DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 23-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 23, 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 17, 2025 was in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “inner member” [Claim 1], “integrated cavity” & “electronic communication device” [Claim 3] must be clearly shown / labeled within the drawings or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10-16 & 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 02/30768 in view of EP 690005. WO`768 teaches of a dismantlable pallet (10) for storage and transportation of goods, the pallet comprising: a substantially planar, upper load bearing member (upper section of (16)), comprising a first reinforcing internal frame (12) configured to improve structural rigidity and load bearing capacity of the member (disclosed); a substantially planar, lower supporting base (lower section of (18)), comprising a second reinforcing internal frame (13) configured to improve structural rigidity and load bearing capacity of the base (disclosed); wherein the first and second reinforcing internal frames comprise at least one steel tubular member, at least one support member (20), sandwiched between the load bearing member and the base (fig. 2), thereby reducing weight of the pallet while defining apertures (side opening apertures – note figs. 1-2 for instance) between the load bearing member and the base, wherein the pallet is releasably engageable with conventional and compatible load transporting apparatus (as readily apparent); at least one releasable fastener (19), configured to secure the load bearing member to the base at a predetermined distance (fig. 2); wherein the first and second reinforcing internal frames and the support members are sandwiched between the member and the base to provide a dismantlable, reinformed, pallet structure (shown); and wherein the load bearing member and the base are made of a material comprising a rubber compound (recycled rubber tyres {tires}) with preselected physical properties such as moisture resistance (water resistant). WO`768 teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed pallet as outlined {mapped} above, but does not show the reinforcing internal frames as being U-beam shaped, longitudinally extending inner members as prescribe by applicant. However, EP`005 is cited as an evidence reference for the known use of a longitudinal U-beam shaped (figs. 4-5) extending inner member (24) as a reinforcing internal frame component of a pallet in an analogous art. Accordingly, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of WO`768 by utilizing a U-beam shaped inner member as opposed to the tubular shaped inner member in view of EP`005’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing an alternatively shaped reinforcing internal frame component that may be more readily available for use, as opposed to the tubular framing, depending upon demand, price etc., wherein the substitution of one reinforcing framing component for another would perform equally well and therefore can vary depending upon the needs / constraints / preferences of the manufacturer. Regarding Claim 2, as modified, the pallet further comprises a set of support members (multiple (20’s) shown), spaced apart in a predetermined configuration to provide optimum support to the load bearing member while offering predetermined apertures (shown in figs. 1-2) between the load bearing member and the base to render the pallet releasably engageable with conventional and compatible load transporting apparatus. Regarding Claim 4, as modified, the pallet comprises a set of support members (multiple (20’s) shown), spaced apart in a predetermined configuration to provide optimum support to the load bearing member while offering predetermined apertures between the load bearing member and the base to render the pallet releasably engageable with conventional and compatible load transporting apparatus, and a set of releasable fasteners (multiple (19’s) shown), configured to secure the load bearing member to the base with their respective reinforcing internal frames and the set of support members sandwiched between the member and the base. Regarding Claim 6, as modified, the load bearing member and the base comprise a recycled rubber compound (recycled rubber). Regarding Claim 7, as modified, the recycled rubber compound comprises a mixture of recycled rubber selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, polybutadiene (tires are conventionally made of a blend of natural rubber and synthetic rubber (such as styrene-butadiene and polybutadiene); and a binder (binder component) selected from the group consisting of epoxies and polymers (disclosed within WO`768). Regarding Claim 8, as modified, the recycle rubber compound is obtained from discarded tyre materials (tyre shreds), and wherein the recycled rubber compound comprises a mixture of recycled rubber and moisture curing isocyanate binder, such as ‘MDI’ (disclosed within WO`768) where it is known that isocyanate binders are mainly divided into aromatic and aliphatic types, featuring key chemical structures like MDI, TDI and HDI for instance. Regarding Claim 10, as modified, the at least one U-beam shaped, longitudinally extending inner member includes a substantially concave channel (such as (24a) for instance) along its inner surface, wherein respective open-ends of the inner member are provided with outwardly protruding flanges (such as the structure