PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION PAPER A 2016

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 25 PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION PAPER A 2016 Dear Candidate, Paper A is a patent drafting exercise in which you are being requested to prepare a full patent specification, with significant weight (60%) given to the claims. A description of the technology as the hypothetical inventor understands it is provided in the form of a meeting transcript. The inventor has also provided the attached drawings. You are to assume that there is no more relevant prior art than what is mentioned in the meeting transcript. You are cautioned not to impart your own knowledge of the subject matter into your analysis and preparation of the patent application. On the basis of the client's description, drawings, and the known prior art, taking into account what the inventor tells you are his/her observations, prepare a patent application. Please note: - The Petition and other such formal portions of an application are not required; - Titles for sections of the patent application must be provided to assist with correction; - Order of sections of the patent application is not important for Exam purposes. Claims You are required to submit a first independent claim of the apparatus type (30 marks), six dependent apparatus claims (12 marks, 2 marks each), a second independent claim of the method type (12 marks) and three dependent method claims (6 marks, 2 marks each). You are to ignore any issues relating to unity of invention.

2 Page 2 of 25 NOTE: FOR THE DEPENDENT CLAIMS, MARKS WILL BE GIVEN FOR ONLY THE FIRST 6 DEPENDENT APPARATUS CLAIMS, AND FOR ONLY THE FIRST 3 DEPENDENT METHOD CLAIMS. ADDITIONAL CLAIMS WILL NOT BE MARKED. NOTE: MARKS WILL BE GIVEN FOR ONLY DEPENDENT CLAIMS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE POINT OF INVENTION. Description of the Embodiments While clever, the inventor is unlikely to have provided language, structure and organization appropriate for a patent application. Accordingly, full marks for the description will not be awarded for merely copying the transcript and, historically, lower marks have been awarded for exclusively cutting and pasting portions from the examination itself. The description should not simply consist of an enumeration of the elements on each figure. The description must address with more details the point(s) of invention including the subject matter recited in the dependent claims. Alternative embodiments provided by the inventor should also be discussed. Drawings You have been provided with duplicate unmarked copies of the drawings for your use.

3 Page 3 of 25 MARK BREAKDOWN Apparatus claims Method claims Claim 1 - independent 30 Claim 8 - independent 12 Claim 2 - dependent 2 Claim 9 - dependent 2 Claim 3 - dependent 2 Claim 10 - dependent 2 Claim 4 - dependent 2 Claim 11 - dependent 2 Claim 5 - dependent 2 Claim 6 - dependent 2 Claim 7 - dependent 2 Subtotal 60 Disclosure Abstract 1 Summary of the Invention 3 Title 1 Description of the Drawings 2 Field of the Invention 1 Description of the Embodiments Background of the Invention 10 (marks are allotted for proper reference to the drawings) 22 Subtotal 40 TOTAL 100

4 Page 4 of 25 Your client (Inventor) comes in to your office at 9AM on today s date. Below is a transcript of the dialogue. Inventor: Good morning, Patent Agent. Patent Agent: Good morning, Inventor. What can I do for you? Inventor: Allow me to present to you my most recent invention; it will be great for bottlers of drinks such as soda, beer and other beverages. I would like you to prepare and file a Canadian patent application to protect my invention. Patent Agent: Not a problem. Tell me more! Inventor: I have a neat new idea for a drink bottle. I was actually inspired by an earlier product that I invented in my spare time, a couple weeks after the birth of my only daughter. It was a baby bottle. Actually, that reminds me, my daughter s first birthday is tomorrow I must remember to bake a cake tonight! Patent Agent: How nice. I will try to remind you before you leave. Inventor: Anyhow, I attach a brochure, labelled D1, from a recent trade show where I advertised the baby bottle. I had many inquiries about the baby bottle, and even a call from a company in Europe, but no sales. In any event, I have decided not to pursue the baby bottle, so that I can put my resources into bringing this new drink bottle to market. Patent Agent: I see. Inventor: Back to my invention. I own a company that makes containers, and lately I have been doing a lot of research into various beverage containers you know beer bottles, soda bottles, wine bottles, travel mugs stuff like that. Market studies have shown that many people like adding lemon flavor to their fizzy beverages, such as beer, Transcript

