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 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(s) 1-13 is/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-Al A 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, recites --1. A container cap and a sealing member with a self-opening function-- [line 1] wherein --self-opening function-- is vague and indefinite and will be interpreted a “opening function”.
Claim(s) 2-13 rejected by dependency of claim 1.
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.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Honma (Japan Patent Application Publication JP2005059933A) hereinafter HONMA, in view of Rho (W. I. P. O. Patent Application Publication WO2012064132A2) hereinafter RHO.
Regarding claim 1, HONMA teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 below) a container cap 1 and a sealing member 32 with a self-opening function 3, 4 comprising:
a container cap 1 that is screw-fastened 221 to an opening (FIG. 6) of a container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”) and includes at least one opening lug 23 on an inner bottom surface 32; and
a sealing member 32 attached to a top surface of the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”) and having a lamination structure with one or more layers,
a backing layer that is attached to the top of the seal membrane layer and is made of at least one plastic film or sheet,
an opening tab 54 that is formed in the backing layer, and
an opening guide line 151 that is formed in the backing layer and connected to the opening tab 54,
wherein, when the container cap 1 is rotated in an opening direction (FIG. 6) in order to detach the container cap 1 from the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”), the opening lug 23 of the container cap 1 is caught by the opening tab 54 of the sealing member 32, and the opening tab 54 is lifted upwardly, thereby automatically removing the sealing member 32 together with the container cap 1 from the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”).
HONMA fails to teach sealing member 32 that includes a seal membrane layer attached to a top surface of the opening (FIG. 6).
However, RHO teaches (see Fig. 1 - Fig. 4 below) container cap 1 and a sealing member 20 with a self-opening function 42, 44, 70, 80 wherein sealing member 20 includes a seal membrane layer 23 attached to a top surface of the opening (Fig. 3) for sealing purposes.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified sealing member 32 of HONMA with sealing member 20 of RHO for sealing purposes.
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Regarding claim 2, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the opening lug 23 is projected in a downwardly inclined manner (FIG. 9) from the inner bottom surface 32 of the container cap 1 and is configured to be reduced in its thickness or width or in its thickness and width toward its end.
Regarding claim 3, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the backing layer is formed of a single layer to comprises (i.e., that is capable of) any one of plastic materials including polyolefin, polyester, polycarbonate, nylon, polystyrene, and poly lactic acid (PLA).
Regarding claim 4, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 3 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. The combination of HONMA (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) and RHO (see Fig. 1 - Fig. 4 above) further teaches container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the backing layer is made of a film or sheet, or a foamed film or sheet, having a multi-layer structure (RHO, Fig. 4) in which a plurality of layers of the plastic materials are laminated.
Regarding claim 5, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. The combination of HONMA (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) and RHO (see Fig. 1 - Fig. 4 above) further teaches container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the seal membrane layer of the sealing member 32 includes an aluminum foil layer (RHO, metal layer 21) that is laminated on the top of the backing layer, and a heat sealing resin layer (RHO, adhesive 28) that is disposed on the bottom of the aluminum foil layer (RHO, metal layer 21) so as to be attached to the top surface of the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”).
Regarding claim 6, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the backing layer of the sealing member 32 includes an opening tab inner insertion portion (FIG. 10) disposed in the inner side of the opening tab 54, and an opening tab outer insertion portion 64 disposed in the outer side of the opening tab 54.
Regarding claim 7, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the opening tab 54 is provided with a non-adhesive silicon coating on its bottom so as to remain separated from the seal membrane layer.
Regarding claim 8, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 7 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the opening tab 54 further includes an insertion guide portion (FIG. 9) that is projected upward so as to facilitate insertion of the opening lug 23.
Regarding claim 9, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 1 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the opening guide line 151 includes an outer opening guide line 151 connected to an outer end of the opening tab 54, and an inner opening guide line 151 connected to an inner end of the opening tab 54.
Regarding claim 10, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 9 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the outer opening guide line 151 is formed in an annular shape along the periphery of the backing layer so that a part of the sealing member 32 remains attached to the top surface of the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”) in a band shape when the container cap 1 and the sealing member 32 are opened.
Regarding claim 11, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 9 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the outer opening guide line 151 is formed to start from the opening tab 54 and to extend to the outermost side of the sealing member 32 in an outward direction so that the entire sealing member 32 is completely removed from the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”) when the container cap 1 and the sealing member 32 are opened.
Regarding claim 12, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 9 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA fails to teach (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the outer opening guide line 151 further includes a non-circular guide line, at least a part of which is not circular,
wherein the non-circular guide line is configured not to be in contact with the inner opening guide line 151, and a part opened by the sealing member 32 is non-circular and formed to be smaller, based on the outer opening guide line 151 and the non-circular guide line, in comparison with the shape of the top surface of the opening (FIG. 6) of the container (ABSTRACT, line 1, “... liquid container ...”).
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified outer opening guide line 151 (to include a non-circular guide line, at least a part of which is not circular) in the sealing member 32 of HONMA and RHO to meet design requirements since a change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ47.
Regarding claim 13, HONMA and RHO (as applied to claim 9 above) teaches all the limitations of the claim. HONMA further teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 13 above) container cap 1 and the sealing member 32, wherein the outer opening guide line 151 and the inner opening guide line 151 are configured to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and to be in non-contact with each other in order to prevent breakage of the opening tab 54.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hayashida (Japan Patent Application Publication JP2000128217A): Teaches an “container” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Rink et al. (U. S. Patent US6024234A): Teaches a “container” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Clark (U. K. Patent Publication GB2305655B): Teaches an “opening device” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS JAVIER RODRIGUEZ MOLINA whose telephone number is (571) 272-8947. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
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, ANTHONY D. STASHICK can be reached on (571) 272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.J.R.M./
/Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735
Prosecution Insights