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 .
Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure filed 8/6/24 is objected to because phrases that can be implied, such as “is provided” (see line 2) should not be present therein. An appropriate beginning sentence of this particular abstract would be “An apparatus for dispensing a liquid from a bottle and a cleaning device thereof.”.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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 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 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Bennett (U.S. 2006/0278665, as cited in the previous Office Action).
In regard to claim 21, the Bennett reference discloses an apparatus for dispensing a liquid from a bottle body 300 (see Figrue 5), the apparatus comprising:
a connecting seat 430 having a first end adapted to be connected with the bottle body and a second end, the connecting seat having one or more holes 440;
a first perforation 436 eccentrically arranged on the connecting seat for communicating with an opening of the bottle body;
an adjusting seat 418 rotatably connected with the second end of the connecting seat;
a second perforation 420 eccentrically arranged on the adjusting seat for communicating with the first perforation; and
an annular seat 412 having a first end “detachably connected” with the adjusting seat 418 (i.e., the annular seat 412 is capable of being detached from the adjusting seat 418 should a user choose to remove the annular seat) and a second end detachably connected with a housing 200 wherein the housing is detachably attached above the annular seat.
Should the Applicant contend the annular seat 412 is not detachably connected to the adjusting seat, it is the examiner’s position it would had been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made the annular seat 412 can formed from a separate element and detachably connected with the adjusting seat since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements which may be assembled requires only routine skill in the art. See Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 6 and 8-20 are allowed.
Claim 22 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
The response filed 8/6/26 did not include any specific arguments to any prior rejections or how new claim 21 defines around the art of record.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 DAVID J WALCZAK whose telephone number is (571)272-4895. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6:30-4:00.
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.
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DJW
8/17/26
/DAVID J WALCZAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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