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 § 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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Richards et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5590512).
Regarding Claim 1, Richards et al. discloses a method for using a waste disposal device, the waste disposal device including a container 1 (Figure 1) having an opening at a top end (Figure 1) and defining an inner cavity accessible through the opening, and a bag closing mechanism 14/21 (figure 1) including a pair of doors 14 (Figure 1) located above the inner cavity (Figure 1), the pair of doors in a closed position extending into the opening and adapted to close off a portion of the bag passing therebetween (Figure 1), the pair of doors pivotally coupled to the container along opposite sides of the opening 20 (figure 1), the method comprising: passing a free end of a bag 5 (Figure 1) through the opening of the container with a closed end of the bag 10 (Figure 1) extending in the inner cavity (Figure 1), the opening forming a throat section (Figure 1) having a narrower cross-sectional area relative to and above a waste-receiving volume of the inner cavity (Figure 1), wherein passing the free end through the opening includes passing the free end between the pair of doors within the throat section (Figure 1), with at least a first door of the pair of doors in a first pivoted open position (Figure 1); deploying the free end of the bag so as to have a bag open end above the pair of doors (Figure 1); and folding the bag open end over a bag interface 15 (Figure 1) extending along the opening (Figure 1), the bag interface inward relative to a periphery of the container (Figure 1).
Regarding Claim 2, Richards et al. discloses the first door of the pair of doors in the first pivoted open position extends inwardly toward the inner cavity (Figure 1).
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 II(A), MPEP 2163.06 and MPEP 714.02. The ''disclosure'' includes the claims, the specification and the drawings.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21 and 22 are allowed.
Claims 3-18 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. The doors extending upward and downward along with the bags dispensing from the base are considered allowable subject matter.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 2 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.
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 ELIZABETH J VOLZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5430. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-7pm est.
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/E.J.V/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/JEFFREY R ALLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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