DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/27/2026 in response to Office Action 2/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for at least the following reasons:
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Applicant argues that the lid of primary prior art Maurin couples directly to the cannister, so cannot have an adapter in between them as claimed (page 9 lines 3-6, page 10 paras 1-2). Examiner points out Maurin Figure 15 shows there is an adapter positioned as claimed. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Regarding claim 20, Applicant argues that the seal function of Maurin would be destroyed by having the portion of the second wall extend as claimed and modified, so would not be obvious to do so (page 11). Examiner points out the wall extension is not part of the sealing so cannot interrupt. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Regarding claims 6-7, Applicant argues that Maurin does not teach the added gasket seal ring (page 12 para last). Examiner agrees pointing out that’s why Hawkins is used. Applicant argues that Hawkins does not teach the gasket seal ring claimed because it does not teach an adapter (page 13). Examiner points out that Maurin teaches the adapter, while Hawkins shows it is obvious to add a seal ring between flanges in a similar lid assembly. Examiner additionally notes that adding a seal ring to a joint is generally obvious to a POSITA. Please see a detailed analysis in the rejection below.
Regarding claims 6-7, Applicant argues that the added gasket seal ring of Hawkins would interfere with the seal of Maurin (page 14). Examiner disagrees, adding a seal to a joint is obvious to a POSITA, specifically this flange joint, for the reason provided in the analysis. Examiner additionally notes a POSITA is familiar with joints commonly possessing multiple seals without interfering with each other.
Claim Objections
Claims 9-17 are objected to because of the following informalities. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claims 9-17, “(Original)” should read “(Withdrawn)” or “(Original – Withdrawn)”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pub 20200138170 by Maurin et al. (hereinafter “Maurin”).
Regarding claim 19, Maurin teaches an adapter (EAFM15B, adapter) for a cannister (Fig 11/16, a cannister is cosmetic container 300/400; wherein Figs 11-15 and 16-20, [0125] [0065-0072], "The applicator as shown in FIGS. 18-19 may also be included in the examples of FIGS. 1-15" (and hereby is included)) that contains a liquid ([0104] [0115] “cosmetic container” 300/400 for a “liquid”),
said adapter comprising a first wall (EAFM15B, first wall) attached to a second wall (EAFM15B, second wall, attached), said first wall having a threaded inner surface (EAFM15B, fastener inner surface to neck, is a thread since [0104] "cap 322 may be attached to the sleeve 310 via… any other suitable method of attachment" wherein it discloses such attachments as being [0105] “threaded coupling”), and said second wall having a threaded outer surface (EAFM15B, thread to second wall, is a thread since [0105] "the outer cap 326 may include inner threads and the inner cap may include outer threads, instead of a snap fit or interference fit”); wherein the threaded inner surface is configured to mate with a threaded neck outer surface of a neck of the cannister (as cited above (fastener inner surface to neck), the threaded first wall inner surface can mate with corresponding threads of the neck’s outer surface); and wherein the threaded outer surface is configured to mate with a threaded first flange outer surface (as cited above (thread to second wall), the threaded second wall outer surface can mate with corresponding threads of a first lid flange outer surface) of a first flange (EAFM15B, lid flange) extending from a lid bottom surface of a lid (extends from the lid bottom surface).
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, 3-5, 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub 20200138170 by Maurin et al. (hereinafter “Maurin”).
Regarding claim 1, Maurin teaches a cannister (Fig 11/16, a cannister is cosmetic container 300/400; wherein Figs 11-15 and 16-20, [0125] [0065-0072], "The applicator as shown in FIGS. 18-19 may also be included in the examples of FIGS. 1-15" (and hereby is included)) for containing a liquid ([0104] [0115] “cosmetic container” 300/400 for a “liquid”), said cannister comprising:
a cannister body (Fig 11/16, a cannister body is sleeve 310/410) having a bottom wall (see examiner annotated Maurin Figure 13, hereinafter “EAFM13”; EAFM13, bottom wall, wherein bottom depends on the orientation of the cannister, which is rotated from the original, as shown in the figure), at least one side wall (EAFM13, side wall), forming a hollow interior (EAFM13, hollow interior formed by the walls); at least one opening into the hollow interior (EAFM13, opening); a neck (EAFM13, neck) located at the at least one opening and having a neck outer surface and a neck inner surface (neck has an inner surface and an outer surface); and
a lid having a lid bottom surface, at least one lid side surface, and a lid top surface (see examiner annotated Maurin Figure 15B, hereinafter “EAFM15B”; EAFM15B, a lid is shown having a lid top surface, a lid bottom surface, and a side surface); and wherein the lid is configured to seal to at least a portion of the neck inner surface (examiner notes that no part of Applicant’s elected invention (Figs 1-2) lid touches the neck because of the adapter in between; however, the prior art lid shows capable of sealing the opening/neck/neck inner surface from the outside),
an adapter (EAFM15B, adapter) having a first wall (EAFM15B, first wall) attached to a second wall (EAFM15B, second wall, attached), said first wall having a threaded inner surface (EAFM15B, fastener inner surface to neck, is a thread [0104] "cap 322 may be attached to the sleeve 310 via… any other suitable method of attachment" wherein it discloses such attachments as [0105] “threaded coupling”), and said second wall having a threaded outer surface (EAFM15B, thread to second wall, is a thread since [0105] "the outer cap 326 may include inner threads and the inner cap may include outer threads, instead of a snap fit or interference fit”); wherein the neck is configured to mate to the adapter by having a threaded neck outer surface (as cited above, the neck outer surface can be threaded to mate with the adapter first wall), the threaded inner surface of the first wall being configured to mate with the threaded neck outer surface (mating see above); and wherein
the lid comprises a first flange (EAFM15B, lid flange) extending from the lid bottom surface (extends from lid bottom surface) and having a threaded first flange outer surface, and the threaded outer surface of the second wall being configured to mate with the threaded first flange outer surface (EAFM15B thread to second wall, is on the first lid flange outer surface, capable of mating the second wall to first flange).