5 Page 5 of 25 sparkling water and soft drinks. However, many do not. Thus, if you make it convenient for people to have the option of adding lemon juice, but so that they don t necessarily have to add it, then you are likely to have a successful product. If you look at my Figure A, I am using the example of a soft drink bottle. Inside the bottle is a dispenser. It s a squeezable artificial lemon wedge that holds lemon juice. Some soft drink brands may taste better with lime juice instead of lemon juice. So the dispenser could be an artificial lime wedge or even a plastic orange wedge. The colour can give an indication as to what additive is in the dispenser. Patent Agent: It really does look like a lemon floating in there. But how do you get it out? Inventor: Well, as shown in my Figure B, you will notice the bottle has a cap that seals the opening of the bottle. The dispenser is actually secured to the cap, in this case by a clear, transparent string, which creates the illusion that there is a lemon wedge floating in the liquid. When the user removes the cap to drink the beverage, the dispenser is withdrawn from the bottle via the opening. The dispenser is physically protected by remaining entirely within the bottle during transport, so it can t be stolen, tampered with, contaminated, or knocked off. Yet its contents are not released until the user chooses to release them. Or they could even choose not to release them! Once they remove the cap to open the bottle, the dispenser is withdrawn, and they can squeeze the juice from the dispenser into the beverage, as shown in my Figure C, or save the juice for later, or even discard the dispenser! Patent Agent: I suppose you would have to use a small dispenser to fit through the opening of the bottle? Inventor: In most cases yes, but you also have to understand that a soft drink bottle or a beer bottle is just one example of a receptacle of a container, in which the neck of the receptacle is particularly narrow. Other receptacles may have much wider openings for example a travel mug. At the other extreme, you could also use a dispenser that is Transcript

6 Page 6 of 25 actually larger than the opening of the receptacle, but is compressible or squeezable. One example of this would be a sealed balloon that contains a substance to be added to the material in the bottle. During assembly, the balloon could be compressed on the way down the neck of the bottle until it reaches a wider portion and expands. When the cap is removed, the string would tug on the balloon, and on the way out, the balloon would be re-compressed, as a result of the user continuing to pull the cap away from the bottle. Patent Agent: Aren t you afraid that the string will snap? Inventor: Well, yes and no. If the string snaps, you can t remove the dispenser and thus you can t use the dispenser. So you are right in that the dispenser has to be removable through the opening by withdrawing the cap, or else my invention doesn t work. But I have found that snapping of the string isn t likely to happen. Many materials would be suitable for the string even dental floss or fishing wire. Actually, this reminds me of an alternative design which you will see in my Figure D. Here I use a rigid rod as an attachment member instead of a string, and the dispenser takes the form of a capsule. This version works better with a screw cap as the closure member, as opposed to the bottle cap of Figure A. You see, during removal of the bottle cap of Figure A with a conventional bottle opener, the bottle cap is deformed by the bottle opener. This isn t a concern when the attachment member is a string, since the string is flexible. But the deformation of the bottle cap may cause a rod to snap. Anyway, in Figure D, the closure member is a screw cap, which isn t deformed when removed, so the string and the rigid rod work equally well. I also have developed a prototype where the dispenser is fitted directly to the cap, so a rod or string or other such structure would not be required. Patent Agent: You are making me thirsty. Can your invention be used with other beverages and other condiments? Inventor: Yes, in fact my brother and sister are great examples. They both like nonalcoholic cocktail mixes that come in a variety of plastic and glass bottles. She always Transcript

