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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 9-16 in the reply filed on 07/09/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/09/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 9-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the unmanned aerial vehicle for traffic monitoring according to claim 1" in claim 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 1 has been withdrawn from consideration so the details therein cannot be considered as a part of claim 9.
Further, Claim 9 recites the limitations "the main body (1)", “the driving motors”, “the rotor wings”, “the main body (2)”, “the high definition cameras”, “the infrared camera”, “the wings”, “two wings”, “the bumps”, “the second hydraulic rod”, “the side wall”, “the second rotating shaft”, “the overhead line system”, “the railway”, “the first hydraulic rods”, “the overhead line system”, “the flight balance module”, “the operations”, “the aircraft body”, “the operational stability”, “the current conveyed”, “the absorbing material”, “the labeling mechanism”, “the bottom”, “the side walls of the fixed rods”, “the first toothed plates”, “the legs”, and “the torsional springs” in claim 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the plurality of legs (1)" in claim 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 16 recites the limitations "each fixture block", “the leaf spring” in claim 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claims 9-16 are rejected as failing to define the invention in the manner required by 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
The claim(s) are narrative in form and replete with indefinite language. The structure which goes to make up the device must be clearly and positively specified. The structure must be organized and correlated in such a manner as to present a complete operative device. The claim(s) must be in one sentence form only. Note the format of the claims in the patent(s) cited.
Claims 9-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are: throughout the claims various reference numbers are cited as corresponding to specific elements within the claim limitations, however some of these reference numbers are conflicting. For instance, claim 9 recites “the main body (1)”, and later goes onto recite “the main body (2)”, then in claim 10 recites “the plurality of legs (1)”. There are many such instances of improper reference numbers, and applicant is required to check and correct all these issues.
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) 9-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stolarz et al. (US 11857987 B1).
Regarding Claim 9, Stolarz et al. teaches a monitoring method for an unmanned aerial vehicle for traffic monitoring (Abstract, the traffic monitoring is Intended Use):
when a high-speed railway is monitored, controlling, by an operating handle of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a communication module inside the main body (1) to connect with a central processing unit inside the main body (1), operating the central processing unit to turn on a flight module to turn on the driving motors (23), the driving motors (23) driving the rotor wings (24) to rotate so that the main body (2) flies, the flight module altering relative rotating speeds among the rotor wings (24) by controlling rotating speeds of the driving motors (23), such that a magnitude of uniaxial propelling force is changed, and a moving trajectory of the main body (2) is controlled; capturing images by the high-definition cameras (25) and the infrared camera (26) at a bottom of the main body (2), and a video storage processing module transmitting the captured images to the operating handle of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the communication module, so that the high-speed railway is convenient for people to monitor (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; railway is a design choice);
during the monitoring process, the capturing distance of the infrared camera (26) being long, capturing long-range images, when it is observed that garbage is wrapped around an overhead line system of the high-speed railway, the main body (2) flying to a place where the garbage is wrapped, images of the high-definition cameras (25) being clear, the place where the garbage is wrapped being seen clearly through the high-definition cameras (25), at this time, the main body (2) being located above the garbage, turning on first hydraulic rods (51), the first hydraulic rods (51) driving first toothed plates (53) to move downwards so as to push the wings (41) to rotate downwards, making a distance between two wings (41) closer and closer so that chucks (43) at ends of the wings (41) get close to clamp the garbage, increasing the frictional force through the bumps (44) on the side walls of the chucks (43) to avoid the garbage from sliding off, controlling a flight of the main body (2) to pull off the garbage from a surface of the overhead line system by the main body (2), the wings (41) and the chucks (43), in this process, operating the second hydraulic rod (51) on the side wall of the second rotating shaft (57) to drive the high-definition cameras (25) to rotate so that a process that the garbage is cleared by the chucks (43) is captured by the high-definition cameras (25) clearly, which is convenient for people to operate, and avoids the main body (2) from making direct contact with the overhead line system (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 17, Lines 10-40);
when the high-speed railway takes two minutes to reach the main body (2), transmitting train operation information to the operating handle and the central processing unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle through a high-speed railway operation platform, at this time, operating the main body (2) to fly upwards so that the distance between the main body (2) and the railway is over 10 meters, operating a flight balance module to control operations of the first hydraulic rods (51) on the side walls of the fixed rods (42) to push the wings (41) to open by the first hydraulic rods (51), so as to increase the stability of the main body (2), and at the same time, regulating angles and positions of the wings (41) on both sides of the main body (2) by the flight balance module by controlling the first hydraulic rods (51), so that the stability of the main body (2) is further increased to avoid airflow generated by high-speed railway operation from interfering the flight of the main body (2) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; ; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice);
