DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 13-17 and 19-21 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over U.S. PGPUB 2013/0140264 A1 to Hanan (“Hanan”) in view of U.S. PGPUB 2008/0223816 A1 to Darr et al. (“Darr”).
As to claim 13, Hanan teaches a plastic container comprising: a neck section (neck 14), a shoulder section (shoulder 18), a body section (Hanan Fig. 1A shows the body on the bottle 1 includes the label portion 10 and the grip portion 8), and a base section (base 24); and a plurality of circumferential grooves (deep rib 2), each groove of which is oriented in a peripheral direction in the body section (Hanan Fig. 1A shows the base rib 22 and label panel ribs 20 in a peripheral direction in the body section), wherein the at least two tie members (recessed columns 7b) extend into a labeling area (label portion 10) of the container in the form of transverse grooves (shallow rib 6b) positioned longitudinally between variable depth grooves of a plurality of variable depth grooves (label panel grooves 20) such that in the labeling area the transverse grooves are aligned with flattened portions (Hanan, pg. 4, ¶ 0049) of the variable depth grooves at between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm in depth (Hanan, pg. 6, ¶ 0062); but does not teach wherein the base section includes at least two tie members extending from a central area to a side wall of the base section and in a longitudinal direction into the body section, the at least two tie members arranged between feet of the base section, each groove of which is oriented in a peripheral direction in the body section between the at least two tie members.
Darr teaches wherein the base section (base portion 12) includes at least two tie members (elongated vertical formation 32) extending from a central area (central portion 50) to a side wall of the base section (Darr Fig. 7 shows the elongated vertical formation 32 extending from the central portion 50 to a side wall of the base portion 12) and in a longitudinal direction into the body section (Darr Fig. 4 shows the elongated vertical formation extending into the sidewall portion 30), the at least two tie members arranged between feet (plurality of feet 40) of the base section, each groove (Darr Fig. 2 shows the transverse formation 36 is separated by grooves 37) of which is oriented in a peripheral direction in the body section between the at least two tie members (Darr Fig. 2 shows the grooves 37 between at least two elongated vertical formations 32).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the elongated vertical formation extending between feet and into the body section of Darr with the container as taught by Hanan to help support the container on a surface (Darr, pg. 1, ¶ 0019).
As to claim 14, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the at least two tie members are, outside of the labeling area, in the form of radially outward projecting ribs (Darr, pg. 2, ¶ 0025).
As to claim 15, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the base section comprises at least two feet and the number of feet is a multiple of the number of tie members (Darr, pg. 2, ¶ 0027).
As to claim 16, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein for two tie members, there are two, four, six, eight, ten, or twelve feet and for three tie members, there are three, six, nine, or twelve feet (Darr, pg. 2, ¶ 0027).
As to claim 17, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, further including at least one reinforcement groove between the at least two tie members, the at least one reinforcement groove (varying depth grip portion rib 3) having a varying depth in a radial direction (Hanan Fig. 6A shows the varying depth of the grip portion rib 3 in the radial direction).
As to claim 19, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein each groove of the plurality of circumferential grooves has a first depth (depth Df) at a first location (shallow rib 6b) such that the plurality of circumferential grooves functions as one of the at least two tie members (Hanan Fig. 2B shows the column 7b is in line with the shallow rib 6b).
As to claim 20, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 19, wherein each groove of the plurality of circumferential grooves further has a second depth (depth Dm) at an intermediate area (middle rib 4), the first depth being shallower than the second depth (Hanan, pg. 4, ¶ 0048).
As to claim 21, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the base section further includes a central dome (central formation 52), and wherein at least one of the at least two tie members extends from the central dome (Darr Fig. 7 shows the elongated vertical formations 32 extending from the central portion 50 that includes the central formation 52).
Claim 18 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hanan in view of Darr further in view of WIPO Publication WO 2013/129500 A1 to Sekine et al. (“Sekine”).
As to claim 18, Hanan modified by Darr teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the base section further includes a central dome (central formation 52), a first region (area of central portion 50), and a second region (Darr Fig. 7 shows the area between the central portion 50 and the outer diameter of the base section 12); but does not teach the first region adjacent the central dome and having a first radius of curvature greater than the central dome, the second region adjacent the first region and having a second radius of curvature greater than the first radius of curvature.
Sekine teaches the first region (second inclined portion 33b) adjacent the central dome (circular recess 34) and having a first radius of curvature greater than the central dome, the second region (first inclined portion 33a) adjacent the first region and having a second radius of curvature greater than the first radius of curvature (Sekine, pg. 5, lines 29-37).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the first and second inclined portions of Sekine with the container as taught by Hanan modified by Darr to maintain the blow moldability of the container (Sekine, pg. 5, lines 36-37).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that the Hanan reference does not teach at least two tie members that further extend into the labeling area of the container in the form of transverse grooves positioned longitudinally between variable depth grooves of a plurality of variable depth grooves. However, Hanan Fig. 9C shows the ribs 6b that extends into the label portion 10b between the label panel ribs 20b. Hanan also says in paragraph 49 that there are three ribs 6b.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Applicant is duly reminded that a complete response must satisfy the requirements of 37 C.F. R. 1.111, including: “The reply must present arguments pointing out the specific distinctions believed to render the claims, including any newly presented claims, patentable over any applied references. A general allegation that the claims “define a patentable invention” without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references does not comply with the requirements of this section. Moreover, “The prompt development of a clear Issue requires that the replies of the applicant meet the objections to and rejections of the claims.” Applicant should also specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure. See MPEP 2163.06 and MPEP 714.02. The ''disclosure'' includes the claims, the specification and the drawings.
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/M.L.P/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/NATHAN J JENNESS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3733 15 April 2026
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