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 § 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.
Claims 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kassouni (6,164,471) in view of Hunt (US 2022/0016622).
Claim 17
Kassouni discloses cap assembly (14 and 16) capable of locking and unlocking a component having an opening, the cap assembly comprising a cap (14); and a thermoplastic arm (30) disposed on the cap and extending obliquely with respect to a radial direction of the cap (see figure 2 and column 3 lines 18-25). Kassouni discloses the cap (14) is made from thermoplastic material, and the arm is integral to the cap, therefore the arm is thermoplastic same as the cap. Kassouni further discloses at least a portion of the thermoplastic arm is capable of being received in a recess of the component and abuts against a protrusion of the component to prevent the cap assembly from rotating in a first direction relative to the component, such that the cap assembly is locked with the component; and wherein the at least a portion of the thermoplastic arm is capable of being released from the recess to unlock the component. In same fashion the thermoplastic arm is received in recess (41), between threads (40) of component (12) from Kassouni, the thermoplastic arm extending from the cap of Kassouni is capable to be received in a recess of a component and abuts against a protrusion of that component to prevent the cap assembly from rotating in a first direction relative to that component, and also capable of being released from the recess to unlock that component. Kassouni does not specifically discloses the thermoplastic arm being elastic. However, Hunt discloses a cap (20) for closing an opening (22) of a container (12) (see figure 2), wherein the cap comprises thermoplastic elastomer material (see [0044]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the thermoplastic cap of Kassouni formed from thermoplastic elastomer as taught by Hunt because thermoplastic elastomer caps are known in the art for sealing containers. By the fact that the thermoplastic arm of Kassouni is integral to the cap, after Kassouni is modified by Hunt having the cap made from elastic thermoplastic material, the elastic arm will also be formed from the same material.
Claim 19
Kassouni further discloses a free end of the thermoplastic arm is capable of being located in the recess of the component and abuts against the protrusion of the component to prevent the cap assembly from rotating in the first direction relative to that component.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-16 and 21 are allowed. No prior art discloses the arrangement of structures between a component and the cap assembly as recited in claims 1 and 21.
Claims 18 and 20 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 17-20, regarding the 112, second paragraph rejection, have been considered and the rejection is removed. However, the limitations recited in the claim is still met by the teachings of Kassouni and Hunt.
Conclusion
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and/or columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested of the applicant, in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or prior art(s) disclosed by the Examiner (in the attached PTO-892 form).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 RAFAEL A. ORTIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5240. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm.
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, Orlando E. Aviles can be reached at 571-270-5531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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RAFAEL A. ORTIZ
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3736
/RAFAEL A ORTIZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3736
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