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
Claim 2 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 07/15/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I (Claims 1 and 3) in the reply filed on 07/15/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that a search to the overall claimed invention would not be burdensome to the Examiner. This is not found persuasive because Claim 3 requires the combination of Claims 1 and 2 but claim 2 has a separate utility as outlined in the restriction requirement. Furthermore, claim 2 would have to be searched as a separate container (classes outlined in the restriction requirement) and not a kit as required by Claim 3.
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 “kit” comprising both the closure and the container together in Claim 3 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
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) 1 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsui (US 9,930,982).
1: Matsui teaches a closure (closure generally shown as 801 in Figure 41), comprising: a first housing member (housing member 116); a second housing member (second housing member 114) configured to interact with and be fixed to the first housing member (see Figure 41); and an inner closure (inner closure 118) secured between the first housing member and the second housing member (118 between 116 and 114).
3: Matsui teaches a kit (kit shown in Figure 41), comprising: a closure (closure generally shown as 801 in Figure 41) including a first housing member (housing member 116), a second housing member (second housing member 114) configured to interact with and be fixed to the first housing member (see Figure 41) and an inner closure (inner closure 118) secured between the first housing member and the second housing member (118 between 116 and 114); and a container (container comprising, 103, 105, 107) including housing having a conical shape (housing 107) and a tube (tube 105) that is delimited at one end (delimited at the bottom end), fixed to the housing and extending within the housing (105 within 107), the closure and the container are configured to interact with each other (801 interacting with 103, 105, 105) such that the closure is configured to seal and unseal an opening of the container (the closure 801 can be sealed and unsealed with the container when the lid 801 is completely removed or if slide 113 is used).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ma (US 2008/0006643) teaches a closure (65) and a container (comprising 16 and 12) having conical shape.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KING M CHU whose telephone number is (571)270-7428. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10AM - 6PM EST.
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 Stashick can be reached at (571) 272 - 4561. 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.
/King M Chu/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3735
Prosecution Insights