DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on May 28, 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, 2, 6-8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 21-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Carreiro (US 8,708,285).
Carreiro discloses a carrier 10 for delivering a payload 12 comprised of a housing defining an interior, as shown in figure 1 and at least one holder 16 releasably secured within the interior of the housing and a delivery system 24, in the form of a parachute coupled to the housing and is configured to be deployed and guide the carrier to a predetermined location, as shown in figure 8.
The housing further comprises a body section having a first end and a second end, a nose cone positioned at the first end of the body section and is structured to absorb kinetic energy. A tail piece is positioned at the second end of the body section. The overall structure above is shown in figure 1.
As shown in figure 6, the housing comprises at least one cargo access door 62 configured to allow for the insertion, removal, and viewing of the holders. The door is rotatably hinged, also shown in figure 6 and mounted at a hinge.
Figure 1 shows a plurality of aerodynamic fins at the rear of the carrier.
Figures 1, 2 and 6 show the holders to be stackable one on top of the other.
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Carreiro (US 8,708,285) in view of Preston (US 2003/0197095).
Carreiro discloses the carrier system as described above. However, Carreiro does not specifically show a controller in operable communication with the parachute to control the orientation of the parachute and the decent of the carrier. Preston discloses a steerable parachute control system to control the orientation of the parachute to guide cargo being dropped. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have applied a controller, like that of Preston, to a cargo delivery system, like that of Carreiro, with the expected result of providing a more efficient delivery system so as to place cargo in a more precise landing spot and preventing errors in delivery or damage to areas on the ground.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 9, 10, 13, 15 and 18-20 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ifill et al (US 2020/0286028), Yates (US 2018/0312252), Woodland (US 6,056,237), Himmert et al (US 5,760,330) and Thurner et al (US 5,111,748) all discloses various types of aerial delivery systems.
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.
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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.
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
July 20, 2026
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