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 because Figs. 1-6 are too faint (i.e. grayscale) for publication or reproduction. Each of the figures mentioned above need to be replaced with black and white drawings. See MPEP §608.02(VII)(B).
Claim Objections
Claims 6-25 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim should refer to other claims in the alternative only and/or cannot depended from any other multiple dependent claim. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims 6-25 have not been further treated on the merits.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eldridge (2022/0055400) in view of Spence (4,706,839) and Roundy (2002/0157978).
As to claim 1, Eldridge discloses a lid (48) for covering and sealing a paint roller tray (12), the lid (48) comprising: a cover portion having a length and a width that are substantially coextensive to a top edge around the perimeter of the paint roller tray (Figure 1) ;an exterior side wall (52) extending around the cover portion and oriented downwards in relation to a bottom surface of the cover portion (Figure 3), the exterior side wall comprising an attachment formation (54) for releasably engaging the paint roller tray, wherein, when installed on the paint roller tray, the exterior side wall extends around an exterior of the paint roller tray (as shown in Figure 2 and 3 the side wall extends around an exterior of the paint roller tray 12 and catch on to the lip 28), a recess (60) in the exterior side wall for passing a portion of a paint roller handle (rod of the paint roller 42), the recess being positioned along the exterior side wall at one or both of the longitudinal ends of the lid and extending upwards from a bottom edge of the exterior side wall (as shown in Figure 3, the location of the recess 60 is position on the lateral ends of the lid and extending upwards from the bottom edge of the exterior side wall), the recess further comprises a resilient deformable sealing material position in the recess 60 to form a fluid impermeable seal with the rod ([0022]). However, Eldridge does not specifically disclose an inner lip extending downward from the bottom surface and positioned inward from the exterior side wall, wherein the exterior side wall and the inner lip form a channel for receiving the top edge of the paint roller tray and a compressible sealing material provided on the bottom surface within the channel between the inner lip and the exterior side wall, and extending around the perimeter of the cover portion.
PNG
media_image1.png
529
534
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Nevertheless, Spence discloses a closure comprises an inner lip (not number) extending downward from the bottom surface and positioned inward from the exterior side wall, wherein the exterior side wall and the inner lip form a channel (18) for receiving the top edge of the tray (Figure 1 above) and a resilient gasket (16) position provided on the bottom surface within the channel between the inner lip and the exterior side wall, and extending around the perimeter of the cover portion.
Roundy discloses a holding box for paint-applying roller wet with paint (10) comprises a lid (15a) and a bottom container (15b), the lid (15a) comprises an inner lip (24) extending downward from the bottom surface of the lid and positioned inward from the exterior side wall (18a), wherein the exterior side wall and the inner lip form a channel and a compressible sealing material (28) provided on the bottom surface within the channel between the inner lip and the exterior side wall, and extending partially around the perimeter of the cover portion (as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, the sealing mean 28 are position within the channel formed by lip 24 and outer wall) and the exterior side wall comprises recess (18) for passing a portion of a paint roller handle (rod 19 of the paint roller handle 19b)) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the lid of Eldridge with lips extend from the bottom of the lid and resilient gasket form inside the channel as taught by Spence in order to provide a greater sealing between the lid and the paint tray of Eldridge and the similar gasket covers the recess as taught by Roundy in order to provide an airtight seal with the same gasket inside the channel.
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eldridge (2022/0055400) in view of Spence (4,706,839) and Roundy (2002/0157978), further in view of Martin (2009/0050632).
As to claims 2-3 Eldridge as modified further discloses that the cover portion comprises a flat upper surface and does not disclose a multi-level configuration with an elevated region positioned inwards from the inner lip, the elevated region comprises a height relative to a region of the cover portion that forms a wall of the channel that, when installed on the paint roller tray, maintains the bottom surface of the cover portion at a low profile relative to a brush of a paint roller when the brush of the paint roller rests on a slanted roll-out portion of the paint roller tray.
Nevertheless, Martin discloses a lid (16) for covering and sealing a paint roller tray (14), the lid comprises a cover portion (upper surface of the lid 16) comprises a multi-level configuration (surface 66 and 54 with different level) with an elevated region (54) positioned inwards from the inner lip (as shown in Figure 1 and paragraph [0023], the medial area 66 of the lid is depressed with respect to lip 40 forming an inner step 41, which is considered as the inner lip and the elevated region is spaced and inward from the inner lip 41 with medial area 66 form in between), the elevated region comprises a height relative to a region of the cover portion that forms a wall of the channel that, when installed on the paint roller tray, maintains the bottom surface of the cover portion at a low profile relative to a brush of a paint roller when the brush of the paint roller rests on a slanted roll-out portion of the paint roller tray (best seem in Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the flat upper surface of the lid of Eldridge with multi-level configuration and an elevated portion in order to hold the paint roller in place when closed as taught by Martin in order to provide additional structural integrity and strength to the center of the cover portion of the lid with additional multi-level configuration and a raise area 54 that will accommodate the roller 74 of the roller coater to reduce movement of the roller when the lid is closed on the tray with paint roller (Figure 6).
As to claims 4-5, Eldridge as modified by Martin does not specific disclose the low profile is a gap of between about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm between the bottom surface of the cover portion and the brush of the paint roller and the height of the elevated region is about 1/8 th of an inch above the region of the cover portion that forms the wall of the channel.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the lid of Eldridge as modified so the low profile is a gap of between about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm between the bottom surface of the cover portion and the brush of the paint roller and the height of the elevated region is about 1/8 th of an inch above the region of the cover portion that forms the wall of the channel because the selection of the specific distance such as the distance as disclosed by Eldridge as modified by Martin or as claimed would have been an obvious matter of design choice inasmuch as the resultant structures will work equally well and inasmuch as applicant's specification does not state that using these specific distance as claimed solves any particular problem or yields any unexpected results.
Conclusion
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and/or columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested of the applicant, in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or prior art(s) disclosed by the Examiner (in the attached PTO-892 form).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUN HOI CHEUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-5702. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9AM-5:30PM.
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, Orlando E Aviles 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.
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.
/CHUN HOI CHEUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3736