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 (Species 1) in the reply filed on 3/05/2026 is acknowledged. Therefore, claims 13-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following feature must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
a tow point connected to the fixed carrier and aligned with the rotational axis of the rotating carrier (claim 1 and claim 8).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
a tow point connected to the fixed carrier and aligned with the rotational axis of the rotating carrier, as set forth in claims 1 and 8
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claims 1 and 8 each sets forth an apparatus comprising: (i) a first unit to receive a compliant member, (ii) a retraction unit comprising a fixed carrier and a rotating carrier, the rotating carrier configured to provide rotation about a rotational axis, the retraction unit coupled to the first unit via the rotating carrier (thereby implying that the first unit is positioned on the rotating carrier); and (iii) a tow point connected to the fixed carrier and aligned with the rotational axis (emphasis provided).
It is noted that the instant invention comprises: (a) a first unit 112; (b) a tow point 158; and (c) two distinct retraction units – i.e., the lateral retraction unit 106 and vertical retraction unit 108.
The lateral retraction unit 106 further comprises a lateral fixed carrier 132,110 and a lateral rotating carrier 134, wherein the lateral rotating carrier 134 is configured to provide rotation about a horizontal rotational axis 114. Note that the first unit 112 is positioned on the lateral rotating carrier 134, but the tow point is NOT aligned with the rotational axis 114, as set forth in claims 1 and 8.
Additionally, the vertical retraction unit 108 comprises a vertical fixed carrier 148 and a vertical rotating carrier 150, wherein the vertical rotating carrier 150 is configured to provide rotation about a vertical rotational axis 116. Note that the tow point is aligned with the rotational axis 116, but the first unit 112 is NOT positioned on the rotating carrier 150, as set forth in claims 1 and 8.
Therefore, the two claimed features – i.e., (i) the first unit being positioned on the rotating carrier; and (ii) the tow point being aligned with the rotational axis of the rotating carrier – are two mutually exclusive features. In other words, although the tow point 158 is aligned with rotational axis 116, such rotational axis is not the same as the rotational axis 114 of the rotating carrier 134 on which the first unit 112 is positioned, as required in the claims (emphasis added).
Therefore, in absence of adequate guidance in the disclosure, a person skilled in the art would not be able to make and/or use the invention as currently claimed.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claims 1 and 8, the limitation “a compliant member” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite for being vague and confusing. It is noted that specification has failed to adequately describe as to what exactly the term “compliant” is intended to convey. The phrase “compliant member” can have numerous different meanings, ranging from “flexible member” to a “member that is pivotable about a joint”, besides even broader meaning, such as “a member that meets rigidity and strength requirements for compliance with its structural design”.
Therefore, in absence of clarity about the intended meaning of the term “compliant, the claims are rendered indefinite for failing to define the exact metes and bounds of the claimed matter.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6-12, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Peterson et al. (US 5,431,526 A)
Peterson et al. disclose an apparatus (see Fig 1), comprising: a first unit [92] capable of receiving a first end of a compliant member [94]; and a retraction unit including a fixed carrier [34] and a rotating carrier [62]. It is noted that the claim does not positively recite a compliant member. Also, because the specification has not adequately described the meaning of term “compliant”, the phrase “compliant member” has been broadly interpreted to mean a member that is movable with respect to another part of the apparatus. The rotating carrier is configured to provide rotation about a vertical rotational axis about pivot pins [64] between a first position and a second position. The retraction unit is coupled to the first unit via the rotating carrier. The vertical structure [31] of the rigid base [30] is capable of towing an object, and therefore, is broadly considered to be a tow point. The tow point [31] is connected to the fixed carrier, and being parallel with the rotational axis, the tow point is considered aligned with the rotational axis.
Re claim 2, an aperture [38] is defined in the fixed carrier that extends longitudinally through the fixed carrier. The aperture is capable of receiving, and therefore configured to receive, a bolt [64] that can be used to connect the apparatus to any vessel.
Re claim 4, the first position comprises a deployed position and the second position comprises a stowed position.
Re claim 6, the first unit comprises an attachment point to receive the first end of the compliant member (see Fig 4).
Re claim 7, an aperture is defined in the first unit and aligned with the attachment point, and wherein the aperture is configured to receive a first end of a cable or flat rope [162] (see Fig 4; and col. 3, lines 21-22).
Re claim 8, further to the description provided above for claim 1, the compliant member [94] comprising a first end and a second end, and a cable or flat rope to pass through the compliant member from the second end of the compliant member to the first end of the compliant member.
Re claim 9, the second end of the rope comprises a handle [164] (see Fig 1 and Fig 8).
Re claim 10, the compliant member comprises a boom pole.
Re claim 11, the first unit comprises an attachment point to receive the first end of the compliant member, and wherein the attachment point comprises a compression fitting [98, 100] to retain the first end of the compliant member (see Fig 4).
Re claim 12, the rope management apparatus further comprises a mounting bracket [18] that is capable of mounting the rope management apparatus to a vessel.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Magill et al. (US 11014791 B2) show a apparatus for rope management, comprising: a retraction unit with a fixed carrier and a rotating carrier that is capable of being used as a towing mechanism.
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/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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