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But first embodiment Maurin does not explicitly teach a cannister body top wall.
However, Maurin teaches a top wall; a neck extending upwardly from the top wall (see examiner annotated Maurin Figure 19, hereinafter “EAFM19”; EAFM19, a cannister body top wall is shown, with a cannister body neck extending upwardly from the top wall), said top wall comprising at least one opening into the hollow interior (EAFM19, opening, opens into hollow interior).
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Therefore, since Maurin discloses it obvious to combine the two embodiments ([0125] [0065-0072], "The applicator as shown in FIGS. 18-19 may also be included in the examples of FIGS. 1-15") and Maurin teaches a top wall as claimed (above), along with related elements including a bevel portion of the adapter second wall extending past the top wall (EAFM19, inward bevel portion) and an applicator and wand (Fig 19, “applicator” 449, a wand is stem 437 that extends from the lid bottom surface, [0124] 449 is a “doefoot, sponge”, wherein ‘doefoot’ is rounded thereby ball shape, and the sponge is absorbent, and 449 shown opposite from the lid bottom surface) in light of dependent claims 4 and 8,
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 the cannister body side wall of Maurin with the top wall as taught by Maurin in order to advantageously better hold a cap having an applicator, and (for the dependents) modify an adapter second wall portion including an extending bevel to beneficially be able to limit the applicator/wand movement for less mess while being able to apply contents without a user’s finger directly.
Regarding claim 3, Maurin further teaches at least a portion of the second wall extends past the top wall and into the hollow interior when the adapter is mated to the neck (EAFM19, an adapter second wall portion extends into and past the top wall). See details in the parent claim 1 rejection above, including the motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify.
Regarding claim 4, Maurin further teaches the portion of the second wall which extends past the top wall and into the hollow interior is beveled inwardly (EAFM19, inward bevel portion). See details in the parent claim 1 rejection above, including the motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify.
Regarding claim 5, Maurin further teaches the lid comprises a second flange (EAFM15B, second flange) extending from the lid bottom surface about an outer perimeter of the lid defined by the at least one lid side surface (extends from the lid bottom surface about an outer perimeter of the lid defined by the at least one lid side surface).
Regarding claim 8, Maurin further teaches an applicator (Fig 19, “applicator” 449) having a wand (Fig 19, a wand is stem 437) extending from the lid bottom surface (437 extends from the lid bottom surface) and an absorbent applicator ball connected to a wand end ([0124] 449 is a “doefoot, sponge”, wherein ‘doefoot’ is rounded thereby ball shape, and the sponge is absorbent) which is opposite the lid bottom surface (449 shown opposite from the lid bottom surface). See details in the parent claim 1 rejection above, including the motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify.
Regarding claim 18, Maurin further teaches the liquid is selected from the group consisting of an adhesive, a rubber cement, and a nail polish ([0124] “for applying liquid… eye gel” which is an adhesive to the eye area).
Claims 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub 20200138170 by Maurin et al. (hereinafter “Maurin”) as applied to claim 19 above.
Regarding claim 20, Maurin first embodiment does not explicitly teach at least a portion of the second wall extends past a top wall of the cannister and into a hollow interior of the cannister when the threaded inner surface is mated with the threaded neck outer surface.
However, Maurin teaches a top wall; a neck extending upwardly from the top wall (see examiner annotated Maurin Figure 19, hereinafter “EAFM19”; EAFM19, a cannister body top wall is shown, with a cannister body neck extending upwardly from the top wall), said top wall comprising at least one opening into the hollow interior (EAFM19, opening); and at least a portion of the second wall extends past a top wall of the cannister and into a hollow interior of the cannister when threads mate (EAFM19, an adapter second wall portion extends into (the hollow interior) and past the top wall).
Therefore, since Maurin discloses it obvious to combine the two embodiments ([0125] [0065-0072], "The applicator as shown in FIGS. 18-19 may also be included in the examples of FIGS. 1-15") and Maurin teaches a top wall as claimed (above), along with related elements including a bevel portion of the adapter second wall extending past the top wall (EAFM19, inward bevel portion),
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 the cannister body side wall of Maurin with the top wall as taught by Maurin in order to advantageously better hold a cap having an applicator, and modify an adapter second wall portion to extend past the top wall to beneficially be able to limit the applicator movement for less mess.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub 20200138170 by Maurin et al. (hereinafter “Maurin”) in view of US Pat 4896782 issued to Hawkins et al. (hereinafter “Hawkins”).
Regarding claim 6, Maurin does not explicitly teach a first sealing member connected to a portion of the lid bottom surface between the first flange and the second flange.
Hawkins, however, teaches a first sealing member connected to a portion of the lid bottom surface between a first flange and a second flange (Figs 7 & 9, O-ring 36 is a sealing member that seals between two flanges, and is shown connected to a portion of a lid bottom surface).
Therefore, 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 the engaged gap between the first and second flange of Maurin by installing a seal ring as taught by Hawkins in order to advantageously improve the sealing engagement.
Regarding claim 7, Maurin further teaches the first sealing member is selected from the group consisting of a gasket, an o-ring, and combinations thereof (Fig 7, 36 is an O-ring). See details in the parent claim 6 rejection above, including the motivation for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ERIC C BALDRIGHI whose telephone number is (571)272-4948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Jenness can be reached on 5712705055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC C BALDRIGHI/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/NATHAN J JENNESS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3733 15 July 2026
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