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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in United Kingdom on 3/18/22. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the UK application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 9/10/24 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
The foreign patent documents and non-patent literature were not provided.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figures 4-8 appear to be photographs. Also, since figures 4-8 appear to be photographs, the shading produced makes the figures less clear. 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.
Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. Any such petition must be accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h), one set of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or three sets of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if not submitted via the via USPTO patent electronic filing system, and, unless already present, an amendment to include the following language as the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section of the specification:
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
Color photographs will be accepted if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied. See 37 CFR 1.84(b)(2).
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) 1-4 and 6-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stiesdal et al (WO 2021/244724) herein referred to as Stiesdal in view of Loken et al (WO 2020/167137) herein referred to as Loken.
As to claim 1, Steisdal discloses the assembly kit for assembling an offshore renewable energy system mounting platform,
the kit comprising:
a frame for a renewable energy system mounting platform, the frame comprising:
three or more elongate lateral braces 210;
a plurality of elongate upright braces (see figure 2B, upright angled braces), equal to the quantity of lateral braces;
a plurality of vertex members 220 equal to the quantity of lateral braces, each
vertex member arranged to affix two said lateral braces at a corresponding
end thereof such that the lateral braces and the vertex members form a
substantially planar base of the frame; and wherein the vertex members are
each further arranged to engage a first end of a corresponding upright brace
such that said upright brace is affixed to the base at an upright angle relative
thereto;
the frame further comprising a single transition piece 242 arranged to engage a second end of each of the upright braces when positioned at said upright angle, the
transition piece thereby forming a fixed apex 242 of the frame, to form an assembled
frame;
the kit further comprising assembly aids, the assembly aids comprising:
a vertical tower (see figure 2B, central brace i.e. vertical tower); and the vertical tower having a plurality of upright brace engaging surfaces (i.e. lugs/ears, see figure 7A), each upright brace engaging surface of the tower positioned to engage a corresponding upright brace such that each engaged upright brace is supported by the upright brace engaging surface at the upright angle.
Stiesdal does not disclose the plurality of lateral brace supports corresponding to the quantity of lateral braces. Loken discloses assembly aid for a wind turbine including plurality of lateral brace supports 4513 (see figure 29). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide lateral brace supports as disclosed by Loken, since doing so provides the expected benefit of facilitating construction of a wind turbine.
As to claim 2, Loken further discloses wherein the lateral brace engaging surface conforms to a shape of the corresponding lateral brace. Stiesdal discloses wherein the upright brace engaging surface confirms to a shape of the corresponding upright brace.
As to claim 3, Stiesdal discloses wherein said shape of the lateral brace and said shape of the upright brace is one selected from the group: curved; cylindrical.
As to claim 4, Stiesdal in view of Loken is silent to wherein the assembly aids further comprise: one or more welding stations arranged to be positioned at each of the vertex members when engaged with said corresponding lateral braces, wherein each lateral brace is supported on a corresponding lateral brace support. The provision of welding stations would have been an obvious matter of design choice, since welding is well-known in the art of construction of metallic members such as those used in the construction of wind turbine platforms.
As to claim 6, Loken discloses wherein each of the lateral brace supports 4513 is
arranged to, while engaged with said lateral brace, transport the assembled frame.
As to claim 7, Stiesdal discloses wherein the tower comprises an upper platform (upper surface of 242) arranged to support assembly personnel.
As to claim 8, Stiesdal discloses wherein the transition piece 242 is arranged to support a renewable energy system 120 thereon.
As to claim 9, Stiesdal discloses wherein the renewable energy system comprises at least one of a wave energy converter and a wind turbine 120.
As to claim 10, Stiesdal discloses comprising three lateral braces 210.
As to claim 11, Stiesdal discloses wherein the frame, when assembled, comprises a tetrahedral shape 240.
As to claim 12, Stiesdal discloses wherein each of the lateral braces are identical, each of the upright braces are identical, and each of the vertex members are identical.
