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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in Figure 4, the sealing ring, 20, is depicted as overlapping with the intermediate ring. In Figure 13, a bottom wall of the inner cap is shown to be visible through the front wall of the inner cap but should instead be depicted as a hidden line or deleted. 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 Objections
Claims 1-5, 9, 13-17 are objected to because of the following informalities: the variables L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8, L9, D1, D2, V, and N should be enclosed in parentheses.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-20 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-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The terms “lightweight” and “thin” in claims 1-20 are relative terms which render the claims indefinite. The terms “lightweight” and “thin” are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For purposes of substantive examination, the limitations lightweight and thin are interpreted as portable.
Regarding claim 9, line 2 recites “the exhaust passage comprises N exhaust grooves”, i.e. a plurality of grooves. Then line 5 recites that the number of grooves is “greater than or equal to 1”. Thus, it is unclear if the claim is actually requiring a plurality of grooves or a number of grooves equal to 1, i.e. a single groove. For purposes of substantive examination, claim 9 is interpreted as requiring only a single groove; alternatively, claim 9 is interpreted as requiring a plurality of grooves.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 11-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (CN217146797U) in view of Dinata (US2024/0298778) and Dong (KR200431987Y1).
Regarding claim 1, Yang discloses a portable cosmetic cartridge (100, Figures 1A-14), comprising: an inner cap (110), an intermediate ring (refer to annotated Figure 2, below), and a powder pan (not labeled, refer to annotated Figure 2, below); a sealing ring (130) is fixedly disposed (“fused on the liner cover”, refer to Page 7, second to last paragraph) on the inner cap (refer at least to Figure 3); an upper portion of an opening of the powder pan is provided with a first mounting portion (refer to annotated Figure 2, below); a second mounting portion is disposed below the first mounting portion (refer to annotated Figure 2 below); a gap (refer to annotated Figure 2 below wherein the first and second mounting portions are spaced apart from one another, thereby defining a gap) is formed between the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion; the portable cosmetic cartridge has a thickness (L1); the inner cap has a thickness (L2) (the thickness is the height in the vertical direction with respect to Yang Figure 2); the powder pan has a thickness (L3) (the thickness is the height in the vertical direction with respect to Yang Figure 2); and a ratio of the thickness (L2) to the thickness (L3) is 0.7 to 1.1 (Referring to Yang Figure 2, the height/thickness of the inner cap (L2) is depicted as being substantially the same as the height/thickness of the powder pan (L3), thereby providing a ratio of approximately 1, which is within the claimed range. Although the drawings may not be to scale, they can still be relied upon for teaching the general conditions of the claim because the overall relationship is depicted).
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Yang does not explicitly disclose wherein the powder pan is detachably disposed in the intermediate ring; however, Yang depicts the powder pan as being inserted through a bottom of the cartridge and apparently affixed to the intermediate ring via a protrusion and groove (see at least Yang Figures 1A-1B).
Yang also does not disclose the sealing ring is in interference fit with the intermediate ring, such that the sealing ring is allowed to seal the intermediate ring; the portable cosmetic cartridge has a thickness of 13 mm to 19 mm.
Dinata discloses a similar cosmetic cartridge (70 + 10 + 30 +50, best shown in Figure 5; additionally refer to Figures 1-4, and 6-10) comprising an intermediate ring (10) and a comprising a powder pan (30) that is detachable from the intermediate ring, where the powder pan is detachably disposed in the intermediate ring (“can be inserted into a compact case when full and removable from the compact case when the cosmetic is depleted or when a different cosmetic is desired”, refer to Paragraph [0003]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yang’s cartridge such that the powder pan is detachably disposed in the intermediate ring, as taught by Dinata, since such a modification provides the advantage of permitting a user to remove once the pan is empty and/or to replace the pan with a different type of cosmetic.
The combination of Yang and Dinata does not disclose that the sealing ring is in interference fit with the intermediate ring, such that the sealing ring is allowed to seal the intermediate ring.
