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 Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities:
(Claim 17 lines 1-2) “wherein the first opening and second opening define” may be “wherein the first alignment opening and second alignment opening define”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6,13-14,16, 18-19, 22,25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Screen captures from YouTube video clip entitled "The PITAKA Carbon Fiber Wallet," uploaded on July 22, 2017 by user "eyespy0099". Retrieved from Internet: <https://www.bing.com/videos/search?&q=ptaka+wallet+you+tube&view=detail&mid=91D79532C8CEFAF88FD691D79532C8CEFAF88FD6&FORM=VDRVRV&ajaxhist=0> in view of US Publication 2021/0337945 by Popoff (Here forth “Popoff”).
Regarding claim 1, eyespy0099 discloses a modular personal storage system comprising:
a personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video)
including:
a first outer wall including a paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or a diamagnetic [Not taught: metal] (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, Carbon is by nature diamagnetic);
a second outer wall including the paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or the diamagnetic [Not taught: metal], the second outer wall positioned opposite to and spaced apart from the first outer wall to define a container volume between the first outer wall and the second outer wall (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, Carbon is by nature diamagnetic); and
at least two permanent magnetic elements spaced apart from one another and at least partially located within the container volume (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, container volume includes the outer walls and space within the walls; the magnets are located within the first second outer wall, so the magnet is located within the container volume).
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Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video
eyespy0099 does not expressly disclose that the paramagnetic or diamagnetic material is metal.
Popoff discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the material is metal (Para 15, the material can be made of aluminum which is paramagnetic or Para 64 copper which is dimagnetic; the paramagnetic metal/aluminum allows a magnetic field to pass through the second outer wall into the container volume without being substantially reduced since the paramagnetic metal is located through the second wall, so the magnetic field passes through the wall; the second wall is part of the container volume so it passes into the container volume without the magnetic field being substantially reduced because the magnet itself is within the container volume).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified storage system to have the diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials be metal, as taught by Popoff to advantageously be able to provide strength and durability to the storage unit.
Additionally and in the alternate, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device taught by eyespy0099 by providing the modular personal kit as formed from metal because such a modification involves the mere selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use and therefore fails to distinguish the invention over the prior art (see MPEP 2144.07).
Regarding claim 2, eyespy0099 as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the paramagnetic metal or the diamagnetic metal includes aluminum (See the detailed description of claim 1, Para 15 of Popoff).
Regarding claim 3, eyespy0099 as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the paramagnetic metal or the diamagnetic metal allows a magnetic field to pass through the second outer wall into the container volume without being substantially reduced (Reference Harvard 2026, Susceptibility of paramagnetic and diamagnetic materials is so small, that magnetic field lines pass through them almost like they are vacuum. The reduction in field strength is minimal and only slightly altered).
Regarding claim 4, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose wherein a total distance from an outer surface of the first outer wall to an outer surface of the second outer wall is in a range between about 3.8 mm to about 5.5 mm.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have a total distance from an outer surface of the first outer wall to an outer surface of the second outer wall is in a range between about 3.8 mm to about 5.5 mm, because Applicant has not disclosed why this range provides an advantage, are used for a particular purpose, or solve a stated problem. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Applicant’s invention to perform equally well with eyespy0099’s personal storage kit (details above) because they both would have the same reconfigurability, and operability. Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify eyespy0099’s personal storage kit (details above) to obtain the invention as claimed.
Regarding claim 5, eyespy0099 further discloses wherein the at least two permanent magnetic elements include first and second opposite poles (magnets have a first and second opposite poles), positioned in the container volume with the first poles facing the first outer wall and the second poles facing the second outer wall (eyespy0099 3:20-3:26,magnets innately have a first pole opposite, wherein each can only attach to an opposite pole so for all of the modular pieces to attach the first and second outer walls must have opposite facing poles facing outward).
Regarding claim 6, eyespy0099 further discloses wherein surfaces of the first and second poles are located about equal distances from the first and second outer walls, respectively (eyespy0099 3:20-3:26, the magnets go through the first and second outer walls so are equidistant from both).
Regarding claim 13, eyespy0099 further discloses wherein the personal storage container is configured for inclusion in a stack of a plurality of personal storage containers having contacting ones of the personal storage containers in the stack magnetically coupled together via contacting ones of the first and second outer walls of first and second personal storage containers (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video).
