Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Benoit (US 8490804).
Regarding claim 1, Benoit disclose , A dispensing closure (10) for a container (15), said dispensing closure comprising: a closure body (20) having a deck (22) and a circumferential skirt (Fig. 3), wherein a dispensing orifice (90) is formed in the deck and a recess (See annotated fig. below)) is formed in the circumferential skirt, which recess has a deck-sided end (See annotated fig. below), a lid (30) which is hingedly connected to the closure body (20), the lid (30) having a closed state in which it covers the dispensing orifice (Fig. 1,2) and at least a part of the deck (Fig. 1,2), and having an open state (Fig. 3) in which it is swivelled away from the deck (22) about a hinging axis, such that a product can be dispensed from the container through the dispensing orifice (Fig. 3) , wherein a tamper-evident strip (40) extends over the deck-sided end of the recess (Fig. 2, 4) and is connected to the closure body (2) by at least one frangible connection (51), said tamper-evident strip (40) being coupled to the lid upon first-time closing of the lid (Para 43), such that the lid (30) is coupled to the closure body (20) via the tamper-evident strip (40), wherein the lid (30) includes a holding chamber (Space where 40 is stored; fig. 3) for the tamper- evident strip (40), which holding chamber receives the tamper-evident strip upon first- time closing and has an engagement member (38) adapted to move beyond and engage the tamper-evident strip (40) upon first-time closing, and which engagement member is adapted to hold the tamper-evident strip in the holding chamber when it is separated from the closure body (Fig. 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
492
516
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Benoit disclose, the lid (30) has a peripheral skirt (See annotated fig. below), and wherein the holding chamber is formed on an inner side of said peripheral skirt.
PNG
media_image2.png
317
486
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 8, Benoit disclose , A closure (10) for a container (15), said closure comprising: a closure body (20) having a top side (22) and a circumferential skirt (Fig. 3), wherein an opening (90) is formed in the top side and wherein a recess (See annotated fig. below)) is formed in the circumferential skirt, which recess has a top-sided end (See annotated fig. below), a lid (30) which is hingedly connected to the closure body (20), the lid (30) having a closed state in which it covers the opening (Fig. 1,2), and having an open state (Fig. 3) in which it is swivelled away from the top side (22) about a hinging axis, such that a product can be dispensed from the container through the dispensing opening (Fig. 3) , wherein a tamper-evident strip (40) extends over the top-sided end of the recess (Fig. 2, 4) and is connected to the closure body (2) by at least one frangible connection (51), said tamper-evident strip (40) being coupled to the lid upon first-time closing of the lid (Para 43), such that the lid (30) is coupled to the closure body (20) via the tamper-evident strip (40), wherein the lid (30) includes a holding chamber (Space where 40 is stored; fig. 3) for the tamper- evident strip (40), which holding chamber receives the tamper-evident strip upon first- time closing and has an engagement member (38) adapted to move beyond and engage the tamper-evident strip (40) upon first-time closing, and which engagement member is adapted to hold the tamper-evident strip in the holding chamber when it is separated from the closure body (Fig. 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-7 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
BARDET (EP 2114788) discloses a temper evident closure wherein temper evident is broken from a closure body and housed inside a lid in an open state.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANJIDUL ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)272-7670. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 -5:00.
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, Orlando E. Aviles can be reached at 571-270-5531. 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.
/SANJIDUL ISLAM/Examiner, Art Unit 3736
/ORLANDO E AVILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3736