Dong discloses the use of interference (“force fit method”, refer to Page 6, last paragraph) fitting two sealing surfaces (50 and 33 and 32) in a cosmetic container in order to affect a hermitically attached seal (“outer airtight wall”, refer to Page 6, last paragraph) in order to maintain an integrity of the cosmetic contents stored therein. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cosmetic cartridge of the combination of Yang and Dinata such that the sealing ring is in interference fit with the intermediate ring, such that the sealing ring is allowed to seal the intermediate ring, since Dong discloses that use of an interference fit for sealing two surfaces in a cosmetic cartridge is known in the art as a means for affect a hermetic seal in the cartridge.
The combination does not thus far disclose the portable cosmetic cartridge has a thickness of 13 mm to 19 mm. There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thickness of the portable cosmetic cartridge would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended/be portable being given the claimed thickness. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness of the cartridge is within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein a mesh fabric (“net” 125) is fixedly disposed (“In one possible way, the inner wall extending table of the inner sleeve of the cosmetic liner is welded with a net”, refer to Yang Page 5, seventh paragraph) on the first mounting portion (best shown in Yang Figure 2); the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion clamp the mesh fabric (best shown in Yang Figure 2); the first mounting portion is fixedly connected to the intermediate ring, or the first mounting portion is integrally formed with the intermediate ring (refer to Yang Figure 2); the second mounting portion is fixedly connected to the powder pan, or the second mounting portion is integrally formed with the powder pan (refer to Yang Figure 2); and the first mounting portion has a thickness (L4) (height/vertical dimension as shown in Yang Figure 2). The combination does not disclose that L4 is between 0.6 mm to 1.0 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thickness of the first mounting portion would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended/be portable being given the claimed thickness. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness of the first mounting portion is within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, and the ratio of the thickness (L2) to the thickness (L3) is 0.8 to 1.0 (per the explanation provided in the rejection to claim 1, above, the ratio of L2 to L3 is approximately 1, which is within the claimed range). The combination does not disclose wherein the thickness (L1) of the portable cosmetic cartridge is 15 mm to 18 mm; the thickness (L2) of the inner cap is 5.5 mm to 8.5 mm; the thickness (L3) of the powder pan is 6 mm to 9 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thicknesses, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended/be portable being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness of (L1), (L2), and (L3) are within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein the powder pan has a volume (V) (referring to Yang Figure 2, there exists an empty space bound by horizontal and vertical walls of the powder pan that define a volume for containing the powder). The combination does not disclose that (V) is 10 mL to 15 mL; and an internal space of the powder pan has a thickness (L5) of 5 mm to 7 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the volume and thickness, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended, e.g. being portable, being capable of storing a powder, being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the ranges as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong such that (V) and (L5) are within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein a bottom of the inner cap is recessed inward to form an accommodating space (refer to cropped and annotated Yang Figure 2, below); and the accommodating space has a thickness (L6) (refer to cropped and annotated Yang Figure 2, below).
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The combination does not disclose that (L6) is between 0.4 mm to 0.7 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thickness, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended, e.g. being portable, being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that (L6) is within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses a cosmetic container (200, Yang Figure 7; 800, Yang Figure 8), comprising: the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1; a base assembly (800, see Yang Figures 8 and 9), wherein the portable cosmetic cartridge is detachably connected to the base assembly (“the outer sleeve…and the cosmetic liner…are detachably connected”, refer to Yang Page 9, second paragraph); and an outer cap (810), wherein the outer cap is rotatably disposed (833, Yang Figure 9) on the base assembly through a second hinge assembly (833, see Yang Figure 9), and the outer cap is allowed to be closed onto the inner cap (refer at least to Yang Figures 8-9).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 11, wherein the base assembly comprises an outer base (not labeled, refer to annotated Yang Figure 9, below) and an inner base (not labeled, refer to annotated Yang Figure 9, below) fixedly disposed in the outer base (refer to Yang Figure 9); and the intermediate ring is detachably disposed in the inner base (refer to Yang Figure 9).
