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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Groups II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on March 16, 2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Claims 1-10 in the reply filed on March 16, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the restriction is improper because all claims read on a single disclosed embodiment and merely vary in scope, not in distinct invention. It further asserts that the claimed features overlap across groups and that no serious search burden exists, since the Examiner would already need to search those features when examining the elected claims. Applicant’s traversal of the restriction requirement has been fully considered but is not persuasive.
As set forth in the restriction requirement, the pending claims are properly grouped into distinct inventions based on material differences in design, operation, and structural features. In particular, independent claims 1 (Group I), 11 (Group II), and 16 (Group III) each recite features that are not shared across the groups.
Contrary to Applicant’s assertion that all claims read on a single embodiment, the claims define patentably distinct subject matter. Specifically, Group I (claims 1-10) does not recited the “gap” feature required by Groups II (claim 11), and Group III (claim 19). The presence of this “gap” defines a different structural relationship and mode of operation that is not inherent in or required by the claims of Group I.
Further, Group III (claim 17) recites “a plurality of sloped portions and a level portion.” Which is not found in Groups I or II. This additional structural features represent a distinct configuration of the dispensing system and further differentiates Group III in terms of design and function.
Accordingly, the features relied upon to distinguish the groups are not present across multiple groups, and the claims do not merely differ in scope or breadth. Instead, they define distinct inventions as stated by MPEP 802.01 and 806.03.
With respect to search burden, the restriction requirement is also proper under MPEP 803. The Examiner has determined that examination of the claimed inventions would require separate searches in different classifications and/or fields of search due to the divergent structural features noted above. The presence or absence of specific elements (e.g. the “gap” and “plurality of sloped portions and a level portion”) necessitates different search strategies and art areas.
Because the claimed inventions are distinct and examination would impose a serious search and examination burden, the requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 6 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.
Claim 6 recites the phrase “primarily filled” that renders the claim indefinite because it is a term of degree without an articulated standard for determining its scope. Neither the claim nor the specification provides any quantitative threshold or other objective criteria for what constitutes “primarily” thereby leaving the scope of the claim uncertain.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ganan-Calvo et al. (US 2013/0221122 A1).
With regard to claim 1, Ganan-Calvo discloses a nozzle insert (130, Fig. 7), comprising: a body (152) having a front portion and a rear portion (Fig. 7); a rim (168, Fig. 8A); and a nozzle portion that includes an angled wall (172c, 172d, Fig. 8A) and an orifice wall (see annotated figure below), the angled wall (172c, 172d) extending radially inward and laterally forward from the rim (Fig. 8A shows the structure), and the orifice wall intersecting with the angled wall (172c, 172d) and defining a nozzle orifice (see annotated figure below), wherein the orifice wall extends both laterally forward and rearward from the intersection with the angled wall (see bold black arrows in the annotated figure below), and wherein a cylindrical inner surface of the orifice wall defines an outlet channel (158) that terminates at a forward end at the nozzle orifice (160/198 shown in Fig. 11A) and at a rearward end (166) spaced rearward of a forwardmost end of the angled wall (Fig. 8B).
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With regard to claim 2, the nozzle insert of Ganan-Calvo discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1. Ganan-Calvo further discloses that the nozzle insert (130) is configured to fit over a post of an external actuator (see Figs. 7 and 10).
With regard to claim 6, the nozzle insert of Ganan-Calvo discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1. Ganan-Calvo further discloses that a nozzle insert cavity defined, in part, by the body of the nozzle insert, wherein the nozzle insert is configured to attach to a container including a composition, wherein at a first time the nozzle insert cavity is primarily filled with the composition in a gaseous or substantially gaseous state, wherein at a second time the nozzle insert cavity is primarily filled with the composition in a liquid or substantially liquid state, and wherein the first time occurs before the second time (“using use, an atomized spray of a liquid product may be ejected from the nozzle by first forcing a gas through the pressure chamber and out the pressure chamber exit orifice and subsequently allowing the liquid product to travel through the liquid feeding tube such that liquid from the liquid feeding tube interacts with the gas and is ejected from the pressure chamber exit orifice in the form of an atomized spray. Once a desired amount of liquid product has been dispensed, the flow of the liquid product through the liquid feeding tube may be stopped, while the flow of gas through the pressure chamber and out of the exit orifice is temporarily maintained such that the space between the liquid feeding tube and the pressure chamber exit orifice is cleared of any residual liquid product. The flow of gas is then stopped, and the ejection of liquid product is complete.” see Par. [0012]).
With regard to claim 9, the nozzle insert of Ganan-Calvo discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1. Ganan-Calvo further discloses that a plurality of cavities, wherein the cavities are defined by cutouts such that the cavities extend radially inward from an exterior surface of the angled wall (Fig. 8A shows cavities are the cutouts between angle walls 172c, 172d).
With regard to claim 10, the nozzle insert of Ganan-Calvo discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1. Ganan-Calvo further discloses that the orifice wall (see annotate figure above) is cylindrical in shape, and wherein a forwardmost face of the orifice wall defines a flat front face of the nozzle insert (Fig. 10 shows forwardmost face of the orifice wall 160 is a flat front face).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 7-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claims 3-5, the reference fails to teach elements: “an interior cavity of the nozzle insert is defined by an interior surface of the body, an interior surface of the rim, and an interior surface of the angled wall.”
Regarding claims 7-8, the reference fails to teach elements: “a plurality of raised portions, wherein the raised portions extend radially inward from an interior surface of the rim.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Benckiser (WO 2012/025735 A1), Ansley et al. (US 9,480,767 B1), and Baudin (US 5,397,059) also disclose a nozzle insert, except all the features in claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOEL ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)270-1163. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM.
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, ARTHUR HALL can be reached at 5712701814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOEL . ZHOU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/QINGZHANG ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
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