DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on April 18, 2023 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 .
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, 2, 5-8, 10, 11, 14, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Morfin (US 2018/0208215).
Morfin discloses an elevated public transportation system comprised of an interconnected rail network configured to transport carts in a travel direction there along as generally shown in figures 1-3. The system has a plurality of rails aligned with one another, wherein the plurality of rails comprising an external sidewalk rail positioned at the periphery of the at least one interconnected rails network in proximity to a sidewalk, as shown in figure 5 and configured for picking up and dropping off passengers and/or freight. The tracks shown in figure 5 extend downward to a lower level to meet the platform 30 for passenger access. Transitional rails are positioned on a downward or upward angle to allow the car to drop down or raise up relative to the platform. The system is further comprised of rotation assemblies in the form of curved and roundabout features in the track system as shown in figures 3 and 4, to turn and rotates cares through the system. The system is further elevated above ground level by a network of support posts. Figure 2 depicts the overall centralized controller and wireless communication network controlling the various cars through the track system.
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morfin (US 2018/0208215) in view of Mobasher (US 8,272,332).
Morfin discloses the transportation system as described above. However, Morfin does not specifically show the system to utilize solar power. Mobasher discloses a transportation system with overhead rails and solar cells 62 positioned along the track to provide power to the system. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied solar panels, like that of Mobasher, to a transit system like that of Morfin, with the expected result of providing an alternative energy source or a supplemental energy source in order for the system topo operate more efficiently.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 9, 12, 13 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00.
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
September 15, 2025