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Regarding claim 13, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 12, as applied above. The combination does not disclose wherein the cosmetic container has an overall thickness (L7) of 15 mm to 20 mm; the powder pan has an inner diameter (D1) of 40 mm to 60 mm; a ratio of the overall thickness (L7) to the inner diameter (D1) is 0.2 to 0.5; the outer cap has an outer diameter (D2) of 60 mm to 90 mm, and a thickness (L8) of 6.5 mm to 10.5 mm; and the outer base has a thickness (L9) of 8 mm to 14 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thicknesses and diameters, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended, e.g. be portable, be capable of containing a volume of cosmetic material, being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness and diameters are within the claimed ranges, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong, discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 11, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein a mesh fabric (“net” 125) is fixedly disposed (“In one possible way, the inner wall extending table of the inner sleeve of the cosmetic liner is welded with a net”, refer to Yang Page 5, seventh paragraph) on the first mounting portion (best shown in Yang Figure 2); the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion clamp the mesh fabric (best shown in Yang Figure 2); the first mounting portion is fixedly connected to the intermediate ring, or the first mounting portion is integrally formed with the intermediate ring (refer to Yang Figure 2); the second mounting portion is fixedly connected to the powder pan, or the second mounting portion is integrally formed with the powder pan (refer to Yang Figure 2); and the first mounting portion has a thickness (L4) (height/vertical dimension as shown in Yang Figure 2). The combination does not disclose that L4 is between 0.6 mm to 1.0 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thickness of the first mounting portion would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended/be portable being given the claimed thickness. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the container of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness of the first mounting portion is within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 11, and the ratio of the thickness (L2) to the thickness (L3) is 0.8 to 1.0 (per the explanation provided in the rejection to claim 1, above, the ratio of L2 to L3 is approximately 1, which is within the claimed range).
The combination does not disclose wherein the thickness (L1) of the portable cosmetic cartridge is 15 mm to 18 mm; the thickness (L2) of the inner cap is 5.5 mm to 8.5 mm; the thickness (L3) of the powder pan is 6 mm to 9 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thicknesses, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the container of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended/be portable being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the container of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that the thickness of (L1), (L2), and (L3) are within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 11, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein the powder pan has a volume (V) (referring to Yang Figure 2, there exists an empty space bound by horizontal and vertical walls of the powder pan that define a volume for containing the powder). The combination does not disclose that (V) is 10 mL to 15 mL; and an internal space of the powder pan has a thickness (L5) of 5 mm to 7 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the volume and thickness, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended, e.g. being portable, being capable of storing a powder, being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the ranges as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the container of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that (V) and (L5) are within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong discloses the cosmetic container according to claim 11, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein a bottom of the inner cap is recessed inward to form an accommodating space (refer to cropped and annotated Yang Figure 2, below); and the accommodating space has a thickness (L6) (refer to cropped and annotated Yang Figure 2, below).
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The combination does not disclose that (L6) is between 0.4 mm to 0.7 mm.
There is no evidence of record that establishes that changing the thickness, as claimed, would result in a difference in function of the container of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong. Further, a person having ordinary skill in the art, being faced with modifying the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong would have a reasonable expectation of success in making such a modification and it appears the device would function as intended, e.g. being portable, being given the claimed thicknesses. Lastly, there appears to be no criticality placed on the range as claimed such that it produces an unexpected result. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the container of the combination of Yand, Dinata, and Dong such that (L6) is within the claimed range, as an obvious matter of design choice within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 6-9, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, respectively, and further in view of Lee (KR20160116388A).
Regarding claims 6 and 18, the combination of Yang, Dinata and Dong discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, and the cosmetic container according to claim 11, respectively, as applied above. The combination does not disclose wherein an exhaust passage is formed between the sealing ring and the intermediate ring; when the inner cap is closed onto the intermediate ring, the exhaust passage is configured to exhaust air from the intermediate ring; and when the inner cap is opened, the exhaust passage is configured to allow outside air to enter the intermediate ring.