7 Page 7 of 25 adds Tabasco brand hot sauce to her drink whereas he does not. My invention would make them both happy, because they would each unscrew the plastic cap from the bottle and remove the cap, which causes the dispenser to exit the bottle through the opening. Then my sister can break open the capsule and add the hot sauce, whereas my brother doesn t need to. In fact, he can give her his capsule, which would remain attached to his cap via the rod, and she can enjoy twice the spiciness! Patent Agent: Sounds great but what are the manufacturing costs like? Inventor: You are correct to imply that manufacturing costs are higher than for a conventional bottle, but the method for assembling the container is actually pretty neat. In fact, we have a few options available for the manufacturing process. You can start with really any receptacle and any complementary closure member they can be the same bottles and caps that manufacturers are already working with. You can fill the bottle with the beverage, and fill the dispenser with the condiment. Then, you secure the dispenser to the cap. Next, you insert the dispenser into the receptacle and subsequently close off the opening of the receptacle by mounting the cap. You can then ship or store the bottle. Patent Agent: How do you secure the dispenser to the cap? Inventor: So far we have found that the best way to do it is with an adhesive. We glue one end of the string to the dispenser, and the second end to the inside of the cap. We ve found a great food-safe glue that we use for this. In the version we plan to sell, the second end of the string is glued to the bottom or inside surface of the cap. But we did experiment with a version where the second end was glued to the top or outside surface of the cap, and then the string came down along the side of the cap and passed under the cap into the bottle. This actually made manufacturing a bit simpler, but we were concerned that this would make the product easier to tamper with, so for now we have chosen to proceed with the string glued to the bottom surface of the cap. Transcript

8 Page 8 of 25 Patent Agent: Interesting Inventor: And we also have another way of doing it, where we insert the dispenser into the receptacle, and then secure it to the cap. Patent Agent: How does that work? Inventor: Well, we glue the string to the dispenser, and then insert the dispenser into the bottle. The free end of the string stays outside the bottle, so it can then be glued to the cap at the end of the manufacturing process. Just like the other version, we can then ship or store the bottle. Patent Agent: Are there any other variants? Inventor: Yes, I am going to tackle the problem of childhood obesity by reducing the sugar content of beverages and instead placing the excess sugar in the capsule. That way, the consumer would have the option of adding sugar by cracking the capsule and adding the sugar to the base beverage before consuming it. While I expect many people may add the sugar, the option of not adding it would be available, hopefully leading to a healthier society. Patent Agent: Is that everything? Inventor: One more thing! I plan to make and sell bottled beverages, but I was thinking that this could also be good for beverage containers that are sold empty. I would really like to license this patent to companies that manufacture those types of containers. Like for reusable water bottles or even a thermally insulated canister like a Thermos brand canister. In fact, even the dispenser could be sold empty, so that the user can fill it with whatever they want. Someone might want to fill their canister with coffee in the morning before they go to work, and fill the dispenser with sweetener. When they get to work, they can add as much sweetener to their coffee as they want. Transcript

9 Page 9 of 25 Patent Agent: Thank you for the information on your invention. I have everything I need, and will prepare and file the application today. Oh, before you go, can you tell me if you have done any prior art searching? Inventor: Yes. I am aware of Documents D2 and D3. And I already told you about the trade show the brochure is labelled D1. Patent Agent: Excellent. daughter s first birthday tomorrow! Oh by the way - don t forget to bake a cake for your Inventor: Thank you for the reminder! Please file the patent application today so that I can enjoy the party tomorrow! Transcript

10 Page 10 of 25 Drawings of Invention

11 Page 11 of 25 Drawings of Invention

12 Page 12 of 25 ON-THE-GO BABY BOTTLE D1 Introducing the ON-THE-GO BABY BOTTLE a simple, easy-to-use, all-in-one bottle that stores powdered formula and water, so that they can be mixed on the go! The ON-THE-GO BABY BOTTLE includes a standard bottle, a nipple with a built-in formula dispenser cup, and a cap for the dispenser cup. Simply fill the bottle with water, and fill the formula dispenser cup with the powdered baby formula of your choice (see figure 1). The formula dispenser cup even has markings on it, so you can add the amount of your choice! Then snap the cap onto the formula dispenser cup (see figures 2A and 2B). This seals the formula inside the formula dispenser cup. Then simply insert the sealed formula dispenser cup into the bottle, while screwing the nipple onto the bottle (see figure 3). Voila the formula and water are stored separately inside the bottle until you are ready to use them! When your baby is hungry, unscrew the nipple from the bottle to remove the sealed formula dispenser cup from the bottle. Remove the cap from the formula dispenser cup, and pour the formula from the formula dispenser cup into the water in the bottle (see figure 4). Next, screw the nipple on to the bottle (with the cap set aside), and shake to mix (see figure 5). You are ready to feed your baby! The ON-THE-GO BABY BOTTLE is BPA free, and manufactured in Germany. D1

