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 § 112
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.
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the releasable biasing member" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the spring" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The spring was introduced in claim 10 but claim 11 depends upon claim 8.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the vessel" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Additionally, it is unclear if the vessel is referring back to the vessel nozzle in claim 1 or is another component. The specification and the figures have a vessel 21 and a vessel nozzle 23. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets the claim to mean either a vessel or a vessel nozzle.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Joo Won Joon (KR 100849863B1), hereinafter Joo Won, in view of Bouet (US 3,335,913).
Regarding claim 1, Joo Won (fig. 3a and hereinafter based on the Espacenet translation) teaches of a plant supplement delivery assembly (p. 2 lines 15-19, stem injector for use in trees), the assembly comprising:
a housing (liquid container 110) having exterior sidewalls (sidewalls of housing 110) defining a chamber (interior of housing 110);
a vessel nozzle component (injection tube 200) configured to couple with the housing (seen in fig. 3b), the vessel nozzle component (200) defining a piercing structure (figs. 3a-3b, abstract, vessel nozzle component 200 with an insertion part 201 pierces and ruptures the moisture barrier membrane 113);
a collapsible vessel component (corrugated container 130 defines folded sidewalls) configured to be received within the housing (seen in fig. 3a) and be pierced by the piercing structure of the vessel nozzle (abstract, moisture barrier member 113 of the collapsible vessel component 130 is pierced by the piercing structure 201 of the vessel nozzle 200) to couple with the vessel nozzle (200) to be in fluid communication with the vessel nozzle (seen in fig. 3b).
Joo Won does not appear to teach of a releasably biased member within the housing and operably aligned to forcibly engage the container upon release.
Bouet teaches of a releasably biased member within the housing (fig. 1, push plate 10, spring 11 within case 1) and operably aligned to forcibly engage the container (container 9) upon release (fig. 1, col. 2 lines 55-58, the bottom of the container 9 rests on a push-plate 10 subjected to the action of a spring 11 bearing on the bottom of the case 1 to compress the container 9).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joo Won to incorporate the teachings of Bouet of a releasably biased member within the housing and operably aligned to forcibly engage the container upon release in order to provide continuous pressure of the insert, thereby ensuring continuous and complete expulsion of the supplement.
Regarding claim 2, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 1, and wherein (fig. 3a) the exterior sidewalls of the chamber (sidewalls of the chamber defined by housing 110) extend between a nose end (outlet 112) and an insert receiving end (opening 111).
Regarding claim 3, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 2, and (fig. 3a) wherein the nose end (112) defines an opening (outlet 112) configured to receive the vessel nozzle (fig. 3b, receives vessel nozzle 200).
Regarding claim 4, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 3, and (fig. 3a) wherein the vessel nozzle (200) defines a stem (elongate portion of vessel nozzle 200) and the opening (112) receives a nozzle of the vessel nozzle (seen in fig. 3a).
Regarding claim 6, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 3, and wherein (fig. 3b) the nose end (112) defines a recess (outlet 112) configured to receive an appendage of the vessel nozzle (200) (outlet 112 receives the striking cylinder 210).
Regarding claim 7, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 6, and wherein the appendage is a flange (fig. 3a, flange of striking cylinder 210 on the edge).
Regarding claim 8, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 1, and (fig. 3a) further comprising a sheath (compression cylinder 120) configured to operably engage the housing (sheath 120 operably engages with the housing 110), the sheath (120) having sidewalls (sidewalls of sheath 120) extending from a rim of an opening to a head end (extends from an opening 111 to a head end by numeral 120).
Regarding claim 9, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 8, and wherein (fig. 3a) the sheath (120) is fixedly engaged with the housing (fixedly engaged by a locking jaw 116 to housing 110).
Regarding claim 11, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 8, but does not appear to teach of wherein the releasable biasing member is a portion of the vessel and the spring.
Bouet teaches of (fig. 1) wherein the releasable biasing member (push-plate 10) is a portion of the vessel (as best understood by the 112b rejection above, portion of case 1) and the spring (spring 11) (releasable biasing member 10 is a portion of the interior of vessel 1 and a portion of the end of spring 11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joo Won to incorporate the teachings of Bouet of wherein the releasable biasing member is a portion of the vessel and the spring in order to control the pressure for discharging the liquid on the bellows member.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Joo Won as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Gelblum et al. (US 20160058946), hereinafter Gelblum.
Regarding claim 5, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 4, but does not appear to teach of wherein the opening of housing defines a structure configured to rotatably fix the vessel nozzle in relation to the housing.
Gelblum teaches of (figs. 6A-C) wherein the opening of housing (discharge port 226) defines a structure configured to rotatably fix the vessel nozzle (retaining cap 44 with discharge port 46) in relation to the housing (fluid container 220) (¶0175, retaining cap 44 is rotated to secure the threaded or like mechanical connection between the retaining cap 44 and the pressure jacket 30, this rotational motion may also be used to impart rotation to the fluid container 220 or the bellows member 120, such as by a suitable inter-engagement between the discharge port 46 and the discharge port 226 on the fluid container 30 (or between a like discharge port 226 provided on the bellows member 120 and the discharge port 226)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joo Won to incorporate the teachings of Gelblum of wherein the opening of housing defines a structure configured to rotatably fix the vessel nozzle in relation to the housing in order to rotationally secure the nozzle to the housing and prevent dislodgement of the nozzle when the housing is inserted into a plant.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Joo Won as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Markussen (US 2008/0306446).
Regarding claim 10, Joo Won as modified teaches of claim 8, but does not appear to teach of further comprising a spring within the sheath, the spring operably engaging the releasable biasing member.
Markussen teaches of (figs. 6-8) a spring (spring 22) within the sheath (housing 19), the spring (22) operably engaging the releasable biasing member (23) (¶0047-0049, the spring 22 biased the releasable biasing member 23 and spring 22 operably engages the member 23 when the user pushes down on release member 20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joo Won to incorporate the teachings of Markussen of further comprising a spring within the sheath, the spring operably engaging the releasable biasing member in order to an actuator device in which a user can push on the releasably biasing member to push the solution out of the insert as motivated by ¶0047 and Figs. 6-8 in Markussen.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
The amendments were written broadly enough such that the cited prior art reads upon the claims. The Examiner suggest focusing on specific structure and arrangement of the piercing structure of the vessel nozzle as seen in fig. 18 and described in paras. 137-139. Examiner suggests the following amendment:
“the piercing structure is a beveled or sharpened tip, the piercing structure of the vessel nozzle is within a frustoconical-shaped vessel receiving surface, wherein the vessel receiving surface is complimentary to receive a frustoconical-shaped brace engagement surface of the collapsible vessel component and the vessel receiving surface surrounds the brace engagement surface of the collapsible vessel component”.
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.
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/ZOE TAM TRAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3647
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