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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN209490484U), Lin (2023/0233956) and Lui (6752679). Wang discloses a bubble blowing toy having an air supply mechanism (Fig. 5) with an air exhaust port (23) and a fan (25) for guiding external air flow to blow out from the air exhaust port, a tray (5) defining a liquid-carrying cavity for holding a foam liquid with a bubble outlet (8) connected to the outside (Fig. 1), a bubble-making device having a bubble-making head (6) defining an enclosed flow guide cavity with a plurality of circumferentially arrayed air outlets (64) in communication with the cavity located in the tray (Fig. 1) and a telescopic air guide mechanism having a ventilation tube (61) connecting the bubble-making head to the air exhaust port (Fig. 1) to allow the bubble-making head to adapt to varying liquid levels. The bubble-blowing toy includes a housing (2) connected to the tray (5), wherein the housing includes a base plate (10), a partition (Fig. 2) and an outer shell (7) wherein the partition and outer shell are installed on an upper side of the base plate to define an accommodation cavity enclosed by the partition, outer shell and base plate and in which the air supply mechanism is installed (Figs. 1 & 2) and a lower side of the base plate is located outside the accommodation cavity to which the tray is attached (Fig. 2). The bubble-making device is movably installed on the partition due to the telescopic air guide mechanism (Fig. 2). A power supply cavity (4) is provided on the base plate that houses a battery (Figs. 2-3). The partition includes a through hole created by an end of the air exhaust port having a connector for engaging a clamping slot on a sidewall of the ventilation tube to prevent the ventilation tube from detaching from the partition (Figs. 2, 4 & 6). The base plate is provided with an air channel within the accommodation cavity (2) wherein a side wall of the air channel is provided with an air inlet (12) connected to the outside (Fig. 3) such that the fan is installed on the base plate with an air intake end of the fan connected to the air channel and the air exhaust port connected to the ventilation tube (Figs. 2, 4 & 5). Wang discloses the basic inventive concept with the exception of the bubble-making head having an auxiliary floating assembly and the tray being removably coupled to the housing using first and second connectors including a magnet and metal. Lin discloses a foam bubble making device having a housing (104, 106) with a first connecting piece (140) removably coupled to a tray (102) by means a second connecting piece (142) for corresponding with the first (paragraph 17, Fig. 2), wherein the tray is configured for housing a fluid such that a bubble making device having an auxiliary floating assembly connected thereto (206) allows the bubble-making device to adapt to varying liquid levels in the tray by maintaining an air outlet of the bubble-making device so as to be in contact with the liquid (Figs. 3 & 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art from the teaching of Lin to make the tray removable from the housing since making parts separable has been held to be an obvious modification. See In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961). It also would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the bubble making device include an auxiliary floating assembly for the predictable result of providing enhanced functionality and utility by enabling the positioning of the bubble-making device to vary based on the amount of fluid in the tray for providing enhanced and more efficient operation (paragraph 21). Lui discloses a magnetic connector (column 2 lines 35-55) for connecting two detachable elements of a housing (Figs. 1, 2 & 4) that utilizes a magnet (30) connected to a metal member (34). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the first and second connecting pieces of Wang and Lin to include magnetic pieces as taught by Lui for the predictable result of using known elements to achieve a detachable but secure connection between elements.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Lin and Lui as applied above and further in view of Hornsby (2002/0061697). Wang, Lin and Lui disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of including a control panel and a light-emitting part. Hornsby discloses a bubble-blowing toy (Fig. 3) having a housing with a control panel (66) in an accommodation cavity that is electrically connected to an air supply mechanism (32), a battery (64) and a light-emitting part (18) installed on an outer shell and arranged to correspond with a bubble outlet (46) of the toy (paragraphs 31-36). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Wang, Lin and Lui to include a control panel and light emitting part for the predictable result of creating increased visual appeal during operation of the toy.
Claim(s) 6-7, 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Lin and Lui as provided above for claim 3 and further in view of Chulia (CN109331478A). Wang, Lin and Lui disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of the telescoping air guide mechanism having a movable cylinder sleeved on the ventilation tube and the bubble-making head slidably sleeved on the movable cylinder. Chulia discloses a telescoping water toy mechanism having a tube (5), a movable cylinder (3) sleeved on the tube and an end (2) sleeved on the movable cylinder to allow the components to slide along each other to change the length of the telescoping mechanism (Figs. 1-3). Although Chulia does not disclose an air guide mechanism for a bubble-blowing toy, it does teach a configuration for a telescoping mechanism and as such it would have been obvious to configure the telescopic guide of Wang, Lin and Lui to include three parts that are telescopically engaged for the predictable result of changing the length of the mechanism in a known manner.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Lin and Lui. The references disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of disclosing that the air guide mechanism tube is flexible. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a flexible material for the tube since using known materials suitable for the intended use has been held to be obvious. See In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Lin, Lui and Chulia as applied for claim 6 above and further in view of Long (CN217786623U). Wang, Lin, Lui and Chulia disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of the auxiliary floating assembly including a support frame with a floating ball. Long discloses an object that is configured to float by means of an auxiliary floating assembly (3) attached to the object by a support frame (302) with two floating balls (304) symmetrically installed on both sides of the support frame (Fig. 1). Although Long does not disclose a bubble-blowing toy, it does teach a configuration for an auxiliary floating assembly and as such it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the auxiliary floating assembly of Wang and Lin as taught by Long for the predictable result of configuring an assembly for floating an object in liquid in a stable and consistent manner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/10/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that Lui does not disclose connecting a housing and a tray with magnets, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). In this case Lin is used to disclose that a housing and a tray of a bubble toy are connectable using mechanical connectors (140, 142) and Lui is used to show that magnet and metal connectors are already known mechanical connectors useable in toy devices for connecting elements together making it an obvious modification.
In response to applicant's argument that Lui is nonanalogous art since it is not a bubble toy, it has been held that a prior art reference must either be in the field of the inventor’s endeavor or, if not, then be reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor was concerned, in order to be relied upon as a basis for rejection of the claimed invention. See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 24 USPQ2d 1443 (Fed. Cir. 1992). In this case, Lui is reasonably pertinent to the problem of enabling releasable connection of toy elements and teaches that a magnet and metal are a known substitution for other mechanical connectors in toy devices (column 2 lines 35-55).
In response to applicant's argument that the magnetic connectors of the invention function differently than the magnetic connections of the prior art, a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
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 ALYSSA HYLINSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-2684. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30 - 6:00.
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, Eugene Kim can be reached at 571-272-4463. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/A.M.H/Examiner, Art Unit 3711 /EUGENE L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3711
Prosecution Insights