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 .
Claims 1-4 and 6 are currently pending.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2023/0337629 to Rowe et al. (“Rowe”).
Regarding claim 1, Rowe discloses an animal collar for dispensing at least first and second items (FIGS. 11-14), the collar comprising a lumen (18b) within the collar, the lumen defining a chamber (26) extending around left and right sides of the collar (FIGS. 11-12), with individual compartments (26aa) configured to store the at least first and second items (FIGS. 13, 14; ¶ [0037]); a spring (26) disposed within the lumen and configured to bias the first and second items towards a dispensing outlet (FIGS. 13, 14; ¶¶ [0034]-[0042], especially ¶¶[0041]-[0042]); a mechanism (24b, 24bb) that sequentially releases each of the at least first and second items from the lumen to the dispensing outlet (18d, FIGS. 11-14; ¶¶ [[0034]-[0042]); and a command receiving unit (24) configured to operate the mechanism in response to a signal (¶¶ [0025], [0028], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0045]).
Regarding claim 2, Rowe discloses wherein the dispensing unit releases the at least first and second items from the lumen under the force of gravity (FIGS. 13, 14; ¶ [0037]).
Regarding claim 3, Rowe discloses a cover configured to cover (28a) and uncover the dispensing outlet (FIGS. 13-14; ¶¶ [0034]-[0042], especially [0040]).
Regarding claim 4, Rowe discloses wherein the command receiving unit comprises electronics configured to receive the distal signal via a Bluetooth signal (¶¶ [0045], [0028]).
Regarding claim 6, Rowe discloses electronics configured to operate the mechanism as a function of time (¶¶ [0025], [0028], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0045]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Rowe teaches a spring (26) disposed within the lumen and configured to bias the first and second items towards a dispensing outlet (FIGS. 13, 14; ¶¶ [0034]-[0042], especially ¶¶[0041]-[0042]);
Conclusion
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/MARISA V CONLON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3643