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15 Page 15 of 25 United States Patent Patent Number X,XXX,056 Corona et al. Date of Patent September 21, 2010 Fruit Flavoring In The Image Of A Fruit Portion Stored With A Vessel For Flavoring A Fluid TECHNICAL FIELD The field of this invention is devices associated with flavoring a bottled beverage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross section of an artificial fruit portion, where the artificial fruit portion is a wedge and comprises an elastic foam body and a container containing fruit-flavored liquid. FIG. 2 is a front view of a bottled beverage with the artificial fruit portion of Figure 1 suspended outside the bottle by an external fastener with a ring at one end. FIG. 3 is a front view of the artificial fruit portion and external fastener of Figure 2, wherein the artificial fruit portion is packaged in a removable protective covering. DETAILED DESCRIPTION One often wishes to use another liquid or flavoring with their beverage, where it is undesirable or inconvenient to premix the liquid D2

16 Page 16 of 25 or flavoring with the beverage. As examples, there is lemon or milk with tea, citrus fruit flavored liquids with soda or beer or water, juices with alcoholic beverages, and the like. The subject invention provides a combination of a beverage liquid in a sealed vessel and a flavoring, such as an ancillary liquid or soluble substance, accompanying the vessel in a convenient form for admixing the flavoring with the beverage liquid upon opening the vessel. When the flavoring is an ancillary liquid typically it is stored in a container, that may be frangible or breakable or openable, and that is connected to and separable from the container. Conveniently, the container is housed in a foam housing, desirably in the image or form of a portion of a fruit, including but not limited to a citrus fruit, including but not limited to a lime or lemon wedge or slice. In such examples, the container and housing may collectively be referred to as an artificial fruit portion. The artificial fruit portion is packaged outside the bottle, typically removably attached to the top of the bottle cap, side of the bottle, or bottle carrier or holder. The container and housing may resemble any natural food or portion thereof and contain any liquid, including flavoring. The artificial lime wedge may also be replaced by a real lime, lemon or other food that is packaged in a removable container or covering. The natural lime, lemon, fruit or other food may be dehydrated or dried, e.g., freeze-dried. It may be non-perishable or optionally contain a preservative. It may be optionally supplemented with a D2

17 Page 17 of 25 container of flavored liquid. It may optionally contain fruit juice from concentrate. The liquid contents of the bottle may be beer, a soft drink (or soda), tea, coffee, milk, water, a sports drink, fruit juice, an alcoholic beverage and the like. FIG. 1 is a cross section of an artificial fruit portion 100 (including but not limited to an artificial lime or lemon), including a container 102 and a housing 104. The housing 104 is foam body that encloses all or a portion of the container 102. The artificial fruit 100 typically represents only a portion of the artificial fruit, including but not limited to a triangular lime wedge or lemon slice. In this example, the container liquid 106 in the container 102 may be real fruit juice (including but not limited to real lime juice), artificial fruit juice (including but not limited to artificial lime juice), fruit flavored liquid (including but not limited to lime flavored liquid) or another desired liquid. The tip 110 (shown only in Fig 1) of the container can be snapped off, to open the container 102. The liquid 106 in the container liquid can then be squeezed out of the container 102. FIG. 2 is a front view of a beverage bottle 200 filled with liquid 201 and associated with artificial fruit portion 100. The artificial fruit portion 100 is shown suspended outside the bottle 200 by fastener 202 with a loop 204 at one end. The fastener 202 is suspended outside the bottle 200 by the loop 204, which encircles the neck of the bottle 200. The fastener may also be adhered or otherwise connected to the outside of the bottle 200, for example adhered to the top of the bottle cap 206. D2

