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 § 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, 8, 10, 13-14, 17-18, 21, 24, 29, 33, 40, 42, 54-55, 57-58, 62-64, 66, 70, 86, 90 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gordon (US 10517267) in view of Caldwell (US 9061796).
Regarding claims 2, 13, 63-64, Gordon discloses a container suitable for storing a food for an animal therein, the container comprising:
a) a container base (base of elements 20A, 20B) defining a food cavity (interior of elements 20A, 20B) configured to retain food therein, wherein the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B) includes:
i) a storage portion (20A, 20B) having a bottom wall (bottom wall of elements 20A, 20B) and one or more side walls (side walls of elements 20A, 20B) which define the food cavity (interior of elements 20A, 20B);
ii) one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174); and
b) a lid (24A, 24B) removably affixed to the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B), wherein the lid (24A, 24B) includes a handling portion (leading edge of elements 24A, 24B) which includes a bottom surface (bottom surface of elements 24A, 24B) of the lid (24A, 24B) which is exposed from the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) such that a leading edge (leading edge of elements 24A, 24B, Figs. 17A-E) is accessible, wherein the leading edge is an edge (leading edge of elements 24A, 24B) of the lid (24A, 24B) which is configured to be peeled or otherwise removed from the container first (Figs. 17A-E) and wherein a trailing edge (trailing edge of elements 24A, 24B, Figs. 17A-E) is an edge of the lid which is peeled last (Figs. 17A-E); and
c) one or more seal members (174) which removably affix the lid (24A, 24B) to the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B), wherein the one or more seal members (174) include, two or more stress rise features which are portion (41, Column 9 lines 42-57) of the one or more seal members (174) formed as a tapered point, wherein at least one stress rise feature (41, Column 9 lines 42-57) is located adjacent to and/or at the leading edge (leading edge of elements 24A, 24B) and at least another stress feature (41, Column 9 lines 42-57) is located adjacent to and/or at the trailing edge (trailing edge of elements 24A, 24B, Figs. 17A-E), but does not expressly disclose one or more lid access features formed as one or more indentations in the one or more flanges, wherein the one or more seal members has a cross-sectional or plan shape which is substantially lemon-shaped, diamond-shaped, or both.
However, Caldwell discloses a similar container device (20) having one or more lid access features formed as one or more indentations (the indentions in the flange portion at element 72 in Figure 10) in the one or more flanges (26) and wherein the one or more seal members (72) has a cross-sectional or plan shape which is substantially lemon-shaped (lemon-shaped, Fig. 7), diamond-shaped, or both.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Gordon, by making the one or more lid access features formed as one or more indentations in the one or more flanges, wherein the one or more seal members has a cross-sectional or plan shape which is substantially lemon-shaped, as taught by Caldwell, for the purpose of providing a peel-initiator at the edge of the non-bonded region to materially enhance the ease with which the lid portion can be removed from the container.
Regarding claim 8, Gordon discloses wherein the two or more stress rise features (41, Column 9 lines 42-57) allow for a less pulling force to initiate peeling of the lid (24A, 24B) off the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B) and/or finalize peeling of the lid (24A, 24B) than without the presence of the two or more stress rise features (41, Column 9 lines 42-57).
Regarding claim 10, Gordon discloses wherein the two or more stress rise features (41, Column 9 lines 42-57) are one or more vertices (Figs. 17A-E) of the one or more seal members (174) at opposing axial ends of the one or more seal members (174).
Regarding claim 14, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more seal members (174) is an adhesive separate from the lid (24A, 24B) and the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B), a formed joint between the lid (24A, 24B) and the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B), or both.
Regarding claim 17, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more side walls (side walls of element 20A, 20B) taper away (walls taper outward from bottom to top of container, Fig. 17A) from the bottom wall (bottom wall of element 20A, 20B) such that a width of the food cavity (interior of element 20A, 20B) toward the bottom wall (bottom wall of element 20A, 20B) is narrower than a width of the food cavity (interior of element 20A, 20B) toward a rim (top portion at lid element 24A, 24B).
Regarding claims 18, 21, 24, Gordon discloses the invention substantially as set forth above, but does not expressly disclose wherein the angle is about 95 degrees or greater to about 120 degrees or less, wherein the height of the container base is about 2 cm or greater to about 7 cm or less and wherein the radius of curvature is about 5 mm or greater to about 15 mm or less.
However, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to contrive any number of desirable ranges for the angle of the side walls relative to the bottom wall, the height of the container base and the radius of curvature where the side walls join the bottom wall in order to provide a container shaped and sized to fit and be used within a feeding assembly, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 29, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more side walls (side walls of element 20A, 20B) of the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B) have a cross-section or a plan shape which is substantially reciprocal (Figs. 17A-E) with that of the bottom wall (bottom wall of elements 20A, 20B) of the container base (base of elements 20A, 20B).
