DETAILED ACTION
This is a final Office Action on the merits for U.S. App. 18/333,168. Receipt of the amendments and arguments filed on 07/25/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-4 and 6-13 are pending.
Claims 5 and 14-17 are cancelled.
Claims 1-4 and 6-13 are examined.
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 1-4 and 6-13 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 1 and 8 define “its” in the second to last line of the claims (as well as line 16 of claim 8), which renders the claimed inventions indefinite since multiple elements have been defined prior to use of such a term and one of ordinary skill in the art would not know what element is being referred back to. For examining purposes and in light of the specification and drawings, “its” is considered to refer back to a respective diagonal, which diagonal is to extend across a respective parallelogram section. It is recommended to define such limitations as --extend across a respective parallelogram--. Furthermore, claims 2-4, 6, 7, and 9-13 are rendered indefinite for depending upon claim 1 or 8.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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(s) 1, 3, 4, 6-9, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Onoda et al. (U.S. Patent 5,228,258).
Regarding claim 1, Onoda et al. disclose a passively deployable mast, comprising:
a series of bottom longerons (#16);
a series of top longerons (#13);
hinge linkages (#19a, #20a, and #25a) operable to attach the bottom longerons to the top longerons of adjacent sections (see figure 12), such that pairs of bottom longerons and top longerons form a series of parallelogram sections operable to fold and unfold as accordion pleats fold and unfold (see figures 12 and 13);
at least one spring (#55) associated with each parallelogram section (see figures 12 and 13), each spring attached diagonally from at or near one end of a top longeron (see figure 12, where the upper end of the springs #55 is considered “near” the end of the top longerons #13 attached to the linkage #19a, such as compared to the bottom end of the springs #55) to at or near an opposing end of a bottom longeron (the bottom end of the springs #55 are attached to a respective end of the bottom longeron using hinged corners #5a/11a; see figure 12);
at least one diagonal (the diagonal rod of assembly #28A/29A which comprises of stop #56) associated with each parallelogram section (see figure 12);
wherein the springs are operable to deploy the mast from a folded position to a deployed position (col. 7, ll. 46-50 and figures 12 and 13 disclose the spring #55 is to impart an elongating force on the diagonal braces #28A/29A so as to bias the assembly to the unfolded, expanded state as depicted in figure 12); and
wherein each diagonal is operable to become in tension diagonally in response to a force of an associated spring, which diagonal will then extend across its associated parallelogram section by action of the springs when the mast is deployed into a final deployed position (see figure 12, where the springs #55 are configured to apply a tension on the diagonal rod element with stop #56 so as apply a tensile force of the rod and contract the diagonal rod into the sleeve of assemblies #28A/29A and thus unfold the assembly and allow for proper deployment of the assembly).
Regarding claim 3, Onoda et al. disclose the springs are torsion springs, torsion rods, or compression springs (springs #55 are compression springs which is configured to compress for pulling the diagonal rod into the sleeve of the diagonal assembly #28A/29A as depicted in figure 12).
Regarding claim 4, Onoda et al. disclose the diagonals are implemented with flexible wire, cable, cord or rod (figure 12 depicts the diagonal rod with stop #56 of assembly #28A/29A is a rod).
Regarding claim 6, Onoda et al. disclose the longerons of each section have a first side and a second side and at least one spring and one diagonal on each side (as depicted in figure 1, the assembly forms a three dimensional structure, where longerons extend to the right and left of a set of top and bottom longerons, and thus longerons with diagonals #28A/29A and #28C/29C and springs #55 can be considered to extend on the left and right sides of a set of plurality of top and bottom longerons with struts #28B/29B).
Regarding claim 7, Onoda et al. disclose each hinge linkage comprises a first hinge (#9a) connecting adjacent longerons (see figure 12), a second hinge (#11a) connecting the other two adjacent longerons (see figure 12), and a pair of linkage arms (arms #22 and #23 as depicted in figure 1), wherein the second hinge is an offset hinge (see figure 12, where hinge #11a comprises an offset hinge in order to allow struts #28A/29A to be attached at an angle).
