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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/18/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
This case is now being handled by Examiner Jagolinzer.
This action is in reply to the RCE filed on 03/18/2026.
Claims 14-30 are currently pending and have been examined.
Claims 14-27 and 30 are currently rejected.
Claims 28 and 29 are objected to.
This action is made NON-FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 03/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants arguments are moot in light of the new rejections provided below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 30 recites the limitation “the second line section”, “the second end of the second line section”, and “the second plurality of transmission towers”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There appears to be antecedent basis provided for some of the terms in the subsequent line that will also need to be fixed when correcting the above antecedent basis issue.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 14-25 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Skyskopes (Drone Stringing Transmission Lines - Youtube), herein Skyskopes in view of Kown et. al. (KR20170087340), herein Kwon (previously cited but mapping to documents attached with this action).
The attached NPL of Skyskopes highlights various screenshots that show key portions of the video which are referenced to in the mapping below. For complete context please refer to the original Youtube video.
Regarding Claim 14:
Skyskopes teaches:
A method for installing a power line cable on a series of transmission towers (see at least pages 4-7 showing a UAV for stringing cable onto transmission towers.), the method comprising:
providing, at a first staging location, a first line section having a first end and a second end, wherein the first line section is spooled at the first end on a mobile winch (see page 3) and attached at the second end to an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) (see page 4);
operating the UAS and the mobile (see pages 4-10) winch to:
pay out the first line section and deliver the second end of the first line section sequentially to each transmission tower of a first plurality of transmission towers of said series of transmission towers (see pages 4-7; the full video shows the UAV attaching the line to at least two towers.); and
thread or otherwise attach the first line section onto a support of each transmission tower of the first plurality of transmission towers until the UAS reaches a second staging location (examiner notes that the UAV of Skyskopes will inherently have to land at a second location that would be capable of pulling through the line.);
Skyskopes does not explicitly teach, however Kwon teaches:
attaching the second end of the first line section to a secondary line (The power line 700 may be connected to the messenger line 600 or may be connected to the messenger line 600 after the messenger line 600 is connected to the engine unit 300. [page 5]); and
pulling the first line section to draw the secondary line to each transmission tower of the first plurality transmission towers (see figs. 9 and 10; The engine unit 300 connects the power line 700 connected to the messenger line 600 to the first transmission tower 100 and the second transmission tower 200 by applying a force to the messenger line 600 ). This will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 attached hereto. [page 7]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Skyskopes to include the teachings as taught by Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. Both are in the same field of endeavor of stringing power lines. This would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Kwon to Skyskopes to arrive at the claimed invention. Using a smaller line for the UAV to carry allows for it to span a longer distance as compared to a heavier line and then use the smaller line to progressively pull though larger lines until the final power line is pulled into place.
Regarding Claim 15:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes further teaches:
wherein each support includes a transmission tower line attachment device for attaching to a sheave block of the respective transmission tower (see pages 5 and 6), the sheave block having;
at least one sheave, a block body substantially enclosing a space above the sheave (see page 8 showing metal portion above and enclosing the area above the rollers.), and an aperture allowing access to the space above the sheave (see page 8 and 9 showing orange guide and darker metal part that allows entry to the sheave.), the line attachment device comprising:
a first guide arm having an inner end mountable to the block body adjacent to the aperture (page 8 orange guide);
an upper frame having an inner end mountable to the block body so as to be spaced across the aperture from the first guide arm and defining a throat external to the block body between the first guide arm and the upper frame (page 8 showing triangular portion of metal that defines the top of the opening towards the dark gate element.); and
a resilient first gate arranged at an outer end of the upper frame, distal from the inner end, between the upper frame and the first guide arm and adapted to open inwardly into the throat in response to an external force and to close when the external force is removed (see pages 8 and 9 showing the bright metal tongs that fold back in page 8 to allow the rope to pass and close on page 9.).
Regarding Claim 16:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 15, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes further teaches:
a second gate arranged at the inner end of the upper frame external to, and spaced from, the block body, the second gate being adapted to open downwardly towards the block body in response to an external force (see pages 8 and 9 showing dark gate device that requires the force of the rope pushing on it to move from the initial position in page 8 to the final position on page 9 allowing entry of the rope.).
Regarding Claim 17:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 15, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes further teaches:
wherein the resilient first gate is configured such that it is prevented from opening due to internal pressure (see page 9 showing that the gate is inherently held in that perpendicular position by some inherent stopping device providing an internal pressure.).
