DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 26-29 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/5/26. Additionally, Applicant has elected species A encompassed by Figures 1-7 and allegedly encompassed by claims 1-25. However, claims 11, 17-23 are clearly drawn toward the unelected species B and C and as such, claims 11, 17-23 are also withdrawn from further consideration. Claims 1-10, 12-16, 24 and 25 remain pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 8, 24, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karslake (WO 00/71383 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Karslake discloses a window insert (Figure 5) for retaining a condiment container, the window insert comprising: an insertion portion 66/76 adapted to be inserted into a gap defined between a door panel and a window of a vehicle; a support portion 64 extending outwardly from the insertion portion, said support portion being adapted to be located adjacent the window when the insertion portion is inserted into the gap; and a receiver portion 62/68 provided on the support portion, said receiver portion being adapted to support a condiment container.
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Karslake discloses a front surface and a rear surface opposite one another (Figure 5); and a limiter region (see at lead line 66 in Figure 5) extending outwardly from the front surface for a distance and located a distance vertically below the receiver portion (Figure 5).
Regarding claims 4, 5 and 7, the insertion portion comprises: a first region (see right of lead line 76 in Figure 5) originating at a bottom of the window insert; a second region 66 extending upwardly from the first region; and wherein a back surface of the second region is arranged at a first angle relative to a back surface of the first region (approx.. 90 degrees, Figure 5), a third region 70 extending upwardly from the second region; and wherein a back surface of the third region is arranged at a second angle relative to the back surface of the second region (approximately 270 degrees).
Regarding claims 24 and 25, an aperture at 68 is defined in the receiver portion; wherein the aperture extends between a front surface and a back surface of the receiver portion; and wherein the aperture is adapted to receive the condiment container therein, wherein the aperture is complementary to the condiment container to be received therein (noting this is only reciting functional language and the condiment container is not actually required by the claim).
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(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karslake in view of Roweles et al. (US 5,106,046).
Regarding claim 6, Karslake discloses the invention substantially as claimed but does not disclose the first region tapering as claimed. However, Roweles teaches a similar window insert for holding consumables within a vehicle wherein the insertion portion 26 is tapered as claimed – see Figure 6. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to taper the portions of the holder that are inserted in the window gap to make it easier to slide/locate the leading edge of the insertion portion into the gap.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-10, 12-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/COREY N SKURDAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
