DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on February 7, 2024 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 .
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) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pouliot et al (US 7,634,966).
Pouliot discloses a method for displacing a vehicle 1 along aerial conductors 3 of an electricity transmission line, the method comprising rotating at least two wheels 17, 18 each in contact with one of the aerial conductors to induce movement of a body of the vehicle along the aerial conductors, each of the at least two wheels mounted at a distal end of an arm 15 mounted at its other end to the body 7 of the vehicle 1. A force is applied on the arms in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of the vehicle along the aerial conductors to displace the arms toward each other by way of springs 29, shown in figure 16. When one of the at least two wheels encounter an obstacle 5 of the aerial conductor, the motor will advance the vehicle in a direction of the obstacle to contact the obstacle with an impact blade 21 of a support rotor mounted to one of the at least two wheels and rotate the support rotor about the obstacle with the impact blade by advancing the vehicle, so as to temporarily distance one of the at least two wheels from the aerial conductor, advancement of the vehicle along the aerial conductors after the obstacle causing one of the at least two wheels to reengage the aerial conductor. The wheels are drive by motors 11 associated with each drive wheel and the wheels are inclined to the vertical as shown in the figures.
Pouliot further discloses a method of installing a vehicle on aerial conductors comprised of receiving two aerial conductors 3 between at least two motorized wheels 17, 18 mounted to distal ends of arms 15 of at least one pair of arms, the arms of the at least one pair pivotably mounted at proximal ends to a body of the vehicle, the pivots points are shown at the bottom of the arm 15 adjacent to the body 7 of the vehicle. The pivoting of the arms of the at least one pair of arms toward each other until the at least
two motorized wheels contact the aerial conductors to support a weight of the vehicle from the aerial conductors with the motorized wheels.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00.
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, S. Joseph Morano can be reached at 571-272-6684. 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.
/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
February 11, 2026
Prosecution Insights