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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 6, 10, 11, 18, 22 and 23 have been canceled. Claims 1–5, 7–9, 12–17, 19–21 and 24–26 are pending and are examined on the merits herein. Claims 1 and 13 are independent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1–5, 7–9, 12–17, 19–21 and 24–26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
As discussed in the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) below, claims 1 and 13 are open to an interpretation under which the recited "circuitry electrically connected to the visual display" is a second circuitry, distinct from the previously recited "circuitry configured to communicate with the one or more temperature sensors and to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device." Claims 5 and 17 similarly recite "the circuitry electrically connected to the visual display" performing the shipping-label and shipping-carrier notification functions. The specification as originally filed does not provide written description support for a second, distinct circuitry. The specification discloses a single circuitry EM that receives sensed information from the one or more sensors S1–Sn, communicates with the user interface UI1 and the visual display 188, is powered by the power storage element PS, and communicates wirelessly with a remote electronic device ED or the cloud CL (see specification at ¶¶ 0013, 0018–0019, 0022, 0026–0027 and FIG. 5). Nothing in the disclosure conveys to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventors had possession, at the time of filing, of a container having circuitry associated with the visual display that is separate and distinct from the circuitry that communicates with the temperature sensors and the remote electronic device. See MPEP § 2163. Applicant may obviate this rejection by amending claims 1 and 13 to recite the single circuitry consistently, for example by reciting that the button or touch screen is manually actuatable by a user to cause the circuitry, which is electrically connected to the visual display, to change which of the one or more screens is displayed. No new matter should be introduced.
Claims 2–5, 7–9, 12, 14–17, 19–21 and 24–26 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for being dependent upon a rejected claim.
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 1-5, 7-9, 12-17, 19-21 and 24-26 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.
claims 1 and 13 recites "circuitry configured to communicate with the one or more temperature sensors and to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device," and thereafter recites "a button or touch screen manually actuatable by a user to cause circuitry electrically connected to the visual display to change the screen displayed on the visual display." The second recitation of "circuitry" employs the indefinite article "circuitry" rather than "the circuitry," so that it is unclear whether the recited circuitry electrically connected to the visual display is the same circuitry previously recited, or additional and distinct circuitry. It is further unclear whether such circuitry, if distinct, is positively recited as an element of the claimed container or is merely a structure with which the button cooperates. The metes and bounds of the claims therefore cannot be determined. Amending to recite "to cause the circuitry, the circuitry being electrically connected to the visual display, to change . . ." (or similar) would obviate this rejection. For purposes of examination, the second recitation is treated as referring to the previously recited circuitry.
Claims 1 and 13 recite "a visual display configured to selectively display information in one or more screens," and thereafter recite changing "the screen displayed on the visual display." There is insufficient antecedent basis for "the screen" in the claims, because the display is recited as displaying information in "one or more screens." It is unclear which of the one or more screens is referenced. Amending to recite "to change which of the one or more screens is displayed on the visual display" would obviate this rejection.
Claims 2 and 14 recite "wherein the one or more screens includes one or more of a home screen, a screen displaying a shipping label, a screen displaying a geographical trajectory of the cooler container, and a screen displaying a temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time." Because the list is joined by the conjunction "and," it is unclear whether the claim requires each of the four recited screens or only one of them. See MPEP § 2173.05(h). Applicant may obviate this rejection by reciting "at least one of a home screen, a screen displaying a shipping label, a screen displaying a geographical trajectory of the cooler container, or a screen displaying a temperature history . . . ." For purposes of examination, the limitation is treated in the alternative, such that any one of the recited screens satisfies the claim.
Claims 3 and 15 recite that the screen displaying the temperature history "includes one of both of a temperature history of a sensed temperature in the payload chamber and a temperature history of an ambient temperature experienced by the cooler container over the period of time." The phrase "one of both of" is grammatically unintelligible, and it cannot be determined whether Applicant intends "one of," "both of," or "one or both of." In addition, claims 3 and 15 recite "the screen displaying the temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time," for which there is insufficient antecedent basis, because parent claims 2 and 14 recite that screen only as one alternative of a list of screens and therefore do not necessarily require it. For purposes of examination, the limitation is treated as "one or both of."
Claims 5 and 17 recite "the circuitry electrically connected to the visual display," for which there is insufficient antecedent basis for the reasons set forth above. Claims 5 and 17 further recite that the circuitry is caused to "automatically switch a sender and a recipient information on a shipping label displayed on the visual display to facilitate return of the portable cryogenic cooler container to a sender." The term "a sender" is recited twice within the same clause, and it is unclear whether the second recitation refers to the same sender or to a different sender. Amending the second occurrence to "the sender" would obviate this portion of the rejection.
Claim 8 recites "The cooler container of claim 1, further one or more handles with a handle opening in the vessel that communicates with a handle opening in the lid," and claim 20 recites the corresponding language depending from claim 13. The claims omit a transitional word or phrase (e.g., "further comprising") between the reference to the parent claim and the recited handles. As written, the claims are grammatically incomplete and the relationship of the one or more handles to the claimed container cannot be ascertained. See MPEP § 2173.05(p). For purposes of examination, the claims are treated as reciting "further comprising one or more handles . . . ."
Claims 12 and 24 recite "further comprising one or more temperature sensors configured to sense ambient temperature and to communicate with the circuitry," while parent claims 1 and 13 already recite "one or more temperature sensors configured to sense a temperature in the payload chamber." It is unclear whether the sensors of claims 12 and 24 are the same sensors recited in the parent claims, additional sensors, or a subset thereof. See MPEP § 2173.05(e). Amending to recite "one or more additional temperature sensors" or "one or more second temperature sensors" would obviate this rejection. For purposes of examination, the claims are treated as reciting one or more additional temperature sensors.
