DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on January 9, 2025 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rypinski (US 3,847,085).
Rypinski discloses an aerial load release mechanism comprised of a frame assembly 5 having a pair of side frame assemblies in the form of the left and right vertical walls and a cross-frame assembly, in the form of top and bottom, horizontal, walls extending between the pair of side frame assemblies. First and second quick-release hook assemblies 40 connected to the cross-frame assembly and a load coupler 37 having an upper end releasably attachable to the first and second quick-release hook assemblies, and a lower end with a releasable load attachment point. The load coupler is interpreted as the L-shaped latch attached at the left and right corners of the roof of the vehicle. The upper inner surface is interpreted as the upper end that contacts the edge of the J shaped hook, and the lower end is interpreted as the bottom edge that contacts the trough of the hook. The system is configured to couple and suspend the releasable load, in the form of a vehicle or freight container as shown in figure 2, by the coupler frame and provide a quick-release of the releasable load. The load will not release from the frame unless both of the quick-release hooks of the first and second quick-release hook assemblies are released.
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) 5, 6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rypinski (US 3,847,085) in view of Cox (US 8,534,608).
Rypinski discloses the load release mechanism as described above. However, Rypinski does not specifically show the mechanism to be suspended from a helicopter and supporting a saw assembly. Cox discloses a helicopter with a suspended saw assembly. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have applied the helicopter and saw, like that of Cox, as a teaching to show that a release mechanism, like that of Rypinski, with the expected result that a helicopter and saw can be an intended use for the release mechanism.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 7-9, 11 and 12 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 Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00.
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, S. Joseph 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.
/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
February 27, 2026
Prosecution Insights