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 § 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) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Urban (WO 2014022880).
Regarding claim 1, Urban Figure 14 discloses an apparatus for use with a tube of sealant, the tube having a longitudinal axis and an externally threaded end coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising:
a receiver (Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1) having an internally threaded end adapted to threadingly, sealingly receive the end of the tube (Paragraph 201, Figure 4, and Paragraph 162, the receiver internally receives a threaded adapter that it allows it to connect to a tube with which the device is used);
a spreader (Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1) that has a surface in which an elongate slot is defined, the slot being positioned such that the longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the slot and extends centrally therethrough (Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1, When the elements of the upper and lower portion of the apparatus are combined, the rear interior surface of groove 1402 defines an elongate slot about the longitudinal axis of the apparatus), the surface being disposed in angular relation to the longitudinal axis (The surface is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis);
a pair of ribs projecting from the surface in flanking relation to the ends of the slot (On the opposite side of the groove 1402 a pair of ribs project on each side flanking the ends of the slot; Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1 displays one of the ribs; There is a rib on the opposite side of the projecting portion);
and a nozzle extending from the receiver to the spreader (Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1).
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Examiner’s Annotated Figure 1
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER R. DANDRIDGE whose telephone number is (571)270-1505. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 9am-7pm.
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CHRISTOPHER R. DANDRIDGE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/CHRISTOPHER R DANDRIDGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
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