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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 21, 2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has requested (Remarks, page 4) indication that foreign priority is accepted. However, no foreign priority was claimed in the application data sheet (filed July 21, 2022) or elsewhere in the application. If applicant wishes to perfect a claim to foreign priority, applicant is invited to file a claim for such priority.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections over US 10,377,489 B2 to Sawhney et al. have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0193855 A1 to Prager et al. in view of US 12,106,256 B2 to Lee et al.
Regarding claim 1: Prager teaches a flying body (UAV 500) comprising:
a cargo bay (figs. 5A-5D: chamber 508) configured to receive an object (¶ 0156);
a loading port for loading an object in the plurality of mounting spaces (figs. 5A-5B, ¶ 0156: door 506);
a take-out port for taking out the object loaded in the plurality of mounting spaces (figs. 5C-5D, ¶ 0157: door 510); and
wherein the loading port and the take-out port are provided at least partially at different positions (figs. 5A-5D: at the top and bottom of chamber 508),
wherein the loading port is provided above the mounting spaces (as shown in figs. 5A-5B), wherein the take-out port is provided below the mounting spaces (as shown in figs. 5C-5D),
wherein the take-out port includes a discharge element to hold and release the object (figs. 5C-5D, ¶ 0157: door 510).
Prager teaches landing gear for supporting flying bodies (fig. 1B: 130; shown but unlabeled in fig. 1E; see also ¶ 0139), but does not specifically teach landing gear with respect to the embodiment of figs. 5A-5D.
Lee teaches a flying body (40) comprising:
a holder (44) carrying a plurality of packages arranged vertically (c. 27, ℓ. 58-63),
a loading port for loading the package in the holder (fig. 2: fixing members 44C; c. 6, ℓ. 17-29, c. 10, ℓ. 30-32: fixing members 44C having a known locking mechanism are closed after a package is loaded),
a take-out port with a discharge element to hold and release the package (fig. 2: support members 44B; c. 6, ℓ. 17-29: support members 44B can be opened and closed to release the package), and
a landing gear for supporting the flying body (unlabeled but shown in figs. 2 and 11), wherein a bottom surface of the landing gear is located at a lower position than the discharge element (the landing gear extends below the bottom of holder 44, as shown in figs. 2 and 11).
Lee discloses that the flying body lands during delivery operations (Lee c. 6, ℓ. 23-29, c. 11, ℓ. 65–c. 12, ℓ. 6, c. 17, ℓ. 34-41) and though Prager does not discuss the landing gear with respect to the embodiment of figs. 5A-5D, Prager also discloses that the flying body may land during the process of delivery (Prager figs. 8A-8B, ¶ 0180-0181; see also ¶ 0006, 0040, 0101, 0146, 0150, 0153).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have configured the flying body of Prager such that a bottom surface of the landing gear is located at a lower position than the discharge element, as taught by Lee, for the purpose of permitting the flying body to land while carrying objects or articles.
Prager teaches that the UAV may include a compartment “in which an item or items may be transported” and that the payload may comprises “one or more items that are being delivered” (¶ 0092; see also ¶ 0102, 0189), but does not specifically teach a plurality of mounting spaces which are arranged in a vertical direction of the flying body.
Lee discloses that, “in the embodiment, the case in which the holder 44 holds only one package has been described, but the holder 44 may be able to hold a plurality of packages. In this case, the plurality of packages are stored in the holder 44 at a time by being arranged horizontally or stacked vertically” (c. 27, ℓ. 58-63).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have configured the cargo bay of the flying body of Prager such that a plurality of packages may be stored inside by being stacked vertically, as taught by Lee, for the purpose of carrying multiple packages at a time.
In so doing, the position of each package within the stack is considered to be a mounting space configured to receive the respective package within the stack.
Regarding claim 14: Prager, as modified, provides the flying body according to claim 1, further comprising a propeller (propulsion units 502) connected to a frame (fuselage 504). The mounting spaces of Prager are within the flying body, however Prager does not specifically teach the location where the frame is fixed relative to the mounting spaces.
Lee teaches a flying body (40) comprising:
a plurality of mounting spaces, each mounting space of the plurality of mounting spaces configured to receive an object (c. 27, ℓ. 58-63: holder 44 may be able to hold a plurality of packages at once by being stacked vertically; the position of each package within the stack is considered to be a mounting space configured to receive the respective package within the stack);
a propeller connected to a frame (shown in fig. 2);
wherein the frame is fixed to a point on one of the plurality of mounting spaces, and the point is not centrally located on the mounting space (fig. 2: the airframe is fixed to the top of the holder 44, which is not centrally located along the vertical dimension of the holder or mounting space; with respect to the lateral dimension, since the reader 45 is disclosed to be mounted to the bottom of the UAV 40 on the vertical centerline of the storage space, c. 7, ℓ. 54-57, the airframe itself cannot be fixed to the holder at the same centrally located point as the reader).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have configured the flying body of Prager such that the frame is fixed to a point on the mounting space which is not centrally located on the mounting space, such as by fixing the frame below the airframe as taught by Lee, for the purpose of suspending the load below the rotors for improved pendular stability.
Regarding claim 15: Prager, as modified, provides the flying body according to claim 1.
Lee teaches a discharge element comprising a length sufficient to engage opposing edges of an underside of the object within the mounting space without extending an entirety of the underside of the object (fig. 2: support members 44B are shown on either side of holder 44, engaging opposing edges of an underside of package C within holder 44 while not extending an entirety of the underside of the object).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the discharge element of the flying body of Prager to comprise a length sufficient to engage opposing edges of an underside of the object within the mounting space without extending an entirety of the underside of the object, as taught by Lee, for the purpose of reducing weight compared with a full-width door.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Richard Green whose telephone number is (571)270-5380. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 7:00.
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/Richard Green/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647