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 Amendment
The response filed on September 2nd, 2026 is acknowledged. Six pages of amended claims were received on 9/2/2026. Claims 1, 12, 18, and 26 have been amended and Claims 11 and 13 have been cancelled. The claims have been amended to overcome previous claim objections, previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), and previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 in the non-final rejection mailed 6/18/2026. Claims 1, 4-10, 12, 14-17, 27 and 29 are now rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as noted below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s elections without traverse of the system of Invention Group I and System Species B in the reply filed on 9/17/2025 in response to the requirement for restriction mailed 4/29/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 18-22 and 25-26 were withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claims 2-3 were withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Interpretation
Examiner notes that the terms “proximate” and “proximal” used in the claims are being interpreted as best understood to mean that something is within the same area of or approaching the same area of another object.
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, 12, 15-17, 27, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US PGPUB 2016/0051848 A1 to Klarlund et al. (“Klarlund”) in view of NPL Document “Encyclopedia of Wildfire and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires” to Manzello (“Manzello”) and FR-23443020-A1 to Fabre (“Fabre”).
As to Claim 1, Klarlund discloses a system for mitigating future fires (See Annotated Fig. 14 and See Paragraph 0010 disclosing optimizing prevention of fire and See Paragraph 0067 disclosing preventing spreading of fires, therefore the system is for mitigating future fires) within a vegetated wilderness area (See Annotated Fig. 14 showing trees in an area and See Paragraph 0060 disclosing a forest or agricultural land), the system comprising:
a firebreak (See Annotated Fig. 14, the firebreak is an area in the wilderness area where there are no trees);
a fuel break adjacent to a side of the firebreak (See Annotated Fig. 14, the fuel break is another area in the wilderness area), said fuel break being a strip of land comprising vegetation that could feed a potential fire (See trees in Annotated Fig. 14 and See Paragraph 0005 disclosing that fire can travel across foliage), wherein the vegetation in the strip of land includes living vegetation that extends above grade in the fuel break (See trees in the fuel break in Annotated Fig. 14 and See Paragraph 0040);
a watering system (See multiple apparatuses #12) comprising a first watering tower (See Tower A in Annotated Fig. 14, which is a single tower #14), the first watering tower being configured to extend above grade (See Annotated Fig. 14 and Paragraph 0041), the first watering tower being installed within or proximate the fuel break (See Annotated Fig. 14, the first watering tower is installed in the fuel break), and configured to apply water to the living vegetation within the fuel break (See Annotated Fig. 14 and Paragraph 0040);
a first water distribution outlet cooperative with the first watering tower (See nozzle #46 in Fig. 3 and See Paragraph 0042);
a first water conduit (#30) configured to provide liquid communication between a first water source (See Paragraph 0054 disclosing a lake, river, or pond) and the first water distribution outlet (See Paragraph 0054); and
a first water pump configured to draw water from the first water source and to cause the water to be expelled through the first water distribution outlet onto the fuel break (See Paragraph 0054 disclosing a pump that draws water from a lake, river, or pond);
a moisture sensor (#24, which per Paragraph 0050 can be a humidity sensor) that is permanently installed in the fuel break (See Annotated Fig. 14, the moisture sensor is installed on Tower A and thus permanently installed in the fuel break) and configured to measure a moisture content of at least one of:
the living vegetation growing in the fuel break;
the soil present in the fuel break; and
air proximate the fuel break (See Paragraph 0050. Since #24 is a humidity sensor in the fuel break, it can at least measure moisture content of air that is proximate the fuel break); and
a controller (#28) in data communication with the moisture sensor and configured, in response to measurements made by the moisture sensor, to activate and deactivate the first water pump so as to cause the first watering tower to apply water to the living vegetation in the fuel break, and thereby to maintain the living vegetation within the fuel break (See Paragraph 0052 disclosing using data from #24 to control delivery of fluid to #12 based on fire conditions being detected. See Paragraph 0040 disclosing fluid being provided to trees, which will result in the trees being maintained)
wherein:
substantially all of the fuel break abuts the firebreak (See Annotated Fig. 14, the fuel break is adjacent to the firebreak); and
the wilderness area extends on both sides of the firebreak and abuts the fuel break (See Annotated Fig. 14, the wilderness area has trees that are on both sides of the firebreak and adjacent to the fuel break).
