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 § 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) 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21-23, 26, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 3,682,355 (Lo).
In Re claim 1 Lo discloses a liquid cartridge (10) for receiving pressurized liquid comprising an outer body comprising at least two wall components (bottom and sidewall components shown in Figure 1) and a pressure chamber (space inside of walls) for receiving pressurized gas and pressurized liquid (Column 3, lines 58-62), the outer body surrounding the pressure chamber; an outlet opening (passageway connected to opening 14) penetrating one of the at least two wall components; and an outlet valve component (24) held movably or secured on an inner side of the pressure chamber on at least one of the at least two wall components, the outlet valve component in a closed state preventing liquid from leaving the pressure chamber through the outlet opening, the outlet valve being transferrable to an open state by application of force from the outside (function of outlet valve shown in figure 3), the pressure chamber comprising a displaceable or deformable partition wall (29) dividing the pressure chamber into a gas chamber and a liquid chamber.
In Re claim 2 Lo discloses the liquid cartridge further comprising a valve mating surface on one of the at least two wall components (portion of wall which interacts with element 25 in Figure 1), the outlet valve component closing by bearing on the valve mating surface (shown in Figure 1).
In Re claim 5 Lo discloses a liquid cartridge including a partition wall comprising a bag body (29) comprising a flexible bag wall the liquid chamber being disposed inside of the bag wall, and the gas chamber provided between the bag wall and the outer body (Column 3, Lines 58-62).
In Re claim 10 Lo discloses a liquid cartridge comprising an outlet valve component (24) having a valve plate (24) which is deflectable by an opening pin insertable from the outside, such that the valve plate assumes it’s open state (shown in Figure 3).
In Re claim 15 Lo discloses a partition wall configured as a tube (29 in Figure 1).
In Re claim 16 Lo discloses a liquid dispenser comprising a discharge device (11), and a liquid cartridge (10) for receiving pressurized liquid comprising an outer body comprising at least two wall components (bottom and sidewall components shown in Figure 1) and a pressure chamber (space inside of walls) for receiving pressurized gas and pressurized liquid (Column 3, lines 58-62), the outer body surrounding the pressure chamber; an outlet opening (passageway connected to opening 14) penetrating one of the at least two wall components; and an outlet valve component (24) held movably or secured on an inner side of the pressure chamber on at least one of the at least two wall components, the outlet valve component in a closed state preventing liquid from leaving the pressure chamber through the outlet opening, the outlet valve being transferrable to an open state by application of force from the outside (function of outlet valve shown in figure 3), the pressure chamber comprising a displaceable or deformable partition wall (29) dividing the pressure chamber into a gas chamber and a liquid chamber.
In Re claim 18 Lo discloses an opening pin for opening the outlet valve (shown in Figure 3) which protrudes through the outlet opening into the liquid cartridge.
In Re claim 19 Lo discloses a discharge device having an actuation surface (19) for manual actuation, the actuation surface being coupled to the opening pin which, when actuated applies force to and thus opens the outlet valve component (shown in Figure 3).
In Re claim 21 Lo discloses a cartridge wherein liquid and gas are introduced to the liquid and gas chambers in any desired sequence (inherently indicated by the presence of liquid and gas in the liquid and gas chambers respectively).
In Re claim 22 Lo discloses a gas introduced into the gas chamber through an opening different from the outlet opening (passageway 30)
In Re claim 23 Lo discloses a cartridge wherein a gas and a liquid are introduced in succession through the outlet opening into the pressure chamber (space around valve body 24).
In Re claim 26 Lo discloses a valve plate (24) having a flat shape in an unloaded state (shown in Figure 1).
In Re claim 29 Lo discloses a liquid dispenser comprising a discharge device having a discharge valve (24) and an actuation surface (29), the discharge valve being manually actuated by the actuation surface (Figure 3), and the opening stub having a sleeve-shaped form (16) and an outer side, the outer side having a diameter that bears sealingly against an inner side of an outlet opening (shown in Figures 1-3).