Claims 4, 7, 9, 16, 19, 21, 25 and 26 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) for being dependent upon a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1–5, 7, 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard (US 2012/0211498 A1) in view of Bollinger et al. (US 2019/0303862 A1) and further in view of Mullens et al. (US 6,467,642 B2).
In regard to claim 1, Cognard teaches a portable cryogenic cooler container (transportation and/or storage device 10) comprising:
a vessel (external packaging structure 14 comprising cylindrical wall 18, lower horizontal wall 22 forming the bottom, and detachable cover 20, the walls defining internal volume 16) (¶¶ 0040–0041; figs. 1, 5);
a cryogenic Dewar vessel (double-walled insulating bulb 12 having body 32 formed by outer wall 34 and inner wall 36 separated by a void and defining internal volume 38) within the vessel (14) and including an inner vessel (tubular body 76 of control component 70, which receives closing component 94 constituting the carrier tube in which the transported product is lodged) having one or more openings (holes 82 of control component 70; holes 112 of closing component 94, distributed circumferentially and vertically in staggered rows) in a wall (cylindrical wall 80) that defines a payload chamber (interior volume of the carrier tube in which the product to be transported or stored is received) and an absorbent material (absorption means 92 of polyurethane foam or phenolic foam, in flakes or expanded form, which absorb the cryogenic fluid at the time of filling like a sponge) disposed about the inner vessel (76), the Dewar vessel (12) being insulated relative to the vessel (14) by the void between outer wall 34 and inner wall 36 and by the empty buffer space in which the bulb 12 hangs freely without contact with the walls of the packaging structure 14 (¶¶ 0003, 0008, 0012, 0017, 0042, 0044, 0054, 0057–0058, 0060, 0062, 0070, 0072; figs. 4A, 4B, 5);
a lid (detachable cover 20 of packaging structure 14, engaged with upper edge 118 of drum 18 by complementary edge 120) operable to close the vessel (14) and having an upper lid portion (upper horizontal face 28 of cover 20, including upper block 52 of tubular element 50) and an elongate lid portion (central tubular element 50, including lower block 54) extending from the upper lid portion (28/52), the elongate lid portion (50) configured to extend into the vessel (14) and adjacent the cryogenic Dewar vessel (12) — lower block 54 extending at least partly through upper opening 42 and penetrating into bulb 12 in the area of neck 40 — when the upper lid portion (28) is adjacent the vessel (14), the elongate lid portion (50) having a vent channel (orifice 56 defined by tubular element 50, which leads into internal volume 38 and progressively flares out downwardly from upper edge 58, and through which the gases progressively released by the cryogenic fluid escape from internal volume 38 to the outside by way of ventilation orifices 114 and opening 42 of neck 40) that communicates with an aperture in the upper lid portion (the upper end of orifice 56 opening at upper face 28 of cover 20 and obturable by closing stopper 62) (¶¶ 0043, 0049–0051, 0053, 0063–0064, 0066; figs. 2, 3, 5);
wherein the cryogenic Dewar vessel (12) is configured to receive liquid nitrogen (cryogenic fluid poured through the top into internal volume 38 by way of the upper opening defined by flange 98) therein to be absorbed by the absorbent material (92) to cool the payload chamber (interior of carrier tube 94 receiving the biological products conserved at very low temperature) (¶¶ 0057–0058, 0067, 0072–0073; fig. 5).
Cognard does not explicitly teach one or more temperature sensors configured to sense a temperature in the payload chamber; circuitry configured to communicate with the one or more temperature sensors and to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device; a visual display configured to selectively display information in one or more screens; and a button or touch screen manually actuatable by a user to cause circuitry electrically connected to the visual display to change the screen displayed on the visual display.
However, Bollinger teaches an electronic shipping label (100) mounted on the outside of a shipping container for the cryogenic shipment of live cell bio-materials, vaccines and tissues, the electronic shipping label (100) comprising one or more sensors (110) that include a temperature sensor that measures the temperature within the shipping container (¶¶ 0003, 0040, 0047; figs. 1A, 1B); one or more processors (104) and a communication device (108) that includes one or more of a Wi-Fi unit, a Bluetooth unit, an RFID tag or reader, or a cellular network unit, the communication device (108) transmitting data to and receiving data from an electronic device (202) and a web portal (204) over a network (206) that may be a cellular network, a local area network, a wide area network or the Internet, the electronic device (202) itself having a sensor (214) such as a temperature sensor to obtain temperature data of the shipping container and a Global Positioning System device (¶¶ 0041–0043, 0049–0051, 0053–0054; fig. 2); a user interface (106) having a display (116) that displays shipping information, sensor data and notifications, that displays the temperature within the shipping container, and that may be apportioned into sections (118a–c) so as to display multiple electronic image files simultaneously, the display (116) further displaying history and statistics of the sensor data collected (¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0044–0045; figs. 1A, 1B); and one or more buttons (114a–b), which may be a physical user interface element in proximity to the display (116) or a user interface element on a touch-screen display, such that when the user interface (106) receives a selection of one of the buttons (114a–b) the electronic shipping label (100) switches, toggles, changes or otherwise displays a different electronic image file on the display (116) (¶¶ 0021, 0037, 0046, 0071–0073; figs. 1A, 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transportation and storage device of Cognard by providing the temperature sensor, processor and communication device, display and toggle buttons of the electronic shipping label of Bollinger, in order to obtain the benefits expressly identified by Bollinger, namely to permit the temperature within the shipping container to be monitored and displayed in real time during transit so that the health of the container and its payload can be verified against a preselected criterion (Bollinger ¶¶ 0012, 0015, 0017, 0022, 0037), to eliminate the paper documentation that must otherwise be printed and applied for each shipping leg and thereby reduce paper waste and the risk of the commodity being shipped to the wrong address (Bollinger ¶¶ 0019–0020, 0036), and to allow a user to access additional information by toggling through the various screen images (Bollinger ¶ 0037). Cognard is directed to the transport and storage of biological products such as gametes, embryos, viruses, vaccines and medical samples that must be conserved at very low temperature by liquid nitrogen (Cognard ¶ 0072), which is the very application Bollinger identifies as being especially well suited to its electronic shipping label (Bollinger ¶ 0003); Cognard further contemplates that the transported product will be controlled by customs departments during transit (Cognard ¶ 0069), for which the displayed shipping documentation of Bollinger is of direct benefit. The combination is nothing more than the use of a known monitoring and display technique to improve a similar device in the same way, yielding no more than the predictable result of a cryogenic shipping container whose internal temperature and shipping information can be monitored and displayed during transit. See MPEP § 2143(I)(C), (D).
