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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05 February 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11 November 2025 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roddier et al. (US 2013/0276687). Roddier discloses a semi-submersible offshore support structure for a wind turbine comprising first , second, and third semi-submersible columns (unlabeled columns forming corners of the triangular frame; see Fig. 5), wherein the first (column located at the upper left corner of the triangle) and the second (column at the upper right corner of the triangular frame) semi-submersible columns are connected by a first side brace extending along a first side of a triangle formed by the first, second, and third (column located at the bottom corner of the triangular frame) semi-submersible columns, and the first and the third semi-submersible columns are connected by a second side brace extending along a second side of the triangle, said semi-submersible offshore support structure further comprising a wind turbine receiving element (central triangular plate upon which the wind turbine tower is positioned) being connected to the second semi-submersible column by a receiving element-second column brace (unlabeled brace extending from the central triangular plate to the unlabeled column located at the upper right corner of the triangular frame) and to the third semi-submersible column by a receiving element-third column brace (unlabeled brace extending from the central triangular plate to the unlabeled column located at the bottom corner of the triangular frame), and wherein the wind turbine receiving element is provided with a wind turbine engagement element (unlabeled cylindrical support located between the central triangular plate and the unlabeled tower) for engaging with the wind turbine, and wherein none of the first, second, and third semi-submersible columns is provided with an engagement element for engaging with an additional wind turbine (Fig. 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 - 13 and 16 - 25 are allowed.
Claims 15 and 26 - 28 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see amendment, filed 05 February 2026, with respect to claims 1 and 15 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection/objection of claims 1 - 13 and 16 - 25 as well as the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejection of claim 15 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 14 have been considered but are moot in view of new ground of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN D ANDRISH whose telephone number is (571)270-3098. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 6:30 AM - 4:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at 571-270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SEAN D ANDRISH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
SA
4/16/2026
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