DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Comment(s)
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A Response to an Election/Restriction Requirement was filed on 06/12/2026.
Election/Restriction
In response to the restriction requirement mailed on 05/21/2026, applicant has elected the invention of Group II drawn to claims 8-20, without traverse. Accordingly, claims 1-7 are considered withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, and there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Nevertheless, claims 1-7 have been subsequently canceled by the applicant, rendering such claims moot.
In view of above, claims 8-20 are remaining in the application.
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 claimed feature limitation: “wiring channel” must be shown (it is suggested that such be shown with an appropriate reference character corresponding to this feature(s) as claimed and as disclosed in the Specification) or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Appropriate correction is required.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show the above feature(s) (with appropriate reference characters corresponding to the feature(s) in the written description) consistent with the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
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. No new matter should be entered.
In addition to Replacement Sheets containing the corrected drawing figure(s), applicant is required to submit a marked-up copy of each Replacement Sheet including annotations indicating the changes made to the previous version. The marked-up copy must be clearly labeled as “Annotated Sheets” and must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change(s) to the drawings. See 37 CFR 1.121(d)(1). Failure to timely submit the proposed drawing and marked-up copy will result in the abandonment of the application.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informality:
The Specification does not refer to the drawings regarding the feature indicated in paragraphs 5 and 6 of this Office Action.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
10. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
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.
Claims 8-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 8 specifies “a plane” on line 4, “a reference plane” on line 6 and again “a plane” also on line 6, which is confusing whether applicant is referring to the same plane for each.
The recited limitations “the vector thrusters” and “the same reference plane” lack sufficient antecedent basis in independent claim 8 and subsequent dependent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
14. 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)(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.
As best understood by the examiner, claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by D1: US 11912386 B2 (Anderson et al.).
Regarding claims 8-10, D1 discloses an underwater robot (autonomous underwater vehicle) [100], comprising: a body and at least two pairs of first propulsion devices (8 thrusters) [101-108]; wherein each of the first propulsion devices comprises a first thruster; wherein the first thruster is a vector thruster, and arranged and configured as claimed. The recited planes, axes, and intersection points can be recognized as claimed. Orientation/offset angles for thrusters [101-108] from the vertical and horizontal can vary within specified ranges (see Figs. 1 and 3-6 and col. 4, lines 24-30). See also Figs. 1-13 and corresponding written description.
Allowable Subject Matter
As best understood by the examiner, claims 11-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
17. The prior art cited and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
The prior art references cited by the examiner disclose submersibles with pairs of propulsors.
18. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL V VENNE whose telephone number is (571) 272-7947. The examiner can normally be reached between M-F, 7am-3:30pm Flex. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marc Q Jimenez, who can be reached at phone number (571) 272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
19. If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Daniel V Venne/
Senior Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
06/30/2026
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