The modified Cognard teaches that the two walls of its insulating bulb are separated by a void (Cognard ¶¶ 0003, 0008, 0012, 0042), but does not explicitly teach that the Dewar vessel is vacuum insulated relative to the vessel.
However, Mullens teaches a portable, insulated shipping container (1) for shipping biologicals at cryogenic temperatures, comprising an outer shipping container shell (40) having a base (41), a side wall (42) and a top wall (43) (col. 6 l. 66 – col. 7 l. 14; figs. 1, 2); a dewar vessel (2) held within the outer shipping container shell (40) by a support assembly (50) and having an outer casing (3) and an inner vessel (13) each having openings at their tops connected together by a neck portion (21) forming an evacuable space (5) between the outer casing (3) and the inner vessel (13), the evacuable space (5) being evacuated and thereafter accessible only through nipple 8 and being occupied by a layer of super insulation (9), such that the dewar vessel (2) is vacuum insulated within and relative to the outer shipping container shell (40) (col. 9 ll. 20–47; col. 5 ll. 40–47; figs. 1–3); a specimen chamber (70) held within the inner vessel (13) and having a side wall (71) and a base (72) of open-celled porous thermoplastic material through which liquid cryogen passes into the plastic foam and through which vapor phase cryogen passes back into the specimen chamber (col. 9 ll. 41–48; col. 11 ll. 30–48); and a plastic foam (30), preferably an open-cell phenolic foam having a free volume of between approximately 85% and 95%, held within the inner vessel (13) between the inner wall (15) of the inner vessel and the specimen chamber (70) and occupying substantially all of the volume therebetween, which retains a normal charge of liquid nitrogen by absorption, adsorption and surface tension and holds that charge in a dry vapor state regardless of the container's spatial orientation (col. 9 l. 50 – col. 10 l. 16; col. 11 ll. 49–58; figs. 2, 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct the double-walled insulating bulb of Cognard as the vacuum-insulated dewar vessel of Mullens, held within the outer packaging shell, in order to obtain the low thermal in-leak and correspondingly extended hold time that Mullens attributes to the evacuated space and multilayer super insulation between the outer casing and the inner vessel (Mullens col. 9 ll. 20–47; col. 2 ll. 40–52), thereby maintaining the payload at cryogenic temperature for the ten-day shipping period demanded by the art (Mullens col. 1 ll. 40–48). Cognard itself teaches that the insulating properties of its bulb depend upon the vacuum between the walls being maintained (Cognard ¶ 0008), and thus expressly invites a vacuum-insulated construction.
Alternatively, and to the extent Applicant contends that the control component (70) and the closing component (94) of Cognard are components carried by the cover rather than an inner vessel included in the Dewar vessel, or that the orifice (56) of Cognard is a filling orifice rather than a vent channel, claims 1–5, 7, 9 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard in view of Bollinger, Mullens and O'Connell et al. (US 3,238,002), in which case the inner vessel and the vent channel are mapped as set forth in the following paragraphs, all remaining limitations being mapped as set forth above.
As to the inner vessel having one or more openings in a wall that defines a payload chamber and an absorbent material disposed about the inner vessel, Mullens teaches a dewar vessel (2) having an inner vessel (13) that holds a specimen chamber (70) formed in a single piece construction with a base (72) connected to a cylindrically shaped side wall (71) having a top opening (73), the side wall (71) and the base (72) being of an open-celled porous thermoplastic material such as an aerated polypropylene foam whose open cells constitute openings through which liquid cryogen passes out of the specimen chamber (70) into the plastic foam (30) and through which cryogen in a vaporous state passes back into the specimen chamber (70), the wall of the specimen chamber (70) further acting as a filter to prevent particles or fragments of the plastic foam (30) from entering the specimen chamber (70), and the plastic foam (30) being held between the inner wall (15) of the inner vessel (13) and the specimen chamber (70) and occupying substantially all of the volume therebetween (col. 9 ll. 41–48; col. 11 ll. 30–58; figs. 2, 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the payload-receiving carrier tube of Cognard as the porous-walled specimen chamber of Mullens surrounded by the cryogen-retaining foam, in order to obtain the accelerated charging that Mullens attributes to that construction, the plastic foam absorbing liquid nitrogen up to six times faster than previously used materials because the cryogen passes into the foam along the entire length of the specimen chamber side wall (Mullens col. 10 ll. 1–6; col. 11 ll. 49–58), and in order to filter fragments of the absorbent out of the payload space (Mullens col. 11 ll. 38–44) — a contamination problem expressly identified in the art (Mullens col. 2 ll. 16–22).
