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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Appla (U.S. Pat. 5,139,182).
Regarding claim 1, Appla discloses liquid flow stabilizer stopper (11) arranged to be associated to openings of bottles, thermos flasks and similar containers, comprising:
a stopper body (seen in Fig. 2) comprising a closed lower end (15a) and an open upper end (18a) for the outflow of liquid, wherein the stopper body is endowed circumferentially with openings (between 24 and 25), through which liquid can flow to an inside of the stopper, wherein the stopper is partially hollow and endowed internally with a flow stabilizer (col. 4, lines 59-64: “the edge of the circular valve disc 23 for passage of fluid, that is to say two-way flow of air ingress and liquid egress. The effect which is created by this design is air-liquid mixing or deflecting baffles for a more regulated fluid flow therethrough“) bulge (22) originating at the closed lower end and projecting longitudinally through the inside of the stopper (via ribs 24, 25), whereby configuring an annular internal space for the passage of liquid to the open upper end.
Regarding claim 2, Appla discloses that the stopper body has an external thread (17) which corresponds to the internal thread (14) of a mouth of an adapter secured to a container.
Regarding claim 5, Appla discloses that the openings of the stopper boedy are oblong in shape. (seen in Fig. 2, right side of the cross-section, opening is wider than taller)
Regarding claim 6, Appla discloses that the stopper has an external gasket (28).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Appla as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tajima, et al. (“Tajima”) (U.S. Pub. 2014/0312077).
Regarding claim 3, Appla discloses the stabilizer bulge from claim 1, but does not disclose that the bulge comprises, internally, a thermally-insulating material.
Tajima discloses a stopper (13) with a bulge (23) that has an internal thermally-insulating material (36). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Tajima to include a thermally-insulating material to Appla’s bulge to “allow the beverage inside the container body to be kept hot or cold.” (Tajima: ¶ [0061])
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Appla and Tajima as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Choltco-Devlin, et al. (“Choltco-Devlin”) (U.S. Pub. 2017/0362012).
Regarding claim 4, the combination discloses an internal thermally-insulating material but does not mention the materials of manufacture of the insulating material. Choltco-Devlin discloses a beverage container with insulated cover and teaches that styrofoam, polyurethane, polyethylene, fiberglass or other insulation material are known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teaching of Choltco-Devlin to select a block of styrofoam or polyurethane as the insulating material since it reduces the exchange of heat with the external environment. (Choltco-Devlin: ¶ [0014])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See form PTO-892, attached.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J MELARAGNO whose telephone number is (571)270-7735. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri: 8 am - 5 pm +/- flex.
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/MICHAEL J. MELARAGNO/ Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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