Regarding claim 14, eyespy0099 further discloses wherein the personal storage container comprises a first personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video), the modular personal storage system further comprising:
a second personal storage container, configured to magnetically coupled to the first personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, eyespy0099 5:35, the magnet coupling the first and second container are seen at bottom of the containers), the second personal storage container including:
a first outer wall that is spaced apart from a second outer wall to define a second container volume between the first outer wall and the second outer wall of the second personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video); and
at least two permanent magnetic elements at least partially located within the second container volume adjacent to the first outer wall of the second personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video), wherein first poles of the at least two permanent magnet elements in the second personal storage container face the second outer wall of the first personal storage container and are configured to generate a magnetic field that extends through the first outer wall of the second personal storage container through the second outer wall of the first personal storage container to magnetically couple to the at least two permanent magnetic elements of the first personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video).
Regarding claim 16, eyespy0099 does not expressly disclose wherein the paramagnetic metal or the diamagnetic metal includes copper, titanium, or magnesium.
Popoff further discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the paramagnetic metal or the diamagnetic metal includes copper, titanium, or magnesium (Para 15 and 64, the material can be made of aluminum or copper which are paramagnetic and diamagnetic respectively).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified storage system of eyespy0099 to have the diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials be made of copper, as taught by Popoff , to advantageously be able to provide strength and durability to the storage unit.
Additionally and in the alternate, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device taught by the modified eyespy0099 by providing the modular personal kit as formed from metal because such a modification involves the mere selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use and therefore fails to distinguish the invention over the prior art (see MPEP 2144.07).
Regarding claim 18, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the at least two permanent magnetic elements comprise at least six permanent magnetic elements spaced apart along three contiguous outer side walls of an outer perimeter of the container volume.
Popoff discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the at least two permanent magnetic elements comprise at least six permanent magnetic elements spaced apart along three contiguous outer side walls of an outer perimeter of the container volume (Fig 4 of Popoff, six permanent magnets spaces apart along three contiguous outer side walls).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified modular personal storage system of eyespy0099 to include at least six permanent magnetic elements spaced apart along three contiguous outer side walls of an outer perimeter of the container volume, as taught by Popoff, to advantageously keep the modular pieces aligned and held well together so they don’t come apart easily.
Regarding claim 19, eyespy0099 discloses a modular personal storage kit comprising:
a personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video) including:
a first outer wall including a paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or a diamagnetic [Not taught: metal] (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, carbon is by nature diamagnetic);
a second outer wall including the paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or the diamagnetic [Not taught: metal] (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, carbon is by nature diamagnetic),
the second outer wall positioned opposite to and spaced apart from the first outer wall to define a container volume between the first outer wall and the second outer wall (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video) ; and
at least two permanent magnetic elements spaced apart from one another and at least partially located within the container volume (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, carbon is by nature diamagnetic, container volume includes the outer walls and space within the walls; the magnets are located within the first second outer wall, so the magnet is located within the container volume); and
a removeable cover for the personal storage container, configured to magnetically couple to the personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video), the removeable cover including:
a cover inner surface configured to face the second outer wall of the personal storage container when the removeable cover is removably coupled to the personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video);
a cover outer surface, opposite the cover inner surface, the cover outer surface configured to be exposed when the removeable cover is removably coupled to the personal storage container (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video); and
a ferromagnetic pattern located between the cover inner surface and the cover outer surface, the ferromagnetic pattern configured to magnetically couple the removeable cover to the personal storage container via the at least two permanent magnetic elements (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, ferromagnetic pattern is the pattern in which the magnets are laid out and in this case they are laid out as a pattern at the edges).
eyespy0099 does not expressly disclose the material being metal
Popoff discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the material is metal (Para 15 and 64 of Popoff, the material can be made of aluminum or copper which are paramagnetic and diamagnetic respectively).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified storage system of eyespy0099 to have the diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials be metal, as taught by Popoff , to advantageously be able to provide strength and durability to the storage unit.
Additionally and in the alternate, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device taught by eyespy0099 by providing the modular personal kit as formed from metal because such a modification involves the mere selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use and therefore fails to distinguish the invention over the prior art (see MPEP 2144.07).
Regarding claim 22, eyespy0099 as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the ferromagnetic pattern between the cover inner surface and the cover outer surface is positioned to overlap the least two permanent magnetic elements (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 19, the ferromagnetic pattern is within the cover so it is between the inner and outer surfaces and can removably couple with magnets on another object including at least two of the permanent magnets).
Regarding claim 25, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose that the cover outer surface is a tray.
