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) 1-4, 7-8, and 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kukreja (US 2018/0279740).
Kukreja discloses a split applicator, comprising a first application head (2) and a second application head (3), wherein an accommodation cavity (6) is formed in the first application head (2); the first application head (2) comprises a first mounting portion (2a) and a first application portion (2b) that are fixedly connected (Fig. 7); the second application head (3) comprises a second mounting portion (3a) and a second application portion (3b) that are fixedly connected (Fig. 10); the second application head (3) is provided in the accommodation cavity (6) (Fig. 13; para. 24); the first mounting portion (2a) is fixedly connected to the second mounting portion (3a) (Fig. 12; para. 26); and a hardness of the first application head (para. 33; plastic) is less than a hardness of the second application head (para. 34; ceramic).
Regarding claim 2, a first end of the first mounting portion (2a) is connected to a first end of the first application portion (2b) (Fig. 7); a second end of the first mounting portion and a second end of the first application portion each are a free end (Fig. 7); and the accommodation cavity (6) extends from the second end of the first application portion to the first mounting portion along an axial direction of the first application head (Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 3, the accommodation cavity (6) is a blind groove or a through groove (Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 4, the first mounting portion (2a) and the second mounting portion (3a) are fixedly connected by clamping, gluing or welding (para. 29).
Regarding claim 7, the second application portion (3b) comprises a first end fixedly connected to the second mounting portion (3a), and a second end being a free end (Fig. 10); a bump (13a) is fixedly provided at the second end of the second application portion (Fig. 11); a groove (7) is formed at a second end of the first application portion (Fig. 7); the groove communicates with the accommodation cavity; and the bump is provided in the groove (Figs. 13, 14).
Regarding claims 8, and 12-17, an outer peripheral wall of the first application portion forms a first application surface (8); a second application surface (5) is provided at a second end of the first application portion; a third application surface (13) is provided at a second end of the second application portion (see Fig. 14); and the second application surface (5) and the third application surface (13) each are an oblique surface (Fig. 14), and the second application surface (5) and the third application surface (13) are coplanar (Fig. 14); or the second application surface and the third application surface each are a curved surface, and the second application surface (5) and the third application surface (13) are spliced into a smooth concave surface or a smooth convex surface (Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 10, a material of the first application head comprises a plastic material (para. 33); a material of the second application head comprises a temperature-sensitive material; the temperature-sensitive material comprises metal, metal alloy, ceramic, glass or stone (para. 34); and the first application surface (8) and the second application surface (5) each are provided with a flocked layer (para. 30), and the third application surface (13) is a smooth surface (para. 34, ceramic); or the first application surface, the second application surface and the third application surface each are provided with the flocked layer (para. 30 and 31).
Regarding claim 11, further comprising a packaging container (1), comprising the split applicator, and further comprising a sleeve assembly, wherein the sleeve assembly comprises an outer lid (30) and a bottle body (200); a brush rod (20) is fixedly provided in the outer lid; the split applicator is fixedly provided on the brush rod; an inner stopper (206) is fixedly provided at a neck of the bottle body; and the outer lid covers the bottle body detachably (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 12, wherein in the split applicator, a first end of the first mounting portion (2a) is connected to a first end of the first application portion (2b); a second end of the first mounting portion and a second end of the first application portion each are a free end (Fig. 7); and the accommodation cavity (6) extends from the second end of the first application portion to the first mounting portion along an axial direction of the first application head (Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 19, in the split applicator, the accommodation cavity (6) is a blind groove or a through groove (Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 20, wherein in the split applicator, the first mounting portion (2a) and the second mounting portion (3a) are fixedly connected by clamping, gluing or welding (para. 29).
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(s) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kukreja (US 2018/0279740) in view of Bianco (US 2020/0329846).
Kukreja discloses the claimed invention except that the clamping groove is forming in the first application portion instead of the first mounting portion. Bianco shows that having the clamping groove in the first mounting portion (60) is an equivalent structure known in the art. Therefore, because these two mounting locations were art-recognized equivalents at the time the invention was made, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to substitute the clamping groove in the application portion for the clamping groove in the mounting portion. Regarding claim 6, Kukreja further discloses the clamping groove (14) is a through groove and the fastener (16) is elastic; and the fastener protrudes outward along a radial direction of the second mounting portion (para. 29; Fig. 17).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kukreja (US 2018/0279740).
Kukreja discloses the claimed invention except for a hardness of the first plastic material is less than a hardness of the second plastic material It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have a hardness of the first plastic material be less than a hardness of the second plastic material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
3/11/2026