Lee discloses a similar cosmetic cartridge (100, Figures 2-7) comprising an inner cap (120) that is configured to be closed onto an intermediate ring (110), the inner cap having a sealing ring (124a) that engages with the intermediate ring to seal contents disposed within a powder pan (140), and an exhaust passage (114) is formed between the sealing ring and intermediate ring (see Figure 6), with the exhaust passage comprising a groove (see Figures 4 and 6) on an inner surface of the intermediate ring, such that in a process of closing the inner cap onto the intermediate ring, the exhaust passage is configured to exhaust air from the intermediate ring (refer to the detail view of Figure 6); and in a process of opening the inner cap, the exhaust passage is configured to allow outside air to enter the intermediate ring (when the inner cap is lifted/during an opening process, once the seal between 124a and 110 is broken, outside is allowed to enter the intermediate ring). Lee’s exhaust passage serves to aid in closing the inner cap and preventing the inner cap from being forced open inadvertently (refer to Page 4, last paragraph). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cosmetic cartridge and the cosmetic container of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong such that a groove is disposed on an inner surface of the intermediate ring such that an exhaust passage is formed between the sealing ring and the intermediate ring; when the inner cap is closed onto the intermediate ring, the exhaust passage is configured to exhaust air from the intermediate ring; and when the inner cap is opened, the exhaust passage is configured to allow outside air to enter the intermediate ring, as taught by Lee, since such a modification would have involved combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of enabling a more easy opening of the inner cap.
Regarding claims 7 and 19, the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Lee discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 6, and the cosmetic container according to claim 18, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claims 6 and 18, the exhaust passage of Lee was incorporated into the cartridge and the container of the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Lee, wherein the exhaust passage serves to expel air from an area sealed by engagement between the sealing ring and the intermediate ring, thereby providing a hermetic seal. Therefore, the combination discloses a hermetically attached region defined by the region of the cartridge/container where the sealing ring and intermediate ring are disposed, this region is provided between the sealing ring and the intermediate ring; and the exhaust passage is located at a side, away from the powder pan, of the hermetically attached region (since the exhaust passage is formed on the inner cap, and the inner cap is spaced apart from the powder pan, the exhaust passage is also spaced apart/away from the powder pan, at a side, right side of the inner cap).
Claims 8 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong and Lee as applied to claims 7 and 19 above, and further in view of Li (CN216059534U).
Regarding claims 8 and 20, the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Lee discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 7, and the cosmetic container according to claim 19, as applied above. The combination does not thus far disclose wherein an outer sidewall of the sealing ring extends outward along a radial direction to form an annular protrusion; an inner sidewall of the intermediate ring is recessed inward to form an annular groove; the annular protrusion is interference-fitted into the annular groove; and the annular protrusion and the annular groove are located in the hermetically attached region.
Li discloses a similar cosmetic cartridge (100, Figures 1-11) comprising an inner cap (220), a sealing ring (228), an intermediate ring (198), and a powder pan (190),
wherein an outer sidewall (referring at least to Li Figure 2, when rotated 90 degrees, the outer sidewall is the outer diameter of the sealing ring) of the sealing ring extends outward along a radial direction to form an annular protrusion (refer to Li Figure 2, when rotated 90 degrees, the lower end of the sealing ring comprises a bulbous protrusion in the annular direction); an inner sidewall (referring to Li Figure 2, when rotated 90 degrees, the inner sidewall is that wall that mates with the sealing ring) of the intermediate ring is recessed inward to form an annular groove (refer at least to Li Figure 2, when rotated 90 degrees, the annular protrusion of the sealing ring is depicted as engaging with the annular groove of the intermediate ring). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge and the container of the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Lee such that an outer sidewall of the sealing ring extends outward along a radial direction to form an annular protrusion; an inner sidewall of the intermediate ring is recessed inward to form an annular groove, as taught by Li, since such a modification would have involved combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of ensuring an effective seal. Modifying the cartridge and container such that the sealing ring comprises an annular protrusion and the intermediate ring has an annular groove provides the configuration wherein the annular protrusion and the annular groove are located in the hermetically attached region.