Regarding Claim 18:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 15, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes further teaches:
wherein the line attachment device further comprises a second guide arm projecting upwardly from the upper frame (see page 8 showing metal triangle portion and top of dark gate forming a channel having the upper arm to guide the rope into position.).
Regarding Claim 19:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Kwon further teaches:
wherein operating the UAS and the mobile winch comprises varying a speed at which the first line section is deployed from the mobile winch to control tension applied by the mobile winch (The tension adjusting device 500 adjusts the tension of the messenger line 600 connected to the drones 400 when the drones 400 are flying. The reason for controlling the tension at this time is to prevent an accident caused by the sagging of the messenger line 600 [page 6]).
Regarding Claim 20:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Kwon further teaches:
wherein operating the UAS and the mobile winch comprises varying the speed at which the first line section is deployed from the mobile winch to maintain a relatively constant tension applied by the mobile winch (The tension adjusting device 500 adjusts the tension of the messenger line 600 connected to the drones 400 when the drones 400 are flying. The reason for controlling the tension at this time is to prevent an accident caused by the sagging of the messenger line 600. The tension adjusting device 500 adjusts the tension of the messenger line 600 until the drones 400 fly and connect the messenger wire 600 to the engine unit 300. [page 6]).
Regarding Claim 21:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Kwon further teaches:
attaching the secondary line to a third line (The power line 700 connected to the second messenger line 640 [page 7]); and
pulling the secondary line to draw the third line to each transmission tower of the first plurality of transmission towers (The power line 700 connected to the second messenger line 640 is transferred to the first sheave 120 and connected to the first transmission tower 100 [page 7]).
Regarding Claim 22:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 21, upon which this claim depends.
Kwon further teaches:
wherein the third line is the power line cable (The power line 700 connected to the second messenger line 640 is transferred to the first sheave 120 and connected to the first transmission tower 100 [page 7]).
Regarding Claim 23:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Kwon further teaches:
wherein the secondary line has a gauge that is heavier than a gauge of the first line (see fig. 2 showing size difference between first messenger line 620 and secondary messenger line 640.).
Regarding Claim 24:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 14, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes and Kwon further teach:
attaching the first line section to a second line section to form a primary line, wherein the second line section extends across a second plurality of transmission towers of the series of transmission towers (examiner notes that this would be obvious over the teachings of Skyskopes and Kwon as it is simply repeating the process taught by the art to create a duplicate process. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Duplicating the process would result in the obvious result of doubling the length of the line strung by a UAV.).
Regarding Claim 25:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 24, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches:
prior to attaching the first line section to the second line section to form the primary line:
delivering the second line section onto a support of each transmission tower of the second plurality of transmission towers (examiner notes that this would be obvious over the teachings of Skyskopes and Kwon as it is simply repeating the process taught by the art to create a duplicate process. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Duplicating the process would result in the obvious result of doubling the length of the line strung by a UAV.).
Regarding Claim 30:
Skyskopes teaches:
A method for installing a line on a series of transmission towers (see at least pages 4-7 showing a UAV for stringing cable onto transmission towers.), the method comprising:
providing, at a first staging location, a first line section having a first end and a second end, wherein the first line section is spooled at the first end on a mobile winch (see page 3) and attached at the second end to an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) (see page 4);
operating the UAS and the mobile winch to pay out the first line section (see pages 4-10) and deliver the second end of the first line section sequentially to each of a first plurality of transmission towers of said series of transmission towers (see pages 4-7; the full video shows the UAV attaching the line to at least two towers.) and threading or otherwise attaching the first line section onto a support of each transmission tower of the first plurality of transmission towers until the UAS reaches a second staging location (examiner notes that the UAV of Skyskopes will inherently have to land at a second location that would be capable of pulling through the line.);
after delivering the second end of the first line section sequentially to each of the first plurality of transmission towers and delivering of the second end of the second line section sequentially to each of the second plurality of transmission towers, attaching the second end of the second line section to a first end of a second line section delivered to each of a second plurality of transmission towers of said series of transmission towers to form a primary line (examiner notes that this would be obvious over the teachings of Skyskopes and Kwon as it is simply repeating the process taught by the art to create a duplicate process. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Duplicating the process would result in the obvious result of doubling the length of the line strung by a UAV.);
Skyskopes does not explicitly teach, however Kwon teaches:
attaching the primary line to a secondary line (The power line 700 may be connected to the messenger line 600 or may be connected to the messenger line 600 after the messenger line 600 is connected to the engine unit 300. [page 5]); and
pulling the first line section to draw the secondary line to each transmission tower of the first plurality of transmission towers and the second plurality of transmission towers (see figs. 9 and 10; The engine unit 300 connects the power line 700 connected to the messenger line 600 to the first transmission tower 100 and the second transmission tower 200 by applying a force to the messenger line 600 ). This will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 attached hereto. [page 7]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Skyskopes to include the teachings as taught by Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. Both are in the same field of endeavor of stringing power lines. This would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Kwon to Skyskopes to arrive at the claimed invention. Using a smaller line for the UAV to carry allows for it to span a longer distance as compared to a heavier line and then use the smaller line to progressively pull though larger lines until the final power line is pulled into place.
