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 II (claim 20) in the reply filed on 11/10/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/10/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/31/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it uses implied phrases (“an animal training collar device is disclosed”). A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“when in range” should read –when in a range--
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the collar" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, “the collar” will be understood as –a collar--.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the remote control" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, “the remote control” will be understood as –a remote control--.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the carrying case" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, “the carrying case” will be understood as –a carrying case--.
Claim 20 recites “a built-in receiver/speaker.” This limitation is unclear due to the forward dash. It is unclear whether the applicant is requiring both a receiver and a speaker, a receiver and/or speaker, or a receiver or speaker. Further, it is unclear, with the dash, whether the applicant is requiring that the receiver and speaker be integrated in some manner.
Claim 20 recites the step of “delivering voice, beep, vibration, and shock controls via the remote control, as needed.” The phrase, “as needed,” in this limitation makes the scope of the claim unclear. Particularly, it is unclear how “as needed” serves to limit the scope of the claim – does the step of delivering even need to occur? Must there be some condition met before the delivery step? Must the delivering step include a voice, beep, vibration, and shock, or just at least one of the list?
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonge (US 20160021506), in view of Louise (NPL ~ Facebook), hereinafter referred to as Bonge and Louise, respectively, as best understood in light of the 112(b) issues addressed above.
Regarding claim 20:
Bonge discloses a method of training an animal using vocal commands produced by the collar (¶0086), the method comprising the following steps:
providing an animal training collar device comprising a body component configured as a
round-shaped animal collar with a built-in receiver/speaker (see animal worn device 1 with round flexible strap 2, Fig 1; transceiver 15, Fig 7; speaker 36, Fig 7);
securing the body component around the neck of an animal to be trained (¶0080; Fig 1);
delivering voice, beep, vibration, and shock controls via the remote control, as needed (voice and shock discussed in ¶0086; ¶0077 discusses vibration; ¶0076 discusses tone/beep); and
tracking the device via a mobile app when in range (see Fig 11; dot 79, Fig 20; ¶0098; ¶0066; ¶0102; ¶0004)
Bonge fails to disclose the step of removing the body component and storing the device within the carrying case, when not in use.
Louise contemplates storing an e-collar in a carrying case, when not in use (see Post by Lizzy Louise and comment by Julie Cox).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have stored the collar of Bonge in a carrying case, when not in use, as in Louise, such a step requiring removal of the collar from its use position about the neck of the dog, the result having a reasonable expectation of success. One would have been motivated to make this modification in order to allow for convenient transport of the collar, or to help prevent damage to or loss of the collar, during times when the collar is not being used to train.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Those references cited on the attached 892 form, but not referenced in the rejection above exhibit similarities to the present invention, particularly, Ehrman (US 20190281794), Ramsay (US 20070204803), Kim (US 20130157628), and Ehrman II (US 20220279760).
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/B.V.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3642
/JOSHUA D HUSON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642