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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 108. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 2, the limitation “the inner surface of the inner surface of the wall” is unclear. 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 4 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 4 recites the limitation "the dowel" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6, 8-10, 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Graham et al (US 2023/0331449), hereinafter Graham.
Regarding claim 1, Graham teaches a deodorant container configured to be entirely recyclable, the deodorant container comprising: a body (comprised of 3310, 3300, 3320, Fig 33) having a wall (3310) defining an interior cavity (space taken by 3350), a top end (near 3360), and an opposite bottom end (near 3300), the top end being open (as shown in Fig 33) and providing access to the interior cavity for storing a deodorant material ¶ [200]), the wall being made of a paper material (¶ [95]) and including an inner surface that is impermeable (¶[101]), the inner surface contacting the deodorant material within the interior cavity (as shown in Fig 27); a cap (3370) for closing the top end to protect the deodorant material contained within the interior cavity the wall being made of a paper material (¶ [94-95]) and including an inner surface that is impermeable (¶ [101]) for contacting the deodorant material within the interior cavity; an elevator mechanism (3320, 3322, 3340) in the interior cavity for advancing the deodorant material within the interior cavity towards the opening at the top end of the container to dispense the deodorant material (¶ [215]), the elevator mechanism including a platform (3340) for holding and pushing the deodorant material to be dispensed, the platform including a threaded aperture (3341), the platform being made of a paper material and includes a surface that is impermeable for contacting the deodorant material (¶ [18-20, 101, 103]); a spindle (3322) threadbly engaging the threaded aperture and operating to move the platform along the length of the spindle when the spindle is rotated (¶ [215]), the spindle being made entirely of a plant-based material that is entirely recyclable (¶ [18-20, 103]); and a dial (3320) at the bottom end of the body, the dial being connected to an end of the spindle (Fig 33) and is used to rotate the spindle to operate the elevator mechanism for dispensing the deodorant material from within the interior cavity (¶[215]), the dial being made entirely of a material that is recyclable (¶ [18-20, 103]).
Graham further teaches in claim 2 wherein the body is formed from a paper-based material and the inner surface being treated at least in part with at least one of a natural, biodegradable wax, oil, and sealant to prevent absorption of the deodorant material (¶ [95, 98, 100]);
in claim 6 a dial (3320) used to operate the elevator mechanism for advancing and exposing the deodorant material from the interior cavity of the of the deodorant container to dispense the deodorant material from within interior cavity for application by the user (¶ [215]);
in claim 8 (as best understood) a nonstick liner adjacent the inner surface of the inner surface of the wall of the container body (¶ [97]);
in claim 9 a lower platform (3010, Fig 30, which connected to 3013) similar to platform having multiple layers of materials suitable for consumer curbside recycling (¶ [103]);
in claim 11 wherein the lower platform is positioned at a base of the spindle below the deodorant material to maintain the support deodorant material within the container (as shown in Fig 30);
in claim 12 wherein the lower platform comprises at least one of a cellulose paper material that is recyclable and/or biodegradable and is treated with at least one of a natural, biodegradable wax, oil, and sealant to prevent absorption of the deodorant material (¶ [103, 100-101]);
in claim 13 wherein the deodorant material is stored in the container, the deodorant material includes at least one of a solid and semi-solid formulation (¶ [200]; therefore solid or semi-solid would be inherent);
in claim 14 wherein the materials used include at least one of cardboard, corrugated cardboard, and cellulose with at least a portion of the materials preferably being made from postconsumer paper (¶ [98]); and
in claim 15 where various components of the deodorant container comprise at least one of coated, laminated, combined or treated with biodegradable materials to prevent absorption by the components and leakage of the deodorant material from the container (¶ [97, 100]).
