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 .
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed December 22, 2025. The application has been updated accordingly.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MacKarvich (2016/0332011).
MacKarvich discloses:
Claim 1: A mobile safety fall arrest system comprising:
a mobile structure (Fig. 1; 10) that is configured to be moved along an elevated surface (Fig. 1; 10, Para. [0015]);
a spike assembly (Fig. 1; 28) having a track (Fig. 3; 44) and being coupled to and supported by said mobile structure (Fig. 3; via 21), said spike assembly being movable along said track between a stowed configuration (Fig. 3; 28) and a deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 28), wherein said track is defined by raceways (Fig. 3; 47 where 49 slides) in a support wall (Fig. 3; 44 forms a support wall) of said spike assembly, wherein said track includes a first end (Fig. 4; see detail) and a second end (Fig. 4; see detail), wherein the first end of said track defines the stowed configuration of the spike assembly (Fig. 3; 28), wherein the second end of said track defines the deployed configuration of the spike assembly (Fig. 4; 28);
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wherein said track includes a straight section extending from the second end of the track toward the first end of the track (Fig. 4; see detail), and
wherein said track includes a curved section extending from the straight section of the track towards the first end of the track (Fig. 4; see detail);
a trigger assembly (Fig. 3; 33) operatively coupled to said spike assembly (Fig. 4; via 41), said trigger assembly being movable between a set configuration (Fig. 3; 33) and a released configuration (Fig. 4; 33), wherein said trigger assembly retains said spike assembly in the stowed configuration to the deployed configuration when said trigger assembly is in the released configuration (Para. [0027-0028]); and
an elongate member (Fig. 3; 40) selectively coupled to said trigger assembly (Fig. 3; via 42), such that pulling the elongate member causes the trigger assembly to move from the set configuration (Fig. 3; 33) to the released configuration (Fig. 4; 33), thereby allowing the spike assembly to move from the stowed configuration (Fig. 3; 28) to the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 28), wherein said elongate member is oriented at a first angle relative to said spike assembly when said spike assembly is in the stowed configuration (Fig. 3; 40), wherein said elongate member is oriented at a second angle relative to said spike assembly when said spike assembly is in the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 40), wherein the first angle is substantially parallel (Fig. 3; 40 is substantially parallel to 28), and wherein the second angle is relatively perpendicular (Fig. 4; 40 is relatively perpendicular to 28).
Claim 2: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 1, wherein said spike assembly is displaced from the elevated surface when said spike assembly is in the stowed configuration (Fig. 3; when 49 is pushed to the first end of 44, spike 28 is elevated from the surface 12, Para. [0028]).
Claim 3: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 2, wherein said spike assembly includes a spike member (Fig. 3; 30), wherein said spike member extends from a distal end of a sleeve member (Fig. 3; 27 via 24), and wherein said spike member is configured to pierce the elevated surface as said spike assembly moves towards the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 30, Para. [0026]).
Claim 4: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 3, wherein said track includes a straight section extending from said second end of said track towards said first end of said track (Fig. 4; see detail).
Claim 5: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 4, wherein said track includes a curved section extending from said straight section of said track to said first end of said track (Fig. 4; see detail).
Claim 6: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 5, wherein at least two support members (Fig. 6; see detail) extend from said sleeve member (Fig. 3; 27 via 24, Para. [0019]) into said raceways of said track so as to control movement and orientation of said spike member as said spike assembly moves between the stowed and deployed configurations (Para. [0028-0029]).
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Claim 7: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 3, wherein said elongate member includes a first end coupled to a tether clip (Fig. 3; 34 via 41/42), said tether clip being configured to selectively couple to a first end of a tether (Fig. 3; 35) such that when a worker (Fig. 1; 36) is coupled to a second end (Fig. 1; 37) of said tether, said elongate member causes said trigger assembly to move from the set configuration to the released configuration when the worker falls from the elevated surface (Para. [0027]).
Claim 8: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 7, wherein said elongate member (Fig. 3; 40) is engaged with said trigger assembly (Fig. 3; 33) when said trigger assembly is in the set configuration (Fig. 3; via 41/42) such that the tension in said elongate member biases said trigger assembly towards the released configuration (Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 9: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 8, wherein a second end of said elongate member (Fig. 3; 40) is coupled to said sleeve member (Fig. 3; 24/27 via 21 and 25) of said spike assembly such that a weight of a worker causes the spike assembly to move from the stowed configuration towards the deployed configuration when the worker falls from the elevated surface, wherein the second end of said elongate member is coupled to said sleeve member of said spike assembly such that weight of the worker assist the spike member in piercing the elevated surface (Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 10: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 9, wherein said elongate member extends from said spike assembly such that tension in said elongate member biases said spike assembly towards the deployed configuration (Fig. 3; any tension placed on 40 at 42 will bias it towards the deployed configuration, Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 11: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 10, wherein the tension in said elongate member is associated with a user falling from the elevated surface (Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 12: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 11, wherein said elongate member is disengaged from said trigger assembly when said trigger assembly is in the released configuration (Fig. 3; 33 is disengaged from 40 when there is no tension applied to 33, Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 13: The mobile safety fall arrest system of claim 3, wherein said spike member is oriented at a first angle relative to said mobile structure when said spike assembly is in the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 28) and wherein said spike member is oriented at a second angle relative to said mobile cart when said spike assembly is in the stowed configuration (Fig. 3; 28), wherein the first angle is approximately forty-five (45) degrees (Para. [0025]), and wherein the second angle is less than forty-five (45) degrees (Fig. 4; the bottom surface of 31 is approximately parallel (0-degrees) relative to 10).
