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 § 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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(10 as being anticipated by Su (CN 218355930U) (see attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Su discloses a soap dispenser (figure 1), comprising a structure in which an inner shell (items 10 and 22 working together, figure 3) and an outer shell (items 21 and 40 working together, figure 3) are slidably engaged together, wherein an enclosed space is formed after the inner shell and the outer shell are engaged (as seen in figure 1) so as to accommodate and hold a refillable bottle (item 31, figure 3) or a disposable bag, and wherein the inner shell and the outer shell are fixed and locked with each other by a spring (item 138, figure 5) and a metal pin (magnetic pin 137, figure 5), and are allowed to be opened only by using a magnetic key (item 50, figure 3).
Regarding claim 2, Su discloses that a back of the inner shell has a flat surface (back 12 of shell 10 is flat, figure 3) and is provided with at least one threaded hole (item 121, figure 3, paragraph [0055]), the inner shell is fixed to a wall by adhesive or screw (paragraph [0055]), and a locking mechanism (items 13, 137, 138, 1301, figures 3-5) comprised of the spring and the metal pin of the inner shell and the outer shell allows the whole soap dispenser to be fixed to the wall (soap dispenser assembly 30 is locked on the inner shell 10 via container assembly 20 which is attached to the wall, figures 3-5)
Regarding claim 4, Su discloses that soap container is a bag (item 31, figure 3) which is capable of being refilled (figure 3 shows that pump component 321 can be taken out of the bag 31 by using magnetic key 50 to unlock the locking element 40 and the bag can be refilled) or a disposable bag (the bag 31 is capable of being disposed and replaced by another pre-filled bag).
Regarding claim 5, Su discloses that liquid is pumped from the refillable bottle (item 31, figure 3) by cooperation of a pump core sleeve (sleeve extending down from component 321 and is cylindrical shaped, figure 3) and a pump head (item 323, figure 3).
Regarding claim 6, Su discloses that the disposable bag (item 31, figure 3) needs to be used with a guard plate (item 222, figure 3), and the disposable bag is fixed by a structure of an engaging slot (slot 314 of bag 31, figure 3) and snap of the guard plate and the inner shell (paragraph [0074]), and is pierced by the pump core sleeve to realize use of liquid (component 322 pierces through opening of bag 31, figure 3).
Regarding claims 7 and 9, Su teaches, through its disclosure that all of the components can be removed, replaced, cleaned, and disposed as desired since a user can control the assembly and disassembly of the whole soap dispenser using the magnetic key (figures 1-6, paragraphs [0001-0074]) and the material of the components are easy to clean and corrosion-resistant (paragraphs [0037], [0046]).
Regarding claim 8, Su teaches that the spring (item 138, figure 5) and the metal pin (item 137, figure 5), the magnetic key (item 50, figure 3) are allowed to be used to compress the spring and suck the pin so as to achieve rapid unlocking and facilitate replacement of contents (paragraphs [0039], [0043-0044], [0059], [0069-0070]), and the outer shell is provided with transparent or semitransparent observation (item 215, figure 3, paragraph [0047]) windows for easily monitoring residual level of liquid.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su.
Regarding claim 3, Su teaches a tamper-proof mechanism formed of a pump head (item 323, figure 3), a pump core sleeve (pump cylinder extending below component 321, figure 3) and the magnetic key (item 50, figure 3), wherein the pump core sleeve extends from an interior of the outer shell to outside, and is locked by a movable pin (item 137, figure 5) that engages a locking clamp (item 40, figure 3) at the middle of the pump core sleeve (see figures 1-3), and wherein after the pump core sleeve is screwed to the pump head, the pump head is unable to be unscrewed from outside for tampering, the inner shell and the outer shell are only capable of being opened by a staff and the pump head is disassembled only by using the magnetic key (figures 1-3, paragraphs [0023-0074]).
Su is silent to using a hex wrench at tail of the magnetic key and a hex nut at middle section of the pump core sleeve.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention of Su such that the key comprises an additional hex wrench structure that engages an optional hex nut on the pump components in order to add an additional structural locking member to prevent tampering with the soap dispenser assembly. Su already teaches providing holes in a locking member and the inner shell and the outer shell for various fasteners and adding hex nut and wrench locking mechanism would be obvious and within the range of one of ordinary skill in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/03/2026 regarding the rejection(s) of claims 1-9 under Su have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argued, in light of amended claims, that Su does not anticipate claim 1 because it does not teach that the inner shell and the outer shell are slidably engaged together and that the spring and the metal pin locks the inner shell and the outer shell to each other by a magnetic key.
Examiner respectfully disagrees and would like to point out, regarding applicant’s first argument, claim 1 reads “an inner shell and an outer shell are slidably engaged together”. Thus, the claim requires both shells to only slidably engage each other at some point of their a temporary or a permanent locked configuration. Applicant contends that because back plate 22 and box body 21 are in snap-fit configuration, no slidable engagement is taught by Su. However, in order for them to be snapped together the box body 21 must be brought into a slidable contact with the back plate 22 prior to having them be securely mated together. Therefore, the inner shell and the outer shell are slidably engaged together before being locked in. Now whether the components slide in horizontal or a vertical direction is not relevant here because such is not explicitly recited in the claim. As a result, Su does indeed teach the slidably engagement of the inner shell and the outer shell
Regarding applicant’s argument that Su does not teach that the inner shell and the outer shell are locked together via a spring and a pin and a magnetic key, examiner would like to point out that the rejection does clearly state that locking piece 40 is part of outer shell 21 and the back plate 22 and the bracket 10 form the inner shell. The locking mechanism formed of connecting piece 13, spring 138, and the pin 137 do indeed interact with locking piece 40 to lock the bottle body 31 on the bracket 10 and back plate 22. Therefore, the inner shell and outer shell do rely on the magnetic key 50 to be separated from each other locked with each other via use of the spring and the pin. Thus, Su also teaches the limitation in question.
For all of these reasons, Su anticipates claim 1 because it teaches all of its limitations. Claims 1-9 remain rejected as being anticipated and/or being obvious over Su as discussed in detail above.
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 VISHAL J PANCHOLI whose telephone number is (571)272-9324. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday (9 am - 7 pm).
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/Vishal Pancholi/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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