Popoff discloses a similar modular personal storage kit teaches wherein the removeable cover further comprises: a recessed tray in the cover outer surface the recessed tray having a payment card shape and having a bottom surface (Fig 3 of Popoff, Tray 16 is the same size as the cover and can fit a payment card and has a bottom surface); a tray edge extending along a perimeter of the recessed tray above the bottom surface (Fig 3 of Popoff, tray 16 has an edge along perimeter of the bottom surface 50); and a tray lip extending from an upper surface of the tray edge opposite the bottom surface of the recessed tray (Fig 3 of Popoff, tray 16).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified kit of eyespy0099 to include a tray lip on the tray, as taught by Popoff, to advantageously allow user to add cards to the tray for storage.
Claims 7-8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099, Popoff, in view of US Publication 2010/0051483 by Mastrodonato (Here forth “Mastrodonato”).
Regarding claim 7, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the first outer wall includes a first alignment opening that exposes the container volume.
Mastrodonato discloses a similar storage kit that teaches wherein the first outer wall includes a first alignment opening that exposes the container volume (Fig 2 of Mastrodonato, the first and second outer walls 10 and 11 have alignment openings 15 and 16; the second outer wall includes a second alignment opening that exposes the container volume, the second alignment opening being aligned to the first alignment opening in two dimensions; the first opening and the second opening define first and second stadium shapes).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Mastrodonato before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified eyespy0099’s container’s outer walls to both be solid all the way across and include alignment openings, as taught by Mastrodonato, to advantageously be able to protect the cards overall while still allowing the user to see what is inside from the openings from both walls.
Regarding claim 8, eyespy0099 as modified includes all the limitations including wherein the second outer wall includes a second alignment opening that exposes the container volume, the second alignment opening being aligned to the first alignment opening in two dimensions (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 7; Fig 2 of Mastrodonato).
Regarding claim 17, eyespy0099 as modified includes all the limitations including wherein the first opening and the second opening define first and second stadium shapes (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 7; Fig 2 of Mastrodonto), [Not taught: respectively, each having a strait portion length of about 16.5 mm and a curved portion radius of about .9 mm].
eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose that the openings each have a length of 16.5mm and a curved radius of 0.9mm.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have the first opening and the second opening each having a strait portion length of about 16.5 mm and a curved portion radius of about .9 mm because Applicant has not disclosed why these dimensions provide an advantage, are used for a particular purpose, or solve a stated problem. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Applicant’s invention to perform equally well with eyespy0099’s personal storage kit (details above) because they both would have the same reconfigurability, and operability. Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify eyespy0099’s personal storage kit (details above) to obtain the invention as claimed.
Claims 9-12 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099, Popoff in view of US Patent 11,234,502 by Van Geer (Here forth “Van Geer”).
Regarding claim 9, eyespy0099 further discloses further comprising:
an outer side wall that extends from an edge of the first outer wall to an edge of the second outer wall and to define an access opening to inside the container volume (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video);
an interior side wall that extends from the first outer wall to the second outer wall inside the container volume (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video); and
[Not taught: first and second deformable bumpers protruding from opposing portions of the interior side wall toward one another and configured to securely store a plurality of payment cards inside the container volume].
eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose deformable bumpers.
Van Geer discloses a similar personal storage system teaches first and second deformable bumpers protruding from opposing portions of the interior side wall toward one another and configured to securely store a plurality of payment cards inside the container volume (Fig 3-4 of Van Geer, deformable bumpers 4 are on opposing sides of interior wall and secure payment cards by providing friction).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Van Geer before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified modular personal storage system of eyespy0099 to have deformable bumpers, as taught by Van Geer, to advantageously secure cards from falling out the opening.
Regarding claim 10, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose a lever and card finger
Van Geer further comprising:
a lever extending from inside the container volume through the outer side wall to outside the container volume (Fig 3 of Van Geer, lever 18);
a hinge, inside the container volume and coupled to the lever (Fig 3 of Van Geer, hinge 17); and
a finger, inside the container volume and coupled to the hinge (Fig 3 of Van Geer, finger 16, hinge 17 ; the finger includes a staircase shaped edge configured to contact edges of the plurality of payment cards when the lever is moved about the hinge to rotate the finger toward the opening so that the staircase shaped edge pushes the payment cards between the first and second deformable bumpers through the opening in the container volume; the staircase shaped edge includes a number of steps each configured to separately contact a respective card in the container volume).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Van Geer before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modular personal storage system of the modified eyespy0099 having a modular attachment include a lever that helps push out cards, as taught by Van Geer, to advantageously be able to secure cards while easily being able to access them when needed.