As to the elongate lid portion having a vent channel that communicates with an aperture in the upper lid portion, O'Connell teaches an insulated container (1) for transporting materials requiring refrigeration by liquid nitrogen, the container (1) being fitted with a low heat conductive plug (9) that extends into the otherwise open top of the container (1) adjacent the inner vessel (3) and serves as a sealing means for preventing heat in-leak, a cap (15) that covers and protects the sealing means and that can be integrally bonded together with the plug (9), and a gasket (14) provided between the cap (15) and the outer wall (2), the plug (9) being provided with lower gas escape passages (20) and upper gas escape passages (21) that describe an angle of about 45 degrees with one another, such that vaporized liquid nitrogen escaping from the inner vessel (3) passes between the inner vessel (3) and the plug (9), into the lower gas escape passages (20), then along the upper gas escape passages (21) and out through the openings (22) in the gasket (14) carried at the cap (15) (col. 2 ll. 36–75; figs. 1, 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the tubular element (50) depending from the cover of Cognard with the angled gas escape passages of the plug of O'Connell venting out through an opening at the cap, in order to prevent excessive pressures from building up in the container as O'Connell teaches (col. 2 ll. 73–75) while making maximum use of the cooling effect of the escaping nitrogen gas on the plug (col. 2 ll. 63–68). Both references are directed to the same problem of venting an open-to-atmosphere cryogenic shipping vessel charged with an absorbed cryogen, and Cognard already provides ventilation means (114) for the evacuation of the gases progressively released by the cryogenic fluid during transport (Cognard ¶¶ 0063–0064).
In regard to claim 2, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 1 wherein the one or more screens includes one or more of a home screen, a screen displaying a shipping label (electronic image file rendered on display 116 showing a shipping address, a return address, a bar code, an air-bill, a commercial invoice, a hazardous declaration sheet or a certificate of origin), a screen displaying a geographical trajectory of the cooler container (electronic image file generated from the sensor data and from the status of the electronic device 202, including the location of the shipping container determined by the Global Positioning System device of sensors 214 and reported for each leg of the shipping itinerary), and a screen displaying a temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time (display of the history and statistics of the sensor data collected, including the temperature within the shipping container) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0042, 0045, 0053, 0060, 0065–0066; figs. 1A, 2). As set forth in the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) above, this limitation is treated in the alternative, and the display of a screen showing a shipping label, alone, satisfies the claim.
In regard to claim 3, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 2 wherein the screen displaying the temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time includes one or both of a temperature history of a sensed temperature in the payload chamber (temperature within the shipping container obtained by temperature sensor 110/214 and displayed on display 116, together with the history and statistics of the sensor data collected) and a temperature history of an ambient temperature experienced by the cooler container over the period of time (electronic image files associated with sensor data including ambient temperature, ambient pressure, ambient humidity and ambient lighting) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0047, 0063, 0069).
In regard to claim 4, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 1 wherein the visual display (116) is operable to cycle through the one or more screens via actuation of the button or touch screen (114a–b), the electronic image files being ordered such that depression of the physical button or of the user interface element on the touch-screen display signals the electronic shipping label (100) to toggle to the next electronic image file in the ordered sequence of the multiple electronic image files (Bollinger ¶¶ 0046, 0068, 0071–0073; figs. 1A, 5).
In regard to claim 5, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 1 wherein the button or touch screen (114a–b) is manually actuatable by a user to cause the circuitry (processor 104 and communication device 108) electrically connected to the visual display (116) to one or both of a) automatically switch a sender and a recipient information on a shipping label displayed on the visual display to facilitate return of the portable cryogenic cooler container to a sender (the electronic shipping label automatically switching images to show the next shipping label associated with the next shipping leg, including the return leg to the reprocessing center for which a return-leg label is otherwise required, and displaying in one section 118a the return address, whereby no coordination is needed between the origin and destination sites to change out paperwork) and b) automatically wirelessly send a signal to a shipping carrier to alert the shipping carrier that the portable cryogenic cooler container is ready for pickup (the electronic device 202 signaling the web portal 204, which is integrated with the shipper's information technology and which places the order for the next shipping leg and updates the shipping itinerary) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0013, 0016, 0018, 0036, 0045, 0064, 0066, 0071–0073). As recited in the alternative, teaching of either alternative a) or alternative b) satisfies the claim.
In regard to claim 7, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 1 wherein the circuitry (processor 104 and communication device 108) comprises a cell radio antenna (cellular network unit of communication device 108 for accessing a cellular network such as 3G, 4G or 5G, which necessarily includes a cellular radio antenna in order to transmit to and receive from the cellular network) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0043, 0049; fig. 1B). In the alternative, the provision of a cellular antenna in a device having a cellular network unit is an obvious and necessary incident of such a unit to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In regard to claim 9, the modified Cognard teaches an empty buffer space between the suspended bulb and the packaging structure (Cognard ¶¶ 0017, 0044), but does not explicitly teach insulation material disposed between the vessel and the cryogenic Dewar vessel.
However, Mullens teaches a support assembly (50) for holding the dewar vessel (2) within the outer shipping container shell (40), the support assembly (50) being made up of several different pieces of lightweight, shock-absorbing foam material and having a bottom portion (51) in contact with the base (41) to protect the bottom of the dewar vessel (2), side rib portions (52) in contact with the side wall (42) to protect the sides of the dewar vessel (2), and a top portion (53) to protect the top of the dewar vessel (2), the support assembly (50) in an alternative embodiment being a unitary plastic material that is injected or poured into the shipping container shell to fill the available space (col. 7 ll. 44–58; col. 4 ll. 16–22; figs. 1, 2), the shipping container shell (40) itself being formed of a lightweight but rigid low density polyethylene that helps to provide shock and impact resistance (col. 6 l. 66 – col. 7 l. 3), and the dewar vessel (2) being additionally stabilized by spray foam (61, 62) about the funnel-shaped vessel plate (60) (col. 8 ll. 6–9; fig. 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dispose the foam support and insulation material of Mullens between the packaging structure and the insulating bulb of Cognard, in order to hold the Dewar vessel securely within the shell in a fixed position and to provide impact and vibration resistance to the Dewar vessel in any spatial orientation (Mullens col. 8 ll. 11–15; col. 7 ll. 44–58) — the very vulnerability to shock and falls that Cognard identifies as the problem to be solved (Cognard ¶¶ 0008–0010) — and to reduce heat in-leak to the Dewar vessel from ambient.
