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
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 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) 26 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Hartvigsen (WO 2020187381 A1).
Regarding claim 26, Hartvigsen teaches a method of operating a launch and recovery system, the method comprising: transporting, on a floating vehicle (Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28), a first transportable assembly (Figures 1-5, elements 2, 50, 52, 53 on either left or right side) comprising a first base portion (elements 52), a first upright arm (elements 2) and a first handling mechanism (elements 53); transporting, on the floating vehicle (Page 1, lines 5-18, Page 14, lines 13-18, Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28), a second transportable assembly (Figures 1-5, elements 2, 50, 52, 53 on opposing left or right side) comprising a second base portion (elements 52), a second upright arm (elements 2) and a second handling mechanism (elements 53); transporting, on the floating vehicle (Page 1, lines 5-18, Page 14, lines 13-18, Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28), a third transportable assembly (elements 4 and 51) comprising a crossbeam (element 4) and a connecting device (element 51) configured to be mounted on the crossbeam and to selectively hold and release an underwater vehicle (Figures 1-5, element 10); coupling the first base portion and the second base portion on a deck of the floating vehicle to form a base frame for the launch and recovery system (Figures 1-5. Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28); mounting the crossbeam on the first upright arm and on the second upright arm to form a gantry structure with the first upright arm and the second upright arm (Figures 1-5); and mounting the connecting device on the crossbeam (Figures 1-5).
Regarding claim 30, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 26, further comprising moving the first upright arm and the second upright arm between a transport position in which each upright arm is lowered onto the respective base portion and a launch and recovery position in which each upright arm is fully extended cantilevered from the respective base portion (Figures 1-5 demonstrate that the upright arms are so configurable).
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(s) 16-19, 23-25, 27-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hartvigsen (WO 2020187381 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Hartvigsen teaches a launch and recovery system comprising: a first transportable assembly (Figures 1-5, elements 2, 50, 52, 53 on either left or right side) comprising: a first base portion (elements 52) configured to rest on a deck of a floating vehicle (Page 1, lines 5-18, Page 14, lines 13-18, Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28), a first upright arm (elements 2) which extends along a first longitudinal axis and is coupled to the first base portion (Figures 1-5), and a first handling mechanism (elements 53) configured to move the first upright arm with respect to the first base portion (Figures 1-5. Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28); a second transportable assembly substantially specular to the first transportable assembly (Figures 1-5, elements 2, 50, 52, 53 on opposing left or right side) and comprising: a second base portion configured to rest on the deck of the floating vehicle (elements 52), wherein the first base portion and the second base portions are couplable together on the deck of the floating vehicle to form a base frame for the launch and recovery system (Figures 1-5), a second upright arm (elements 2) which extends along a second longitudinal axis and is coupled to the second base portion, and a second handling mechanism (elements 53) configured to move the second upright arm with respect to the second base portion (Figures 1-5. Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28); and a third transportable assembly (elements 4 and 51) comprising: a crossbeam (element 4) configured to be mounted on the first upright arm and on the second upright arm to form a gantry structure with the first upright arm and the second upright arm (Figures 1-5), and a connecting device (element 51) configured to be mounted on the crossbeam and to selectively hold and release the underwater vehicle (Figures 1-5, element 10) during at least one of launching an underwater vehicle from the floating vehicle and recovering the underwater vehicle on the floating vehicle (Figures 1-5. Page 15, line 15-Page 16, line 28). Hartvigsen fails to specifically teach wherein the first base portion and the second base portions are uncouplable from each other to separate the first transportable assembly from the second transportable assembly. However, Page 1, lines 5-18 and Page 14, lines 13-18 of Hartvigsen teach that the launch and recovery system comprises a support platform that may be placed on off-shore sites, such as a ship. As such, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to suggest that base portions forming the support platform of the launch and recovery system were capable of being separable, in order to facilitate transportation of, installation of, and routine maintenance on the parts forming the launch and recovery system, since it has been held that making an apparatus separable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 17, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 16, but fails to specifically teach wherein the first base portion and the second base portion are configured to be welded to the deck of the floating vehicle. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to weld the base portions to a deck of a floating vehicle, in order to provide increased strength and durability by making the apparatus integral with the ship, since it has been held that making an apparatus integral involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 18, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 16, wherein each base portion comprises a plurality of longitudinal beams extending in a direction substantially parallel to a base axis (Figures 1-5), and a transverse beam extending in a direction transverse to the base axis (Figures 1-5), wherein one end of each transverse beam of the first base portion is couplable and uncouplable with one end of a respective transverse beam of the second base portion (see cited response to claim 1). Hartvigsen fails to specifically teach a plurality of transverse beams extending in a direction transverse to the base axis. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to duplicate the transverse beam in the rear of the launching and recovery system base and install one the duplicate in the front of the launching and recovery system base, in order to provide increased structural strength and redundancy in the event of structural failure, since it has been held that mere duplication of working parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 19, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 16, wherein each handling mechanism is configured to move the respective upright arm between a transport position in which the upright arm is lowered onto the respective base portion, and a launch and recovery position in which the upright arm is fully extended cantilevered from the respective base portion (Figures 1-5 demonstrate that the system is so configurable).
Regarding claim 23, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 16, wherein each upright arm comprises a respective telescopic mechanism configured to selectively extend and retract the crossbeam along the respective longitudinal axis when the crossbeam is mounted on the upright arms (Figures 1-5, elements 2, 4, 50).
Regarding claim 24, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 23, wherein each telescopic mechanism comprises: a sliding body configured to slide along the respective longitudinal axis with respect to the upright arm, and configured to couple with a respective portion of the crossbeam (Figures 4a-5, elements 50 comprise a sliding body that telescopes within the actuator body), and an actuator configured to implement the sliding of the respective sliding body along the respective longitudinal axis (elements 50).
Regarding claim 25, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 16, wherein the connecting device is configured to rotatably couple to the crossbeam around a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes (Figures 4a-5), the connecting device further comprising: a connecting system configured to connect with the underwater vehicle (Figures 4a-5) and a cable management system configured to control the unwinding of a cable (Page 4, lines 8-24) for powering the underwater vehicle and exchanging data with the underwater vehicle (intended use).
Regarding claim 27, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 26, but fails to specifically teach the system further comprising uncoupling the first base portion and the second base portion from each other to separate the first transportable assembly from the second transportable assembly. However, Page 1, lines 5-18 and Page 14, lines 13-18 of Hartvigsen teach that the launch and recovery system comprises a support platform that may be placed on off-shore sites, such as a ship. As such, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to suggest that base portions forming the support platform of the launch and recovery system were capable of being separable, in order to facilitate transportation of, installation of, and routine maintenance on the parts forming the launch and recovery system, since it has been held that making an apparatus separable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 28, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 26, but fails to specifically teach the system further comprising transporting the first transportable assembly on the floating vehicle in a first container and transporting the second transportable assembly on the floating vehicle in a second container. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to transport Hartvigsen’s system on board the ship via a transport container prior to erecting the system on board the ship (as taught by Hartvigsen), in order to provide unobstructed deck space for which the ship crew may operate prior to launch/recovery operations, since it has been held that making an apparatus portable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 29, Hartvigsen teaches the invention in claim 28, further comprising transporting the third transportable assembly on the floating vehicle in a third container (The reasoning provided in claim 28 also applies to this claim).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20-22 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN MICHAEL HESTON whose telephone number is (571)272-3099. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays and Wednesdays: 0500-1300, Tuesdays 0500-1400, Thursdays and Fridays by appointment only..
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/JUSTIN MICHAEL HESTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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