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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 7/21/2026 is acknowledged.
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, 2 and 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Van Bruggen (US-7080749-B2).
Van Bruggen discloses:
1. A sealing cap (10) for sealing a plug attached to an opening of a liquid container (Fig. 1), the sealing cap comprising: a body (11) having a cylindrical part (14) and a sealing part (13), the cylindrical part being formed cylindrically along an axis, and the sealing part sealing a top end of the cylindrical part, being arranged along a plane orthogonal to the axis, and being circular in planar view (Figs. 2, 3); an annular part (12) formed annularly about the axis and having an inner diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the cylindrical part (Fig. 2); a first coupling part (end of 19) coupling the cylindrical part and the annular part to each other at a first coupling position in a circumferential direction about the axis; and a second coupling part (at 23) coupling the cylindrical part and the annular part to each other at a second coupling position in the circumferential direction, the second coupling position being different from the first coupling position (Fig. 5), wherein the body, the first coupling part, and the second coupling part are integrally formed with a resin material (col. 2, lines 63-66), wherein a pair of first grooves (17) extending in a first direction along the axis are formed in an outer circumferential face of the cylindrical part (col. 3, lines 3-6), wherein a pair of second grooves (18) are formed in an outer circumferential face of the sealing part (col. 3, lines 3-6) so as to extend in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and interpose the axis (Fig. 3, 5), wherein the pair of first grooves are connected to the pair of second grooves (col. 3, lines 3-6), wherein the first coupling position is a position interposed between the pair of first grooves (Figs. 3, 5), and wherein the second coupling position is another position not interposed between the pair of first grooves (Fig. 5).
2. The sealing cap according to claim 1, wherein the annular part includes an annular member coupled to the cylindrical part by the first coupling part and arranged at a first position in the first direction (Fig. 5), a grip member (25) arranged at a second position in the first direction, and a pair of connecting members connecting the annular member and the grip member to each other (each half of 12), and wherein the second position is a position closer to a plane than the first position, the sealing part being arranged on the plane (Figs. 3, 5; depending on the plane).
4. The sealing cap according to claim 1, further comprising a third coupling part (23) coupling the cylindrical part and the annular part to each other at a third coupling position different from the first coupling position in the circumferential direction, wherein the second coupling position and the third coupling position are the same positions in the second direction and different positions in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction (Fig. 5).
5. The sealing cap according to claim 2, wherein in the first direction, the first grooves are formed upward from a third position to a position connected to the second grooves, the third position being above the first position, and wherein in the first direction, a pair of cutout is connected to the pair of first grooves are formed in the cylindrical part downward from the third position to the bottom end of the cylindrical part (Fig. 3).
6. The sealing cap according to claim 1, wherein a protruding part (15) configured to be secured to the plug is formed to an inner circumferential face of the cylindrical part.
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 (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 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/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Bruggen (US-7080749-B2) in view of Buermann (US-20160123496-A1).
Bruggen discloses all the claimed limitations as shown above but fails to teach , wherein in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, the length of the grip member is longer than the length of a region of the sealing part, the region being interposed between the pair of second grooves.
Buermann teaches that it was known in the art to manufacture a grip member (19) with a larger size than a tear portion (Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have changed the size of the grip member, in order to make the grip member easier for a user to grasp.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY R ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7426. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Jenness can be reached at (571)270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEFFREY R ALLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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