18 Page 18 of 25 The artificial fruit portion 100 may also be fastened to the outside of the bottle 200 or bottle cap 206 using a plastic wrap, shrink wrap, cling wrap, plastic film, tape, glue, adhesive, a clip, snap, Velcro, cable tie, a mating member and the like. FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the artificial fruit portion 100, fastener 202, and loop 204, where the artificial fruit portion 100 is packaged in a removable covering 300. The removable covering 300 may be made of any convenient material including but not limited to clear, translucent or opaque plastic. The removable covering 300 may be vacuum-sealed and adhered to the fastener. D2

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20 Page 20 of 25 United States Patent Patent Number X,XXX,979 Pellegrino et al. Date of Patent October 17, 2009 Automatic Citrus Flavoring System for a Beverage TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to beverages, and more specifically to a system for automatically flavoring a beverage with citrus flavor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a cross section of a beverage bottle comprising a beverage and an imitation citrus wedge. Inside the imitation citrus wedge is a liquid vessel that releases its liquid contents, including but not limited to lemon juice, into the beverage when the imitation citrus wedge is lowered into the beverage, as shown in FIG. 1B. FIG. 2A is a side view of the liquid vessel of Figures 1A and 1B, and Figure 2B is a cross section of the liquid vessel of Figure 2A, taken along line A-A in Figure 2A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Many popular beverages are served in a bottle, such as mineral water or soft drinks. Such beverages are often enjoyed with a wedge of citrus. Often, one purchases a bottle of mineral water in a store or gets one from their refrigerator and does not have a natural lime or D3

21 Page 21 of 25 lemon wedge handy. For such situations it would be convenient to have the lime or lemon packaged with the bottle. The present invention provides an imitation citrus wedge, such as an imitation lemon or lime wedge, that is stored inside the neck of a beverage bottle. The imitation citrus wedge houses a liquid vessel that automatically releases citrus juice into the beverage when the bottle is opened and the imitation citrus wedge is pushed down into the body of the bottle (e.g. with a finger). FIG. 1A is a cross section of a beverage bottle 100 comprising a beverage 102, such as mineral water, and an imitation citrus wedge 104. The imitation citrus wedge 104 can include but is not limited to an artificial lime or lemon wedge. Inside the imitation citrus wedge is a liquid vessel 106 comprising a first member 108 and a second member 110. The liquid vessel 106 releases its liquid contents inside the imitation citrus wedge 104 when the imitation citrus wedge 104 is lowered into the beverage 102, as shown in FIG. 1B and as described below. The liquid contents then diffuse through the imitation citrus wedge 104 into the beverage 102. For example, the imitation citrus wedge 104 may be made from a foam through which the contents of the liquid vessel 106 may permeate. As shown, the imitation citrus wedge 104 is typically initially in contact with the inner surface of the neck 112 of the beverage bottle 100. The imitation citrus wedge 104 is compressed by the neck to keep the first member 108 in sealed contact with the second member 110 to prevent the liquid contents from escaping. D3

22 Page 22 of 25 In FIG. 1B, the imitation citrus wedge 104 has been lowered into the beverage 102. For example, a user may press the imitation citrus wedge 104 down into the beverage 102 using their finger. This releases the pressure keeping the first member 108 in sealed contact with the second member 110 (i.e the neck no longer squeezes the wedge 104 to keep the first member 108 and second member 110 in contact), and allowing the first member 108 to separate from the second member 110. Typically, such separation is induced by a separating pressure between the first member 108 and the second member 110. Such separating pressure may be provided by any convenient method, including a spring, including but not limited to a compression spring or extension spring. When the first member 108 separates from the second member 110, the contents of the liquid vessel 106 are released into the imitation citrus wedge, and permeate through the imitation citrus wedge 104 into the beverage. FIG. 2A is a side view of the liquid vessel 106 FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this embodiment, the liquid vessel 106 has a first member 108 and a second member 110 joined by a hinge 114. Not shown in the figure is the spring for applying a separating pressure between the first member 108 and second member 110. Such a spring may be associated with the hinge 114. There may also be a compression spring between the first member 108 and second member 110. FIG. 2B is a cross section of the liquid vessel 106 of FIG. 2A taken at section A-A of FIG. 2A. In order to form to form a liquid seal, the second member 110 has a protuberance 116 along its entire perimeter that fits into a mating channel 118 along the entire perimeter of the first member 108. D3

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