Regarding claim 11, eyespy0099 as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the finger includes a staircase shaped edge configured to contact edges of the plurality of payment cards when the lever is moved about the hinge to rotate the finger toward the access opening so that the staircase shaped edge pushes the payment cards between the first and second deformable bumpers through the access opening in the container volume (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 10, Fig 3 of Van Geer).
Regarding claim 12, eyespy0099 as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the staircase shaped edge includes a number of steps each configured to separately contact a respective card in the container volume (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 10, Fig 3 of Van Geer).
Regarding claim 27, eyespy0099 discloses a handheld personal storage container for releasably storing a set of payment cards and for magnetically removably coupling to a portable mobile device and other similar personal storage containers (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, the container including:
a first outer wall including a paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or a diamagnetic [Not taught: metal] (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, Carbon is by nature diamagnetic);
a second outer wall including the paramagnetic [Not taught: metal] or the diamagnetic [Not taught: metal] (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video, Carbon is by nature diamagnetic), the second outer wall positioned opposite to and spaced apart from the first outer wall (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video);
an outer side wall coupled to an edge of the first outer wall and an edge of the second outer wall and extending around a perimeter of the first outer wall and the second outer wall to form an opening in the outer side wall (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video,;
a container volume defined to be between the first outer wall and the second outer wall within the perimeter (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video,;
at least [Not taught: six] permanent magnetic elements located separated from one another along the perimeter (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video;
[Not taught: first and second deformable bumpers located on opposing sides of the container volume;
a lever extending from inside the container volume through the outer side wall to outside the container volume;
a hinge, inside the container volume and coupled to the lever;
a finger, inside the container volume and coupled to the hinge; and
a staircase shaped edge on the finger configured to contact edges set of payment cards when the lever is moved about the hinge to rotate the finger toward the opening so that the staircase shaped edge pushes the set of payment cards between the first and second deformable bumpers through the opening in the container volume].
eyespy0099 does not expressly disclose that the paramagnetic or diamagnetic material is metal or sic permanent magnets separated from each other along a perimeter.
Popoff discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the material is metal (Para 15, the material can be made of aluminum which is paramagnetic or Para 64 copper which is dimagnetic; the paramagnetic metal/aluminum allows a magnetic field to pass through the second outer wall into the container volume without being substantially reduced since the paramagnetic metal is located through the second wall, so the magnetic field passes through the wall; the second wall is part of the container volume so it passes into the container volume without the magnetic field being substantially reduced because the magnet itself is within the container volume); at least six permanent magnetic elements located separated from one another along the perimeter (Fig 4 of Popoff, six permanent magnets spaces apart along three contiguous outer side walls).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 and Popoff before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified storage system of eyespy0099 to have the diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials be metal and have six permanent magnets separated along the perimeter, as taught by Popoff to advantageously be able to provide strength and durability to the storage unit and keep the modular pieces aligned and held well together so they don’t come apart easily.
Additionally and in the alternate, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device taught by eyespy0099 by providing the modular personal kit as formed from metal because such a modification involves the mere selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use and therefore fails to distinguish the invention over the prior art (see MPEP 2144.07).
eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose a lever and card finger
Van Geer discloses a similar storage kit that teaches further comprising:
a lever extending from inside the container volume through the outer side wall to outside the container volume (Fig 3 of Van Geer, lever 18);
a hinge, inside the container volume and coupled to the lever (Fig 3 of Van Geer, hinge 17); and
a finger, inside the container volume and coupled to the hinge (Fig 3 of Van Geer, finger 16, hinge 17); and
a staircase shaped edge on the finger configured to contact edges set of payment cards when the lever is moved about the hinge to rotate the finger toward the opening so that the staircase shaped edge pushes the set of payment cards between the first and second deformable bumpers through the opening in the container volume (Fig 3 of Van Geer).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Van Geer before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modular personal storage system of the modified eyespy0099 having a modular attachment include a lever that helps push out cards, as taught by Van Geer, to advantageously be able to secure cards while easily being able to access them when needed.
Claim 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099, Popoff in view of US Publication 2018/0255890 by Van Igarashi (Here forth “Van Igarashi”)
Regarding claim 15, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose separator bumpers.
Igarashi discloses a similar personal storage kit that teaches further comprising:
a first pair of separator bumpers each protruding from a surface of the first outer wall (Fig 3 of Igarashi, pairs of separator bumps 24 protrude from a surface of a wall) by a first amount of about 0.15 mm; and
a second pair of separator bumpers each protruding from a surface of the second outer wall by a second amount of about 0.15 mm (Para 33 of Igarashi, the protrusion is about .15mm which is close to 0.2mm).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Igarashi before them, when the application was filed, to have modified first and second outer walls of the modified eyespy0099 to include pairs of separator bumpers, as taught by Igarashi, to advantageously prevent damage to the surface of the walls.
