Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/757,990

CABLE CAR VERTICAL LOOP TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jun 28, 2024
Priority
Sep 10, 2018 — provisional 62/729,267 +1 more
Examiner
JONES, JAMES WILLIAM
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Vertical Loop Enterprises LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 3m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
92 granted / 125 resolved
+13.6% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
148
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
82.8%
+42.8% vs TC avg
§102
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
§112
12.2%
-27.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 125 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Status of the Claims Claim 1 is pending. 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. Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kunczynski (US 4864937 A) in view of Creissels (US 4619206 A). In regards to claim 1, Kunczynski teaches a transportation system (21) (Fig. 2) comprising: a support structure (27); a vertical loop (56-57) supported from the support structure (as seen in Fig. 2); and, a gondola cabin (46) supported from the vertical loop (as seen in Fig. 2). Kunczynski does not explicitly teach a power supply. Creissels teaches a power supply (44) for moving a loop (abstract, lines 3-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the transportation system of Kunczynski to include a power supply as taught by Creissels with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of increasing the efficiency and control of the transportation system (see Creissels, col. 1, lines 31-33). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Troy (EP 1878631 B1) discloses a cable car system with at least one transport cable. Souchal (CA 2101661 C) discloses a cableway cabin for transport of passengers. Cathiard (US 5172640 A) discloses an overhead cable transport installation having two successive sections. Kunczynski (US 4998482 A) discloses an aerial tramway and method for relieving induced torque. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES WILLIAM JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7063. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 11am-7pm. 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, Samuel 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. 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. /JAMES WILLIAM JONES/ Examiner, Art Unit 3615 /S. Joseph Morano/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 28, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+25.9%)
3y 3m (~1y 3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 125 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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