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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Comments
The Examiner notes that the office action below may reference support found in the cited prior art by indicating element numbers, figures or by pointing out a specific paragraph (PAR) number in which support can be found. The PAR number referenced corresponds to paragraph number beginning in the "Detailed Description" of the disclosure unless otherwise noted. The pending claims are 1-10.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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, 3, 10, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 9,297,611 to Roccisano.
With regard to claims 1, 3, a modular caddy capable of carrying window cleaning accessories, the caddy comprising: a main bag (250) comprising a back panel (254) and a cover sheet (252) permanently attached to the back panel on its periphery to form a main receptacle with an opening (fig. 14), securing means (280) arranged on the back panel (fig. 15) for releasably securing the main bag to a garment; wherein at least one strip of webbing (260, fig. 14) is arranged on the outer surface of said cover sheet and fixed to said outer surface at regular intervals to form a series of gaps (PAR 9 discloses the front panel having a PALS and MOLLE system); at least one attachment means dimensioned to correspond to said gaps and configured for releasably attaching to said strip of webbing; and at least one modular unit attachable to said main bag at said strip of webbing using said at least one attachment means (PAR 9 discloses webbing 260 and stitching 262 defining a plurality of attachment gaps for securing accessories thereto).
With regard to claim 10, wherein the exterior of at least one of said main bag or said modular unit is made of polyurethane coated nylon fabric, and the interior of at least one of the main bags or said modular unit is made of vinyl (PAR 7 discloses a variety of materials that the bag made be made of including polyester and fabric).
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 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 of this title, 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 2, 5-8, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 9,297,611 to Roccisano in view of US 2016/0029777 to Gadams et al.
As discussed above and with regard to claims 2, 5-6, Roccisano discloses the invention substantially as claimed including a modular caddy with a front panel having webbing creating a series of gaps for securing modular accessories thereto, but does not explicitly disclose a modular unit of similar shape as the caddy being attached to gaps created by said webbing. Gadams discloses (fig. 3) a modular unit (pocket device 23) being of similar shape as the caddy and capable of holding miscellaneous items, secured to gaps created by webbing on a front panel of a modular caddy. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the clamed invention to apply the teaching of Gadams with the modular caddy of Roccisano. A person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of securing accessories to the front panel of the caddy.
As discussed above and with regard to claims 7-8, Roccisano discloses the invention substantially as claimed including a modular caddy with a front panel having webbing creating a series of gaps for securing modular accessories thereto, but does not explicitly disclose a modular unit comprising a bottle holder or tube receptacle being attached to gaps created by said webbing. Gadams discloses (fig. 3) a modular unit (pocket device 23) being of similar shape as the caddy and capable of holding miscellaneous items, secured to gaps created by webbing on a front panel of a modular caddy. Gadams further discloses other embodiments of attachments and/or secured items be used. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the clamed invention to apply the teaching of Gadams with the modular caddy of Roccisano and secure such an item as a water bottle holder and/or a narrower tube unit. A person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of securing a bottle holder for hydration needs of the user and/or a cylindrical handle of an item.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 9,297,611 to Roccisano in view of US 2023/0208114 to Thiel et al.
As discussed above and with regard to claim 9, Roccisano discloses the invention substantially as claimed including a modular caddy with a front panel having webbing creating a series of gaps for securing modular accessories thereto, but does not explicitly disclose a modular unit comprising a receptacle having a waterproof inner lining. Thiel discloses a modular caddy system having a waterproof pouch (PAR 0104). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the clamed invention to apply the teaching of Thiel with the modular caddy of Roccisano. A person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of providing a modular attachment unit with waterproof properties.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but appears to be allowable if rewritten in independent form including 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. Refer to attachment (PTO-892) for notice of references cited and recommended for consideration based on their disclosure of limitations of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian Nash whose telephone number is 571-272-4465. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at 571-272-4544. The official fax number for this Group is: 571-273-8300; Inventor Assistance Center is 800-786-9199.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system; see www.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/BRIAN D NASH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
9/22/2026