In regard to claim 12, the modified Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 1 further comprising one or more temperature sensors (sensors 110 of the electronic shipping label 100 and sensors 214 of the electronic device 202, including an environmental sensor that measures the environmental condition and the ambient conditions of the shipping container) configured to sense ambient temperature and to communicate with the circuitry (processor 104, which obtains the sensor data and provides it to the display 116 and to the web portal 204) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0042, 0047, 0053, 0063, 0069).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard, Bollinger and Mullens as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wolff (US 5,904,269).
In regard to claim 8, and treating the claim as reciting further comprising one or more handles as set forth in the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) above, Cognard in view of Bollinger and Mullens teaches the portable cryogenic cooler container of claim 1, wherein Mullens further teaches one or more handles (44) molded into the side wall (42) of the outer shipping container shell (40), the side wall (42) including a top side wall (42a) having a top opening (42b) that is covered by the top wall (43) when the top wall is in the closed position (col. 7 ll. 33–44; figs. 1, 2), but does not explicitly teach one or more handles with a handle opening in the vessel that communicates with a handle opening in the lid.
However, Wolff teaches a container and lid assembly comprising a container (10) having side walls (16), each side wall (16) containing a depression (26) disposed within the approximate center of the side wall (16) and notches (33) within the depression (26) having apertures (31), and a handle member (44) pivotally retained in the apertures (31) within the depression (26), an upper portion of the handle member (44) containing a slot (50) for allowing a user's hand to pass through the handle member (44) when the user elects to carry the container (10); and a lid (12) having a top wall (20) and side walls (22), the lid side walls (22) also containing a depression (34), the depressions (26, 34) disposed in the container (10) and the lid (12) respectively being oriented such that when the lid (12) is located on top of the container (10) the depressions (26, 34) are aligned, and the lid top wall (20) further containing generally U-shaped recesses (40) disposed adjacent the outer edges of the lid side walls (22) and dimensioned such that a user's hand can easily be received in and conform to the recess (40) after the user's hand passes through the slot (50) of the handle member (44), the open end of each recess (40) being aligned with the depression (34) (description of figs. 1–4 and 7; claims 14, 19 and 21; figs. 1–7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange the handle of the container shell of Mullens and a corresponding opening in the lid so that the two communicate, in the manner taught by Wolff, in order that the lid not obstruct the user's grip and that the user's hand, having passed through the handle, be received in the aligned opening of the lid, thereby providing a positive grasping surface on a heavy, cryogen-charged shipping container without causing the handle or lid structure to protrude outwardly beyond the container walls where it would be susceptible to damage during storage and handling (Wolff, background and description of figs. 1–7). The combination is the application of a known handle-and-lid arrangement to a known portable container to yield the predictable result of a container that can be carried with the lid in place. See MPEP § 2143(I)(A).
In the alternative, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old and well known in the portable insulated container art to provide a carrying handle recess or opening in the side wall of a container body that registers or communicates with a corresponding handle recess or opening in the container lid, so that the lid does not obstruct the user's grip and the two openings cooperate to form a single hand-receiving space when the lid is closed, and that the particular placement of a known handle opening relative to the lid is a matter of obvious engineering design that produces no unexpected result. See MPEP § 2144.03 and MPEP § 2144.04(VI)(C).
Claims 13–17, 19, 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard (US 2012/0211498 A1) in view of Bollinger (US 2019/0303862 A1).
In regard to claim 13, Cognard teaches a portable cryogenic cooler container (transportation and/or storage device 10) comprising:
a vessel (external packaging structure 14 comprising cylindrical wall 18, lower horizontal wall 22 forming the bottom, and detachable cover 20, the walls defining internal volume 16) (¶¶ 0040–0041; figs. 1, 5);
a cryogenic Dewar vessel (double-walled insulating bulb 12 having body 32 formed by outer wall 34 and inner wall 36 separated by a void and defining internal volume 38) within the vessel (14) and including an inner vessel (tubular body 76 of control component 70, which receives closing component 94 constituting the carrier tube in which the transported product is lodged) having one or more openings (holes 82 of control component 70; holes 112 of closing component 94, distributed circumferentially and vertically in staggered rows) in a wall (cylindrical wall 80) that defines a payload chamber (interior volume of the carrier tube in which the product to be transported or stored is received) and an absorbent material (absorption means 92 of polyurethane foam or phenolic foam, in flakes or expanded form, which absorb the cryogenic fluid at the time of filling like a sponge) disposed about the inner vessel (76) (¶¶ 0003, 0042, 0054, 0057–0058, 0060, 0062, 0070, 0072; figs. 4A, 4B, 5);
a lid (detachable cover 20 of packaging structure 14, engaged with upper edge 118 of drum 18 by complementary edge 120) operable to close the vessel (14) and having an upper lid portion (upper horizontal face 28 of cover 20, including upper block 52 of tubular element 50) and an elongate lid portion (central tubular element 50, including lower block 54) extending from the upper lid portion (28/52), the elongate lid portion (50) configured to extend into the vessel (14) and adjacent the cryogenic Dewar vessel (12) — lower block 54 extending at least partly through upper opening 42 and penetrating into bulb 12 in the area of neck 40 — when the upper lid portion (28) is adjacent the vessel (14), the elongate lid portion (50) having a vent channel (orifice 56 defined by tubular element 50, which leads into internal volume 38 and progressively flares out downwardly from upper edge 58, and through which the gases progressively released by the cryogenic fluid escape from internal volume 38 to the outside by way of ventilation orifices 114 and opening 42 of neck 40) that communicates with an aperture in the upper lid portion (the upper end of orifice 56 opening at upper face 28 of cover 20 and obturable by closing stopper 62) (¶¶ 0043, 0049–0051, 0053, 0063–0064, 0066; figs. 2, 3, 5);
wherein the cryogenic Dewar vessel (12) is configured to receive liquid nitrogen (cryogenic fluid poured through the top into internal volume 38 by way of the upper opening defined by flange 98) therein to be absorbed by the absorbent material (92) to cool the payload chamber (interior of carrier tube 94 receiving the biological products conserved at very low temperature) (¶¶ 0057–0058, 0067, 0072–0073; fig. 5).
