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 .
The amendment filed 12/22/2025 has been entered.
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 1-20 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.
The term “slightly” in claims 1 and 12 is a relative term which renders the claims indefinite. The term “slightly” is not defined by the claims, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent No. 7,644,843 (Bush et al., of record), and US Patent No. 5,947,274 (Taskis et al., of record).
In re claim 1, with reference to Figs. 4 and 6 below, Bush et al. discloses: A screw-top cap (20) for a bottle assembly, the cap comprising: a bottom portion (40) including a bottom base (44) having a bottom skirt (47) depending downwardly from an outer periphery thereof and a neck (44a) protruding upwardly from the bottom base and radially inwardly from the outer periphery (see Fig. 4), the neck defining an opening (41) leading to an interior of the cap, the neck further having a neck skirt (43) leading to a neck rim (42a), a seal member (49) being located on an underside of the bottom base, the seal member being configured to at least slightly compress as it presses against an upper engagement surface (see Fig. 4 below, annular plug seal 49 will compress inwards when lid is engaged with container rim) of the rim of the bottle (50) when the cap is attached to the bottle assembly (see fig. 4, column 2, lines 63-67); and a lid (30) pivotably attached to the bottom portion via a hinge (20a), the lid being pivotable between an open position and a closed position (see Figs. 2-4), the lid having a lid base (36) and a lid skirt (32) depending downwardly from an outer periphery thereof, the hinge extending upwardly from an upper surface of the bottom base (44) such that the lid is configured to contact or mate with the neck rim and extend perpendicularly to the neck in the closed position (see Fig. 6).
[AltContent: textbox (Upper Engagement Surface of the Rim)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Tab)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: oval][AltContent: textbox (End Wall)][AltContent: textbox (Riser)][AltContent: textbox (Wall height)][AltContent: connector]
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Bush et al. fails to disclose wherein an active component being located on the underside of the bottom base.
However, with reference to Fig. 1, Taskis et al. discloses a bottle (1) with a closure assembly (4) having an active component (desiccant polymer 11) located in a cavity (10) formed between lower neck skirt (7b) and bottom skirt (7a) walls depending downward from a bottom base (5).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the closure of Bush et al. to have included an active component/desiccant polymer ring in a cavity formed between a lower neck skirt and a bottom skirt extending from a bottom base as taught by Taskis et al. for the purposes of ensuring absorption of sufficient water vapour in the container, or water in the moisture sensitive material contents “to prevent or reduce to an acceptable degree any degradation of the material by the said water or water vapour” (column 3, lines 49-55) for example when a drink and/or medicinal powder is provided in a container, the desiccant can prevent hydration of the powder until desired by the user to add water/liquid.
In re claim 2, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the hinge includes at least one flap extending from a riser (flap located at lid between elements 40a).
In re claim 3, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the hinge comprises one or more walls having at least the same height as the neck (see fig. 4 above).
In re claim 4, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the one or more walls comprise at least one end wall attached to a portion of the outer periphery of the bottom base (see Fig. 4 above).
In re claim 5, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the one or more walls comprise a pair of sidewalls (40a) extending inwardly towards the neck from side edges of the end wall such that at least a portion of the lid skirt (32) fits between the pair of sidewalls and the neck skirt (43) of the neck when the lid is in the closed position.
In re claim 6, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the riser comprises or is formed of a thermoset or a thermoplastic material.
While Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. do not specifically disclose the material of the cap, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have formed the cap of plastic as is overwhelmingly common in the art, and thereby would either be thermoplastic or thermoset by definition, since 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. MPEP 2144.07. Please note that in the instant application, paragraph 0066, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
In re claim 7, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lid skirt has a flange (at bottom of 32, see Fig. 6) extending radially inwardly and is configured to contact or mate with the neck skirt when the lid is in the closed position (see Fig. 6).
In re claim 8, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lid includes a tab opposite the hinge (portion of 38 which overlies 45 when closed, see Fig. 4 above).
In re claim 10, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein a lower neck skirt extends downwardly from the bottom base and spaced-apart radially inwardly from the bottom skirt, wherein the active component surrounds the lower neck skirt, the active component including desiccant (as in re claim 1 above, see Taskis et al. Fig.1 above and column 9 lines 30-35).
In re claim 11, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lower neck skirt (analogous to 7b), a portion of the underside of the bottom base (in area of cavity 10), and a ridge (7a) extending downwardly from the base portion and radially spaced-apart from the lower neck skirt form a cavity (10) to receive the active material (11).
