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 Status
This Office action is in response to the filing of 8/22/2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chedville (US 5575848).
Regarding claim 1, Chedville discloses a method of forming an assembled package (10 – Fig. 1), comprising: forming a first tray (16 – Fig. 2) with a first top surface (at 25a and 26 – Fig. 4), the first tray including first sidewalls (24 – Fig. 2) that extend vertically downward from the first top surface (see Fig. 4), the first tray defining a first ridge (30 – Fig. 4) extending horizontally away from the first sidewalls (see Fig. 4); and configuring an outer container (the assembly of 12 and 14 – Fig. 4) to selectively contain the first tray when the outer container is in a closed position (see Figs. 1 and 2), a first outer surface of the first ridge forming part of an overall outer surface of the assembled packaged when the outer container is in a closed position (as can be seen in Fig. 1).
Chedville further discloses:
Claim 2, the configuring configures such that the outer container (the assembly of 12 and 14 – Fig. 4) includes a first section (12 – Fig. 4) and a second section (14 – Fig. 4).
Claim 3, the configuring configures such that the first section (12 – Fig. 4) is identical to the second section (14 – Fig. 4; as can be seen in Fig. 4, 12 and 4 have the same geometry).
Claim 4, the configuring configures such that the first ridge (30 – Fig. 4) is held between a first peripheral edge (22 – Fig. 4) of the first section and a second peripheral edge (22a – Fig. 4) of the second section (as can be seen in Fig. 1, 30 is between 22 and 22a).
Claim 5, forming the first tray forms such that a first upper portion (the portion of 24 above 30 – Fig. 2) of the first sidewalls (24 – Fig. 2) define at least one first indentation (at 32 – Fig. 4).
Claim 9, forming the first tray forms such that a first upper portion (the portion of 24 above 30 – Fig. 2) of the first sidewalls (24 – Fig. 2) define at least one first indentation (the cavity formed by 24 and 26, see Fig. 4), and a first portion (26 – Fig. 4) of the first top surface (at 25a and 26 – Fig. 4) partially defines the at least one first indentation (as can be seen in Fig. 4, 26 defines the bottom of the indentation), such that the first portion has a lower elevation than a remainder of the first top surface (25a – Fig. 4).
Claim 10, forming the first tray forms such that the first tray defines an impression (interpreted to be the cavity formed by 24 and 26, see Fig. 4) of a first consumer product (since, the cavity can accept a product shaped like a disc having the same diameter as the cavity, the impression is interpreted to be of a consumer product having the same shape as the cavity).
Claim 11, forming the first tray forms such that a lower surface (the underside surface of 26 – Fig. 4) of the first tray defines a reinforcing structure (the material of 26 below the top surface of 26 – Fig. 4 is interpreted to be a reinforcing structure) directly below at least a portion of the impression.
Claim 12, forming the first tray forms such that the reinforcing structure includes ribs (26 has holes 28 – Fig. 3; the material of 26 under the top surface of 26 between the holes 28 is interpreted to be the ribs) with a pair of longitudinal segments (see annotated Fig. 3) running parallel to each other and crosspiece segments (see annotated Fig. 3) spanning between the pair of longitudinal segments (see annotated Fig. 3).
Annotated Fig. 3
PNG
media_image1.png
756
830
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim 13, forming the first tray forms such that the first sidewalls (24 – Fig. 2) define at least one upper lug (the widened section of 24 below 32 – Fig. 2 is interpreted to be a lug), the at least one upper lug extending from the first ridge (30 – Fig. 4) towards the first top surface (at 25a and 26 – Fig. 4) along a first outer surface of the sidewalls (see Fig. 2).
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 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chedville (US 5575848) in view of Cortopassi (US 4807776).
Regarding claim 14, Chedville discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 1.
However, Chedville does not expressly disclose forming a second tray.
