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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed August 18, 2026 lists U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021147012 which is not a proper US PGPUB number. Therefore, the reference has been crossed out of the information disclosure statement. The corresponding proper number has been cited on the provided PTO-892. No action is required by the Applicant.
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 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wright et al. (US 6,869,153 B2).
Regarding claim 19, Wright et al. discloses a modular apparatus for supporting wheels of a tracked vehicle (see Figure 1), comprising:
a rail (40) that extends lengthwise along a side of the vehicle; and
a plurality of wheel assemblies (44) attached to the rail at a set of user-selected locations (there are a plurality of locations where each 44 can be located, for example, the left most 44 in Figure 1 can be replace the rightmost 44 in Figure 1 given the similarity in structure) along the rail,
wherein the wheel assemblies are constructed and arranged to guide a track (18) in a loop (see Figure 1) around the wheel assemblies on the side of the vehicle, and
wherein the wheel assemblies include a tensioner wheel assembly (30) attached to the rail at a user-selected location (the position of 32 can be altered by movement of 36 thus meeting the claim limitation) that establishes a desired tension of the track.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 5, 7-9, 11-14, 16, and 18 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments have overcome the previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), but new claim 19 is not viewed as being allowable in light of the rejection(s) above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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 ADAM D ROGERS whose telephone number is (571)272-6561. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 6AM-2:00PM 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, John Olszewski can be reached at (571)272-2706. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADAM D ROGERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617
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