Regarding Claim 1, in reference to the system of Klarlund as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund does not specifically disclose wherein the firebreak is constructed in the wilderness area as a permanent strip of bare land by removing substantially all vegetation therefrom and wherein the fuel break has vegetation that has been thinned relative to surrounding vegetation (See Annotated Fig. 14. Paragraph 0040 does not disclose managing the trees #90).
However, Manzello discloses a system for mitigating future fires within a vegetated wilderness area comprising a firebreak that is constructed in the wilderness area as a permanent strip of bare land by removing substantially all vegetation therefrom and an adjacent fuel break that is a strip of land comprising vegetation that could feed a potential fire, wherein the vegetation has been thinned relative to surrounding vegetation, wherein the vegetation in the strip of land includes living vegetation that extends above grade in the fuel break (See the shaded fuelbreak in Fig. 1 on Page 446 and See Page 444 which states “Firebreak and fuelbreak are fuel-managed areas meant to stop or hamper fire propagation, respectively. Firebreaks are parcels of land, linear in shape, where fuels are totally removed down to mineral soil through a combination of physical treatments (thinning, mechanical clearing, prescribed burning, slashing, mastication, mowing, plowing). Fuelbreaks are parcels of land, linear or in blocks, covered by vegetation where fuels are reduced in both volume and flammability by physical treatments and land management practices such as grazing, game management, or silvicultural treatments favoring less-flammable vegetation, so that fires burning into them can be controlled more effectively and safely. In the event of fire, both firebreaks and fuelbreaks may serve as a control line from which to carry out suppression operations.).
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 system of Klarlund as applied to Claim 1 above such that the firebreak of Klarlund is constructed in the wilderness area as a permanent strip of bare land by removing substantially all vegetation therefrom and the fuel break of Klarlund has vegetation that has been thinned relative to surrounding vegetation, since doing so would utilize a known technique taught by Manzello to yield the predictable result of helping limit flammable vegetation in the fuel break to effectively and safely control a potential fire while also limiting soil erosion (See Manzello Pages 444-445).
Regarding Claim 1, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund does not specifically disclose wherein the controller is configured to activate and deactivate the first water pump so as to cause the first watering tower to apply water to the living vegetation in the fuel break during a drought, even when no fire is approaching (See Paragraph 0052 disclosing having the controller #28 activate fluid based on detection of fire conditions, but applying water during a drought when no fire is approaching is not specifically disclosed).
However, Fabre discloses a system for mitigating future fires (See Fig. 1 and See Page 2 of Machine Translation of Description) comprising a controller (#9) in data communication with a moisture sensor (#13, which can be hygrometers per Page 7 of Machine Translation of Description) and configured, in response to measurements made by the moisture sensor, to activate and deactivate a first water pump (#4) so as to cause a first watering tower (#2) to apply water to living vegetation in a fuel break during a drought, even when no fire is approaching, and thereby to maintain the living vegetation within the fuel break (See Page 5 of Machine Translation of Description disclosing drought conditions and See Page 2 of Machine Translation of Description disclosing watering vegetation in an environment to ensure it is not in a state that could start a fire based on a change in state of an environment).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello as applied to Claim 1 above such that the controller is configured to activate and deactivate the first water pump so as to cause the first watering tower to apply water to the living vegetation in the fuel break during a drought, even when no fire is approaching, since doing so would utilize a known technique taught by Fabre to yield the predictable result of helping preventing fires from ever beginning in forests by producing protective climactic conditions for vegetation (See Fabre Page 2 of Machine Translation of Description).
As to Claim 12, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses wherein the controller is a local controller (See Fig. 14 and paragraph 0052) that is configured to communicate with a central controller that is remote from the local controller (#8 “remotely located control center”), said communication between the local controller and the central controller being at least one of wired and wireless communication (See Paragraph 0052 disclosing #8 being remotely located and being sent data from a transmitter, and See Paragraph 0060 disclosing local area network, cellular, and satellite communication).
As to Claim 15, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses wherein the living vegetation in the fuel break comprises bunches of trees growing within the fuel break, and wherein the first watering tower is configured to apply water to one of the bunches of trees (See Annotated Fig. 14 and See Paragraph 0040).
As to Claim 16, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses wherein the first watering tower is configured to apply water both to living trees within the fuel break that are proximate the first watering tower and to living ground vegetation within the fuel break that is proximate the first watering tower (See Klarlund Annotated Fig. 14. Each tower can apply water to trees and can also apply water to vegetation on ground surfaces below trees, including grass).