Cortopassi teaches a similar method comprising forming a first tray (14 – Fig. 1), configuring an outer container (the assembly of 10 and 16 – Fig. 1), and forming a second tray (12 – Fig. 1) with a second top surface (the upper surface of 44 – Fig. 5), the second tray including second sidewalls (44 – Fig. 5) that extend downward from the second top surface, the second tray defining a second ridge (58 – Fig. 5) extending horizontally away from the second sidewalls (see Fig. 5). One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the teaching of Cortopassi, would have recognized that the method of Chedville may be modified to include a second tray as taught by Cortopassi since both methods are directed to containers having internal trays.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the method of Chedville to include the step of forming a second tray as taught by Cortopassi in order to allow additional food items to be coated with batter at the same time and thereby save a user time.
Chedville, as modified by Cortopassi, further teaches:
Claim 15, the configuring configures the tray such that the first tray (16 – Fig. 2, Chedville) and the second tray (12 – Fig. 1, Cortopassi) are selectively and individually removable from the outer container (see Fig. 4 of Chedville and Fig. 1 of Cortopassi).
Claim 16, forming the second tray (12 – Fig. 1, Cortopassi) forms such that the second ridge (58 – Fig. 5, Cortopassi) extends around an outer periphery of the second tray (as is clear from Fig. 5, Cortopassi), an outer surface of the second ridge contacting an interior surface of the outer container when the outer container contains the first tray and the second tray (see Fig. 1, 10 has a ledge that allows 12 to be nested within it by resting 58 on the ledge, Cortopassi).
Claim 17, forming the second tray (12 – Fig. 1, Cortopassi) forms such that the second sidewalls (44 – Fig. 5, Cortopassi), an upper surface of the second ridge (the upper surface of 58 – Fig. 5), and third sidewalls (the sidewalls of 10 – Fig. 1 above the ledge foemed near the top of 10, Cortopassi) of the outer container define a ravine (as is clear from Fig. 1, Cortopassi, when 12 is fitted in 10, there will still be a ledge on which 14 is placed, the indentation to form the ledge is interpreted to be a ravine), a distal end of the first sidewalls being fitted into the ravine when the outer container contains the first tray and the second tray (as seen in Fig. 1, Cortopassi).
Claim 18, forming the second tray (12 – Fig. 1, Cortopassi) forms such that the ravine is defined along a periphery of the second tray (see Fig. 1, Cortopassi).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chedville (US 5575848) in view of Lewandowski (US 2021/0394988 A1).
Regarding claim 20, Chedville discloses essentially all of the elements of the claimed invention in claim 1.
However, Chedville does not disclose circumscribing a band around at least a portion of the outer container.
Lewandowski teaches a similar method comprising the step of circumscribing a band (12 – Fig. 22) around at least a portion of an outer container (20 – Fig. 1) when the outer container is in a closed position (see Fig. 24), the band including at least one wide panel (76 – Fig. 24) that is conformed to and in direct contact with at least one major surface of the outer container (see Fig. 24), the band defining at least one tear strip (92 – Fig. 22) that runs across a width of a portion of the band (see Fig. 22), the at least one tear strip being aligned with and running in front of a portion of a first ridge (50 – Fig. 2) in order to ensure that the outer container and the tray are not detached from each other prior to use. Note that the claim does not recite in which manner the at least one tear strip and the first ridge are aligned. Since the tear strip is below the first ridge, it is interpreted to be aligned and running in front of the first ridge.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the method of Chedville to include the step of circumscribing a band as taught by Lewandowski in order to ensure that the outer container and the tray are not detached from each other prior to use.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, Chedville discloses first sidewalls that do not have an indentation. While other references may teach an indentation, in this, case it is not clear how Chedville may be reasonably modified to include the claimed indentation without engaging in impermissible hindsight since the first sidewalls should be tightly fit against the sidewalls of the outer container in order to prevent food from escaping. There is no seeming reason to include such a feature except through consultation with applicant’s dislosure.
Regarding claim 19, Chedville does not disclose three parts that form three points of contact and there are no known references which provide this teaching.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS M WITTENSCHLAEGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7012. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI: 9:00-5:00.
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, Shelley Self can be reached at 571-272-4524. 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.
/THOMAS M WITTENSCHLAEGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
7/10/2026
Prosecution Insights