Cognard does not explicitly teach one or more temperature sensors configured to sense a temperature in the payload chamber; circuitry configured to communicate with the one or more temperature sensors and to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device; a visual display configured to selectively display information in one or more screens; and a button or touch screen manually actuatable by a user to cause circuitry electrically connected to the visual display to change the screen displayed on the visual display.
However, Bollinger teaches an electronic shipping label (100) mounted on the outside of a shipping container for the cryogenic shipment of live cell bio-materials, vaccines and tissues, the electronic shipping label (100) comprising one or more sensors (110) that include a temperature sensor that measures the temperature within the shipping container (¶¶ 0003, 0040, 0047; figs. 1A, 1B); one or more processors (104) and a communication device (108) that includes one or more of a Wi-Fi unit, a Bluetooth unit, an RFID tag or reader, or a cellular network unit, the communication device (108) transmitting data to and receiving data from an electronic device (202) and a web portal (204) over a network (206) that may be a cellular network, a local area network, a wide area network or the Internet, the electronic device (202) itself having a sensor (214) such as a temperature sensor to obtain temperature data of the shipping container and a Global Positioning System device (¶¶ 0041–0043, 0049–0051, 0053–0054; fig. 2); a user interface (106) having a display (116) that displays shipping information, sensor data and notifications, that displays the temperature within the shipping container, and that may be apportioned into sections (118a–c) so as to display multiple electronic image files simultaneously, the display (116) further displaying history and statistics of the sensor data collected (¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0044–0045; figs. 1A, 1B); and one or more buttons (114a–b), which may be a physical user interface element in proximity to the display (116) or a user interface element on a touch-screen display, such that when the user interface (106) receives a selection of one of the buttons (114a–b) the electronic shipping label (100) switches, toggles, changes or otherwise displays a different electronic image file on the display (116) (¶¶ 0021, 0037, 0046, 0071–0073; figs. 1A, 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transportation and storage device of Cognard by providing the temperature sensor, processor and communication device, display and toggle buttons of the electronic shipping label of Bollinger, in order to obtain the benefits expressly identified by Bollinger, namely to permit the temperature within the shipping container to be monitored and displayed in real time during transit so that the health of the container and its payload can be verified against a preselected criterion (Bollinger ¶¶ 0012, 0015, 0017, 0022, 0037), to eliminate the paper documentation that must otherwise be printed and applied for each shipping leg and thereby reduce paper waste and the risk of the commodity being shipped to the wrong address (Bollinger ¶¶ 0019–0020, 0036), and to allow a user to access additional information by toggling through the various screen images (Bollinger ¶ 0037). Cognard is directed to the transport and storage of biological products such as gametes, embryos, viruses, vaccines and medical samples that must be conserved at very low temperature by liquid nitrogen (Cognard ¶ 0072), which is the very application Bollinger identifies as being especially well suited to its electronic shipping label (Bollinger ¶ 0003); Cognard further contemplates that the transported product will be controlled by customs departments during transit (Cognard ¶ 0069), for which the displayed shipping documentation of Bollinger is of direct benefit. The combination is nothing more than the use of a known monitoring and display technique to improve a similar device in the same way, yielding no more than the predictable result of a cryogenic shipping container whose internal temperature and shipping information can be monitored and displayed during transit. See MPEP § 2143(I)(C), (D).
Alternatively, and to the extent Applicant contends that the control component (70) and the closing component (94) of Cognard are components carried by the cover rather than an inner vessel included in the Dewar vessel, or that the orifice (56) of Cognard is a filling orifice rather than a vent channel, claims 13–17, 19, 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard in view of Bollinger, Mullens (US 6,467,642 B2) and O'Connell (US 3,238,002), in which case the inner vessel and the vent channel are mapped as set forth in the following paragraphs, all remaining limitations being mapped as set forth above.
As to the inner vessel having one or more openings in a wall that defines a payload chamber and an absorbent material disposed about the inner vessel, Mullens teaches a dewar vessel (2) having an inner vessel (13) that holds a specimen chamber (70) formed in a single piece construction with a base (72) connected to a cylindrically shaped side wall (71) having a top opening (73), the side wall (71) and the base (72) being of an open-celled porous thermoplastic material such as an aerated polypropylene foam whose open cells constitute openings through which liquid cryogen passes out of the specimen chamber (70) into the plastic foam (30) and through which cryogen in a vaporous state passes back into the specimen chamber (70), the wall of the specimen chamber (70) further acting as a filter to prevent particles or fragments of the plastic foam (30) from entering the specimen chamber (70), and the plastic foam (30) being held between the inner wall (15) of the inner vessel (13) and the specimen chamber (70) and occupying substantially all of the volume therebetween (col. 9 ll. 41–48; col. 11 ll. 30–58; figs. 2, 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the payload-receiving carrier tube of Cognard as the porous-walled specimen chamber of Mullens surrounded by the cryogen-retaining foam, in order to obtain the accelerated charging that Mullens attributes to that construction, the plastic foam absorbing liquid nitrogen up to six times faster than previously used materials because the cryogen passes into the foam along the entire length of the specimen chamber side wall (Mullens col. 10 ll. 1–6; col. 11 ll. 49–58), and in order to filter fragments of the absorbent out of the payload space (Mullens col. 11 ll. 38–44).