Claim(s) 26-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Skyskopes (Drone Stringing Transmission Lines - Youtube), herein Skyskopes in view of Kown et. al. (KR20170087340), herein Kwon (previously cited but mapping to documents attached with this action) in further view of Ng (US 2021/0292007), herein Ng.
Regarding Claim 26:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 25, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes and Kwon further teaches:
and wherein attaching the first line section to the second line section to form the primary line comprises attaching a second end of the second line section to the first end of the first line section (examiner notes that this would be obvious over the teachings of Skyskopes and Kwon as it is simply repeating the process taught by the art to create a duplicate process. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Duplicating the process would result in the obvious result of doubling the length of the line strung by a UAV.).
Skyskopes and Kwon do not explicitly teach, however Ng teaches:
wherein delivering the second line section comprises pulling a second end of the second line section from a third staging location to the first staging location (fig. 9, hardpoint attachment 1 and hardpoint attachment 2),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Skyskopes and Kwon to include the teachings as taught by Ng with a reasonable expectation of success. All references are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a UAV. Ng teaches the benefit of “effective operation of tethered robots, such as aircraft and other types of robots. In particular, the disclosure relates to an unmanned tethered aircraft configured with a cable management system for effective operation. The cable management system may also be applied to other types of robots. [Ng, 0007]”.
Regarding Claim 27:
Skyskopes and Kwon teaches all the limitations of claim 25, upon which this claim depends.
Skyskopes and Kwon further teaches:
and wherein attaching the first line section to the second line section to form the primary line comprises attaching a first end of the second line section to the first end of the first line section (examiner notes that this would be obvious over the teachings of Skyskopes and Kwon as it is simply repeating the process taught by the art to create a duplicate process. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Duplicating the process would result in the obvious result of doubling the length of the line strung by a UAV.).
Skyskopes and Kwon do not explicitly teach, however Ng teaches:
wherein delivering the second line section comprises pulling a second end of the second line section from the first staging location to a third staging location (fig. 9, hardpoint attachment 1 and hardpoint attachment 2),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Skyskopes and Kwon to include the teachings as taught by Ng with a reasonable expectation of success. All references are in the same field of endeavor of controlling a UAV. Ng teaches the benefit of “effective operation of tethered robots, such as aircraft and other types of robots. In particular, the disclosure relates to an unmanned tethered aircraft configured with a cable management system for effective operation. The cable management system may also be applied to other types of robots. [Ng, 0007]”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 28 and 29 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claims 28 and 29 recite the limitations “prior to attaching the first line section to the second line section to form the primary line: detaching the first end of the first line section from the mobile winch; moving the mobile winch and UAS to a third staging location, spaced from the second staging location by the second plurality of transmission towers; loading a first end of the second line section onto the mobile winch; attaching a second end of the second line section to the UAS;
operating the UAS and mobile winch to pay out the second line section and deliver the second end of the second line section sequentially to each of the second plurality of transmission towers and to thread or otherwise attach the second line section onto a support of each transmission tower of the second plurality of transmission towers until the UAS reaches the second staging location; and connecting the second end of the first line section to the second end of the second line section to form a primary line, wherein pulling the first line section to draw the secondary line to each of the first plurality of said series of transmission towers comprises pulling the primary line to draw the secondary line to each of the first plurality of said series of transmission towers.”. This aspect of moving the winch and UAV setup to a second location allows for the system to string double the line before performing the pulling operation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jackson (US 10,329,016) discloses An apparatus and system for placing, or resetting, power line cable to a power support structure, such as a transmission tower includes a remote aerial manipulation platform”) utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle containing a bracket and a rotatable spool attached to the bracket. The spool includes a length of pre-lead line wound on the body of the spool. A reel system on the unmanned aerial vehicle provides appropriate tension to the rotatable spool. A control system enables the transmission of informational messages from the unmanned aerial vehicle to a ground control system.
