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
Claims 1-6 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 06/22/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention II in the reply filed on 06/22/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that a single search can be perform for inventions I and II because no serious burden on examination and searching exist between the two different inventions. This is not found persuasive because Inventions I and II are directed to completely different inventions and/or different statutory classes. The structural features required for Invention I are not required in Invention II, and vice versa. Therefore, the search strategy for Invention I is completely different than the search strategy for Invention II.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, “storage” is misspelled. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 7, 8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Innes (GB 2,294,448).
Claims 7 and 12
Innes discloses a transport system for a plurality of tubular structures, comprising a storage bank/trailer or truck capable to hold the plurality of tubular structures laterally within the storge bank within a grid of pockets oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the storage bank. Innes discloses a pipe handling system (10) comprising plurality of pipes (12) disposed within circular openings of frames (14a, 14b, 15a, and 15b) (see figures 1-3), wherein the frames with the pipes are capable to be disposed laterally within a truck or trailer (see page 11 lines 14-16), and wherein the circular openings of the frames are capable to be oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the storage bank/trailer or truck.
Claim 8
Innes further discloses plurality of storage containers (14a, 14b, 15a, and 15b) configured to removably fit within the storage bank, wherein the grid of pockets (defined by the circular openings in which tubular pipes 12 are inserted) is disposed in the one or more storage containers (see figures 1-3).
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.
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Innes (GB 2,294,448) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Abe (US 2018/0072213).
Claims 9 and 10
Innes does not specifically disclose the storage bank/trailer or truck comprising a first portion/compartment and second portion/compartment, as required. However, Abe discloses a trailer comprising a first portion/lateral compartment (defined by portion 230) capable to hold one or more storage containers (see figure 2A), and a second portion/longitudinal compartment (defined by area 220 between wheel wells 208) (see figures 2A and 4) capable to hold a tool string or portion thereof oriented longitudinally within the storage bank. Abe discloses second portion/longitudinal compartment (as defined by area 220 between wheel wells 208) between the wheel wells has a length greater than a lateral width of the storage bank, therefore the tool string must fit within the second portion/longitudinal compartment. Abe discloses the first portion/lateral compartment is a repair compartment wherein equipment can be stored during transportation (see [0034]), and the second portion/longitudinal compartment is a transport compartment which could be used for industrial equipment (see [0026]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the trailer of Innes including different compartments as taught by Abe for carrying and transporting different and/or multiple loads within the same trailer.
Claim 11
Abe further discloses the first portion/lateral compartment accessible through side doors (216 and 218) (see figure 2B and [0027]), and wherein and wherein the at least one longitudinal compartment has a length greater than a lateral width of the storage bank. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the trailer of Innes with side doors as taught by Abe to provide easy access to any area and/or compartment of the trailer.
Conclusion
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and/or columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested of the applicant, in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or prior art(s) disclosed by the Examiner (in the attached PTO-892 form).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAFAEL A. ORTIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5240. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm.
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, Orlando E. Aviles can be reached at 571-270-5531. 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.
RAFAEL A. ORTIZ
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3736
/RAFAEL A ORTIZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3736
Prosecution Insights