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) 3 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lo in view of US Patent 11,426,743 (Barthelmes).
In Re claim 3 Lo discloses many limitations, but fails to disclose a liquid cartridge wherein the outlet valve component is penetrated by a valve opening, and edges adjacent to the valve opening bear on each other in the closed state of the outlet valve and are at least partially spaced apart from each other in the open state.
Barthelmes discloses a liquid cartridge having an outlet valve component (23A and 23B) having an opening penetrating the valve component, and edges adjacent to the valve opening which bear on each other in the closed state of the valve and are spaced apart in the open state.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art the effective filing date of the invention to modify the Lo apparatus by using a valve having a passageway and edges adjacent to the passageway which bear on each other in a closed state and are spaced apart in the open state, since the substitution of one known element for another known element to achieve predictable results requires only ordinary skill in the art.
In Re claim 24 the valve of Barthelmes comprises a valve opening configured as a valve slit (shown in Figure 2).
Claim(s) 4, 25, and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lo in view of US Patent 6,474,510 (Frutin)
In Re claim 4 Lo discloses many limitations, but doesn’t disclose a partition wall in the form of a piston.
Frutin discloses a cartridge for a liquid comprising a partition wall in the form of a piston (408 in Figure ) movable by sliding along an inner wall of an outer body a gas chamber (406) disposed on a side of the separating piston away from an outlet opening, and a liquid chamber (402) disposed on the side of the piston facing the outlet opening (403).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the Lo apparatus by replacing the flexible partition wall with the partitioning piston of Frutin, since the substitution of one known element for another known element to achieve predictable results requires only ordinary skill in the art.
In Re claim 25 the piston of Frutin comprises a cup shaped structure open towards the gas chamber (shown in Figure 14).
In Re claim 27 Lo discloses many limitations, but doesn’t disclose a partition wall in the form of a piston or a wall component comprising a cylindrical sliding surface.
Frutin discloses a cartridge for a liquid comprising a partition wall in the form of a piston (408 in Figure ) which slides along a cylindrical sliding surface (shown in Figure 14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the Lo apparatus by replacing the flexible partition wall with the partitioning piston and cylindrical sliding surface of Frutin, since the substitution of one known element for another known element to achieve predictable results requires only ordinary skill in the art.
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lo.
In Re claim 11 Lo discloses many limitations, including a first wall component comprising a sidewall, a first end wall comprising an outlet opening, and a wall component comprising a bottom end wall, but doesn’t disclose the first wall component comprising, in one piece a sidewall and a first end wall.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the first wall component a single piece comprising the sidewall and the first end wall, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. Howard v. Detroit Stove Works, 150 U.S. 164 (1993).
In Re claim 12 Lo discloses many limitations, but doesn’t disclose the use of materials that are recyclable in common recycling processes.
The use of recyclable material to permit components of an apparatus to be repurposed with less waste was old and well known in the art at the effective filing date of the invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to use a recyclable material for any of the components of the Lo apparatus.
In Re claim 13 Lo discloses many limitations, but doesn’t disclose the manufacture of the components of the liquid cartridge from any of the claimed materials. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the Lo apparatus by manufacturing the components of the liquid cartridge from one of the claimed materials, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
In Re claim 14 it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the filing date of the invention that the Lo apparatus could be advantageously used to dispense any aerosol material, including nicotine containing materials, pharmaceuticals, and hygiene products.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lo in view of US PGPub 2022/0023895 (Mangold).
In Re claim 20 Lo discloses many limitations, including a discharge nozzle device (14), but doesn’t disclose a plurality of nozzle openings.
Mangold discloses an aerosol dispenser having a discharge nozzle with a plurality of atomizing nozzles (D1, D2, D3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the Lo apparatus by adding a discharge nozzle with a plurality of openings, in order to more thoroughly atomize the output material.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9, 17, 28, and 30 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US PGPub 2016/0280449 discloses an aerosol container with a pressurizing piston.
US PGPub 2016/0167868 discloses an aerosol cartridge.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON KAROL NIESZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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/JASON K NIESZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753