Claim 14: A method of arresting a fall, the method comprising:
positioning a spike assembly (Fig. 1; 28) of a mobile cart (Fig. 1; 10) relative to an elevated surface (Fig. 1; 12) while the spike assembly is in a stowed configuration such that a spike member of the spike assembly is displaced from the elevated surface (Fig. 3; 28 is depicted as displaced from 12); and
coupling a first end of an elongate member (Fig. 3; 33 nearest 34) to a user (Fig. 1; 36 via 35) such that when the user falls, the weight of the user creates tension in the elongate member (Para. [0027-0028]), coupling a second end of the elongate member to the spike assembly (Fig. 3; via 41), orientating the elongate member in a first position substantially parallel to the spike assembly (Fig. 3; the end of 33 to the right of 52 is substantially parallel to 28), using the tension created in the elongate member to exert the weight of the user on the spike assembly through the elongate member, moving the elongate member from its first position to a second position (Para. [0027-0028]), wherein moving the elongate member from its first position to the second position moves the spike assembly along a path (Fig. 3; 47) defined by a track (Fig. 3; 44) from its stowed configuration to a deployed configuration, wherein the elongate member's second position is relatively perpendicular to the spike assembly when the spike assembly is in the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; the end of 33 to the right of 52 is relatively perpendicular to 28), and wherein a spike member is configured to pierce the elevated surface as the spike assembly moves towards the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 28, Para. [0026]),
wherein said track includes a straight section extending from a second end of the track toward a first end of the track (Fig. 4; see detail), and
wherein said track includes a curved section extending from the straight section of the track towards the first end of the track (Fig. 4; see detail).
Claim 15: The method of claim 14, wherein the second position of the elongate member is relatively parallel with the elevated surface when the spike assembly is in the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; the end of 33 to the left of 52 is relatively parallel to 12).
Claim 16: The method of claim 14, wherein the tension in the elongate member biases the spike assembly towards the deployed configuration (Fig. 3; any tension placed on 33 will bias it towards the deployed configuration, Para. [0027-0028]).
Claim 17: The method of claim 14, wherein said track (Fig. 3; 44) is defined by raceways (Fig. 3; 47 where 49 slides) in a support wall of said spike assembly (Fig. 3; 44 forms a support wall), wherein said track includes a first end (Fig. 4; see detail) and a second end (Fig. 4; see detail), wherein the first end of said track defines the stowed configuration of the spike assembly (Fig. 3; 28), and wherein the second end of said track defines the deployed configuration of the spike assembly (Fig. 4; 28).
Claim 18: The method of claim 17, wherein said track includes a straight section extending from said second end of said track towards said first end of said track (Fig. 4; see detail), and wherein said track includes a curved section extending from said straight section of said track to said first end of said track (Fig. 4; see detail).
Claim 19: The method of claim 14, wherein said spike member is oriented at a first angle relative to said mobile cart when said spike assembly is in the deployed configuration (Fig. 4; 28) and wherein said spike member is oriented at a second angle relative to said mobile cart when said spike assembly is in the stowed configuration (Fig. 3; 28), wherein the first angle is approximately forty-five (45) degrees (Para. [0025]), and wherein the second angle is less than forty-five (45) degrees (Fig. 4; the bottom surface of 31 is approximately parallel (0-degrees) relative to 10).
Claim 20: The method of claim 14, further comprising engaging the elongate member with a trigger assembly (Fig. 3; 41) such that the tension in the elongate member causes the trigger assembly to move away from a set configuration prior to the tension in the elongate member biasing the spike assembly towards the deployed configuration (Para. [0027-0028]), and wherein the elongate member is disengaged from the trigger assembly when the trigger assembly is in a released configuration (Fig. 3; 33 is disengaged from 41 when there is no tension applied to 33, Para. [0027-0028]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed December 22, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to the prior art rejections, applicant argues that the primary reference of MacKarvich fails to disclose the track including a straight section extending from a second end of track toward a first end of the track wherein said track includes a curved section extending from the straight section of the track towards the first end of the track. This argument is not persuasive because, as detailed in the rejected claims above, MacKarvich does disclose these features as shown in annotated Figure 4.
For at least this reason the applicant’s remarks are not found persuasive and the claims remain rejected as advanced above.
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 Kathleen M. McFarland whose telephone number is (571)272-9139. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Mattei can be reached at (571) 270-3238. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kathleen M. McFarland/Examiner, Art Unit 3635
Kathleen M. McFarland
Examiner
Art Unit 3635
/BRIAN D MATTEI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3635