OFFICE ACTION
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
Applicants’ response and election without traverse of Group I (1.1-1.7) in the reply filed on September 19, 2025, is acknowledged.
Group II (2.1-2.7) is withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being for the nonelected designs.
Group II (2.1-2.7) directed to a design or designs nonelected without traverse and without the right to petition, such Group(s) have been cancelled along with the corresponding figure descriptions.
Applicant’s amendment to the specification on September 19, 2025 is acknowledged.
Rejection – 35 U.S.C. § 112
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second paragraphs, as the claimed invention is not described in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the same, and fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention.
The claim is indefinite and nonenabling because the shape and appearance of the claimed design cannot be understood due to the following:
Reproduction 1.7 shows inconsistencies in the bottom surface shown with a smooth surface from edge to edge having the appearance of a flat, circular surface, while all other figures show the outer rim with a contoured periphery, thereby making the exact appearance uncorroborated as presently disclosed. Therefore, in order to eliminate the inconsistencies, it is suggested that applicant show consistently the outer edge contours so that it does not appear to be flat. See below for identification.
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705
1135
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Replacement Sheets
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. If all the figures on a drawing sheet are canceled, a replacement sheet is not required. A marked-up copy of the drawing sheet (labeled as “Annotated Sheet”) including an annotation showing that all the figures on that drawing sheet have been canceled must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change to the drawings. 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.
When preparing new drawings in compliance with the requirement therefor, care must be exercised to avoid introduction of anything which could be construed to be new matter prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121(f). This pertains to either: the addition to, or the removal of, any elements shown in the originally disclosed design.
Failure to submit replacement correction sheets overcoming all of the deficiencies in the drawing disclosure set forth above, or an explanation why the drawing corrections or additional drawing views are not necessary will result in the rejection of the claim under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second paragraphs, being made FINAL in the next Office action.
The claimed design is patentable over the references cited. However, a final determination of patentability will be made upon resolution of the above rejection(s).
Applicant may view and obtain copies of the cited references by visiting <http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html> and pressing the “Patent Number Search” button.
The claim stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) and (b).
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANICE PATYK whose telephone number is (571)272-7594. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri from 6:00am-2:00pm, EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Sandra Snapp, can be reached on 571-272-8364. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JANICE PATYK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2912