As to the elongate lid portion having a vent channel that communicates with an aperture in the upper lid portion, O'Connell teaches an insulated container (1) for transporting materials requiring refrigeration by liquid nitrogen, the container (1) being fitted with a low heat conductive plug (9) that extends into the otherwise open top of the container (1) adjacent the inner vessel (3) and serves as a sealing means for preventing heat in-leak, a cap (15) that covers and protects the sealing means and that can be integrally bonded together with the plug (9), and a gasket (14) provided between the cap (15) and the outer wall (2), the plug (9) being provided with lower gas escape passages (20) and upper gas escape passages (21) that describe an angle of about 45 degrees with one another, such that vaporized liquid nitrogen escaping from the inner vessel (3) passes between the inner vessel (3) and the plug (9), into the lower gas escape passages (20), then along the upper gas escape passages (21) and out through the openings (22) in the gasket (14) carried at the cap (15) (col. 2 ll. 36–75; figs. 1, 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the tubular element (50) depending from the cover of Cognard with the angled gas escape passages of the plug of O'Connell venting out through an opening at the cap, in order to prevent excessive pressures from building up in the container as O'Connell teaches (col. 2 ll. 73–75) while making maximum use of the cooling effect of the escaping nitrogen gas on the plug (col. 2 ll. 63–68). Cognard already provides ventilation means (114) for the evacuation of the gases progressively released by the cryogenic fluid during transport (Cognard ¶¶ 0063–0064), and the substitution of one known venting arrangement for another yields no more than the predictable result of a vented lid. See MPEP § 2143(I)(B).
In regard to claim 14, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 wherein the one or more screens includes one or more of a home screen, a screen displaying a shipping label (electronic image file rendered on display 116 showing a shipping address, a return address, a bar code, an air-bill, a commercial invoice, a hazardous declaration sheet or a certificate of origin), a screen displaying a geographical trajectory of the cooler container (electronic image file generated from the sensor data and from the status of the electronic device 202, including the location of the shipping container determined by the Global Positioning System device of sensors 214 and reported for each leg of the shipping itinerary), and a screen displaying a temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time (display of the history and statistics of the sensor data collected, including the temperature within the shipping container) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0042, 0045, 0053, 0060, 0065–0066; figs. 1A, 2). As set forth in ground (C) of the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) above, this limitation is treated in the alternative, and the display of a screen showing a shipping label, alone, satisfies the claim.
In regard to claim 15, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 14 wherein the screen displaying the temperature history of the cooler container over a period of time includes one or both of a temperature history of a sensed temperature in the payload chamber (temperature within the shipping container obtained by temperature sensor 110/214 and displayed on display 116, together with the history and statistics of the sensor data collected) and a temperature history of an ambient temperature experienced by the cooler container over the period of time (electronic image files associated with sensor data including ambient temperature, ambient pressure, ambient humidity and ambient lighting) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0022, 0037, 0047, 0063, 0069).
In regard to claim 16, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 wherein the visual display (116) is operable to cycle through the one or more screens via actuation of the button or touch screen (114a–b), the electronic image files being ordered such that depression of the physical button or of the user interface element on the touch-screen display signals the electronic shipping label (100) to toggle to the next electronic image file in the ordered sequence of the multiple electronic image files (Bollinger ¶¶ 0046, 0068, 0071–0073; figs. 1A, 5).
In regard to claim 17, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 wherein the button or touch screen (114a–b) is manually actuatable by a user to cause the circuitry (processor 104 and communication device 108) electrically connected to the visual display (116) to one or both of a) automatically switch a sender and a recipient information on a shipping label displayed on the visual display to facilitate return of the portable cryogenic cooler container to a sender (the electronic shipping label automatically switching images to show the next shipping label associated with the next shipping leg, including the return leg to the reprocessing center for which a return-leg label is otherwise required, and displaying in one section 118a the return address, whereby no coordination is needed between the origin and destination sites to change out paperwork) and b) automatically wirelessly send a signal to a shipping carrier to alert the shipping carrier that the portable cryogenic cooler container is ready for pickup (the electronic device 202 signaling the web portal 204, which is integrated with the shipper's information technology and which places the order for the next shipping leg and updates the shipping itinerary) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0013, 0016, 0018, 0036, 0045, 0064, 0066, 0071–0073). As recited in the alternative, teaching of either alternative a) or alternative b) satisfies the claim.
In regard to claim 19, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 wherein the circuitry (processor 104 and communication device 108) comprises a cell radio antenna (cellular network unit of communication device 108 for accessing a cellular network such as 3G, 4G or 5G, which necessarily includes a cellular radio antenna in order to transmit to and receive from the cellular network) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0043, 0049; fig. 1B). In the alternative, the provision of a cellular antenna in a device having a cellular network unit is an obvious and necessary incident of such a unit to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In regard to claim 24, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 further comprising one or more temperature sensors (sensors 110 of the electronic shipping label 100 and sensors 214 of the electronic device 202, including an environmental sensor that measures the environmental condition and the ambient conditions of the shipping container) configured to sense ambient temperature and to communicate with the circuitry (processor 104, which obtains the sensor data and provides it to the display 116 and to the web portal 204) (Bollinger ¶¶ 0042, 0047, 0053, 0063, 0069).
In regard to claim 25, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13 wherein the cryogenic Dewar vessel (double-walled insulating bulb 12) is insulated relative to the vessel (14), the bulb 12 being suspended by attachment means 48 so that it hangs freely in the space within internal volume 16 with no contact between outer wall 34 of the bulb 12 and the walls of the packaging structure 14, an empty buffer space being formed between the outer wall or the bottom of the bulb and the outer packaging structure (Cognard ¶¶ 0015, 0017, 0042, 0044, 0071; fig. 5).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard (US 2012/0211498 A1) in view of Bollinger (US 2019/0303862 A1) and further in view of Wolff (US 5,904,269).
In regard to claim 20, and treating the claim as reciting further comprising one or more handles as set forth in the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) above, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the portable cryogenic cooler container of claim 13, but does not explicitly teach one or more handles with a handle opening in the vessel that communicates with a handle opening in the lid.
