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 .
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ho (KR-20130134667 A).
Respect to claim 1, Ho discloses a towable offshore floating structure comprising:
a plurality of legs arranged in a spaced-apart manner (Figure 2, 320);
and a connecting bar connected to each pair of legs (Figure 2, 330),
the towable offshore floating structure further comprising:
a cover member arranged to partially wrap around an outer surface of at least one of the legs (Figure 2, 400, 500),
wherein when towing is performed at sea, a flow of seawater is guided to an outer side of the leg through contact with the cover member, suppressing the flow of seawater between each pair of legs and thereby reducing resistance caused by the seawater (Paragraphs 25-30).
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With respect to claim 2, Ho discloses the towable offshore floating structure of claim 1, wherein the leg includes a protrusion arranged at least at one location on the outer surface (Figure 4, 120,220).
With respect to claim 3, Ho discloses the towable offshore floating structure of claim 1, wherein the cover member is fixed to the leg by a fastening member (Figure 4, 110, 120, 210, 220).
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612
695
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With respect to claim 4, Ho discloses the towable offshore floating structure of claim 1, wherein the cover member is shaped to gradually taper from the rear to the front (Figure 6, paragraphs 30-36).
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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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ho in view of Andersen et al (EP-3653873-A1, hereafter Andersen).
With respect to claim 5, Ho does not teach the towable offshore floating structure of claim 1, wherein the cover member includes a shackle arranged at least at one location on the outer surface.
Andersen teaches the cover member includes a shackle arranged at least at one location on the outer surface. Specifically, Andersen teaches a shackle (Figure 3, 21) coupled to the chain (Figure 3, 10) of the chain hoist (Figure 3, 11) and to the coupling means (Figure 3, 12, 20) attached to the top surface (Figure 3, 18) of the object (Figure 3, 9; paragraph 50).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention’s effective filling date to modify Ho cover member to include a shackle arranged at least at one location on the outer surface, as taught by Andersen, in order to provide a secure attachment point for lifting and pulling members, thereby facilitating handling , lifting , towing , and transportation of the towable offshore floating structure.
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN CHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0117. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am-5:00 pm.
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/K.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3615
/MARC Q JIMENEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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