecting portion is shown as one-piece with cover portion), said connecting portion including an outer sidewall (EAFS1E, outer sidewall) that is configured to surround and press against the mouth portion and that has an outer surface (Fig 7A, outer sidewall surrounds and presses mouth portion), an inner surface opposite to said outer surface (EAFS1E, inner surface opposite to outer surface), a groove recessed from said outer surface and surrounding the axis (EAFS1E, groove, is recessed from outer surface), and a protruding rib protruding from said inner surface and opposite said groove (EAFS1E, rib, protruding from inner surface), said groove and said protruding rib being simultaneously formed by extrusion after said outer sidewall is formed (EAFS1E, shown simultaneously existing on the formed outer sidewall), said protruding rib being configured to block the mouth portion (Fig 2, the rib is capable of blocking up against the mouth portion) wherein a ratio of a depth of said groove along a width direction transverse to the axis and a thickness of said protruding rib protruding from said inner surface is substantially 1:1 (Fig 8, [0017], rib thickness is 0.3 mm, groove depth 0.93 mm, so ratio is 1:0.32, which is substantially 1:1).
In addition, and in the alternative, since “substantially 1:1” is not supported in the Applicant’s specification, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to optimize and arrive at a 1:1 ratio, since it has been held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device (i.e. close the lid onto the container and provide lid flexion from the shape of the lid groove/rib), the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. MPEP 2144.04 IV-A.
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But Strachan does not explicitly teach that the cover is made of pulp.
Betzen, however, teaches a cover made of pulp ([0009] the lid/cover is made from biodegradable paperboard which necessarily means of pulp (i.e. of fiber/fibrous pulped material)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the material of Strachan with being pulp material as taught by Betzen in order to beneficially improve biodegradability to decrease environmental harm.
Regarding claim 2, Strachan further teaches said protruding rib protrudes from said inner surface in a width direction transverse to the axis (EAFS1E, rib, extends transverse to the axis (i.e. a width direction)).
Regarding claim 4, Strachan further teaches each of said depth of said groove (EAFS1E, groove) and said thickness of said protruding rib (EAFS1E, rib) ranges from 0.2 mm to 1.2 mm (the claim says the groove depth is the rib thickness, so Fig 8, 0.93 mm. If not, then 0.93 mm is groove depth, [0017] rib is 0.3 mm).
Regarding claim 5, Strachan further teaches said connecting portion further includes an inner sidewall surrounded by and radially spaced apart from said outer sidewall (EAFS1E, inner sidewall), and an abutment end wall connected between said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall (EAFS1E, abutment wall) and having a position difference with said cover portion along the axis said inner sidewall (EAFS1E, abutment wall is positioned differently than the cover portion) and said outer sidewall being configured to press against two opposite sides of the mouth portion (Fig 2, outer sidewall presses opposing sides of the mouth portion), and wherein said abutment end wall, said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall cooperatively define an accommodating space for receiving the mouth portion (EAFS1E, accommodating space shown defined by the walls), said accommodating space having an opening opposite to said abutment end wall (the accommodating space opens opposite of abutment wall), a thickness of said protruding rib ([0017] thickness of rib is 0.3 mm) protruding from said inner surface being 4% to 50% of a width of said accommodating space (Fig 8, 1.7 mm) along a width direction transverse to the axis (0.3 mm of 1.7 mm is 17%).
Regarding claim 6, Strachan further teaches said width of said accommodating space is greater than a width of said abutment end wall along the width direction (EAFS1E, Fig 8, accommodating space shown has greater width than abutment wall).
Regarding claim 7, Strachan further teaches a container assembly comprising:
a plurality of containers, each of which includes a mouth portion surrounding an axis; and a plurality of said covers (Figs 7A-7B, a plurality of covers and corresponding containers), each of said covers being detachably connected to said mouth portion of a respective one of said containers and cooperating with said respective one of said containers to define a receiving space (at least one cover is shown cooperating with a container mouth to define a receiving space and is detachable);
a cover portion (EAFS1E, cover portion); and
a connecting portion connected to a periphery of said cover portion and integrally formed as one piece with said cover portion (EAFS1E, connecting portion is one-pieced), said connecting portion including an outer sidewall (EAFS1E, outer sidewall) that is configured to surround and press against the mouth portion and that has an outer surface (Fig 7A, outer sidewall surrounds and presses mouth portion), an inner surface opposite to said outer surface (EAFS1E, inner surface opposite to outer surface), a groove recessed from said outer surface and surrounding the axis (EAFS1E, groove, is recessed from outer surface), and a protruding rib protruding from said inner surface and opposite said groove (EAFS1E, rib, protruding from inner surface), said groove and said protruding rib being simultaneously formed by extrusion after said outer sidewall is formed (EAFS1E, shown simultaneously existing on the formed outer sidewall), said protruding rib being configured to block the mouth portion (Fig 2, the rib is capable of blocking up against the mouth portion); wherein
said connecting portion of each of said covers further includes an inner sidewall surrounded by and radially spaced apart from said outer sidewall (EAFS1E, inner sidewall), and an abutment end wall connected between said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall and having a position difference with said cover portion along the axis (EAFS1E, abutment wall, is positioned differently than the cover portion), said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall of each of said covers being configured to press against two opposite sides of said mouth portion of said respective one of said containers (Fig 8, outer sidewall is shown pressing two opposite sides of the mouth portion), and wherein
said abutment end wall, said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall of each of said covers cooperatively form a ring structure that surrounds the axis, that has a U-shaped cross section, and that defines an accommodating space for receiving said mouth portion of said respective one of said containers (EAFS1E, accommodating space, shown forming an axis-surrounding ring structure of U shaped cross section), said accommodating space having an opening opposite to said abutment end wall (opens opposite of abutment wall), a thickness of said protruding rib ([0017] thickness of rib is 0.3 mm) protruding from said inner surface being 4% to 50% of a width of said accommodating space (Fig 8, 1.7 mm) along a width direction transverse to the axis (0.3 mm of 1.7 mm is 17%); wherein
said covers are stackable along the axis (Figs 1 & 8, covers stacked along axis); and wherein, when said covers are stacked, said abutment end wall of one of said covers abuts against said protruding rib of an adjacent one of said covers (EAFS1E, a lower cover abutment wall abuts an upper cover rib), and said cover portion, said abutment end wall and said inner sidewall of each of said covers are respectively spaced apart from said cover portion, said abutment end wall and said inner sidewall of said adjacent one of said covers (EAFS1E & Fig 8, the upper cover abutment wall, cover portion, and inner sidewall are shown spaced respectively form the lower cover abutment wall, cover portion, and inner sidewall).