As to claim 13, Stiesdal discloses (see figure 3) wherein each vertex member comprises two coplanar socket members (ears/lugs) each arranged to receive an end of a corresponding lateral brace on a common plane, and an angled socket member (ears/lugs) arranged to receive a first end of a corresponding upright brace at the upright angle relative to said plane.
As to claim 14, Loken discloses wherein the assembly kit comprises a plurality of lateral brace supports 4513 for each corresponding lateral brace.
As to claim 15, Stiesdal discloses the method of manufacturing a frame for an offshore renewable energy system mounting platform, the frame comprising:
three or more lateral braces 210 and a corresponding quantity of vertex members 220, each vertex member arranged to affix adjacent ends of two of the lateral braces to form a planar base of the frame, the lateral braces each forming a corresponding edge of said base; a plurality of upright braces (see figure 2B, upright angled braces) equal to the quantity of lateral braces, each of the upright braces arranged to engage a corresponding vertex member 220 to form upright edges of the frame extending from the base at an upright angle relative to the planar base; and a single transition piece 242 arranged to affix the upright braces at the upright angle, the transition piece forming an apex of the frame;
the method comprising the steps of:
positioning a vertical tower (see figure 2B, central brace i.e. vertical tower) having upright brace engaging surfaces (see figure 7A, lugs/ears) arranged to engage a corresponding upright brace of the frame at the upright angle;
positioning each of a plurality of lateral brace supports at a corresponding
ground position relative to the upright brace engaging surfaces, such that each
lateral brace support is arranged to support a corresponding said lateral brace to
form the base;
supporting each said lateral brace using a corresponding said lateral brace
support at the corresponding ground position;
engaging adjacent ends of two said lateral braces with a corresponding
vertex member to form the base;
engaging a first end of each upright brace with a corresponding vertex
member, and a surface of each said upright brace with a corresponding upright
brace engaging surface of the tower; and
affixing the transition piece to second ends of each of the engaged upright
braces, to form an assembled frame.
Stiesdal does not disclose the plurality of lateral brace supports corresponding to the quantity of lateral braces. Loken discloses assembly aid for a wind turbine including plurality of lateral brace supports 4513 (see figure 29). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide lateral brace supports as disclosed by Loken, since doing so provides the expected benefit of facilitating construction of a wind turbine.
As to claim 16, Stiesdal in view of Loken discloses wherein the method is performed using the assembly kit of claim 1.
As to claim 17, Stiesdal discloses further comprising permanently affixing the ends of the lateral braces 210 to the corresponding vertex member 220.
As to claim 18, Stiesdal discloses further comprising permanently affixing the first end of the upright brace to the corresponding vertex member 220 (see figure 3).
As to claim 19, Stiesdal discloses further comprising permanently affixing the second ends of the upright braces to the transition piece 242 to form an assembled frame.
As to claim 20, Stiesdal in view of Loken is silent to affixing is performed by welding; however, welding of metallic members is well-known in the art. To affix by welding would have been an obvious matter of design choice, since welding is well-known in the art of construction of metallic members such as those used in the construction of wind turbine platforms.
As to claim 21, Stiesdal discloses transporting the assembled frame to a first location in a body of water; and mounting a renewable energy system 120 onto the transition piece 242 of the assembled frame.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 22-25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 5, the prior art of record fails to show or suggest wherein the assembly kit further comprises a plurality of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) corresponding to the quantity of lateral braces, wherein each SPMT is arranged to support a corresponding lateral brace of the frame on a horizontal plane above the ground, and further arranged to, while engaged with said lateral brace, transport the assembled frame.
As to claim 22, the prior art of record fails to show or suggest wherein the step of transporting further comprises: supporting each of the lateral braces of the assembled frame on a corresponding self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICK L LAGMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7043. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday-Friday 8am-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at 571-270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FREDERICK L LAGMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678