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 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, 3-7, 10-16 and 19 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 wherein there are two doors and one or more pins “wherein each of said two doors comprise an indentation on a bottom of said two doors that is configured to receive at least one of said one or more pins
Claim 14 recites “wherein each of said one or more doors comprise an indentation on a bottom of said one or more doors that are configured to receive said pin”. It is unclear if each door can receive the same pin, if each door can receive both the pins, or if there is a corresponding pin for each of the doors.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hon (US-9944460-B2) in view of Yang et al. (US-20100147865-A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hon discloses:
14. A container (100) comprising: one or more doors (105, 106); a body (302); a cover (104); a closure (222, 702); wherein said closure comprises a pin (220), a pivot (Yang, 42), a locking lever (222), and an actuator rod (702); wherein said one or more pins extend upward from a distal end of said locking lever (Fig. 5B); wherein said pivot engages said locking lever; wherein said pivot engages a portion of said locking lever other than said distal end of said locking lever and other than a proximal end of said locking lever (Yang, Fig. 3); wherein said proximal end of said locking lever engages a bottom end of said actuator rod; wherein a top end of said actuator rod engages said cover (Fig. 4); wherein said container comprises a rest configuration (Fig. 1) and an active configuration (Fig. 2); wherein when said cover is in an open position said container is placed in said active configuration; wherein said one or more pins are configured to matingly engage a bottom of said one or more doors when said container is in said rest configuration (Fig. 5C); wherein said one or more pins do are configured to be disengaged from said one or more doors when said container is in said active configuration; wherein said one or more doors are configured to be rotable only when said container is in said active configuration; wherein opening said cover engages said active configuration, and closing said cover engages said rest configuration (col. 13, lines 1-11); and wherein each of said one or more doors comprise an indentation on a bottom of said one or more doors that are configured to receive said pin (Fig. 5B, at 216; the claims do not require that every door on the container includes an indentation), wherein said one or more pins slidably engage with said at least one indentation of said one or more doors, such that said one or more pins slide in a vertical manner with respect to said bottom of said one or more doors (Figs. 5B, 5C).
15. The container of claim 14, wherein said pedal comprises an electrical motor (col. 6, lines 53-62).
16. The container of claim 14, but fails to teach wherein said body is a substantially a rounded trapezoidal shape when viewed from above. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have manufactured the container with the claimed shape, in order to fit in different areas and since such a modification would have been a change in shape of an existing component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/21/2021 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., wherein the pin has two upward protrusions, which engage two doors, such that each protrusion engages one door) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY R ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7426. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Jenness can be reached at (571)270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEFFREY R ALLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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