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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Molmenti (US 2023/0140417) in view of Giro (US 6719471) and Liba (US 8834050).
Note: Claim 1 recites first and second frame components that are removably attached to each other. This feature is not disclosed in the parent application 17/579883. As such, claims 1-14 have an effective filing date of 22 July 2024.
Regarding claim 1, Molmenti teaches a multi liquid dispensing pump brush comprising: a first frame component (see annotated Fig. 1 below), which houses a first liquid container (30), a first pump dispenser (16, see ¶0021); a second frame component (see annotated Fig. 1 below), which houses a second liquid container (40), a second pump dispenser (20, see ¶0021); a first sliding component (actuator of 16); a second sliding component (actuator of 20); wherein a portion of the first frame component comprises a first bristle pattern (12 may be a brush, ¶0037) and a portion of the second frame component comprises a second bristle pattern (14 may be a brush, ¶0037);
PNG
media_image1.png
399
386
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Molmenti does not teach a first tube, a second tube, that a first aperture is embedded within the first bristle pattern of the first frame component and a second aperture is embedded within the second bristle pattern of the second frame component; or that the first frame component and the second frame component are removably attached to each other to form an external frame of the multi liquid dispensing pump brush, housing the two liquid containers, the two pump dispensers, and the two tubes within.
Giro teaches the use of a tube (19) to guide fluid from a reservoir to an aperture (8a, 8b) that is embedded within a bristle pattern (4).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Molmenti such that it included a first tube, a second tube, that a first aperture is embedded within the first bristle pattern of the first frame component and a second aperture is embedded within the second bristle pattern of the second frame component, wherein doing so would merely be using a known means to transport a liquid from the liquid container to the bristles.
Liba teaches a first frame component (102) and a second frame component (202) are removably attached to each other (via 51 and 52) to form an external frame (1).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Molmenti such that the first frame component and the second frame component are removably attached to each other to form an external frame of the multi liquid dispensing pump brush as taught by Liba for the purpose of providing versatility regarding the assembly of several kits of products (Liba, col. 2, ll. 27-32). It is noted that the two liquid containers, two pump dispensers, and the two tubes would be housed within the external frame because each of these components is already fully housed in either the first frame or the second frame.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 1, but does not teach that the first liquid container is removable from the brush and fillable with a first liquid and the second liquid container is removable from the brush and fillable with a second liquid.
Giro teaches a liquid container (6) that is removable from a brush and fillable with a liquid.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination such that the first liquid container is removable from the brush and fillable with a first liquid and the second liquid container is removable from the brush and fillable with a second liquid as taught by Giro, wherein doing so would merely be a matter of simple substitution of one known liquid container with another with predictable results.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 2, wherein the first liquid container and the second liquid container are designed to both fit together inside of the external frame (Molmenti Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 3, but does not teach that the first sliding component is slidable on the first frame component and the second sliding component is slidable along the second frame component.
Giro teaches a sliding component (9) that slides along a frame component.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the first and second sliding components of Molmenti with sliding components that are slidable along their respective frame components, wherein doing so would merely be a matter of simple substitution of one known sliding component with another with predictable results.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 4, wherein the first sliding component engages a first slider connector (Giro, backside of 9), which is capable of pulling and pushing a first pull rod (Giro 13), and the second sliding component engages a second slider connector (Giro, back side of 9), which is capable of pulling and pushing a second pull rod (Giro 13).
Regrading claim 6, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 5, wherein the first pull rod is capable of pumping the first pump dispenser, and the second pull rod is capable of pumping the second pump dispenser (Giro, col. 4, ll. 1-9).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 6, wherein the first tube is connected on one end to the first pump dispenser and on the other end to the first aperture, and the second tube is connected on one end to the second pump dispenser and on the other end to the second aperture (Giro Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 7, wherein each sliding component engages with its own pipeline consisting of the slider connector, the liquid container, the pump dispenser, the tube, and the aperture (Molmenti teaches separate pipelines, ¶0032).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 8, wherein the first sliding component slides along the first frame component, drives the transfer of the first liquid through the first liquid container, through the first pump dispenser, through the first tube, and through the aperture on the first frame component, and the second sliding component slides along the second frame component, drives the transfer of the second liquid through the second liquid container, through the second pump dispenser, through the second tube, and through the aperture on the second frame component (Giro Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 4, wherein the first sliding component is manually operable to drive the first liquid through the aperture of the first frame component, and the second sliding component is manually operable to drive the second liquid through the aperture of the second frame component (the sliding component taught by Giro is manually operable).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 1, wherein the first bristle pattern and the second bristle pattern are distinctly different patterns (Molmenti teaches that the first and second applicators may be different from each other in ¶0037).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing brush of claim 1, wherein that the multi liquid dispensing brush is composed of plastic materials (Molmenti ¶0045).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Molmenti, Giro and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing pump brush of claim 1, wherein the first frame component and the second frame component are attached to one another using snap fasteners (Liba 61 and 62).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Molmenti, Giro, and Liba teaches the multi liquid dispensing brush of claim 1, wherein each liquid container further comprises: a body (Giro 6) having a mouth (Giro, top of 6), a plug (Giro 22) used to seal the mouth of the container, wherein the body defines a chamber configured to contain a liquid.3
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY S OLIVER whose telephone number is (571)270-3787. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7-3 ET.
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, David Angwin can be reached at (571)270-3735. 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.
/BRADLEY S OLIVER/Examiner, Art Unit 3754