In re claim 12, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses: A bottle assembly comprising: a bottle (50) having a bottle base, a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottle base and terminating in a bottle neck, the bottle neck defining an opening leading to an interior of the bottle, the bottle neck having an outer portion comprising one or more threads (at finish 52); and a screw-top bottle cap removably disposed over the bottle neck such that internal threads of the screw-top cap (at 46a) are configured to threadably engage the threads on the bottle neck to couple the screw-top cap to the bottle (see Fig. 4), thereby forming the bottle assembly, the screw-top bottle cap comprising: a bottom portion including a bottom base having a bottom skirt depending downwardly from an outer periphery thereof and a neck protruding upwardly from the bottom base and radially inwardly from the outer periphery, the neck defining an opening leading to an interior of the cap, the neck further having a neck skirt leading to a neck rim, a seal member being located on an underside of the bottom base, the seal member being configured to at least slightly compress as it presses against an upper engagement surface of the rim of the bottle when the cap is attached to the bottle assembly, an active component being located on the underside of the bottom base; and a lid pivotably attached to the bottom portion via a hinge, the lid being pivotable between an open position and a closed position, the lid having a lid base and a lid skirt depending downwardly from an outer periphery thereof, the hinge extending upwardly from an upper surface of the bottom base such that the lid is configured to contact or mate with the neck rim and extend perpendicularly to the neck in the closed position (as in re claim 1 above).
In re claim 13, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the hinge has a flap extending from a riser (as in re claim 2 above).
In re claim 14, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the hinge comprises one or more walls having at least the same height as the neck (as in re claim 3 above).
In re claim 15, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the one or more walls comprise at least one end wall attached to a portion of the outer periphery of the bottom base (as in re claim 4 above).
In re claim 16, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the one or more walls comprise a pair of sidewalls extending inwardly towards the neck from side edges of the end wall such that at least a portion of the lid skirt fits between the pair of sidewalls and the neck skirt of the neck when the lid is in the closed position (as in re claim 5 above).
In re claim 17, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the riser comprises or is formed of a thermoset or a thermoplastic material (as in re claim 6 above).
In re claim 18, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lid skirt has a flange extending radially inwardly and is configured to contact or mate with the neck skirt when the lid is in the closed position (as in re claim 7 above).
In re claim 19, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lid includes a tab opposite the hinge (as in re claim 8 above).
In re claim 20, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein a lower neck skirt extends downwardly from the bottom base and spaced-apart radially inwardly from the bottom skirt, wherein the active component surrounds the lower neck skirt, the active component including desiccant (as in re claim 10 above).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US PG Pub No. 2017/0253392 (Bann hereinafter)
In re claim 9, with reference to the Figs. noted above, Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. discloses the claimed invention including wherein the lid can include a liner for sealing with the container (column 5, lines 1-3), but not wherein the lid includes a first seal member disposed on an interior surface of the lid base, the first seal member comprising a thermoplastic elastomer seal member disposed around the entire periphery of the interior surface of the lid base and the thermoplastic elastomer seal member comprises an annular portion configured to sealingly engage with the neck rim.
However, Bann discloses use of a thermoplastic elastomer to form a gasket (300) which can be over-molded or insert-molded to seal an opening (210) (paragraph 0122).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to formed the seal of Bush et al. in view of Taskis et al. as a thermoplastic elastomer gasket as taught by Bann, since 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. MPEP 2144.07. Please note that in the instant application, paragraph 0096 applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on page 7 of the Remarks that it would not have been obvious to combine the desiccant/active component of Taskis et. with the underside of the bottom base of the lid of Bush as Applicant speculates that “In many situations, active components negatively impact the stored product if they are in direct contact with each other”. However, this assertion is not supported by Applicant’s disclosure (wherein the active component 142/342 is understood to be directly exposed to the contents of the container, and would be expected to at least occasionally come into direct contact with said contents during normal handling/transport). Further, Taskis et al. teaches the active component to be not only directly exposed to the contents, but also the contents to be mixed and shaken within the container, wherein the contents will invariably contact the active component (column 10, lines 4-12).
Applicant argues that the plug seal (49) of Bush is distinct from the claimed seal member. However, as in re claim 1 above, the seal (49) of Bush is considered to compress during engagement with a region of the container considered to be an “upper engagement surface of the rim”.
Applicant argues that modification of Bush to include another component, such as an active component of Taskis et al. is not obvious since Bush teaches away from complexity. However, the cited passage (Bush column 5, lines 10-27) discusses the mold for forming the lid, not the lid itself (“mold core elements”). Further, the addition of a desiccant to the lid of Bush would not be considered by one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to substantially increase the complexity of the lid.
No further arguments are presented.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW T KIRSCH whose telephone number is (571)270-5723. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9a-5p EST.
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/ANDREW T KIRSCH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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