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 .
Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because:
Phrase that can be implied, such as “According to an embodiment of the present invention” and “is provided” (see line 1) should not be present therein; and
The abstract should be limited to 150 words or less.
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).
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph 74, on line 1, “Deformation member 331-3” should be “deformation members 331-3”;
In paragraph 74, lines 1-2, it appears the phrase “and Lower support body 331-2” should be deleted for this sentence to accurately defined the horizontal support bodies.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In regard to claim 5, on line 6, it appears “for” should be “of”.
In regard to claim 9, similarly, on the last line, it appears “for” should be “of”. 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.
Claims 1-11 are 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.
In regard to claim 1, an antecedent basis for “the outside” (see lines 7 and 10) has not been defined.
In regard to claim 4, an antecedent basis for “the respective components” (see line 2) has not been defined.
In regard to claim 6, an antecedent basis for “the adjacent deformation members” (see the last line) has not been defined.
In regard to claim 8, an antecedent basis for “the central portion” (see line 7), “the central areas” (see line 9) and “the adjacent deformation members” (see lines 9-10) has not been defined.
In regard to claim 9, an antecedent basis for “the outer peripheral surface” (see line 2), “the inner peripheral surface” (see line 3) and “the corresponding vertical guide grooves” (see line 4; it appears “the” should be deleted from this phrase).
In regard to claim 10, an antecedent basis for “the underside” (see line 3).
In regard to claim 11, an antecedent basis for “the outside” (see line 2) has not been defined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 10-1594253 (as cited by the Applicant, hereinafter ‘253, translation attached).
In regard to claim 1, the ‘253 reference discloses a container 1 comprising:
a housing part 13 to which a rotational force is applied from a user (parts 13 and 20 rotate with respect to each other); and
a lifting lowering part 40, 50 disposed in the housing part to supportingly lift/lower a content according to rotations of the housing part;
wherein the lifting/lowering part comprises:
a content holder 41 for supporting the content;
a driver 50 disposed at the outside of the content holder in such a way as to be synchronizedly rotatably connected with the housing part, rotated relative to the content holder, and thus lift/lower the content holder;
a first gear 80 disposed at the outside of the driver in such a way as to be synchronizedly rotatably connected with the driver (via grooves 52 and protrusions 82) and having at least one or more first locking protrusions 81 along a top periphery thereof; and
a second gear 70 disposed above the first gear and having at least one or more second locking protrusions 72 corresponding to the first locking protrusions;
whereby the first locking protrusions sequentially engage with the second locking protrusions, which differ therefrom (inasmuch as the first and second locking protrusions in the Applicant’s device differ, the first and second locking protrusions in the ‘253 device differ), while the first gear rotates relative to the second gear according to rotations of the housing part to allow rotational loads to be provided for the user.
In regard to claim 2, the first locking protrusions 81 and the second locking protrusions 72 each have both sides with different inclination angles from each other to provide the rotational loads different according to rotational directions of the housing part.
In regard to claim 3, the first gear 80 comprises an elastic member (see Figure 5) deforming and returning to an original state thereof if the first locking protrusions 81 protruding from top thereof are pressurized against the second locking protrusions 72 during rotations of the housing part.
In regard to claim 5, the elastic member 80 comprises an upper support body having the first locking protrusions 81 protruding from a top periphery thereof (see Figure 5), a lower support body disposed under the upper support body and a plurality of deformation members connecting the upper support body and the lower support body to each other and curved according to downward pressurization of the upper support body.
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘253.
In regard to claim 4, although the ‘253 reference does not disclose how the first gear 80 is formed, it is the examiner’s position it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made the first gear can be formed from any suitable and known material and method, including an injection molded synthetic resin wherein the first gear is formed as a unitary body, without effecting the overall operation of the device, especially since the Applicant has not indicated the particular manner in which the first gear is formed is critical to the overall operation of the device and the ‘253 reference does not limit the manner in which the first gear can be formed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The Johnson et al. reference is cited as being directed to the state of the art as a teaching of another dispensing having a first gear which cooperates with a second gear in order to produce an audible and tactile click upon operation of the device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID J WALCZAK whose telephone number is (571)272-4895. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6:30-4:00.
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, David Angwin can be reached at 571-270-3735. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DJW
8/21/26
/DAVID J WALCZAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