However, Wolff teaches a container and lid assembly comprising a container (10) having side walls (16), each side wall (16) containing a depression (26) disposed within the approximate center of the side wall (16) and notches (33) within the depression (26) having apertures (31), and a handle member (44) pivotally retained in the apertures (31) within the depression (26), an upper portion of the handle member (44) containing a slot (50) for allowing a user's hand to pass through the handle member (44) when the user elects to carry the container (10); and a lid (12) having a top wall (20) and side walls (22), the lid side walls (22) also containing a depression (34), the depressions (26, 34) disposed in the container (10) and the lid (12) respectively being oriented such that when the lid (12) is located on top of the container (10) the depressions (26, 34) are aligned, and the lid top wall (20) further containing generally U-shaped recesses (40) disposed adjacent the outer edges of the lid side walls (22) and dimensioned such that a user's hand can easily be received in and conform to the recess (40) after the user's hand passes through the slot (50) of the handle member (44), the open end of each recess (40) being aligned with the depression (34) (description of figs. 1–4 and 7; original claims 14, 19 and 21; figs. 1–7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the external packaging structure (14) and the cover (20) of Cognard with the handle members and communicating container and lid handle openings of Wolff, in order that the lid not obstruct the user's grip and that the user's hand, having passed through the handle, be received in the aligned opening of the lid, thereby providing a positive grasping surface on a heavy, cryogen-charged shipping container without causing the handle or lid structure to protrude outwardly beyond the container walls where it would be susceptible to damage during storage and handling (Wolff, background and description of figs. 1–7). Cognard expressly contemplates that its cylindrical packaging structure (14) is a drum, cask or barrel that is handled and transported by air and other carriers (Cognard ¶¶ 0006, 0041), for which a carrying handle is of direct benefit.
In the alternative, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is old and well known in the portable insulated container art to provide a carrying handle recess or opening in the side wall of a container body that registers or communicates with a corresponding handle recess or opening in the container lid, so that the lid does not obstruct the user's grip and the two openings cooperate to form a single hand-receiving space when the lid is closed, and that the particular placement of a known handle opening relative to the lid is a matter of obvious engineering design that produces no unexpected result. See MPEP § 2144.03 and MPEP § 2144.04(VI)(C).
Claims 21 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cognard (US 2012/0211498 A1) in view of Bollinger (US 2019/0303862 A1) and further in view of Mullens (US 6,467,642 B2).
In regard to claim 21, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 13, wherein Cognard teaches an empty buffer space between the suspended bulb and the packaging structure (Cognard ¶¶ 0017, 0044), but does not explicitly teach insulation material disposed between the vessel and the cryogenic Dewar vessel.
However, Mullens teaches a support assembly (50) for holding the dewar vessel (2) within the outer shipping container shell (40), the support assembly (50) being made up of several different pieces of lightweight, shock-absorbing foam material and having a bottom portion (51) in contact with the base (41) to protect the bottom of the dewar vessel (2), side rib portions (52) in contact with the side wall (42) to protect the sides of the dewar vessel (2), and a top portion (53) to protect the top of the dewar vessel (2), the support assembly (50) in an alternative embodiment being a unitary plastic material that is injected or poured into the shipping container shell to fill the available space (col. 7 ll. 44–58; col. 4 ll. 16–22; figs. 1, 2), the shipping container shell (40) itself being formed of a lightweight but rigid low density polyethylene that helps to provide shock and impact resistance (col. 6 l. 66 – col. 7 l. 3), and the dewar vessel (2) being additionally stabilized by spray foam (61, 62) about the funnel-shaped vessel plate (60) (col. 8 ll. 6–9; fig. 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dispose the foam support and insulation material of Mullens between the packaging structure and the insulating bulb of Cognard, in order to hold the Dewar vessel securely within the shell in a fixed position and to provide impact and vibration resistance to the Dewar vessel in any spatial orientation (Mullens col. 8 ll. 11–15; col. 7 ll. 44–58) — the very vulnerability to shock and falls that Cognard identifies as the problem to be solved (Cognard ¶¶ 0008–0010) — and to reduce heat in-leak to the Dewar vessel from ambient. The use of a known foam packing material to protect and insulate a cryogenic vessel within an outer shipping shell yields no more than the predictable result of a better protected and better insulated shipper.
In regard to claim 26, Cognard in view of Bollinger teaches the cooler container of claim 25, wherein Cognard teaches that the two walls of its insulating bulb are separated by a void and that a rupture of the connecting ring causes the vacuum between the walls to be lost, whereupon the bulb loses its insulation properties (Cognard ¶¶ 0003, 0008, 0012, 0042)m but does not explicitly teach that the cryogenic Dewar vessel is vacuum insulated relative to the vessel.
However, Mullens teaches a dewar vessel (2) held within an outer shipping container shell (40) by a support assembly (50), the dewar vessel (2) having an outer casing (3) and an inner vessel (13) each having openings at their tops connected together by a neck portion (21) forming an evacuable space (5) between the outer casing (3) and the inner vessel (13), the evacuable space (5) being evacuated and thereafter accessible only through nipple 8 and being occupied by a layer of super insulation (9), such that the dewar vessel (2) is vacuum insulated within and relative to the outer shipping container shell (40) (col. 9 ll. 20–47; col. 5 ll. 40–47; col. 7 ll. 44–58; figs. 1–3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct the double-walled insulating bulb of Cognard as the vacuum-insulated dewar vessel of Mullens, held within the outer packaging shell, in order to obtain the low thermal in-leak and correspondingly extended hold time that Mullens attributes to the evacuated space and multilayer super insulation between the outer casing and the inner vessel (Mullens col. 9 ll. 20–47; col. 2 ll. 40–52), thereby maintaining the payload at cryogenic temperature for the ten-day shipping period demanded by the art (Mullens col. 1 ll. 40–48). Cognard itself teaches that the insulating properties of its bulb depend upon the vacuum between the walls being maintained (Cognard ¶ 0008), and thus expressly invites a vacuum-insulated construction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEBESHET MENGESHA whose telephone number is (571)270-1793. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7-4, alternate Fridays, EST. 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, Frantz Jules can be reached at 571-272-6681. 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.
/W.M/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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