CONTAINER

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 . This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application. Claim Objections Claims 13-24 are objected to because of the following informalities: claim 1, lines 6, 7, and 9, “the plurality” should be “the plurality of storage sections”. Appropriate correction is required. 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. 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(s) 13-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USP 4684178 to Craig in view of USP 10047546 to Brunner and WO 2013/110129 to Harold. Craig discloses (Claim 13). A container comprising (such as shown in Figs. 15-17): a body, the body having a channel; a plurality of storage sections 70,71, each storage section of the plurality of storage sections 70,71 for containing items therein, each of the storage sections of the plurality of storage sections 70,71 being movable along a passage between an open position and a closed position independently of the other of the storage sections of the plurality of storage sections 70,71, wherein, in the open position, items within the storage sections are accessible, and when in the closed position, items within the storage sections are inaccessible; and a lock body 73,76,77,79, the lock body disposed within the channel and movable between locked and unlocked states, wherein the lock body includes a plurality of stop surfaces 76, each stop surface is configured to present a physical block along the passages when the lock body is in the locked state, wherein moving the lock body from a locked state to an unlocked state moves the stop surface out of the passages so as to remove the physical block from the passages, wherein, when the lock body is in its locked state, any storage section in its closed position is locked in the closed position by the associated stop surface and any storage section in its open position may be moved to its closed position, wherein, when the lock body is in its unlocked state, each respective storage section may be moved freely between its open and closed positions; (Claim 14). The container of claim 13, wherein the lock body comprises a manually-actuable portion 73, wherein the manually-actuable portion 73 is directly accessible to a user from outside the body for moving the lock body between the locked state and the unlocked state. (Claim 15). The container of claim 13, wherein each storage section comprises a wedge 78, wherein the wedge 78 is configured to engage with the lock body to permit the respective storage section to be moved from the open position to the closed position when the lock body is in the locked state; (Claim 16). The container of claim 15, wherein the wedge 78 comprises (Figs. 15-16) a front outer surface, wherein engagement of the front outer surface with the stop surface 76 restrains the respective storage section in its closed position; (Claim 17). The container of claim 13, wherein the body comprises opposing slots for each storage section, the opposing slots having surfaces adjacent to the respective storage section, wherein when the lock body is in the locked state, the associated stop surfaces 76 project within at least one of the opposing slots, and when the lock body is in the unlocked state, the associated stop surfaces do not project within the opposing slots; (Claim 24). The container of claim 13, wherein the channel is an elongate channel defined by the body, and the lock body is an elongate lock body longitudinally extending within the channel. The differences being that Craig fails to clearly disclose the limitations in (i) claim 13 of the container is stackable; (ii) claim 13 of the body is a plastic body; (iii) claim 13 of a carrying handle coupled to the plastic body; (iv) claim 13 of at least two locators configured to position and secure another container above or below the stackable container; (v) claim 14 of the lock body comprises an integrally formed manually-actuatable portion; (vi) claim 18-23. Regarding (i) and (ii), Horald discloses a stackable (page 2, line 7) container comprising: a plastic body (page 2, line 20-22”polymer material”). Regarding (i), (iii)-(vi), Brunner discloses a stackable container comprising (Figs. 9A-23B): a body having a channel; a carrying handle coupled to the body; PNG media_image1.png 528 938 media_image1.png Greyscale at least two locators (col. 17, line 63-col. 18, line 36: two upper latching and two lower latching mechanisms) configured to position and secure another container above or below the stackable container; a plurality of storage sections 30,50,130,140,150; a lock body 390 disposed within the channel and movable between locked and unlocked states; wherein the lock body 390 comprises (Fig. 11) an integrally formed manually-actuable portion 395,399, wherein the manually-actuable portion is directly accessible to a user from outside the body for moving the lock body between the locked state and the unlocked state; wherein the at least two locators include two upper locators and two lower locators (col. 17, line 63-col. 18, line 36: two upper latching and two lower latching mechanisms); wherein the channel is disposed in front of one upper locator and lower bottom locator; wherein the body comprises an outer cover, wherein the carrying handle and two top locators are coupled to the outer cover; wherein the two upper locators and the two lower locators are lockable to a respective two lower locators and two upper locators on another container (Fig. 18A); wherein the two lower locators are integrally formed with the body; wherein each of the at least two locators are configured to lock the other container to the body (Fig. 18A). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, in view of Harold and Brunner, to modify Craig to include the limitations in (i) claim 13 of the container is stackable; (ii) claim 13 of the body is a plastic body; (iii) claim 13 of a carrying handle coupled to the plastic body; (iv) claim 13 of at least two locators configured to position and secure another container above or below the stackable container; (v) claim 14 of the lock body comprises an integrally formed manually-actuatable portion; (vi) claim 18-23: claim 18 of wherein the at least two locators include two upper locators and two lower locators; claim 19 of wherein the channel is disposed in front of one upper locator and lower bottom locator; claim 20 of wherein the plastic body comprises an outer cover, wherein the carrying handle and two top locators are coupled to the outer cover; claim 21 of wherein the two upper locators and the two lower locators are lockable to a respective two lower locators and two upper locators on another container; claim 22 of wherein the two lower locators are integrally formed with the plastic body; claim 23 of wherein each of the at least two locators are configured to lock the other container to the plastic body with a reasonable expectation of success in order to increase the overall versatility of the stackable container. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and all show structures similar to various elements of applicant’s disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANH VAN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6868. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:30. 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, DANIEL TROY can be reached at (571)270-3742. 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. HVT October 14, 2026 /HANH V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637