As to Claim 17, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund discloses the system further comprising a second watering tower permanently installed within or proximate the fuel break (See tower B in Annotated Fig. 14, which is proximate the fuel break), the first watering tower being relatively taller than the second watering tower, the first watering tower being configured to apply water to trees that are in the fuel break, and the second watering tower being configured to apply water to ground vegetation that is within the fuel break (See Paragraph 0061 disclosing that one tower can dispense fluid at one height and another tower can dispense fluid at another height, thus one watering tower can be taller than another watering tower such that one tower can apply water to trees as disclosed in Paragraph 0040 and another can apply water to ground vegetation that is below the trees).
As to Claim 27, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses the system comprising:
a second watering tower (See Tower B in Annotated Fig. 14);
a second water distribution outlet cooperative with the second watering tower (See #46 in Fig. 3); and
a second water conduit (See conduit B in Annotated Fig. 14) configured to provide liquid communication between the first water source and/or a second water source and the second water distribution outlet (See Paragraph 0054).
As to Claim 29, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses wherein the living vegetation growing in the fuel break comprises fire-resistant vegetation that has been planted in the fuel break (See Fig. 14 and See Paragraph 0040 disclosing trees being provided with water. Trees that are wet are fire-resistant to some extent, and have been planted in the fuel break at some point whether naturally or by a human.).
Claims 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and US PGPUB 2009/0121045 A1 to Su et al. (“Su”).
As to Claim 4, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund further discloses wherein the first water source is a water reservoir that is provided below grade and located proximate the first watering tower (See Paragraph 0035, the water source can be a lake, which is equivalent to a reservoir that is below ground surface. The lake can be considered “proximal” to the first watering tower since they are in the same geographical area).
Regarding Claim 4, Klarlund does not specifically disclose wherein the first water source is artificially constructed (See Fig. Paragraph 0035 disclosing a truck, lake, hydrant, fire engine, or other storage vessel, however an artificially constructed reservoir that is below grade is not specifically disclosed).
However, Su discloses a system for mitigating future fires within a vegetated area (See Fig. 3, the area where fire is being fought includes vegetation that is grass #301) comprising a first water source (#103) that comprises an artificially constructed water reservoir provided below grade (See Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 along with Paragraph 0032) and located proximate a first watering tower (See the building in Fig. 3 located in the same area as #103, which has sprinklers #101D, #101E, and #101F attached and is thus equivalent to a watering tower).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above by using the first water source of Su in place of the first water source of Klarlund such that the first water source is an artificially constructed water reservoir that is provided below grade and located proximate the first watering tower, since doing so would utilize substitution of known components to yield the predictable result of creating minimal impacts on appearance of surrounding landscape (See Su Paragraph 0030).
As to Claim 5, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Su as applied to Claim 4 above, Su further discloses wherein the water reservoir is configured to receive water from a water-bearing vehicle (See Fig. 3, the water reservoir #103 is constructed such that it is capable of receiving water from a water-bearing vehicle when a water bearing vehicle provides water through #309 or #302. Klarlund discloses water tanker trucks in Paragraph 0035, which the water reservoir #103 of Su is capable of receiving water from).
As to Claim 6, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Su as applied to Claim 4 above, Su further discloses wherein the water reservoir is configured to receive water from at least one artificially constructed drain inlet (See #302 shown in Fig. 3, along with #501 shown in Fig. 5) located proximal to grade (See Fig. 3) that is positioned to receive run-off water (See Paragraph 0030).
As to Claim 7, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Su as applied to Claim 6 above, Su further discloses wherein the drain inlet includes a filter (See #501 in Fig. 5) configured to remove debris from the run-off water (See Paragraph 0032).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, Su, and US PGPUB 2019/0001170 A1 to Smith et al. (“Smith”).
Regarding Claim 8, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Su as applied to Claim 4 above, Klarlund nor Su specifically at least one sensor configured to determine a quantity of water contained within the water reservoir.
However, Smith discloses a system for mitigating future fires within a vegetated area (See Fig. 2, which is an area that can have some amount of vegetation including grass), comprising at least one sensor (#69) configured to determine a quantity of water (See Paragraphs 0042 and 0082) contained within a water reservoir (#26).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Su as applied to Claim 4 above such that the system comprises at least one sensor configured to determine a quantity of water contained within the water reservoir, since doing so would yield the predictable result of being able to determine when the water reservoir is filled or empty (See Smith Paragraphs 0042 and 0082).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and US Patent 5,849,210 A to Pascente et al. (“Pascente”).
