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 § 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 4, 6, 17, and 19 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. Claim 4 recites that the upper nozzle plate comprises a diverter that forms a part of the aperture. However, only supporting recitation for “the diverter” is found in paragraph [0004] of the original specification which merely recites the same language as the claim(s). The specification nor the drawings show how the diverter is part of the aperture, its structure, shape, or size, or any such supporting details. Thus, the disclosure does not convey a diverter to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, claim 4 is rejected for failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claims 6, 17, and 19 also recite “a diverter” and thus are rejected under the same grounds as claim 4 for failing to comply with the written description requirement.
For the purpose of examination, the diverter of claims 4, 6, 17, and 19 is considered to be the same as the structure of the aperture.
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.
Claim 10 is 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 10 recites the limitation "the lower plate" in line 1. Claim 10 depends from claim 9, which depends from claim 1. None of these claims recite “a lower plate”. Therefore, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 and 5-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sternberg (US PG PUB 2008/0110938).
Regarding claim 1, Sternberg discloses a product dispensing nozzle assembly (figure 1) comprising:
an upper nozzle plate (item 27, figure 3) adapted to mate with a canister (item 11, figure 1) and a duckbill valve (item 15, figure 3); and
a lower nozzle plate (item 13, figure 3) coupled to the upper nozzle plate and comprising a central through hole (paragraph [0013]) traversed by the duckbill valve,
wherein the duckbill valve comprises an elastomeric tip which is self-closing (paragraph [0014]).
Regarding claim 5, Sternberg discloses that the duckbill valve further comprises a base portion (item 23, figure 3) which is secured between the lower nozzle plate and the upper nozzle plate (figure 4 shows skirt 23 of valve 15 being sandwiched between plates 27 and 13).
Regarding claim 6, Sternberg discloses that the base portion features an inlet (inlet hole, see figure 4), wherein the inlet is in fluid communication with a diverter (item 24, figures 3 and 4) of the upper nozzle plate.
Regarding claim 7, Sternberg discloses one or more hooks coupling (see figures 3 and 4, baseplate 27 comprises clamping mechanism which interact with flange 20 of cap 13 to couple the two components together) the upper nozzle plate to the lower nozzle plate.
Regarding claim 8, Sternberg discloses that the upper nozzle plate is coupled to the lower nozzle plate by means of a mechanical fastener (plate 13 comprises screw threads 29 which engage with container 11 and sandwich the plate 27 and the valve 15 in between and thus forming a mechanical fastener, figures 3-5, paragraph [0015]).
Regarding claim 9, Sternberg discloses that the lower nozzle plate is conical in shape (the plate 13 is reduced in diameter from a bottom direction to a top direction, see figures 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 10, Sternberg discloses that the lower nozzle plate further comprises a ring wall (wall that comprises threads 29, figure 3) that extends vertically from an inverted portion of the conical shape, and wherein the ring wall accommodates the upper nozzle plate (figure 3).
Regarding claim 11, Sternberg discloses that the lower nozzle plate comprises a rib wall (outer skirt wall of 13 comprises ribs extending circumferentially, see figures 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 12, Sternberg discloses that the rib wall is concentric with, and offset from, the central through hole (figures 1 and 2).
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 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sternberg in view of Burrows et al. (“Burrows” hereinafter) (USPN 6,302,607).
Regarding claim 13, Sternberg teaches that the material of the duckbill valve is resilient but does not explicitly teach that it comprises silicone.
Burrows teaches another dispensing assembly (figure 1) comprising a duckbill valve (item 94, figure 1, column 9, lines 60-65) with an elastomeric tip made of silicone (column 9, lines 50-52).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention of Sternberg as taught by Burrows to have made the duckbill valve out of silicone since it is known to be flexible and resilient and has a low coefficient of friction (column 11, lines 63-67). Furthermore, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. (See MPEP § 2144.07).
Claims 2-4 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sternberg in view of Macedo et al. (“Macedo” hereinafter) (US PG PUB 2019/0320777).
Regarding claims 2-4 and 14-17, Sternberg teaches an upper nozzle plate (item 27, figure 3) adapted to mate with a canister (item 11, figure 1) and a duckbill valve (item 15, figure 3); and
a lower nozzle plate (item 13, figure 3) coupled to the upper nozzle plate and comprising a central through hole (paragraph [0013]) traversed by the duckbill valve,
wherein the duckbill valve comprises an elastomeric tip which is self-closing (paragraph [0014]);
wherein the upper nozzle plate comprises an aperture (item 24, figure 3) located within an extruded housing portion of the plate and acts as a diverter.
Sternberg does not explicitly teach that the aperture is configured to receive a valve of the canister.
Macedo teaches a hair dye dispensing system (figure 1) that comprises a canister (item 120, figures 5A, 5B) attached to a dispenser, wherein the dispenser comprises a nozzle plate (item 132, figures 5A, 5B, 7A, 7B) which comprises a central aperture to receive a valve (item 130, figures 7A, 7B) of the canister along with a coupler plate (item 140, figures 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B). The hair dye dispensing system also comprises a controller (item 116, figure 2A, paragraph [0040], that controls the dispenser to dispense hair dye though the valve into a receptacle (item 154, figures 10 and 11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention of Sternberg that the dispensing assembly comprising the upper nozzle plate, the lower nozzle plate, and the duckbill valve are configured to be used with an aerosol canister with a valve stem in order to dispense products like hair dye and cosmetics. Doing so allows a system to precisely control the amount of liquid being pulled from the canister via the duckbill valve and dispense it accordingly using a controller.
Regarding claim 18, Sternberg teaches that the duckbill valve further comprises a base portion (item 23, figure 3) which is secured between the lower nozzle plate and the upper nozzle plate (figure 4 shows skirt 23 of valve 15 being sandwiched between plates 27 and 13).
Regarding claim 19, Sternberg teaches that the base portion features an inlet (inlet hole, see figure 4), wherein the inlet is in fluid communication with a diverter (item 24, figures 3 and 4) of the upper nozzle plate.
Regarding claim 20, Sternberg teaches one or more hooks coupling (see figures 3 and 4, baseplate 27 comprises clamping mechanism which interact with flange 20 of cap 13 to couple the two components together) the upper nozzle plate to the lower nozzle plate.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following prior arts disclose subject matter related to dispenser with resilient valves such as duckbill valves fitted into nozzle assemblies: US PN 6,089,408, US PN 8,636,173, US PN 9,889,966, and US PN 10,850,894.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VISHAL J PANCHOLI whose telephone number is (571)272-9324. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday (9 am - 7 pm).
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/Vishal Pancholi/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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