DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 103
2. 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.
3. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
4. Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krazinsky (US 2010/0218306 A1) in view of Davidson (US Patent No. 2,961664) and Cornelius (US 2008/0307592 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Krazinsky discloses a toilet training apparatus to assist a user in direction of a urinary stream during urination wherein the toilet training apparatus comprises:
a body (220), said body having a first end and a second end, said body having at least one wall member defining an interior volume (see Par’s. 16-17, Fig. 1), said body being releasably secured to a bottom of a toilet seat (Par. 17);
wherein the body includes a target light that shines into the toilet bowl when the toilet seat is raised (Par. 26).
Krazinsky further discloses the plate may contain a built-in air freshener that releases chemicals into the toilet bowl, but does not appear to disclose at least one aperture, said at least one aperture being formed in said at least one wall member of said body, said at least one aperture providing access to said interior volume of said body; and a plurality of urinary target members, said urinary target members being disposed within said interior volume of said body.
However, Davidson discloses providing a hollow toilet seat that is filled with deodorizing fluid (column 1, lines 62 46-61), and a removable access plate 14 that is apertured and controls discharge of fluid into the toilet bowl based on the lowering and raising of the toilet seat (column 1, line 62 – column 2, line 29). Furthermore, Cornelius discloses that the use of urinary target members that are dropped into a toilet bowl for potty training and cleaning/freshening were well known to those of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention (see abstract, Par’s. 10-11). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Krazinsky by providing an apertured plate secured to the underside of the toilet seat for release of material when the seat is raised and lowered, as taught by Davidson, and placing the freshening targets taught by Cornelius in the plate, to provide predictable results of automatically dispensing items that can be used for potty training and freshening upon raising the seat.
Regarding claims 2-4, Cornelius further discloses the urinary target members are decomposable (Par. 10), alternate sizes and shapes (Fig’s. 3a-e), and alternate colors (Par. 8).
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER EGLOFF whose telephone number is (571)270-3548. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xuan Thai can be reached at (571) 272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Peter R Egloff/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715