Regarding Claim 9, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund does not disclose the system further comprising a water-absorbent material applied to the fuel break, said water-absorbent material being able to absorb at least 25 times its weight in water.
However, Pascente discloses, a system for mitigating future fires within a vegetated area (See Col. 2 Lines 38-43) comprising a water-absorbent material (See Col. 2 Lines 44-46) applied to a fuel break (See Col. 4 Lines 53-67 and Col. 5 Lines 1-12), said water-absorbent material being able to absorb at least 25 times its weight in water (See 2 Lines 46-50 disclosing absorbing at least 50 times its weight or at least 100 times it weight).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above to include the water-absorbent material of Pascente applied to the fuel break, since doing so would yield the predictable result of having an additional fire insulating layer to prevent potential fires from starting or spreading (See Pascente Col. 5 Lines 1-12).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and WO 2020/176309 A1 to Statter (“Statter”). Regarding Claim 10, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund does not disclose the system further including a solar panel and a rechargeable battery, the rechargeable battery being configured to provide electrical power to the first water pump and the solar panel being configured to recharge the rechargeable battery (See Klarlund Paragraph 0060 disclosing a battery, but solar power and a rechargeable battery are not disclosed).
However, Statter discloses a system for mitigating future fires within a vegetated area (See Fig. 3 and See Paragraph 0042 disclosing wildfires occurring with fire retardant applied on vegetation) comprising a solar panel (#1150, which per Paragraph 00135 can be a solar panel) and a rechargeable battery (#1148, which per Paragraph 00134 can be a battery), the rechargeable battery being configured to provide electrical power to a first water pump (See Paragraph 0042 disclosing an electrically powered pump and See Paragraph 0088 disclosing an autonomous power source powering the entire system, thus the rechargeable battery is understood to supply electrical power to the pump) and the solar panel being configured to recharge the rechargeable battery (See Paragraph 00135).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above to further include the solar panel and the rechargeable battery of Statter, the rechargeable battery being configured to provide electrical power to the first water pump and the solar panel being configured to recharge the rechargeable battery, since doing so would yield the predictable result of allowing the system to operate with electrical power on a property where there is not electrical transmission (See Statter Paragraph 0088).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and US PGPUB 2012/0097759 A1 to Vigne (“Vigne”).
Regarding Claim 14, in reference to the system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above, Klarlund does not specifically disclose wherein the first watering tower is configured to resemble an outward appearance of vegetation that is growing within the fuel break (See Fig. 14 showing trees, however towers approximating an outward appearance of vegetation are not disclosed.).
However, Vigne discloses a system for mitigating future fires within an area (See #10 in Fig. 1, which is a misting device that sprays water and humidifies an area per Paragraph 0027, thus #10 helps mitigate potential of future fire in an area) comprising a first watering tower (#20) that is configured to resemble an outward appearance of vegetation (See Fig. 1 and Paragraph 0020).
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 system of Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as applied to Claim 1 above such that the first watering tower is configured to resemble an outward appearance of vegetation that is growing within the fuel break by utilizing a watering tower that resembles nearby plants as taught by Vigne, since doing so would yield the predictable result of helping camouflage the first watering tower (See Vigne Paragraph 0021).
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/2/2026 have been fully considered but are not found persuasive.
Regarding Claim 1, which is now rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello and Fabre as noted above, applicant argues that Klarlund is only directed to fighting active fires rather than mitigating future fires.
This argument is not found persuasive. Paragraph 0010 of Klarlund specifically states “The pressure, volume flow, dispensing opening, and other features may be adjusted manually or automatically to dispense the fire suppressant in a way that optimizes suppression and/or prevention of the fire and/or spreading of the fire”. Therefore Klarlund at least teaches prevention of fire in addition to suppression of fire. Furthermore, Fabre teaches discloses a system for mitigating future fires shown in Fig. 1 comprising a controller #9 in data communication with a moisture sensor #13and configured, in response to measurements made by the moisture sensor, to activate and deactivate a first water pump #4 so as to cause a first watering tower #2 to apply water to living vegetation in a fuel break during a drought, even when no fire is approaching, and thereby to maintain the living vegetation within the fuel break as disclosed in Pages 2-5.
Applicant’s additional arguments with respect to Claims 1 and 9 have been considered but are moot because the new grounds of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 do not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim 9 is now rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klarlund in view of Manzello, Fabre, and Pascente.
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 KEVIN E SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM MST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur O Hall can be reached at (571)-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN EDWARD SCHWARTZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752 October 14, 2026
