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 with traverse of Species E in the reply filed on 05/20/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that species E and F are combinations and that claims 1,11 and 17 are generic. This is not found persuasive because there is indication in the specifications that state the two inventions can be used together and how they are used together because there are complications on how the two inventions would even work together. See annotated figures below of the applicant’s adapter’s top part and the two ribs that protrude from the top surface how does that close on the compartment 106 bottom surface there is no groove or anything under 106 that would permit that be on the adapter. How do the two parts work together? Specification does not go into that at all, specs do not share which invention the adapter is compatible with because there’s other bottles not just the one in species E. In 197 of the specification it recites “In one embodiment, the nipple adapter's threaded neck is operable to be scaled to virtually any size, allowing compatibility with a wide variety of nipple sizes and shapes currently available in the market.” How is the adapter achieving that? How can it scale to virtually any size? Its not a flexible bag, can it be applied to a baby bottle and then can it also be applied to bottles used horse bottle feeder? Or can it be applied to a Stanley cup? Applicant also says claim 1,11 and 17 are generic, this is not true because claim 1 and 17 require a “nipple adapter” where 11 does not since it recites “wherein a lower portion of the baby bottle nipple compartment is configured to removably attach to an upper portion of the baby bottle or removably attach to a nipple adapter connected to the upper portion of the baby bottle” there is no nipple adapter positively claimed. One it has “configured to” language making it not positively recited and two it has “or” limitation where you do not even need the nipple adapter. Applicant’s elected species E only reads on claims 11-16 where the adapter is not claimed. Therefore, only claim 11-16 that read on species E will be examined. It is also noted positively claiming the “nipple adapter” in the amendments after this action will most likely trigger “election by original presentation”.
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The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “wherein a lower portion of the baby bottle nipple compartment is configured to removably attach to an upper portion of the baby bottle or removably attach to a nipple adapter connected to the upper portion of the baby bottle” in claim 11 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mason (US5361918A)
Regarding claim 11, Mason teaches a device for preparing a baby bottle comprising (fig.1 shows
the device for preparing a baby bottle):
a powdered formula storage compartment (fig.2 shows compartment 16 for formula
storage);
a baby bottle nipple compartment (fig.1 shows compartment 20 for bottle nipple storage); and
a ring plug (fig.2 shows the ring plug 36);
wherein an upper portion of the baby bottle nipple compartment is connected to a lower portion of the powdered formula storage compartment (fig.2 shows the two compartments 20 and 16 are connected);
wherein a lower portion of the baby bottle nipple compartment is configured to removably attach to an upper portion of the baby bottle or removably attach to a nipple adapter connected to the upper portion of the baby bottle (fig.1 shows the lower portion of the compartment 20 is capable of being removed from the upper portion of the bottle 10 OR it is capable of attaching to a nipple adapter to the upper portion of the bottle);
wherein the ring plug is configured to close and/or seal the powdered formula storage compartment by frictionally engaging an orifice of an upper portion of the powdered formula storage compartment (fig.2 the plug 36 is capable of closing the compartment 16 by engaging the orifice 32 of compartment 16);
wherein the powdered formula storage compartment is configured to store powdered formula wherein the baby bottle nipple compartment is configured to house a baby bottle nipple extending upwardly from the upper portion of the baby bottle or from the nipple adapter (fig.2 the compartment 16 is capable of storing powdered formula and the compartment 16 is capable of housing baby bottle nipple).
Regarding claim 12, the references as applied to claim 11 above discloses all the limitation substantially claimed. Mason further teaches wherein the powdered formula storage compartment and the baby bottle nipple compartment are integrally formed (fig.2 shows the compartments 16 and 20 are integrally formed).
Regarding claim 13, the references as applied to claim 11 above discloses all the limitation substantially claimed. Mason further teaches wherein the powdered formula storage compartment includes smooth interior walls and/or wherein the powdered formula storage compartment does not include acute corners (fig.2 shows the compartment 16
which has smooth interior walls).
Regarding claim 14, the references as applied to claim 11 above discloses all the limitation substantially claimed. Mason further teaches wherein the powdered formula storage compartment includes interior concave walls that are upward and increasingly concave from the interior of the lower portion of the powdered formula storage compartment to the upper portion of the powdered formula storage compartment (fig.1 and 2 shows the compartment 16 with concaved interior walls that are upward and increasingly concave from the
interior of the lower portion of the storage 20).
Regarding claim 16, the references as applied to claim 11 above discloses all the limitations substantially claimed. * further teaches or * as modified in claim* further teaches or * as modified in claim * does not teach wherein the baby bottle nipple compartment includes a hollow half spherical nipple housing protrusion extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the baby bottle nipple compartment, which is sized and shaped to grip the baby bottle nipple to compress the baby bottle nipple and pull the baby bottle nipple to erect the baby bottle nipple.
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) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over refences as applied to claim 11 and further in view of Mendenhall (US20060273059A2).
Regarding claim 16, the references as applied to claim 11 above discloses all the limitation substantially claimed. Mason does not teach wherein the baby bottle nipple compartment includes a hollow half spherical nipple housing protrusion extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the baby bottle nipple compartment, which is sized and shaped to grip the baby bottle nipple to compress the baby bottle nipple and pull the baby bottle nipple to erect the baby bottle nipple.
Mendenhall does teach wherein the baby bottle nipple compartment includes a hollow half spherical nipple housing protrusion extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the baby bottle nipple compartment, which is sized and shaped to grip the baby bottle nipple to compress the baby bottle nipple and pull the baby bottle nipple to erect the baby bottle nipple (fig.6 shows the compartment 18 that has a nipple housing 82 that extends downwardly from the bottom surface of the compartment and is capable of compressing and erect the nipple and cap be pull the nipple to erect it). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bottom compartment disclosed by Mason by adding the teaching of the nipple housing as disclosed by Mendenhall in order to control any liquid that might discharge though the nipple and dropping it back into the reservoir and reduce waste. “Drip container 78 is a cylinder-shaped side wall terminating at an annular rim 82 sized to mate with a tip 84 of nipple 54 and surround liquid-discharge opening 58 formed in nipple tip 84 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the bottle is inverted, any liquid droplets discharged through liquid-discharge opening 58 will pass into a liquid reservoir 86 formed in drip container 78.” (0027, Mendenhall)
Conclusion
See PTO-892 for the prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRINCE PAL whose telephone number is (571)272-7525. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 9:30 AM - 7:30 PM (EST).
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/PRINCE PAL/Examiner, Art Unit 3735
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