The combination does not thus far disclose the annular protrusion is interference-fitted into the annular groove.
Dong discloses the use of interference (“force fitting method”, refer to Page 6, last paragraph) fitting two sealing surfaces (50 and 33 and 32) comprising a plurality of mating protrusions and grooves (best shown in Figure 3) in a cosmetic container to affect a hermetically attached region (“outer airtight wall”, refer to Page 6, last paragraph) in order to maintain an integrity of the cosmetic contents stored therein. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the cosmetic cartridge and the container of the combination of the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, Lee, and Li such that the inner sidewall of the intermediate ring is recessed inward to form an annular groove; the annular protrusion is interference-fitted into the annular groove; the annular protrusion and the annular groove form a hermetically attached region, as taught by Dong, since such a modification would have involved combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of hermetically sealing a cosmetic cartridge to preserve a cosmetic material stored therein.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Lee discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 6, as applied above. Per the modification addressed in claim 6, a single exhaust groove was incorporated into the cartridge such that the exhaust passage comprises (N) exhaust grooves; the N exhaust grooves are formed between the sealing ring and the intermediate ring; and the (N) exhaust grooves are formed in an outer sidewall of the sealing ring, or the (N) exhaust grooves are formed in an inner sidewall of the intermediate ring (the exhaust groove is formed in an inner sidewall of the intermediate ring, refer to Lee Figure 4), wherein (N) is greater than or equal to 1, the N being an integer.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li (CN216059534U) and Xu (EP3491961A1).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong, discloses the portable cosmetic cartridge according to claim 1, as applied above. Yang further discloses wherein the sealing ring is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material (“a thermoplastic elastomer”, refer to Page 7, second paragraph).
The combination does not thus far disclose that the inner cap and the intermediate ring are made of a polyolefin material; and a hardness of the sealing ring is less than a hardness of each of the inner cap and the intermediate ring.
Li discloses a similar cosmetic cartridge (100, Figures 1-11) comprising an inner cap (220), a sealing ring (228), an intermediate ring (210), and a powder pan (190), wherein the sealing ring is formed of an elastic material (“The sealing member 228 may be formed of a material such as rubber or silicon[e] having an elastic force”, refer to Page 7, second to last paragraph); hardness of the sealing ring is less than hardness of the intermediate ring (“The sealing member…having an elastic force higher than that of the upper inner shell”, refer to Page 7, second to last paragraph), where the inner cap is formed of a polyolefin (“the upper inner shell 220 (formed by polypropylene”, refer to Page 7, second to last paragraph), where providing the sealing ring to be less hard than the material of the inner cap provides a means for the upper cap to be able to press on the sealing ring in order to make an effective seal at the interface between the inner cap and the powder pan. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, and Dong such that the inner cap is made of a polyolefin material; and a hardness of the sealing ring is less than a hardness of the inner cap, as taught by Li, since such a modification would have involved combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield the predictable result of ensuring an effective seal.
The combination does not disclose that the intermediate ring is also made of a polyolefin material.
Xu discloses a similar cosmetic container (10, Figures 1-6) comprising a powder pan (5), an inner cap (3), a sealing ring (120), and an intermediate ring (4), wherein the sealing ring has a lower hardness than that of the intermediate ring and the intermediate ring is made of a polyolefin material (refer to Page 6, second paragraph). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cartridge of the combination of Yang, Dinata, Dong, and Li, such that the intermediate ring is also made of a polyolefin material, as taught by Xu, since it has been been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Conclusion
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/SARAH WOODHOUSE/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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