along (24b) on both sides of (24a) for illustrative purposes) extending perpendicularly relative to the main body of the member to lend rigidity and load bearing capacity. Regarding Claim 11, as modified, the reinforcing internal frames comprise a rigid material selected from the group consisting of metal. Regarding Claim 12, as modified, the load bearing member, the support members and base are dismantlable and removably attachable to one another, thereby facilitating dismantlability, assembly, disassembly, replacement of components and customization of the pallet (shown). Regarding Claim 13, as modified, the releasable fastener comprises a screw arrangement; but does not show a nut-and-bolt arrangement. As to this feature, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of WO`768 so as to utilize a nut and bolt arrangement instead of a screw arrangement, with a reasonable expectation of success, since administrative notice is taken of the equivalence of screw and nut & bolt arrangements art recognized equivalents in the fastener arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and one having ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious to substitute one fastener arrangement for the other where both fastener arrangements perform a similar coupling / decoupling function. Regarding Claim 14, as modified, the pallet can be provided with an anti-microbial coating selected from the group consisting of zinc-based coatings (disclosed within Imbrecht). The position being taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of WO`768 so as to include an anti-microbial coating in view of Imbrecht’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing a means by which the growth of bacteria, mold, and fungi for example, can be killed on contact or blocked from multiplying on the surfaces having the coating. Regarding Claim 15, as modified, the pallet can be provided with acrylic-based anti-microbial coating (note [0177] of Imbrecht). Again, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of WO`768 so as to include an acrylic-based anti-microbial coating in view of Imbrecht’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing a means by which the growth of bacteria, mold, and fungi for example, can be killed on contact or blocked from multiplying on the surfaces having the coating. Regarding Claims 16 & 18, as modified, the combined prior art teaches the general conditions of a pallet being used to bear a certain amount of weight and a pallet that can withstand certain ambient temperatures without sustaining structural degradation – which would be consistent with a device used to support the weight of loaded cargo while operating within varying temperature environments; but the prior art does not specifically define ranges of 5 to 20 tonnes by weight and -70 to 200 degrees Celsius by temperature as prescribed by applicant. However, the position is taken it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to vary the load bearing and temperature sustainability ranges of the pallet so as to encompass several ratio ranges as dependent upon the needs or preferences of a user, with a reasonable expectation of success, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Claims 3 & 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 02/30768 and EP 690005 and further in view of Imbrecht [US 2014/0190976]. The combined prior art teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed pallet; but does not show an integrated cavity and an electronic communication device. As to this feature, Imbrecht is cited as an evidence reference for the known use of a dunnage platform (100), i.e., a pallet (fig. 1A) where a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag is embedded within an inherent cavity of the platform. Accordingly, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of WO`768 so as to include an electronic communication device in view of Imbrecht’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing a means by which cargo loaded upon the pallet can be managed / tracked / identified remotely via signal transmission. Regarding Claim 20, as modified, the electronic communication device transmits and receives data (note [0201] – [0211] of Imbrecht for instance). Regarding Claim 21, as modified, the electronic communication device can receive GPS signals to determine and transmit a geographical location of the pallet; and store and transmit identification data associated with the pallet (note [0201] – [0211] of Imbrecht for instance). Regarding Claim 22, as modified, the electronic communication device receives data from compatible electronic communication devices linked to goods that are loaded onto the pallet; can identify goods that are loaded onto the pallet; determine a number of goods that are loaded onto the pallet; and store and transmit identification and quantity data associated with the goods (note [0201] – [0211] of Imbrecht for instance).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure – see the attached Form PTO-892 showing various pallet assemblies.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES O HANSEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6866. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8 am - 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at 571-270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOH
August 4, 2026
/James O Hansen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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