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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the claimed cup, bottom opening, base, seal, flanges in claims 1-2 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
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 (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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pinelli et al. (US 2018/0353011 A1) in view of Yano (JP 2001327588 A).
Pinelli et al. discloses a holder 10 comprising: a cup 12 having a generally frustoconical shape and an annular bottom opening 22; a removable bottom portion 30 having a base 30 and a seal 32, the seal 32 configured to be releasably secured in the annular bottom opening 22 via a friction fit. However, Pinelli et al. does not disclose the base comprises diatomaceous earth. Yano discloses a holder 1 for holding candle 7 comprising a cup 3 and a base 2. The base 2 comprises diatomaceous earth (translation, paragraph [0009], line 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the holder of Pinelli et al. to use diatomaceous earth as base material as taught by Yano in order to help remove stains, grease and grime from the surfaces of the holder
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pinelli et al. (US 2018/0353011 A1) in view of Yano (JP 2001327588 A) as applied to claim 1 as above, and further in view of Yue (WO 2013/117060 A1).
With regard to claim 2, Pinelli et al. further discloses one or more flanges 32 that are displace or compressed when the seal 32 is releasably secured in the annular bottom opening (Fig. 1A). The holder of Pinelli et al. as above includes all that is recited in claim 2 except for seal comprises one or more silicone flanges. Yue teaches a concept of using a silicone flange 13 to seal the opening of a holder 4 (Fig. 11). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the holder of Pinelli et al. to include silicone flange as taught by Yue I order to provide a seal with exceptional durability, flexibility and resistance to extreme temperatures and chemicals.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA J YUEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4878. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 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, MICHAEL G HOANG can be reached at (571) 272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jessica Yuen/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3762
JY
Prosecution Insights