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 .
Drawings
Figures 2 – 4B should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
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 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA) in view of Harber et al. (US 8,360,193).
With respect to claims 1 and 11, AAPA teach a remote control system (current application Figs.3, 4A and 4B) for a vibratory seismic source that generates seismic signals, the remote control system comprising an attachment mechanism (current application Fig.4B, Item 420) configured to be fixedly attached to a component of a vehicle carrier that carries the vibratory seismic source; and a remote control mechanism (current application Figs.3 and 4A, Items 410 and 412) supported by the attachment mechanism, wherein the remote control mechanism includes first and second command units (current application Fig.4A, Items 410 and 412), each configured to control a baseplate associated with the vibratory seismic source (current application ¶ [0007] – [0009]), but fail to disclose wherein each of the first and second command units are configured to be removed from the remote control mechanism while the attachment mechanism is hold in place.
On the other hand, Harber et al. teach a remote control system (Fig.11) comprising first and second command units (Fig.11, Items 162) being configured to be removed from a remote control mechanism while an attachment mechanism (Fig.11, Item 166) is hold in place (Col.9, Lines 34 – 46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ Harber et al. teachings with the AAPA design because it would facilitate the replacement of the command units without the need of disassembling the attachment mechanism.
With respect to claims 2 and 12, AAPA teach wherein the remote control mechanism further comprises first and second pipes (current application Fig.4A, items holding Items 410 and 412), each pipe being configured to be fixedly attached to the attachment mechanism (current application Fig.4B, Item 420). The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to employ first and second floating nuts located around the first and second pipes, respectively, the first floating nut being configured to engage the first command unit and the second floating nut being configured to engage the second command unit because it would permit the easy disengagement of the command units to the pipes. Also, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to choose from the finite number of identified and predictable solutions with a reasonable expectation of success (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1397). In this case, selecting to use a floating nuts configuration would have flown naturally to one of ordinary skill in the art as necessitated by the specific requirements of a given application.
With respect to claims 3 and 13, Harber et al. inherently teach further comprising an electrical harness that extends through the first and second pipes and has first and second electrical connections, wherein the first and second command units have first and second electrical connections, respectively, which are configured to mate to the first and second electrical connections of the electrical harness (Fig.5B).
With respect to claims 4 – 6 and 14 – 16, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide wherein an angular direction and a tilt of the first and second command units are adjustable with the first and second floating nuts; wherein the attachment mechanism comprises a base platform and clamps for fixedly attaching the base platform to a steering column of the vehicle that carries the vibratory seismic source; and first and second pipe clamps attached to the base platform; and wherein the first pipe clamp is configured to receive the first pipe and the second pipe clamp is configured to receive the second pipe so that a length of the first and second pipes relative to the base platform is adjustable, as disclosed by Fifer (US 4,821,837), Lumpkins (US 4,733,745), McCarthy (US 2,268,259) and/or Mann (US 1,538,715).
With respect to claims 7 – 9 and 17 – 19, Harber et al. teach wherein the command units (Fig.25) includes two or more command elements (Fig.25, Items 112), each command element being configured to actuate a functionality of the vibratory seismic source.
With respect to claims 10 and 20, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide a wireless communication module being configured to communicate in a wireless manner with a controller of the vibratory seismic source because it would eliminate the need of cables/wiring that could be damage and/or difficult to hide/protect, as disclosed by Huber et al. (US 9,840,826)(Col.8, Lines 34 – 47).
Conclusion
The attached hereto PTO Form 892 lists prior art made of record that the Examiner considered it pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDGARDO SAN MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2074. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 - 5:00 M - F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki S. Ismail can be reached on 571-272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Edgardo San Martin/
Edgardo San Martín
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2837
January 29, 2026