when the overhead line system, the railway, protective screenings and other objects are monitored at short distances, operating the flight balance module to control the operations of the first hydraulic rods (51) to regulate positions of the wings (41), so that the flight stability of the main body (2) is increased; especially, when the overhead line system is monitored by the main body (2), the operation of the aircraft body (21) is affected by a magnetic field generated by the current conveyed by the overhead line system, surfaces of the wings (41) are coated with the absorbing material (47), and the absorbing material (47) reduces the influence of electromagnetic energy around the main body (2) on the main body (2), so that the operational stability of the main body (2) is increased; when a safe failure appears in the monitoring process, spraying out labeling paint by the labeling mechanism (3) at the bottom of the main body (2) and at a failure position on the railway to facilitate workers to observe the failure position, at the same time, transmitting coordinates of the failure position on the railway to the operating handle of the unmanned aerial vehicle by a positioning module to facilitate worker processing (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; ; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice); and
when the main body (2) needs to descend, operating the central processing unit to drive the operations of the first hydraulic rods (51) on the side walls of the fixed rods (42), to drive the operations of the first toothed plates (53) to make notches (54) being aligned with respective gears (56), such that the wings (41) are not restrained and move downwards under an effect of torsional springs (59), and the wings (41) and the chucks (43) are obliquely located below the legs (1), when the main body (2) falls to the ground gradually, the chucks (43) make contact with the ground, along with a falling of the main body (2), under an effect of gravity, the chucks (43) and the wings (41) move upwards gradually, the torsional springs (59) rotate strongly, and at the same time, a falling speed of the main body (2) is decreased by the torsional springs (59) so that the main body (2) falls down smoothly (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 10, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 9, wherein the main body (2) comprises an aircraft body (21), the plurality of legs (1) are symmetrically and obliquely installed on the side walls of the aircraft body (21), and a plurality of aircraft arms (22) are symmetrically installed on the side walls of the main body (2); and a driving motor (23) is installed at one end of each aircraft arm (22), and rotor wings (24) are installed on a top of the driving motor (23) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 11, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 10, wherein the labeling mechanism (3) comprises a fixed tube (31) provided at a bottom of the aircraft body (21), barrels (311) are symmetrically installed on the side walls of the aircraft body (21), and bottommost ends of the barrels (311) are in communication with an interior of the fixed tube (31) through connecting hoses (33); and a motor (32) for driving a blade (34) to rotate is installed on a top of the fixed tube (31), and a nozzle (312) is installed at a bottom of the fixed tube (31) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 12, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 11, wherein the labeling mechanism (3) further comprises a fixed block (35), the fixed block (35) and a blocking rod (38) are installed inside the fixed tube (31), a piston (36) is clamped in the fixed block (35), and a spring (37) is installed between the blocking rod (38) and the piston (36); a first magnetic ring (39) is installed on a surface of the piston (36), a second magnetic ring (310) is installed inside the fixed block (35), and the first magnetic ring (39) and the second magnetic ring (310) are adsorbed with each other (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 13, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 12, wherein interiors of the fixed tube (31) and the fixed block (35) are in a funnel shape, and the blade (34) is in a spiral shape and is rotatably connected to and inside the fixed tube (31) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 14, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 11, wherein a second driving mechanism (5) comprises a second rotating shaft (57) and a second toothed plate (58), the second rotating shaft (57) is rotatably connected to the bottom of the aircraft body (21), and the fixed tube (31) is fixedly connected to a middle of a side wall of the second rotating shaft (57); a second box (52) is installed to the bottom of the aircraft body (21), the second toothed plate (58) is slidably connected to and inside the second box (52), and the second toothed plate (58) is connected to a second hydraulic rod (51); and the second toothed plate (58) is meshed with the gear (55), and the gear (55) is fixedly connected to the second rotating shaft (57) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 15, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 14, wherein two ends of the second rotating shaft (57) are fixedly connected to high-definition cameras (25), the high-definition cameras (25) are inclined towards the fixed tube (31), and an infrared camera (26) is installed at the bottom of the aircraft body (21) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Regarding Claim 16, Stolarz et al. teaches the monitoring method according to claim 10, wherein fixture blocks (45) are symmetrically installed on side walls of the aircraft body (21), a side wall of each fixture block (45) is fixedly connected to an elastic leaf spring (46) with an arc-shaped side wall, and the side wall of the wing (41) is clamped by the leaf spring (46) (Column 1, Line 64 – Column 2, Line 13; Column 4, Line 26 – Column 5, Line 60; the construction of UAVs is inherent; Column 6, Line 61 – Column 7, Line 34; Column 11, Lines 6-24; Column 17, Lines 10-40; railway is a design choice).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARHAN MAHMUD whose telephone number is (571)272-7712. The examiner can normally be reached 10-7.
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/FARHAN MAHMUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
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