Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 28, 2026
Application No. 18/463,555

PRE-ASSEMBLED CLIMBING SCAFFOLD WITH MOVEMENT SYSTEM WITH CART AND GANG PANEL

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 08, 2023
Priority
Sep 15, 2022 — CO NC2022/0013124
Examiner
HAYES, KRISTEN C
Art Unit
3642
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Forsa S A
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
876 granted / 1278 resolved
+16.5% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+21.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
1311
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
47.3%
+7.3% vs TC avg
§102
21.0%
-19.0% vs TC avg
§112
27.4%
-12.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1278 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 02/22/2026 is acknowledged. Information Disclosure Statement The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered. 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 6, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Urzelai Ezkibel et al US 2015/0129359. PNG media_image1.png 714 352 media_image1.png Greyscale Modified Figure 1 US 2015/0129359 Regarding claim 1, Urzelai Ezkibel discloses a pre-assembled climbing scaffold, comprising: vertical aligners connected to a first horizontal aligner and a second horizontal aligner (Urzelai Ezkibel, Figure 1) located behind a gang panel (22), having an upper guardrail system (seen above 22); and a vertical guardrail (100) connected to a lower frame; where the lower frame supports a work platform (20) in a horizontal position. Regarding 6, Urzelai Ezkibel further discloses a fast-connecting bracket (10, 11, 12) joined to the lower frame each one in a vertical support, where the fast-connecting bracket is composed of a pivoting safety flap (Urzelai Ezkibel, ¶0024) supported to a base having a lifting plate (39). Regarding claim 8, Urzelai Ezkibel further discloses a front lifting plate (30) and a rear lifting plate (30) which have holes used to hold the pre-assembled climbing scaffold (Urzelai Ezkibel, ¶0026). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Urzelai Ezkibel et al US 2015/0129359 in view of Wang et al CN 103510696. Regarding claim 10, Urzelai Ezkibel discloses the device of claim 1 but fails to disclose an extensor bracket holding a safety net. Wang teaches a climbing scaffold having an extensor bracket (3-2) holding a safety net (3-8) and connected to a lower part of a lower frame. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify the scaffold of Urzelai Ezkibel with the safety net connected to a lower part of a lower frame as taught by Wang as to provide a way to contain falling objects. Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Urzelai Ezkibel et al US 2015/0129359 in view of Jentsch ES 2539815. Regarding claim 9, Urzelai Ezkibel discloses a mooring device (4) but fails to disclose the details of the mooring device. Jentsch teaches a mooring device comprising threaded bolts (13), nuts (9), and double pipe joint (8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify the mooring device so that it comprised threaded bolts, nuts, and a double pipe joint as to provide a secure mooring device for the scaffold assembly. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2-5 and 7 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. The prior art fails to disclose either alone or in combination a movement system with cart as claimed, or the first and second horizontal aligners connected to the vertical aligners by a threaded flange and double channel alignment as claimed. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: CN 114016610. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTEN C HAYES whose telephone number is (571)272-7881. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-6pm. 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, Michener Joshua can be reached at 571.272.1467. 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. /KRISTEN C HAYES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 08, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Jul 18, 2026
Response Filed

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+21.8%)
2y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1278 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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