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 .
The preliminary amendment filed on 8/16/2024 has been entered.
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, in claim 9, “a plurality of flaps” and in claim 10, “first angular position”, “second angular position”, “third angular position” and “fourth angular position” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 Objections
The following claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
A double inclusion limitation appears for the following terms that has been cited previously:
In claim 14, for "a spout"; “a lid assembly”.
In claim 15, for "a spout"; “a lid assembly”; “a pourable product”.
Appropriate corrections are required.
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, 3, 5-8 and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Martini (EP 3892561 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Martini discloses a lid assembly (fig.1-4) configured to be coupled to a spout of a package (via 10) being filled with a pourable product; the lid assembly comprises at least: a coupling ring (10) arrangeable around a portion of the spout (see fig.1); a lid (11) configured to selectively close and open a pouring outlet of the spout
(see fig.2-4); and a hinge element (15) hinging the lid to the coupling ring and being in
contact with a contact portion (CP, see annotated fig.2 below) of the lid; wherein the lid comprises a cover wall (13) configured to cover the pouring outlet and a side wall (14) protruding from the cover wall; wherein the side wall comprises an end portion connected to the cover wall (see fig.3) and a rim portion opposite to the end portion (see rim at the edge of 14 in fig.2); wherein the rim portion comprises a rim surface facing the coupling ring (see fig.2-4); wherein the rim surface comprises a first portion (FP, see annotated fig.2 below), a second portion (SP) connected to the first portion and a third portion (TP) connected to the second portion and being closer to the contact portion (CP) than the first portion; wherein the second portion is transversal to the first portion and the third portion (see annotated fig.2 below).
Regarding claim 3, Martini discloses the first portion lies within a first plane, the second portion lies within a second plane and the third portion lies within a third plane; wherein the second plane is transversal to the first plane and the third plane (see the planes of FP, SP, TP in fig.2 below).
Regarding claim 5, Martini discloses the first plane (H1) and the third plane (H3) are spaced apart from one another and parallel to one another (see fig.2 below).
Regarding claim 6, Martini discloses the rim surface comprises a fourth portion (Fourth P) connected to the third portion and extending to the contact portion; wherein the fourth portion is transversal to the third portion (see fig.2 below).
Regarding claim 7, Martini discloses the coupling ring comprises an end surface (25)
facing the rim surface (see fig.2); wherein the end surface comprises a first section (35), a second section connected to the first section and a third section connected to the second section and being closer to a contact section of the coupling ring at which the hinge element is connected to the coupling ring than the first section; wherein the second section is transversal to the first section and the third section (see associated contact surfaces of 10 with FP, SP and TP).
Regarding claim 8, Martini discloses the first section faces and is parallel to the first portion, the second section faces and is parallel to the second portion and the third section faces and is parallel to the third portion (see fig.2 below).
Regarding claim 10, Martini discloses the first portion extends between a first angular
position and a second angular position, the second portion extends between the
second angular position and a third angular position, and the third portion extends
between the third angular position and a fourth angular position (see angular positions of FP, SP, TP in fig.2).
Regarding claim 11, Martini discloses the second angular position is smaller or equal to 120° (see fig.2).
Regarding claim 12, Martini discloses a plurality of rupturable coupling bridges (16) protruding from the coupling ring and connected to the rim surface (see fig.1-4).
Regarding claim 13, Martini discloses the lid assembly is formed from a polymer (see attached translation, [0029]).
Regarding claim 14, Martini discloses the lid-spout group comprising at least a spout and a lid assembly according to claim 1 and coupled to the spout ([0053] and [0101]).
Regarding claim 15, Martini discloses package filled with a pourable product
comprising a spout and a lid assembly according to claim 1 and being coupled to the spout ([0053] and [0101]).
PNG
media_image1.png
783
1700
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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.
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martini (EP 3892561 A1).
Martini is silent in disclosing the second portion is perpendicular to the first portion and the third portion; and the second plane (H2) is perpendicular to the first plane (H1) and the third plane (H3). Instead Martini teaches the second portion is substantially perpendicular to the first portion and the third portion (see fig.2); and the second plane (H2) is substantially perpendicular to the first plane (H1) and the third plane (H3) (see fig.2). It appears that Applicant has neither placed criticality on use of such perpendicularity features nor has disclosed that such features provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem other than coupling the coupling ring to the lid, in which Martini provides such an end result. Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the lid assembly of Martini to obtain the invention as specified in claims 2 and 4, because such a modification would have been considered an obvious alteration to the lid assembly of Martini which fails to be patentably distinguished.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 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.
State of the Prior Arts
Regarding claim 1, the prior arts to Gonnert (US 2023/0271755), Martini (EP 3892561 A1), Muhlemann (US 2016/0016703), Migas (US 2020/0017260) and Zanon (US 2023/0356888) as cited in PTO-892 are also citing significant pertinent structures or features to the applicant’s claimed invention with regard to a lid assembly coupled to a spout of a package being filled with a pourable product having a coupling ring arrangeable around a portion of the spout; a lid to close and open a pouring outlet of the spout; and a hinge element hinging the lid to the coupling ring and being in contact with a contact portion of the lid that includes a cover wall to cover the pouring outlet and a side wall protruding from the cover wall and an end portion connected to the cover wall and a rim portion opposite to the end portion facing the coupling ring; the rim surface having a first portion, a second portion connected to the first portion and a third portion connected to the second portion and being closer to the contact portion than the first portion; the second portion is transversal to the first portion and the third portion. It appears that claim 1does not provide any inventive concept over the cited prior arts.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bob Zadeh whose telephone number is (571)270-5201. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm E.
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, Paul Durand can be reached at (571) 272-4459. 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.
/BOB ZADEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754