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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “sealing ring” in claims 6 and 11, and “the bump on the flat surface of the fork seat” in claim 9 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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
Claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10 are objected to because of the following informalities: these claims contain multiple sentences. See MPEP 608.01(m). 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.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 7 and associated dependent claims (3, 4, 7, 8, 11) are 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 1 recites the limitation "the fork holder" in line 8, “the screw within the base case” in line 9, the “shaft holder” in line 10, the “hexagonal socket” in line 11, the “plastic or metal springs” in line 13, and the “outer hexagonal sleeve” in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the limiting rib" in 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the limiting head" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the limiting head" 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)(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) 1-6, 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (CN 211021360U).
Regarding claim 1, (as best understood), Liu teaches a rotating structure deodorant stick (Fig 1-8), the deodorant balm case is structured as a column (Fig 1). This case comprises a housing (14) and a base case (3). The upper part of the base case is fitted with a rotating rotary seat (1) that can be turned using a wrench. At the top of the rotary seat, there is a fork groove (as shown in Fig 2-3) that accommodates a fork seat (7). The rotation of the rotary seat simultaneously drives the fork seat. The upper section of the fork seat contains a balm groove (inside 7) filled with the balm, while the center of the fork seat features a screw (9). This screw extends from the center of the fork holder into the base case through a central opening (Fig 2) located at the top of both the rotary seat and the base case. Additionally, the screw within the base case is internally threaded (9a) to engage with the fork post (8) of the shaft holder (6) situated in the base case (Fig 3); wherein the hexagonal socket (5) at the base of the rotary seat extends into the base case (Fig 3), both sides (5d) of the hexagonal socket are positioned against the openings at the ends of the plastic or metal springs (10) within the base case. The outer hexagonal sleeve in the base case is aligned with the outer diameter of the fork post of the shaft holder, while the other ends of the springs on either side of the base case press against the inner wall (12) of the base case. The shaft holder is secured in a fixed position within the base case (Fig 3). When the rotary seat is turned at a specific angle, it moves away from the restriction created between the springs and the outer diameter of the hexagonal sleeve.
Liu further teaches in claim 2 (as best understood) wherein one end of the opening of the spring features a V-shaped cut directed outward, while the opposite end of the symmetrical spring includes an inwardly extending snap groove (10a). This snap groove is aligned with the corresponding protrusion on the inner wall of the base case or is securely positioned within the clearance between the corresponding protrusion and the limiting rib (13) on the inner wall;
in claim 3 (as best understood) wherein a portion of the outer diameter on both sides of the spring leads up to the snap groove is designed to correspond with the contour of the inner wall (12) of the base case (Fig 6);
in clam 4 (as best understood) wherein the limitation imposed on the opening of the spring against the inner wall of the base case when the open end deforms outwardly and opens up by force (as shown in Fig 5-6);
in claim 5 (as best understood) the outer hexagonal sleeve (5) of the rotary seat is positioned against the open end of one side of the spring within the base case through the connector (10) in the base case. The outer hexagonal sleeve of the rotary seat is fitted and connected to the inner hexagonal hole at one end of the connector, while the outer diameter of the limiting head at the opposite end of the connector is offset from one end of the spring; the fork post of the shaft holder is joined through the connector to a screw that extends into the base of the fork seat within the housing (see Fig 3);
in claim 6 wherein a snap ring rib (5a) is disposed in the outer diameter between the base of the rotary seat and the outer hexagonal socket. This snap ring rib of the rotary seat is engaged and secured to a central hole located at the top of the base case, with the engaged joint alternatively equipped with a sealing ring (Fig 7);
in claim 8 (as best understood) wherein the shaft holder (6) is T-shaped (as shown in Fig 6), the bottom of the connector (10) is positioned against the upper surface of the shaft holder, featuring a fork post (8) located at the center (Fig 3);
in claim 9 wherein a raised inverted post (as shown in Fig 6) is located at the upper opening of the internal thread on the fork post of the shaft holder. This inverted post features a bump on the flat surface of the corresponding fork seat situated at the base of the screw (Fig 6). The bump on the fork seat is positioned at the upper part of the inner side of the center hole of the rotary seat. As the rotary seat rotates the fork seat into its designated position, the bump on the fork seat is constrained by the inverted post of the shaft holder (Fig 6);
in claim 10 wherein an inner cover (2) is disposed at the top opening of the rotary seat within the housing, while the bottom opening of the base case is fitted with a base cover (4). The outer diameter corners of the case are chamfered in round shape (as shown in Fig 2), and the case can be configured in the shape of a rectangle, square, or cylinder (Fig 2); and
in claim 11 (as best understood) wherein a snap ring rib (5a) is disposed in the outer diameter between the base of the rotary seat and the outer hexagonal socket. This snap ring rib of the rotary seat is engaged and secured to a central hole located at the top of the base case, with the engaged joint alternatively equipped with a sealing ring (as shown in Fig 8).
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) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu.
Regarding claim 7, (as best understood), Liu is silent wherein the outer diameter of the limiting head of the connector (10) is quadrangular in shape. Instead, Liu teaches arcuate shaped connector (Fig 6).
At the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use quadrangular shaped limiting head of the connector. Applicant has not disclosed the quadrangular shapes provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Liu’s arcuate shaped and applicant’s quadrangular shaped connector head to perform equally well because both types of chambers are equally capable of fastening elements together.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Liu to obtain the invention as claimed because such a modification would have been considered a mere design consideration which fails to patentably distinguish over the prior art of Liu.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KR 20220145573A to Jung et al 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