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 § 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) 1-4, 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mizutani et al (U.S. Pub. 2019/0299624)
Regarding claim 1, a liquid containment bottle (Figure 6) comprising a bottle body (64), the bottle body being formed with an internal space in which liquid to be supplied to a tank of a liquid consuming apparatus is contained (Abstract; Figure 6), wherein; the bottle body has an upper surface (surface directly above the threaded portion 69)
A nozzle (65) having an opening and projecting upward from the upper surface (Figure 6; Abstract; Paragraph 0084)
A surrounding wall (67, 73) which is positioned in a surrounding of the opening with a spacing distance from the opening, and which projects upward from the upper surface (Figure 6; Paragraphs 0084-0089)
A key member (71, 72) having a shape which matches a shape of a receiver key member (Figures 2-3; Paragraphs 0079-0080) provided on a surrounding of a supply port of the tank (Figure 6; Paragraph 0087)
wherein, the surrounding wall includes a curved surface (curved ends of 67) and a flat surface (refer to figure below), the curved surface having a circular arc shape (Figure 6; Paragraphs 0084-0089)
The flat surface extends in a direction crossing the upper surface (Figure 6)
The key member (71, 72) is a projecting part projecting from the flat surface (Figure 6), a recessed part (recess near element 72) recessed from the flat surface, or both of the projecting part and the recessed part (Figure 6; Paragraphs 0084-0089)
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Regarding claim 2, the surrounding wall has curved surfaces including curved surface, the curved surfaces are arranged to sandwich the nozzle therebetween; the curved surfaces are connected to each other by the flat surface (Figure 6)
Regarding claim 3, a cap (68) configured to be attached to the bottle body; wherein the cap is configured to be screwed with respect to the curved wall and to be attached to the bottle body (Figure 6; Paragraph 0085)
Regarding claim 4, the key member has the projecting part; and a first distance from a center of the nozzle to a projecting end of the projecting part is shorter than a second distance from the center of the nozzle to the curved surface (Figure 6)
Regarding claim 10, wherein the surrounding wall has flat surfaces including the flat surface, the flat surfaces are arranged to sandwich the nozzle therebetween, and the flat surfaces are connected to each other by the curved surfaces (Figure 6)
Regarding claim 11, a tank having a containment chamber configured to contain the liquid therein (Figures 1-4; Paragraphs 0075-0076), wherein the tank has:
A tank recessed part having a shape which matches a shape of the surrounding wall (Figures 2-3; 12-14; Paragraphs 0097-0098)
A communicating tube which is positioned in the tank recessed part, the communicating tube having a first channel (54) and a second channel (55) configured to communicate the containment chamber with outside (Figure 15; Paragraphs 0078, 0100)
The receiver key member positioned in the tank recessed part and having the shape which matches the shape of the key member (Figures 2-3, 12-14; Paragraphs 0097-0098)
The surrounding wall is configured to be inserted into the tank recessed part; the key member is configured to conform to the receiver key member; and the communicating tube is configured to be inserted into the opening of the nozzle, to thereby connect the bottle body to the tank and to allow the liquid to flow out from the internal space of the bottle body to the containment chamber of the tank (Figures 12-15; Paragraphs 0097-0100)
Regarding claim 12, a plurality of tanks including the tank (Figures 2-3); wherein the receiver key member has a position or a shape which is different for each of the plurality of tanks (Figure 3; Paragraphs 0082, 0101)
The key member has the projecting part or the recessed part having a position or a shape which conforms to the receiver key member of each of the plurality of tanks corresponding thereto (Figures 2-6; 12-14; Paragraphs 0097-0101)
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) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizutani et al (U.S. Pub. 2019/0299624) in view of Ishizawa et al (U.S. Pub. 2018/0207939)
Regarding claim 9, Ishizawa discloses an upper end of the surrounding wall (121; circular positioning portions) is positioned above the forward end surface of the nozzle (Figures 13, 17; Paragraph 0120)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Ishizawa into the device of Mizutani, for the purpose of preventing the forward surface of the nozzle from being damaged
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reason for the allowance of claim 5 is the inclusion of the limitation of the key member has the projecting part, and a third distance in an up-down direction from the upper surface to an upper end of the projecting part is shorter than a fourth distance in the up-down direction from the upper surface to an upper end of the surrounding wall. It is this limitation found in each of the claims, as it is claimed in the combination, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of claims 6-8 is the inclusion of the limitation of a groove which is recessed from the seat surface and which extends downward, and the cap has: a sealing part configured to seal the opening in an attached state in which the cap is attached to the bottle body; and a projecting piece which projects from a surrounding of the sealing part and which is configured to make contact with the seat surface in the attached state. It is this limitation found in each of the claims, as it is claimed in the combination, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON S UHLENHAKE whose telephone number is (571)272-5916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X. Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON S UHLENHAKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 September 15, 2026
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