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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (EP 2,915,761A1).
Regarding claim 21, Liu et al. teaches a container lid 3, comprising a lid body 21 and an outlet lid 23, wherein the lid body 21 is provided with a liquid outlet 22, and the outlet lid 23 is movably connected to the lid body, and configured to define a closed state, an opened state, and a detachable state of the container lid (paragraph [0029]), when the container lid is in the closed state, the liquid outlet is closed (figure 2), when the container lid is in the opened state, the liquid outlet is opened (figure 1), and when the container lid is in the detachable state, the outlet lid 23 is separated from the lid body (figure 3; paragraph [0029]), the lid body 21 is provided with a preset path, and the preset path comprises an opened position (figure 1), a closed position (figures 2, 8) and a detachable position (figure 5) corresponding to the opened state, the closed state and the detachable state, respectively, and the outlet lid 23 is capable of moving along the preset path, so as to make the container lid switch between the closed state and the opened state, or make the container lid switch between the closed state and the detachable state (figure 5) or between the opened state and the detachable state (through the closed state).
Regarding claim 22, the preset path comprises a sliding channel at 69, 70, 71, a side of the outlet lid 23 near the sliding channel is provided with an elastic protrusion 40, the lid body 21 is provided with a first section (at 70, 71) and a second section (at 69) connected to the first section, the sliding channel 68 is disposed correspondingly to the first section, and a size of the first section (at 70, 71) along an elastic deformation direction of the elastic protrusion is greater than that of the second section (at 69), and the outlet lid 23 is capable of driving the elastic protrusion to move in the sliding channel (figure 2), the outlet lid 23 is capable of driving the elastic protrusion to move from the first section to the second section, and the elastic protrusion is capable of elastically deforming (paragraphs [0045]-[046]), so as to make the outlet lid 23 separate from the lid body via the second section, and an end of the elastic protrusion near the lid body is provided with an inclined surface (on either side of 40), and the inclined surface is opposite to a bottom surface of the sliding channel and a sidewall of the sliding channel, and contacts with a sidewall edge of the second section.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 7-15 are allowed.
Claim 23 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 28, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s amendment filed April 28, 2026 is sufficient to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112, set forth in the previous Office Action. Applicant’s amendment filed April 28, 2026 is sufficient to overcome the Double Patenting rejection, set forth in the previous Office Action.
Regarding the new claims 21 and 22, the reference of Liu et al. is used in the rejections above for the teaching of providing a container lid with preset path wherein the outlet lid can be move between open, closed and detached states.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 NIKI MARINA ELOSHWAY whose telephone number is (571)272-4538. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 7: 00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Orlando E. Avilés can be reached at 571-270-5531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NIKI M ELOSHWAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3736 /ORLANDO E AVILES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3736
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