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
Applicant's election with traverse of Species XIII, Fig. 16 in the reply filed on 06/29/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is unity of invention because each species is directed towards a sealing structure including a plug sheet configured to be embedded within an opening under externally applied force. This is not found persuasive because this technical feature is not a special feature as it does not make a contribution over the prior art in view of the rejection below.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-22, 25, 27, 30-31 and 34-36 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claims 23-24, 26, 28-29 and 32-33 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 05/15/2024, 11/04/2024, 081/8/2025 and 02/25/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 packaging box and layered composite packaging material 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 Objections
Claim 23 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 23 recites the limitation “wherein the inner membrane is fixedly connected to the plug sheet” twice.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 32-33 are 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 32 recites “wherein the sealing structure is made of a composite packaging material including a base layer, a barrier layer, a waterproof layer, and an innermost layer, and wherein a thickness of the plug sheet is 1/8 to 8 times a thickness of a base layer of the composite packaging material”, this is unclear. Does the applicant mean the packaging box is made of composite packaging material? Is this now requiring the packaging box or just the sealing structure that can be used with a packaging box? It is unclear if this is directed towards the sealing structure or the packaging the sealing structure is configured to seal. It is also unclear if this claim is directed to the elected species.
Claims not specifically mentioned are included due to their dependencies.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 23-24, 26 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Elias et al. US 4,781,323, herein after referred to as Elias.
Regarding claim 23 Elias discloses a sealing structure for a packaging box (Figs. 1-6), comprising:
a plug sheet (40 exterior tape) corresponding to a position of the opening (Figs. 2-3);
an inner membrane (22 barrier layer) covering an inner side of the opening, and an area of the inner membrane is greater than that of the opening (Fig. 4),
wherein the inner membrane (22) is fixedly connected to the plug sheet (40, Fig. 5),
wherein the plug sheet (40) enables the inner membrane (22) to be broken at the opening under an action of an external force, so as to open the opening (Fig. 5), and
wherein the plug sheet (40) is configured to be embedded in the opening under an
action of an external force, so as to close the opening (Col. 4, lines 11-19). Elias discloses substantially all the limitations of the claim(s) except for the plug sheet matching a shape of an opening of the packaging box. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the different portions of the plug sheet* of whatever form or shape was desired or expedient. A change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. MPEP 2144.04 IV
Regarding claim 24 Elias discloses the sealing structure according to claim 23 and further discloses, wherein the plug sheet (40) is recessed towards the opening to form a recess and is provided with an edge greater than the opening and parallel to the opening, and the edge is configured to cover an outer side of the opening of the packaging box (Figs. 2-6).
Regarding claim 26 Elias discloses the sealing structure according to claim 23 with a packaging box (12 container).
Regarding claim 28 Elias discloses the sealing structure according to claim 23 and further discloses wherein the plug sheet (40) is made of plastic, paper, a paper-plastic composite material, or a degradable biological material (Col.4, lines 38-40 and 60-68).
Regarding claim 29 Elias discloses the sealing structure according to claim 23 and further discloses wherein the inner membrane (22) is a Polyethylene (PE) membrane or a composite membrane (Col. 6 lines 25-35).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lauren Kmet whose telephone number is (313)446-4834. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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, Anthony Stashick can be reached at (571) 272-4561. 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.
/L KMET/Examiner, Art Unit 3735
/Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735
Prosecution Insights