Claims 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099 and Popoff in view of US Publication 2015/0172431 by Huang (Here forth “Huang”).
Regarding claim 20, eyespy0099 further discloses a stadium shaped opening in the second outer wall of the personal storage container that exposes the container volume (Examiner annotated Fig at time 3:34 of eyespy0099 Video); and [Not taught: a stadium shaped alignment protrusion protruding from a location on cover inner surface corresponding to that of the stadium shaped opening of the personal storage container configured to securely fit into the stadium shaped opening when the removeable cover is removably coupled to the personal storage container].
eyespy0099 does not expressly disclose a stadium shaped protrusion on the cover.
Huang discloses a similar personal storage kit that teaches a stadium shaped alignment protrusion (Fig 2 of Huang, protrusion 33) protruding from a location on cover inner surface (Fig 2 of Huang, protrusion 33 is on inner surface) corresponding to that of the stadium shaped opening of the personal storage container (Fig 2 of Huang, protrusion 33 fits into opening 26) configured to securely fit into the stadium shaped opening when the removeable cover is removably coupled to the personal storage container (Fig 2 of Huang).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Huang before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the cover of the modified eyespy0099 to include a protrusion that can fit into an alignment opening, as taught by Huang, to advantageously be able to align the cover easily to the outer wall of a container.
Regarding claim 21, eyespy0099 does not expressly express wherein dimensions of the stadium shaped opening are about 0.3 mm greater than dimensions of the stadium shaped alignment protrusion.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to teach to have the dimensions of the stadium shaped opening are about 0.3 mm greater than dimensions of the stadium shaped alignment protrusion, because Applicant has not disclosed why these dimensions provide an advantage, are used for a particular purpose, or solve a stated problem. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Applicant’s invention to perform equally well with eyespy0099’s modified personal storage kit (details above) because they both would have the same reconfigurability, and operability. Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify eyespy0099’s modified personal storage kit (details above) to obtain the invention as claimed.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099 and Popoff in view of Foreign Publication CN 218825810U by Huang (Here forth “Huang-810”).
Regarding claim 23, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the ferromagnetic pattern forms first and second open facing U-shaped patterns at opposite ends of the removeable cover.
Huang-810 discloses a similar personal storage kit that teaches, wherein the ferromagnetic pattern forms first and second open facing U-shaped patterns at opposite ends of the removeable cover (Fig 4 of Huang, magnetic ring 12 has a first and second open U-shaped pattern).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the ferromagnetic pattern shape be U-shaped patterns rather than that the shape of eyespy0099’s pattern. Such a modification involves only a change in shape which provides no change in function (see MPEP 2144.04 IV B). Further Applicant has not disclosed criticality for the claimed shape.
Claim 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099, Popoff and Huang-810 in view of US Patent 11425976 by Tran (Here forth “Tran”) .
Regarding claim 24, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose notches or an elastic member attached to the cover.
Tran discloses a similar modular personal storage kit that teaches wherein the removeable cover further includes:
first and second notches in opposing sides of the removeable cover (Fig 6 of Tran, Cover has a first and second notch on opposing sides); and
an elastic member extending across the cover outer surface to the cover inner surface through the first and second notches (Fig 5-6 of Tran, the elastic/stretchable member/band extends across the cover outer surface to the inner surface through the notches).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of the modified eyespy0099 and Tran before them, when the application was filed, to have modified cover of the modified eyespy0099 to include a notch and elastic member, as taught by Tran, to advantageously allow cash to be attached to the modular personal storage kit.
Claim 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by eyespy0099, Popoff in view of US Publication 2018/0132585 by Marvin (Here forth “Marvin”) .
Regarding claim 26, eyespy0099 as modified does not expressly disclose that the cover comprises tray skids
Marvin discloses a similar personal storage kit that teaches further including:
first and second elongated tray skids protruding from the bottom surface of the recessed tray and extending along a major dimension of the recessed tray spaced apart (Fig 4 of Marvin ,Tray ridges 410).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of eyespy0099 as modified and Marvin before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified storage kit of eyespy0099 to include a tray ridges on the bottom surface along a major dimension, as taught by Marvin, to advantageously allow any parts to slide against it to protect the parts from severe damage.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL whose telephone number is (571)272-6655. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-5:00pm.
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/JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/ANDREW T KIRSCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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