DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species B, present claims 11-27, in the reply filed on 7/6/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/6/26.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a fluid compartment cover having closed configuration” should be “a fluid compartment cover having a closed configuration”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: “pivotably connect to the body” should be “pivotably connected to the body”. 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.
Claim 11 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 11 recites a compartment divided into upper and lower halves that allows the soaking of bits in cleaning solution in the upper half and soaking bits in a disinfecting solution in the lower half. However, the disclosure does not set forth a compartment divided into upper and lower halves; rather, it discloses side-by-side halves. It is unclear whether the halves recited in the claim should be recited as horizontally arranged or whether the claim is directed to an otherwise undisclosed embodiment.
Claim 11 states that bits are sanitized in accordance with “State Board’s standards.” However, the standards are not set forth in the disclosure or otherwise identifiable. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would not understand the scope of the claim since the standards cannot be ascertained.
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN112806694A by Hao et al. in view of U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng.
As to claim 11, Hao teaches a nail bit care system in the form of a bit storage case with a lid, comprising a compartment divided into upper 202 and lower halves 201 (fig. 4), the upper half capable of allowing a bit to be soaked in a cleaning solution, the lower half capable of soaking bits in a disinfecting solution; a row of apertures 207 that care capable of allowing bits to stand to dry; and a display stand (any portion of the device shown can store and display bits).
Hao doesn’t teach a compartment equipped with brushes. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the system taught by Hao to have a compartment with brushes. Pheng teaches a nail care implement system having a compartment 27 equipped with a brush 29 that can be used on bits (fig. 4). One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized the utility of having a brush or brushes based on the teachings of Pheng and having a compartment to hold and store brushes based on the teachings of Pheng. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had motivation to modify the system of Hao to have a compartment for brushes so that brushes can be provided with their expected, intended uses and to have a location to store and secure brushes.
Claims 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2004012666A2 by Fung in view of U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng.
As to claim 12, Fung teaches an implement for cleaning and holding nail drill bits for manicures, the implement comprising a body having first and second pluralities of holes 40 (fig. 1), the holes operative to receive nail drill bits (p. 5, ll. 22-27; see figs. 11A-D).
Fung does not teach a fluid compartment having at least two reservoirs and a fluid compartment cover pivotably coupled to the body to seal the compartment in a closed configuration. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a fluid compartment. Pheng teaches a nail care implement having a reservoir for a disinfecting solution or cleaning solution for nail tools (col. 8, ll. 43-47). Based on this teaching, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had specific motivation to include a fluid compartment – to provide a means to treat a nail care article with a cleaning or disinfecting solution. While Pheng does not explicitly teach at least two reservoirs, it has been held that duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (see MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)). Here, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to duplicate a reservoir to provide an additional reservoir to contain the other of a disinfecting or cleaning solution to allow for the available of both types of solutions. Providing an additional reservoir would have the expected result of having another storage compartment for a treatment solution.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have also recognized as obvious to have a fluid compartment cover since Fung teaches that a cover (i.e. lid) can provide protection from the environment (p. 4, ll. 28-31), and covers/lids were well-known for the purpose of providing protection, as taught by Fung, and also for the well-known established purpose of sealing fluid containers to prevent leakage.
Fung doesn’t teach a compartment equipped with brushes. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the implement taught by Fung to have a compartment with brushes. Pheng teaches a nail care implement system having a compartment 27 equipped with a brush 29 that can be used on bits (fig. 4). One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized the utility of having a brush or brushes based on the teachings of Pheng and having a compartment to hold and store brushes based on the teachings of Pheng. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had motivation to modify the implement of Fung to have a compartment for brushes so that brushes can be provided with their expected, intended uses and to have a location to store and secure brushes.
As to claim 13, Fung teaches that the body comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, wherein the first and second pluralities of holes are defined by the bottom portion (fig. 1). Upon the obvious modification discussed above, the fluid compartment and the brush compartment and the fluid compartment cover would be coupled to the bottom portion, as structured and suggested by Pheng (see fig. 4).
As to claim 14, Fung does not teach a brush compartment cover. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a brush compartment cover since Fung teaches that a cover (i.e. lid) can provide protection from the environment (p. 4, ll. 28-31), and covers/lids were well-known for the purpose of providing protection, as taught by Fung. Thus, a brush compartment cover would have been obvious for its known, established, and typical purpose.
As to claim 15, Fung teaches that the body has open and closed configurations via the top portion coupled and movable relative to the bottom portion (fig. 1).
As to claim 16, Fung teaches that a first plurality of holes has a larger diameter than a second plurality of holes (figs. 1 and 2).
As to claim 17, Fung teaches that the body has a lid 20 coupled to the body (fig. 1). Although Fung does not contemplate an embodiment with a brush compartment, one of ordinary skill in the art would have nonetheless recognized as obvious to have the brush compartment at least partially sealed when the lid is closed. Fung teaches that a cover (i.e. lid) can provide protection from the environment (p. 4, ll. 28-31), and one of ordinary skill in the art would thus have had reason to configure the brush compartment to be sealed by the lid by, for example, locating the compartment under the lid.
