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 .
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, the tear strip along an interface between the panel portion and the rear wall 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
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 10, “teat” should be --tear--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1-3 and 5-9 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a tear strip arranged along an interface between the panel portion and the rear wall”. However, the drawings show the tear strip completely within the rear panel, not along an interface between the panel portion and the rear wall. By definition, an interface is a shared boundary. Accordingly, the position intended by the language “interface” is not clear.
For the purpose of examination, the position of the tear strip will be considered in light of the drawings.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the locking flap” in line 1. However, as claim 3 depends from claim 1 and the locking flap is introduced in claim 2, there is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim.
For the purpose of examination, the locking flap will be considered as defined in claim 2.
Claims 2 and 5-9 are rejected as being dependent on, and failing to cure the deficiencies of claim 1 above.
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, 5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Blin et al. (US 6,050,416 A, hereinafter Blin).
Regarding claim 1, Blin teaches a battery package comprising:
a container portion having a cavity for carrying one or more batteries (FIG. 2 and the like); and
a panel portion having an aperture for hanging from a hook when the battery package is used as a product-presentation package (FIG. 2 and the like); and
wherein the container portion includes a rear wall (portion of 20 adjacent fold line 36 and the like) extending from the panel portion in a coplanar manner (FIG. 1, 2 and the like); a bottom wall (18 and the like) extending orthogonally from the rear wall (FIG. 1, 2 and the like); a front wall (16 and the like) extending orthogonally from the bottom wall (FIG. 1, 2 and the like); a top wall (14 and the like) extending orthogonally from the front wall (FIG. 1, 2 and the like); and two side walls (22, 26 and the like) extending orthogonally from two sides of the rear wall respectively (FIG. 1, 2 and the like); and
wherein the container portion includes a tear strip (60 and the like) arranged along an interface between the panel portion and the rear wall such that when the tear strip is removed from the battery package, an opening is formed to allow a user to take out the batteries from the battery package (column 2 line 62-column 12 line 21 and FIG. 1-12).
Regarding claim 5, Blin teaches the package of claim 1 above, wherein the bottom wall has a trapezoidal shape with a longer parallel side connected to the front wall and a shorter parallel side connected to the rear wall (FIG. 1, 3).
Regarding claim 9, Blin teaches the package of claim 1 above, wherein the battery package is formed from a single folding cardboard (FIG. 1).
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 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blin, as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Fuchs (EP 1 188 682 A2).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Blin teaches the package of claim 1 above, but fails to teach the container portion includes a locking flap formed in a central region of the rear wall, wherein when the tear strip is removed from the battery package, the panel portion is configurable to be flipped over the container portion and the locking flap is configurable to mate with the aperture to sustain the panel portion and container portion in place after the panel portion is flipped over the container portion such that the battery package is convertible from a product-presentation package to a compact storage package.
Fuchs teaches an analogous package including a container portion (2, 4), a panel portion (1) having a hanging aperture (5), and a tear strip (3) configured to open the package (Fig. 1, 3, 4). Fuchs further teaches that it is known and desirable in the prior art to additionally provide the container portion with a locking flap (6) formed in the tear strip and in a central region of the rear wall, wherein when the tear strip is removed from the battery package, the panel portion is configurable to be flipped over the container portion and the locking flap is configurable to mate with the aperture to sustain the panel portion and container portion in place after the panel portion is flipped over the container portion such that the battery package is convertible from a product-presentation package to a compact storage package (Translation and FIG. 1, 3, 4).
Accordingly, in order to configure the battery package to be resealed, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to replace the tear strip of Blin with the tear strip of Fuchs such that the container portion includes a locking flap formed in the tear strip and in a central region of the rear wall, wherein when the tear strip is removed from the battery package, the panel portion is configurable to be flipped over the container portion and the locking flap is configurable to mate with the aperture to sustain the panel portion and container portion in place after the panel portion is flipped over the container portion such that the battery package is convertible from a product-presentation package to a compact storage package
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 7 and 8 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and if the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action is overcome.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art fails to teach or suggest the front wall having a width greater than a width of the rear wall such that the front wall has two wings extending orthogonally from the two side walls respectively (claim 6) in combination with the rear wall extending from the panel portion in a coplanar manner, the bottom wall extending orthogonally from the rear wall, the front wall extending orthogonally from the bottom wall, the top wall extending orthogonally from the front wall, and the two side walls extending orthogonally from two sides of the rear wall (claim 1).
The prior art fails to teach or suggest a folding cardboard for forming the battery package of claim 1, wherein the folding cardboard comprises a first panel element having an aperture, a top wall element connected to the first panel element at a first fold line, a front wall element connected to the top wall element at a second fold line, a bottom wall element connected to the front wall element at a third fold line, a rear wall element connected to the bottom wall element at a fourth fold line, a second panel element connected to the rear wall element and having a same shape and a same size as the first panel element, a first side wall element connected to a first side of the rear wall element at a fifth fold line, a first side flap element connected to the first side wall element at a sixth fold line, a second side wall element connected to a second side of the rear wall element at a seventh fold line, and a second side flap element connected to the second side wall element at an eighth fold line (claim 7) in combination with the rear wall extending from the panel portion in a coplanar manner, the bottom wall extending orthogonally from the rear wall, the front wall extending orthogonally from the bottom wall, the top wall extending orthogonally from the front wall, and the two side walls extending orthogonally from two sides of the rear wall (claim 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: ITO (WO 2022/113497 A1) and Prym (US 3,279,596 A).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NINA KAY ATTEL whose telephone number is (571)270-3972. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7AM-4PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at 571-272-4544. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NINA K ATTEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3734
/NATHAN J NEWHOUSE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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