Thomas (US 10,985,539) discloses An unmanned vehicle line and cable string apparatus is provided and the method of use thereof. A small drone has a shot line canister loaded with an inside wound shot line string spool. Shot line is strung between power line towers wherein the inside shot line string end is attached to a remotely controlled released shot line sinker. The sinker is deployed near the proximate tower, the drone is directed to the distal tower deploying shot line from the shot line canister. The shot line canister, having a remotely controlled jettison mechanism and an end of shot line detection mechanism, is jettisoned at the distal power line tower. As shot line is dispensed, the vehicle loses weight thereby extending the flying time, distance, and maneuverability particularly as the vehicle approaches the distal tower. Because the shot line is deployed and not dragged, the impact of inclement weather conditions is minimized.
Van Vliet (US 2026/0221734) discloses An aerial spool mechanism suspended from an aircraft for stringing cable across utility poles includes a remotely adjustable electromechanical brake system for preventing a cable spool from paying out cable too quickly. Some examples of the aerial spool mechanism include a main axle and a spool axle, both of which are rotatable and readily separated for exchanging a depleted cable spool for a new one. In some examples, an adjustable torque arm locks the cable spool to the spool axle, so the two rotate together as a unit.
Fulk (US 2019/0218076) discloses An apparatus for controlling tension in a pulling rope that is attached to a flying, unmanned aerial device or drone may utilize a cylinder around which the rope is wound, a shaft that longitudinally passes through the cylinder, a disc brake rotor that is mounted to the shaft, a brake caliper that is mounted circumferentially at a periphery of the disc brake rotor, and a brake lever that tensions a cable that is attached to, and movable to control movement of, the brake caliper, which may be hydraulic, against surfaces the disc brake rotor. The brake lever may be hand actuated and mounted to a handlebar. A frame may be part of the apparatus and support apparatus components and may have a protruding hitch portion that inserts into a vehicle's receiver hitch. An adjustable pulling rope guide support through which the rope is threaded, mounts to the frame.
Cho (KR 102026793) discloses a wired drone system comprises a wired drone and a power supply device, wherein the wired drone includes: a wired drone body; a drone control unit controlling the wired drone; a first winch which a wire including a power line for supplying power to the wired drone body is wound around or unwound from; a first winch motor controlling rotation of the first winch if connected to the first winch according to control of the drone control unit; and a first tension sensor measuring first tension applied to the wire connected to the first winch, and the power supply device includes: a device body; a device control unit controlling the power supply device; a second winch which the wire including the power line is wound around or unwound from; a second winch motor controlling rotation of the second winch if connected to the second winch according to control of the device control unit; a second tension sensor measuring second tension applied to the wire connected to the second winch; and a power supply unit supplying power to the wired drone body through the power line. According to the present invention, the system enables the wired drone to make a normal flight using the two winches even though not performing a work for separating the wire from an obstacle when the wire of the wired drone is caught in the obstacle.
Kim (KR 20190045537) discloses a wiring apparatus using an ultralight unmanned aerial vehicle and a wiring method thereof. The wiring apparatus using an ultralight unmanned aerial vehicle comprises: a transferring unit transferring a rope by using an unmanned aerial vehicle; and a fixing unit fixing the rope to a steel tower. The wiring method comprises: a rope fixing step of fixing the rope transferred by the transferring unit by the fixing unit; a rope fixing releasing step of releasing the rope from the fixing unit; and a winding step of pulling the rope to a winding apparatus when the transferring unit reaches a target point. Therefore, tension of the rope having a predetermined length is transferred to the unmanned aerial vehicle by performing conductor stringing while fixing the rope by the fixing unit.
Youm (KR 101969138) discloses a method and a system for arraying a wire using a drone for solving a safety problem caused by allowing workers to install ropes. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system for arraying a wire using a drone comprises: a drone having at least one opening and closing typed bundle unit winding a constant length of a line, in which a descendent weight is attached to one end of the line, for fixing the line; and a line supplying unit connected to the other end of the line and supplying the line to the drone.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott R Jagolinzer whose telephone number is (571)272-4180. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8AM - 4PM Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christian Chace can be reached at (571)272-4190. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Scott R. Jagolinzer
Examiner
Art Unit 3665
/S.R.J./Examiner, Art Unit 3665 /CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
