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
Group I, including claims 1-18 and 20-21, has been elected by the applicant. No claims are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07 July 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 29 July 2025 and 26 February 2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 8, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2010/0212533 by Brunn (Brunn) in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2013/02155126 by Saxby (Saxby).
Regarding claim 1, Brunn discloses a cartridge, comprising: a body comprising a wide portion and an elongated portion connected by a shoulder; a powder load, wherein the powder load extends into the elongated portion of the body; and a pyrotechnic load forward of the powder load (See at least Figure 4B and Paragraphs 0048 & 0084).
Brunn does not disclose a primer cap configured to translate in a forward direction; a spacer forward of the primer cap, wherein the primer cap is configured to translate in the forward direction through the spacer.
Saxby, a related prior art reference, discloses a primer cap configured to translate in a forward direction; a spacer forward of the primer cap, wherein the primer cap is configured to translate in the forward direction through the spacer; a powder load forward of the spacer with an aft end of the powder load exposed from the spacer, wherein the powder load extends into the elongated portion of the body; and a pyrotechnic load forward of the powder load (See at least Figure 1, aspects clearly illustrated, and Paragraph 0017).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Brunn with the noted teachings of Saxby. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to utilize an art recognized equivalent means to perform the same function of igniting the powder charge of the cartridge with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 3, Saxby further discloses wherein the primer cap is configured to strike the aft end of the powder load causing the powder load to combust (See at least Figure 1 and Paragraph 0017).
Regarding claim 4, Brunn further discloses wherein the pyrotechnic load is configured to ignite and exit a forward end of the body in response to combustion of the powder load (See at least Paragraphs 0048 & 0083).
Regarding claim 5, Brunn further discloses wherein the pyrotechnic load comprises an oxidizer mixed with at least one of aluminum or magnesium (See at least Paragraph 0044).
Regarding claim 6, Saxby further discloses wherein the spacer comprises a contoured retention surface configured to position the powder load against the shoulder of the body (See at least Figure 1, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 8, Brunn further discloses a burst disk coupled to a forward end of the body (See at least Paragraph 0086).
Regarding claim 20, Saxby further discloses wherein the spacer positions a perimeter of the aft end of the powder load against the shoulder of the body (See Figures, clearly illustrated).
Claim(s) 2 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brunn in view of Saxby as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of World Intellectual Property Document WO 2023/009456 A1 by Nemtyshkin et al (Nem).
Regarding claim 2, Saxby further discloses and the primer cap, wherein ignition of the primer is configured to cause the primer cap to translate in the forward direction (See at least Figure 1, clearly illustrated, and Paragraph 0017).
Brunn as modified by Saxby does not disclose a propulsion module comprising: a conductor configured to receive an electrical signal; a primer adjacent the conductor and configured to ignite in response to the electrical signal.
Nem, a related prior art reference, discloses a propulsion module comprising: a conductor configured to receive an electrical signal; a primer adjacent the conductor and configured to ignite in response to the electrical signal (See at least Figure 2 and Paragraphs 0097-0101).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Brunn as modified by Saxby above with the noted teachings of Nem. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to utilize an art recognized equivalent means to perform the same function of initiating discharge of the cartridge with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 7, Brunn as modified by Saxby does not disclose a contact disposed at the aft end of the body and configured to receive an electrical signal from a deployment platform, wherein the electrical signal is configured to cause the primer cap to translate in the forward direction.
Nem, a related prior art reference, discloses a contact disposed at the aft end of the body and configured to receive an electrical signal from a deployment platform, wherein the electrical signal is configured to cause the primer cap to translate in the forward direction (See at least Figure 2, and Paragraphs 0097-0101).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Brunn as modified by Saxby above with the noted teachings of Nem. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to utilize an art recognized equivalent means to perform the same function of initiating discharge of the cartridge with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 9-10, 12-18 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brunn in view of Saxby and Nem.
Regarding claim 9, Brunn as modified by Saxby and Nem discloses a deployment platform deployable in response to an electrical signal, the deployment platform comprising: a housing defining a bore; and a cartridge disposed in the bore, the cartridge comprising: a body having an inner surface defining an internal passage; a propulsion module in the internal passage and configured to expand a gas in response to the electrical signal, the propulsion module comprising a primer cap; a spacer forward of the primer cap; a powder load in the internal passage and forward of the spacer with an aft end of the powder load exposed from the spacer, wherein the primer cap is configured to translate in a forward direction through the spacer to strike the powder load; and a pyrotechnic load in the internal passage adjacent the powder load (Limitations previously addressed, see rejections provided above, a housing defining a bore is clearly shown in Nem and could be easily used to house the cartridge for deployment).
Regarding claim 10, Nem further discloses a magazine removably coupled to the deployment platform, wherein the magazine comprises the housing (See Figures, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 12, Saxby and Nem further disclose wherein the propulsion module comprises: a conductor configured to receive the electrical signal; a primer configured to ignite in response to the electrical signal; and the primer cap disposed between the primer and the aft end of the powder load, wherein the primer cap is configured to strike the aft end of the powder load in response to the primer igniting (Limitations previously addressed, see rejections above).
Regarding claim 13, Brunn further discloses a door coupled to a forward end of the body (See at least Figure 9, and Paragraphs 0084 & 0086)
Regarding claim 14, Brunn as modified by Saxby and Nem further discloses wherein the propulsion module comprises: a conductor configured to receive the electrical signal; and a primer adjacent the conductor and configured to ignite in response to the electrical signal; wherein the primer cap is disposed between the primer and the aft end of the powder load (Limitations previously addressed, see rejections above).
Regarding claim 15, Brunn as modified by Saxby and Nem further discloses wherein the primer is configured to expand the gas in response to the electrical signal, and wherein the primer cap is configured to strike the aft end of the powder load in response to expanding the gas (Limitations previously addressed, see rejections above).
Regarding claim 16, Saxby further discloses wherein the powder load is configured to combust in response to the primer cap striking the aft end of the powder load (Limitations previously addressed, see rejections above).
Regarding claim 17, Brunn further discloses wherein the pyrotechnic load is configured to ignite and exit a forward end of the body in response to the powder load combusting (See at least Paragraphs 0048 and 0083).
Regarding claim 18, Brunn further discloses wherein the pyrotechnic load comprises an oxidizer mixed with at least one of aluminum or magnesium (See at least Paragraph 0044).
Regarding claim 21, Saxby further discloses wherein the spacer positions a perimeter of the aft end of the powder load against a shoulder of the body (See Figures, clearly illustrated).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brunn in view of Saxby and Nem as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2010/0282058 by Nelson et al (Nelson).
Regarding claim 11, Brunn as modified by Saxby and Nem does not disclose that the deployment platform comprises an unmanned vehicle.
Nelson discloses wherein the deployment platform comprises an unmanned vehicle (See Figures, clearly illustrated, and at least Paragraph 0031).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Brunn as modified by Saxby and Nem with the noted teachings of Nelson. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to utilize a different deployment platform to allow a remote user to control operation of the weapon at a distance as taught by Nelson.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-829 Form for a listing of applicable prior art references.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN C WEBER whose telephone number is (571)270-5377. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Troy Chambers can be reached at 571-272-6874. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jonathan C Weber/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3641
JONATHAN C. WEBER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3641
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