Regarding claim 16, Graham teaches a cosmetic product container configured to be entirely recyclable, the cosmetic product container comprising: a body (comprised of 3310, 3300, 3320, Fig 33) having a wall (3310) defining an interior cavity (space taken by 3350), a top end (near 3360), and an opposite bottom end (near 3300), the top end being open (as shown in Fig 33) and providing access to the interior cavity for storing a cosmetic material, the cosmetic material being a solid or semi-solid formulation (¶ [200]), the wall being made of a paper material and including an inner surface that is impermeable (¶ [95, 101]), the inner surface contacting the cosmetic material within the interior cavity (as shown in Fig 27); a cap (3370) for closing the top end to protect the cosmetic material contained within the interior cavity the wall being made of a paper material and including an inner surface that is impermeable (¶ [94-95, 101]) for contacting the cosmetic material within the interior cavity; an elevator mechanism (3320, 3322, 3340) in the interior cavity for advancing the cosmetic material within the interior cavity towards the opening at the top end of the container to dispense the cosmetic material (¶ [215]), the elevator mechanism including a platform (3340) for holding and pushing the cosmetic material to be dispensed (Fig 33), the platform including a threaded aperture (3341), the platform being made of a paper material and includes a surface that is impermeable for contacting the cosmetic material (¶ [18-20, 101, 103]); a spindle (3322) threadbly engaging the threaded aperture and operating to move the platform along the length of the spindle when the spindle is rotated (¶ [215]), the spindle being made entirely of a plant-based material that is entirely recyclable (¶ [18-20, 103]); and a dial (3320) at the bottom end of the body, the dial being connected to an end of the spindle and is used to rotate the spindle to operate the elevator mechanism for dispensing the cosmetic material from within the interior cavity (¶ [215]), the dial being made entirely of a material that is recyclable (¶ [18-20, 103]) .
Graham further teaches in claim 17 wherein the cosmetic material includes at least one of a deodorant, antiperspirant, foundation, and sunscreen (¶ [200]);
in claim 18 wherein the body is formed from a paper-based material and the inner surface being treated at least in part with at least one of a natural, biodegradable wax, oil, and sealant to prevent absorption of the deodorant material (¶ [95, 98, 100]);
in claim 19 wherein the materials of the container include at least one of cardboard, corrugated cardboard, and cellulose with at least a portion of the materials preferably being made from postconsumer paper (¶ [98]); and
in claim 20 where various components of the cosmetic product container comprise at least one of coated, laminated, combined or treated with biodegradable materials to prevent absorption by the components and leakage of the cosmetic material from the container (¶ [97, 100]).
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) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Graham, in view of KR 102382230B1.
Regarding claim 3, Graham is silent wherein the spindle is preferably made of wood. Attention is directed to KR 102382230B1 that teaches wherein the spindle (22) is made of wood (Machine Translation, Pg 6, ¶3-4]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a spindle made of wood, in view of KR 102382230B1's teaching. Wood material can be recycled or composted or repurposed.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Graham, in view of Skakoon et al (US 2006/0013640), hereinafter Skakoon.
Regarding claim 5, Graham is silent wherein the spindle is a wooden dowel with threads square-cut and widely spaced apart to preserve a relatively smoothe surface of the dowel between troughs of the threads, the square-cut threads threadably engage the threaded aperture of platform and engage the deodorant material resulting in the advancement of the platform and deodorant material from within container when the spindle is rotated.
Attention is directed to Skakoon that teaches wherein the spindle (114) with threads square-cut (116) and widely spaced apart (Fig 1-20) to preserve a relatively smoothe surface of the dowel between troughs of the threads, the square-cut threads threadably engage the threaded aperture (152 & 154, Fig 29-35) of platform (150) and engage the deodorant material resulting in the advancement of the platform and deodorant material from within container when the spindle is rotated (inherent function).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a spindle with widely spaced apart square threads, in view of Skakoon’s teaching. Wide threads allow for better control of dispensing product.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to make the spindle out of wood. Applicant has not disclosed that whether the use of wooden dowels as spindle achieves any unexpected results. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to further modify Skakoon to arrive at the claimed invention as specified in claim 5 because such a modification would have been a mere design consideration. (See MPEP 2144.04 (I)).
Claim(s) 7 & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Graham.
Regarding claims 7 & 10, Graham is silent wherein the platform and lower platform are multiple layered and includes at least one of a first paper oval disc, a wood oval disc, and a second paper oval disc. Instead, Graham discloses that the platform is made of compostable and recyclable materials similar to paper and wood (¶ [103]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to make the platform and lower platform out of multi-layered material and includes at least one of a first paper oval disc, a wood oval disc, and a second paper oval disc. Applicant has not disclosed that whether the use of paper over wood for platform achieves any unexpected results. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to further modify Graham to arrive at the claimed invention as specified in claims 7 & 10 because such a modification would have been a mere design consideration. (See MPEP 2144.04 (I)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2024/0067439 to Minnette is directed to the state of the art as a relevant teaching of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER C CHIANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5613. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10 AM- 6 PM EST.
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, Paul Durand can be reached at (571) 272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JENNIFER C CHIANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
Prosecution Insights