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 § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masterson et al., US PGPUB 20180326311 hereinafter referenced as Masterson in view of Villella, US Patent 6517443.
As to claim 1, Masterson discloses a monocoque passenger cabin for an amusement ride device comprising: a monocoque body comprising: a wall (e.g., base 14, fig. 3),
a floor, and a first seat portion (the floor where the passenger 23 feet located);
wherein the wall and the first seat portion each extend from and are integral to the floor (e.g., the base 14 may also be coupled to one or more passenger seats 18).
Masterson does not explicitly disclose the amusement ride comprising a monocoque body.
However, in the same endeavor, Villella discloses an amusement ride comprising a monocoque body (e.g., forward body cavity 36, fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Masterson to further include Millella’s external body arrangement, in order to enhances the overall safety of the ride.
As to claim 2, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses the wall comprises an opening configured to allow passengers to enter and exit the cabin (Masterson, [0034] a walkway 164 of the passenger 156 may not be blocked by the lap bar 160 when passenger 156 enters and exits the ride vehicle 10 (e.g., during loading and/or unloading)).
As to claim 3, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses a second seat portion (Masterson, e.g., one of seat portions 28, fig. 3).
As to claim 4, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 3. The combination further discloses the first and second seat portions are arranged facing the same direction (Masterson, e.g., all seat portions 28 are facing the same direction).
As to claim 5, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 3. The combination further discloses the first and second seat portions are arranged facing the opposite direction (Masterson, [0017] a walkway 164 of the passenger 156 may not be blocked by the lap bar 160 when passenger 156 enters and exits the ride vehicle 10 (e.g., during loading and/or unloading)).
As to claim 6, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 5. The combination further discloses the first and second seat portions are arranged to face each other (Masterson, [0017] In other embodiments, the first passenger seat 20 and the second passenger seat 22 may be positioned on the base 14, such that the passengers 23 face opposite the direction 16 of travel along the ride path).
As to claim 7, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 5. The combination further discloses the first and second seat portions are arranged to face away from each other (Masterson, [0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the first passenger seat 20 may be positioned in front of (e.g., adjacent to) the second passenger seat 22 with respect to the direction 16 of the ride path).
As to claim 8, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 3. The combination further discloses a third seat portion (Masterson, e.g., one of seat portions 28, fig. 3).
As to claim 9, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 8. The combination further discloses the first, second, and third seat portions are arranged in a row (Masterson, [0017] in some embodiments, the ride vehicle 10 may be configured to accommodate between 1 and 100 passengers, between 5 and 50 passengers, or between 10 and 30 passengers).
As to claim 10, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 3. The combination further discloses the floor comprises a plurality of levels (Masterson, [0030] in some embodiments, the passengers 23 may reach the passenger seats 18 via steps included in the ride vehicle 10).
As to claim 11, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 10. The combination further discloses the first seat portion is positioned on a first level of the plurality of levels; and the second seat portion is positioned on a second level of the plurality of levels (Masterson, [0032] the actuator 154 may be coupled to the controller 76, which may control movement of the passenger seats 18 from the loading position 12 to the active position 60 (and vice versa)).
As to claim 12, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 11. The combination further discloses the first level is lower than the second level (Masterson, [0019] The passenger restraint 34 may be directly coupled to the seatback 26 at any suitable position that secures the passengers 23 within the passenger seats 18 when the ride vehicle 10 is in the active position (see, e.g., FIG. 2)).
As to claim 13, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses an aisle configured to permit movement by one or more passengers within the cabin (Masterson, [0016] the ride vehicle may accompany additional passengers and/or provide additional space in aisles or walkways to facilitate loading and unloading of the passengers from the ride vehicle).
As to claim 14, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 13. The combination further discloses the wall comprises an opening configured to allow passengers to enter and exit the cabin; and the opening is positioned on a portion of the wall adjacent to the aisle (Masterson, [0017] a walkway 164 of the passenger 156 may not be blocked by the lap bar 160 when passenger 156 enters and exits the ride vehicle 10 (e.g., during loading and/or unloading)).
As to claim 15, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses the floor, wall, and seat portion are integrally constructed as a one-piece structural shell made of fiber reinforced sheet (Masterson, [0018] As shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the passenger seats 18 may include a seatback 26, a seat portion 28, and a support 30).
As to claim 16, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 15. The combination further discloses the fiber reinforced sheet comprises at least one of: one or more polymer skins reinforced with carbon fiber; or a fiber reinforced multilayer epoxy bound sheet (Masterson, [0041] For example, the passenger restraint 34 may include a polymeric material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and/or polyurethane formed into a foam).
As to claim 17, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 16. The combination further discloses the fiber reinforced sheet further comprises a foam or honeycomb core (Masterson, [0041] For example, the passenger restraint 34 may include a polymeric material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and/or polyurethane formed into a foam).
As to claim 18, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses the cabin is constructed at least partially using a three- dimensional printing process (Masterson, [0016] It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another).
As to claim 19, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses the cabin of claim 1. The combination further discloses a bottom portion of the floor is configured to attach to a motion platform (Masterson, [0018] The passenger platform 32 may be configured to move (e.g., tilt and/or rotate) with respect to the base 14 (see e.g., FIG. 2)).
As to claim 20, the combination of Masterson and Millella discloses an amusement park ride comprising the cabin of claim 1 (Masterson, [0034] a walkway 164 of the passenger 156 may not be blocked by the lap bar 160 when passenger 156 enters and exits the ride vehicle 10 (e.g., during loading and/or unloading)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Bigotti, US PGPUB 20040099174 discloses a device for amusement parks of the kind having a circuit and a series of vehicles joined one to another in an articulated way for the transport of passengers. The vehicles move along a rail track or the like, and can accommodate the transported passengers at different heights.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAHLU OKEBATO whose telephone number is (571)270-3375. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 - 5:00.
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, WILLIAM BODDIE can be reached at 571-272-0666. 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.
/SAHLU OKEBATO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625 1/12/2026