Regarding claim 8, Strachan further teaches a container assembly, comprising: a container including a mouth portion surrounding an axis (Fig 2, mouth of the container); and a cover being detachably connected to said mouth portion of said container, and cooperating with said container to define a receiving space (Figs 7A-7B, a plurality of covers and corresponding containers and cover is detachable), each of said covers having
a cover portion (EAFS1E, cover portion); and
a connecting portion connected to a periphery of said cover portion and integrally formed as one piece with said cover portion (EAFS1E, connecting portion is one-pieced), said connecting portion including an outer sidewall (EAFS1E, outer sidewall) that is configured to surround and press against the mouth portion and that has an outer surface (Fig 7A, outer sidewall surrounds and presses mouth portion), an inner surface opposite to said outer surface (EAFS1E, inner surface opposite to outer surface), a groove recessed from said outer surface and surrounding the axis (EAFS1E, groove, is recessed from outer surface), and a protruding rib protruding from said inner surface and opposite said groove (EAFS1E, rib, protruding from inner surface), said groove and said protruding rib being simultaneously formed by extrusion after said outer sidewall is formed (EAFS1E, shown simultaneously existing on the formed outer sidewall), said protruding rib being configured to block the mouth portion (Fig 2, the rib is capable of blocking up against the mouth portion); wherein
said connecting portion further includes an inner sidewall surrounded by and radially spaced apart from said outer sidewall (EAFS1E, inner sidewall), and an abutment end wall connected between said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall (EAFS1E, abutment wall) and having a position difference with said cover portion along the axis said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall being configured to press against two opposite sides of the mouth portion (Fig 2, inner sidewall and outer sidewall press the mouth portion), and wherein said abutment end wall said inner sidewall and said outer sidewall cooperatively form a ring structure that surrounds the axis, that has a U-shaped cross section, and that defines an accommodating space for receiving said mouth portion of said container (EAFS1E, accommodating space, shown forming an axis-surrounding ring structure of U shaped cross section); wherein
said container further includes a bottom wall, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly from a periphery of said bottom wall along the axis and connected to said mouth portion (Figs 2, the container is a cup with a bottom wall and extends through a surrounding wall to the mouth portion); wherein
said mouth portion includes an inner annular wall connected to an end of said surrounding wall that is opposite to said bottom wall (Fig 7A, an inner annular wall portion of the mouth portion is shown), an outer annular wall radially spaced apart from said inner annular wall (Fig 7A, an outer annular wall portion of the mouth portion is shown), and a top end wall interconnecting said inner annular wall and said outer annular wall and having a position difference with said bottom wall of said container along the axis (Fig 7A, a top end wall portion of the mouth portion is shown in between the inner and outer annular walls); wherein
said top end wall, said inner annular wall and said outer annular wall of said mouth portion cooperatively form a ring structure that surrounds the axis, that has a U-shaped cross section, and that defines an annular space having an opening opposite to said top end wall (Fig 7A, an annular space is defined and flanked by those three walls, shown forming an axis-surrounding ring structure of U shaped cross section (top portion of rim is the container mouth portion), and the U shape opens downwardly/opposite of the top end wall);
said outer sidewall of said cover surrounds and presses said outer annular wall of said mouth portion (EAFS1E & Fig 7A, cover outer sidewall surrounds and presses mouth outer annular wall), said inner sidewall of said cover presses against said inner annular wall of said mouth portion (EAFS1E & Fig 7A, cover inner sidewall surrounds and presses mouth outer annular wall), and said abutment end wall of said cover presses against said top end wall of said mouth portion when said cover is connected to said mouth portion of said container (EAFS1E & Fig 7A, cover abutment wall presses mouth top end wall).
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 ERIC C BALDRIGHI whose telephone number is (571)272-4948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 EST.
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 on 5712705055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC C BALDRIGHI/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/DON M ANDERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733