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
Amendment filed 27 July 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-14, 17-18, 20-22 and 24 remain pending in the application. Claims 1, 6-7, 11, 14 and 17 are amended. Claims 2-5, 8-10, 12-13, 18, 20-22 and 24 are as previously presented. Claims 15-16, 19, 23 and 25 are cancelled. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome all 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 25 March 2026. Therefore, the 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejections are withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made, please refer to the detailed discussion below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 27 July 2026 considered by the examiner.
Examiner notes: IDS submitted on 27 July 2026 has three Non-Patent Literatures (NPL) which are the basis of the new ground of rejection made in this Office Action. Specifically, the NPL of Johnston “Fatigue analysis on a floating tidal platform with polymer mooring components” fig. 3, discloses x-axis and y-axis with labeled units which when compared with the Applicant’s Spec./Drawings/Claims is unclear.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because drawings filed 25 May 2023 are unclear in view of the claims and specification.
Fig. 3 reference characters “35” and “37” are unclear in view of the spec. of 09 February 2026 pages 27-28 which recite “first value 35 of the stress” and “second value 37 of the stress”. The confusion is with at least the dotted line shown in the fig is viewed as part of the x-axis which is strain (See at least: spec. page 27 line 17, “The x-axis 36 in figure 3 shows strain...) and not stress which is the y-axis. Additionally, fig. 3 is not clear with at least claims 11-12 which recite either “a/the first stress value(s)” and/or “a/the second stress value(s)” and claim 11 recite “a first fraction of the uncompressed length” and “a second fraction of the uncompressed length”.
PNG
media_image1.png
632
1123
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Spec. of 09 February 2026 pages 27-28 recite “first value 35 of the stress” and “second value 37 of the stress” and is not clear in view of at least fig. 3.
Spec. of 09 February 2026 pages 27-28 recite “first value 35 of the stress” and “second value 37 of the stress” and is not clear in view of at least fig. 3 is not clear with at least claims 11-12 which recite either “a/the first stress value(s)” and/or “a/the second stress value(s)” and claim 11 recite “a first fraction of the uncompressed length” and “a second fraction of the uncompressed length”. {Examiner note: any change to the claim langue would affect the Spec. as the spec. has the claim language throughout.}
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 11-12 are 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.
Claims 11-12 recite a combination the limitation “a/the first stress value(s)” and/or “a/the second stress value(s)”. The claim language is not clear in view of the spec. and fig. 3 as to how to assess the claim language as the claim language is for a stress where the spec. discloses a stress and fig. 3 discloses a strain. For purposes of compact prosecution, the Examiner interprets the claim language to be correct and fig. 3 incorrect. See Examiner modified fig. 3 below for Examiners interpretation {Examiner note: “first/second/third level of tensile stress” is from co-pending application 18/254492.}.
PNG
media_image2.png
632
1114
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Claims 11 recite “a first fraction of the uncompressed length” and “a second fraction of the uncompressed length”. The claim language is not clear in view of the spec. and fig. 3 as to how to assess the claim language as the claim language is not shown in fig. 3. For purposes of compact prosecution, the Examiner interprets the claim language to be correct and fig. 3 incorrect. See Examiner modified fig. 3 above for Examiners interpretation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10, 13-14, 17-18, 20-22 and 24 are allowed.
Claims 11-12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Amendment filed 27 July 2026 places the application in condition for allowance (See at least: Non-Final Rejection mailed 25 March 2026 for detailed Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance).
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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 ERIC ANTHONY STARCK whose telephone number is (571)272-6651. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
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, MARC JIMENEZ can be reached at (571) 272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ERIC ANTHONY STARCK/Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
/LARS A OLSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
Prosecution Insights