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 .
Notice to Applicant
Claims 1-8 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits of these claims.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 3,053,480 to Vanderlip in view of US Patent Application Number 2016/0032895 by Weddendorf.
Regarding claim 1, Vanderlip discloses a flying apparatus comprising:
A main body assembly (frame 24);
An arm extending form the main body assembly (tubes 32-35); and
A rotor attached to the arm (rotor 39).
Vanderlip does not disclose arm includes a plurality of rods extending in juxtaposition with each other, and the rotor is supported by the plurality of rods. However, this limitation is taught by Weddendorf. Weddendorf discloses a flying rotorcraft, and Figure 3 shows arms that include a plurality of rods extending in juxtaposition with each other (rods extending to rotors 17A-17D) with rotors 17A-17D supported on the rods. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Vanderlip using the teachings from Weddendorf in order to provide more points of attachment and support to the rotors.
Regarding claim 2 (dependent on claim 1), Weddendorf further teaches the plurality of rods are juxtaposed in a horizontal direction (see Figure 3).
Regarding claim 3 (dependent on claim 1)¸ Vanderlip as modified by Weddendorf further teaches the arm is attached at a proximal end thereof to the main body assembly, and is provided with the rotor attached to a distal end thereof; and an interval between the plurality of rods reduces in a direction from the proximal end of the arm to the distal end of the arm. Figure 3 of Weddendorf shows the arms extending from a proximal end at the square central body frame towards rotors 17A-17D and the interval between the rods reducing in a direction from the square central body to the rotors.
Regarding claim 4 (dependent on claim 1), Vanderlip discloses a connector to connect the main body assembly to the arm (struts 37), the connector extends obliquely upward form the main body assembly and is connected to an intermediate portion of the arm (see Figure 1).
Regarding claim 5 (dependent on claim 4), Vanderlip discloses the connector includes a first end connected to the main body assembly, and a second end connected to the intermediate portion of the arm (Figure 1 shows struts 37 attached to the central frame 24 at the bottom end and an intermediate portion of the arm before rotor 39 at the top end); the second end and the arm are connected to each other via a bracket (see Figure 1); and the bracket overlaps the rotor when viewed in an up-down direction (Figure 1 shows rotor 39 extending over the attachment bracket of strut 37).
Regarding claim 6 (dependent on claim 4), Vanderlip as modified by Weddendorf further teaches the connector extends between the plurality of rods in a planar view. Figure 1 of Vanderlip shows struts 37 extending down the middle of the arms, which when modified with the triangular arms of Weddendorf would cause the struts to extend between the rods.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 3,053,480 to Vanderlip in view of US Patent Application Number 2016/0032895 by Weddendorf in further view of CN 204737031 by Chen.
Regarding claim 7 (dependent on claim 1), Vanderlip does not disclose the arm is rotatable between a first position in which the arm extends horizontally and a second position in which the arm extends upward of downward. However, this limitation is taught by Chen. Chen discloses a flying rotorcraft, and Figure 5 shows the arms and rotors of the rotorcraft folding downwards into a storage position. Figure 5 of Vanderlip suggests the use of folding configurations for storage. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Vanderlip using the teachings from Chen in order to use different folding configurations to accommodate different types of storage containers.
Regarding claim 8 (dependent on claim 7), Vanderlip discloses a skid attached to a lower portion of the main body assembly (skids 14).
Chen further teaches the arm, when in the second position, extends downward (see Figure 5).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL H WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6554. The examiner can normally be reached 10-6:30.
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MICHAEL H. WANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3642
/MICHAEL H WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642