Regarding claim 33, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) are about the one or more side walls (side walls of element 20A, 20B) and project substantially laterally away (Figs. 17A-E) from the one or more side walls (side walls of element 20A, 20B).
Regarding claim 40, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) have a cross-sectional or a plan shape (Figs. 17A-E) dissimilar to that of the one or more seal members (174), the bottom wall (bottom of element 20A, 20B), and the one or more side walls (side walls of element 20A, 20B).
Regarding claim 42, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) include one or more lid reinforcing features (22A, 22B); wherein the one or more lid reinforcing features (22A, 22B) include a portion of the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) adhered to the lid (24A, 24B); and wherein the one or more lid reinforcing features (22A, 22B) are a portion of the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) which provide for an extension (Figs. 17A-E) which projects away from the storage portion further than a remainder of the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174).
Regarding claims 54-55, Gordon discloses wherein the container base (base of element 20A, 20B) is comprised of one or more food grade materials (Column 2 line 67 – Column 3 line 7).
Regarding claim 57, Gordon discloses wherein the lid (24A, 24B) does not extend beyond a majority of the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174) of the container (Fig. 17A).
Regarding claim 58, Gordon discloses wherein the lid (24A, 24B) has a cross-sectional or plan shape (Figs. 17A-E) dissimilar to that of the one or more seal members (174), the bottom wall (bottom wall of element 20A, 20B), and the one or more side walls (side walls of elements 20A, 20B).
Regarding claim 62, Gordon discloses wherein the lid (24A, 24B) has a rounded shaped (each of the 4 corners of the lid are rounded having a rounded shape, Figs. 17A-E) which comes to a blunt surface (the leading edge of the lid has a flat blunt surface, Figs. 17A-E) at the leading edge (leading edge of the lid, Figs. 17A-E) of the lid (24A, 24B).
Regarding claim 66, Gordon discloses wherein the container (20A, 20B) includes one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented or concaved); wherein the one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented, flat or concaved) are configured to aid incorrect placement of the container (20A, 20B) within a feeding assembly (Fig. 1), container magazine, or both; wherein the one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented, flat or concaved) are associated with a unique geometry (Figs. 17A-E) of an exterior of the container (20A, 20B); and wherein the one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented, flat or concaved) are one or more changes in contour (Figs. 17A-E) in one or more portions of the container base.
Regarding claim 70, Gordon discloses wherein the one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented, flat or concaved) include one or more concave portions (22B, Figs. 17D-E), convex portions, protrusions, indentations, flat surface (flat surface of flanges, Figs. 17A-E), straight edges, or any combination thereof; and wherein the one or more keying features (features on element 22A, 22B which are indented or concaved) refer to an overall shape of the one or more flanges (the upper lip portion of container elements 20A, 20B at elements 41 and 174), a two dimensional shape of the one or more flanges, or both.
Regarding claim 86, 90, Gordon discloses wherein the container includes one or more identifiers which are configured to identify one or more parameters related to the container, the food, or both; wherein the identifier includes one or more visual identifiers, signal identifiers, or both; wherein the one or more visual identifiers include one or more quick response ("QR") codes, bar codes, colored patterns, textures, surface reflectivity patterns, or a combination thereof; and wherein the one or more signal identifiers include one or more radio frequency identification tags ("RFID"), near-field communication ("NFC") tags, or a combination thereof, wherein the one or more identifiers are located on and/or in the lid, the container base, or both (Column 3 lines 52-63, Container 20 may have a readable code 17 (FIG. 17A) for recognizing the type of food/container (size, flavor, meat, vegetable, mixed variety, or any other defining feature) by the feeder, such as but not limited to, a bar code, QR code, codes with surrounding bars/rings, RFID, or a color coding for electro-optical color sensing (or any other type) or any proprietary code for distinguishing between different foods and/or containers, or an authentication code that the feeding system recognizes).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Examiner lists referenced documents on PTO-892 because the references present other/alternative or conceptual designs similar in scope that illustrate relevant features, which may demonstrate the level of novelty in comparison to Applicant’s inventive submission. The record relates to Applicant’s identified material and Examiner’s discovered references concerning Applicant’s subject matter relevant for a patentability determination.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON M RODZIWICZ whose telephone number is (571)272-6611. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Michener can be reached at (571) 272-1467. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AARON M RODZIWICZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3642
/MONICA L PERRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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