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 .
Status of the Application
Claims 1 and 5-7 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. No Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) has filed with this application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species VIII in the reply filed on 04/06/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 2-4 and 8-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to:
under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “dispensing tube extends through said proximate end of said receptacle and said section of said dispensing tube is below said proximate end of said receptacle” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
under 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3) because:
the plane upon which each sectional view is taken, is not indicated on the view from which the section is cut; and
the sectional views of Fig. 7-8 omit required hatching.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As per claim 1, the limitation “[…] said dispensing tube extends through said proximate end of said receptacle […]” conflicts with the drawings and specification and the scope is therefore uncertain. A correction may include “[…] said dispensing tube extends through said distal end of said receptacle […]”. For the purpose of applying prior art, claim 1 is interpreted according to the aforementioned suggested correction.
Claims 5-7 depend from claim 1 and thus inherit the deficiencies thereof.
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.
Claims 1 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5381930 to Kalabakas.
As per claim 1, and as the examiner can understand the claim, Kalabakas discloses a metered dispensing assembly comprising:
a receptacle (16) that comprises a distal end and a proximate end (Fig. 1-2); and
a dispensing tube (42) that comprises a distal end and a proximate end;
wherein said dispensing tube comprises one or more apertures (45) and said dispensing tube extends through said distal end of said receptacle (Fig. 1);
wherein said one or more apertures and said dispensing tube are configured to allow a fluid to flow from a reservoir that contains a fluid to said receptacle (Fig. 1-2); and
wherein said one or more apertures are located on a section of said dispensing tube that is above said distal end (Fig. 1) of said receptacle and said section of said dispensing tube is below said proximate end of said receptacle (Fig. 1).
As per claim 5, Kalabakas further discloses said metered dispensing assembly is made from plastic (Col. 8, Ln. 50-51).
As per claim 6, Kalabakas further discloses wherein said one or more apertures are located on an outer surface of said dispensing tube (Fig. 1) and said distal end of said dispensing tube is capped (43).
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 5381930 to Kalabakas in view of US 1924809 to Schuelke et al.
As per claim 7, Kalabakas discloses the claimed invention except for a means to fix the dispensing tube to the receptacle. Schuelke teaches a metered dispensing assembly (Fig. 5) comprising a receptacle (1) and a dispensing tube (8) fixed to the receptacle wherein said receptacle comprises a first threaded portion (31) and said dispensing tube comprises a second threaded portion (30); and wherein said receptacle and said dispensing tube rotably engage one another through said first threaded portion and said second threaded portion (pg. 2, Ln. 128-133). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to modify Kalabakas according to the aforementioned teachings from Schuelke to similarly fix the dispensing tube of Kalabakas to the receptacle of Kalabakas.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record in FORM PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Randy Gruby, whose telephone number is (571) 272-3415. The examiner can normally be reached from Monday to Friday between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
If any attempt to reach the examiner by telephone is unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul Durand, can be reached at (571) 272-4459.
Another resource that is available to applicants is the Patent Data Portal (PDP). Information regarding the status of an application can be obtained from the (PDP) system. For more information about the PDP system, see https://opsg-portal.uspto.gov/OPSGPortal/. Should you have questions on access to the PDP system, please feel free to contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/R.A.G/Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/PAUL R DURAND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754
April 24, 2026
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