As to claims 18 and 19, Fung does not teach an arm having open and closed configurations, the arm capable of receiving a nail drill or nail brush in the open configuration. However, Pheng teaches an arm 124 with open and closed configurations, the arm configured to hold and support a nail care tool (fig. 19). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have an arm in order to support and store a nail care tool, the arm being capable of receiving a nail drill, nail brush, or a range of other tools.
As to claim 20, Fung teaches various structures that are generally peg-shaped that can be used to receive sanding bands (see fig. 1).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2004012666A2 by Fung in view of U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of CN112806694A by Hao et al.
As to claim 21, the teachings of Fung and Pheng do not suggest a drill bit retainer sized to be received within a reservoir of the fluid compartment. Hao teaches a retainer 205 for nail care tools, the retainer sized and designed to be received within a reservoir for cleaning or disinfecting fluid (fig. 4) that allows for fixing of the tools, a more tidy storage box, and more convenient for users (para. 59). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a drill bit retainer in order to hold and keep bits organized, a benefit suggested by Hao.
Claims 22-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2004012666A2 by Fung in view of CN112806694A by Hao et al. and U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng.
As to claim 22, Fung teaches an implement for cleaning and holding nail drill bits for manicures, the implement comprising a first body portion having a plurality of holes 40 (fig. 1), the holes operative to receive nail drill bits (p. 5, ll. 22-27; see figs. 11A-D); a second body portion 20 pivotally coupled to the first body portion and having open and closed configurations via the top portion coupled and movable relative to the bottom portion (fig. 1).
Fung does not teach a fluid compartment formed as a recess within the first body portion and a fluid compartment cover pivotably coupled to the first body portion to seal the compartment in a closed configuration. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a fluid compartment. Pheng teaches a nail care implement having a reservoir formed as a recess for a disinfecting solution or cleaning solution for nail tools (col. 8, ll. 43-47). Based on this teaching, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had specific motivation to include a fluid compartment – to provide a means to treat a nail care article with a cleaning or disinfecting solution.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have also recognized as obvious to have a fluid compartment cover since Fung teaches that a cover (i.e. lid) can provide protection from the environment (p. 4, ll. 28-31), and covers/lids were well-known for the purpose of providing protection, as taught by Fung, and also for the well-known established purpose of sealing fluid containers to prevent leakage.
The teachings of Fung and Pheng do not suggest a drill bit retainer sized to be received within a reservoir of the fluid compartment. Hao teaches a retainer 205 for nail care tools, the retainer sized and designed to be received within a reservoir for cleaning or disinfecting fluid (fig. 4) that allows for fixing of the tools, a more tidy storage box, and more convenient for users (para. 59). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a drill bit retainer in order to hold and keep bits organized, a benefit suggested by Hao
Fung doesn’t teach a brush compartment comprising a plurality of bristles. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the implement taught by Fung to have a compartment with brushes having bristles. Pheng teaches a nail care implement system having a compartment 27 equipped with a brush 29 that can be used on bits (fig. 4). One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized the utility of having a brush or brushes based on the teachings of Pheng and having a compartment to hold and store brushes based on the teachings of Pheng. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had motivation to modify the implement of Fung to have a compartment for brushes so that brushes can be provided with their expected, intended uses and to have a location to store and secure the brushes.
As to claim 23, while Pheng does not explicitly teach at least two reservoirs, it has been held that duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (see MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)). Here, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to duplicate a reservoir to provide an additional reservoir to contain the other of a disinfecting or cleaning solution to allow for the available of both types of solutions. Providing an additional reservoir would have the expected result of having another storage compartment for a treatment solution.
As to claim 24, the retainer taught by Hao is capable of receiving and retaining two or more bits (see fig. 4, multiple receiving compartments on retainer 205 that are capable of retaining a bit).
As to claim 25, Fung does not teach a rotatable lock mechanism to retain an engagement member and a lock aperture in the first body portion to receive the engagement member. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to use such lock mechanism. Pheng teaches a lock mechanism having an engagement member 42 and a lock aperture to receive the engagement member (fig. 7). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to use a lock mechanism, in particular in the form of a screw and receiving aperture, to fasten a compartment cover based on the well-established use of a screw-type fastener for such purpose.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2004012666A2 by Fung in view of CN112806694A by Hao et al. and U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 4717024 granted to Djezovic.
As to claim 26, Pheng does not teach retainers that are configured to be vertically coupled to each other. However, it was known to stack tool retainers in a compartment for compact storage (see Djezovic, fig. 2, claim 1). One of ordinary skill in the art would thus have recognized as obvious to configure retainers that are vertically coupled to each other in order to stack the retainers for storage within a compartment.
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2004012666A2 by Fung in view of CN112806694A by Hao et al. and U.S. Patent 8499768 granted to Pheng as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20180319005 by Ernst.
As to claim 27, Pheng does not teach a particular structure of a drill bit retainer and thus does not teach a raised guide to receive a shaft of a drill bit and at least one had recess. However, Ernst teaches a retainer for drill bits having raised guides and recesses, each structure having a specific configuration to receive shafts and heads of drill bits in order to retain them in an organizer (see fig. 1). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a raised guide and a head recess in order to secure and retain nail drill bits in the retainer.
Conclusion
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/SPENCER E. BELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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