Regarding claim 8, Onoda et al. disclose a method of deploying a mast, comprising: providing a folded mast comprising:
a series of bottom longerons (#16);
a series of top longerons (#13);
hinge linkages (#19a, #20a, and #25a) operable to attach the bottom longerons to the top longerons of adjacent sections (see figure 12), such that pairs of bottom longerons and top longerons form a series of parallelogram sections operable to fold and unfold as accordion pleats fold and unfold (see figures 12 and 13);
at least one spring (#55) associated with each parallelogram section each spring attached diagonally from at or near one end of the top longeron (see figure 12, where the upper end of the springs #55 is considered “near” the end of the top longerons #13 attached to the linkage #19a, such as compared to the bottom end of the springs #55) to at or near an opposing end of a bottom longeron (the bottom end of the springs #55 are attached to a respective end of the bottom longeron using hinged corners #5a/11a; see figure 12);
at least one diagonal (the diagonal rod with stop #56 within the assembly #28A/29A) associated with each parallelogram section (see figure 12);
wherein the springs are operable to deploy the mast from a folded position to a deployed position (col. 7, ll. 46-50 and figures 12 and 13 disclose the spring #55 is to impart an elongating force on the diagonal braces #28A/29A so as to bias the assembly to the unfolded, expanded state as depicted in figure 12); and
wherein each diagonal is operable to become in tension diagonally, in response to a force of an associated spring, which diagonal will then extend across its associated parallelogram section by action of the springs when the mast is deployed into a final deployed position (see figure 12, where the springs #55 are configured to apply a tension on the diagonal rod element with stop #56 so as to contract the diagonal rod into the sleeve of assemblies #28A/29A and thus unfold the assembly and allow for proper deployment of the assembly), and
actuating the mast such that the springs are operable to deploy the mast from a folded position (see figure 13) to a deployed position (see figure 12), and such that each diagonal is operable to become in tension diagonally across its associated parallelogram by the action of the springs when the mast is deployed into a final position (see figure 12, where the springs #55 are configured to apply a tension on the diagonal rod element with stop #56 so as to contract the diagonal rod into the sleeve of assemblies #28A/29A and thus unfold the assembly and allow for proper deployment of the assembly).
Regarding claim 9, Onoda et al. disclose damping the actuating step (see figure 12, where the diagonals are provided with springs #55 that would provide the dampening force to reduce how fast the assembly deploys since springs #55 bias the diagonals to their elongated state).
Regarding claim 11, Onoda et al. disclose the springs are torsion springs, torsion rods, or compression springs (springs #55 are compression springs that compress to pull the diagonal rods within the sleeves of assemblies #28A/29A as depicted in figure 12).
Regarding claim 12, Onoda et al. disclose the diagonals are implemented with flexible wire, cable, cord or rod (figure 12 depicts the diagonal rod with stop #56 of assemblies #28A/29A is a rod).
Regarding claim 13, Onoda et al. disclose each of the pairs of bottom longerons and top longerons have a first side and a second side and at least one spring and one diagonal on each side (as depicted in figure 1, the assembly forms a three dimensional structure, where longerons extend to the right and left of a set of top and bottom longerons, and thus longerons with diagonals #28A/29A and #28C/29C and springs #55 can be considered to extend on the left and right sides of a set of plurality of top and bottom longerons with struts #28B/29B).
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 07/25/2025 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patents 12,334,865 and 11,799,414 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded. Therefore, the double patenting rejections of the previous Office Action are withdrawn.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 10 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 and rewritten to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections as explained above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4 and 6-13 have been considered but are moot because Applicant’s amendments to the claims required the use of a different embodiment and interpretation of the prior art to meet the newly added claim limitations.
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 THEODORE V ADAMOS whose telephone number is (571)270-1166. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9-5.
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/THEODORE V ADAMOS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635