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 .
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 1-3, 5-7, 11, 28-31, 35, 41, 61 and 62 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Meeks (US 11353002 B2).
Regarding Claim 1, Meeks discloses:
1. An airfoil structure for an aircraft, the airfoil structure comprising at least one airfoil segment and defining a cross-sectional airfoil shape, the airfoil structure comprising:
at least two components (102 and 104) mated together and aligned along a chordwise direction (along A, See Fig. 2) of the cross-sectional airfoil shape (shape best shown in Fig. 1A), wherein:
the chordwise direction extends from a leading edge (lower side of 100 in Fig. 1A) to a trailing edge (upper side of 100 in Fig. 1A) of the cross-sectional airfoil shape,
the leading edge is at an extremity (inherent to L.E.) of the cross-sectional airfoil shape and defines a portion of the cross-sectional airfoil shape,
the trailing edge is at an opposite extremity (inherent to T.E.) of the cross-sectional airfoil shape than the leading edge and defines a second portion of the cross-sectional airfoil shape,
the at least two components combine to extend in the chordwise direction completely from the leading edge to the trailing edge (See Figs. 1A and 1B),
each of the at least two components includes receiving apertures (102x and 106x) defined therein at one or more spanwise locations along a spanwise direction, the receiving apertures at each of the one or more spanwise locations aligned with each other in the chordwise direction, and
the at least two components comprise:
a first component (102A) that defines the leading edge of the cross-sectional airfoil shape; and
a second component (102B) that defines the trailing edge of the cross-sectional airfoil shape; and
a plurality of chordwise reinforcement elements (“multiple shafts”; Col 3 Line 66) extending through the aligned receiving apertures.
2. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of chordwise reinforcement elements are configured to exert a compressive force (via threads 13P) in the chordwise direction on the at least two components.
3. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein one component of the at least two components comprises an outer wall that defines a hollow interior extending along the spanwise direction, wherein the outer wall defines a plurality of receiving channels (23b), and wherein the airfoil structure further comprises a plurality of spanwise reinforcement elements (“for receiving a locking feature”; Col 6 Line 1) extending within the receiving channels of the one component.
5. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein the at least two components comprise:
a monolithic front component (“in one continuous piece”; Col 1 Line 21) comprising a first joining surface, the front component at least partially defining the cross-sectional airfoil shape; and
a monolithic second component (“in one continuous piece”; Col 1 Line 21) comprising a second joining surface mated to the first joining surface,
wherein each of the first joining surface and the second joining surface extend from a pressure side of the cross-sectional airfoil shape to a suction side of the cross-sectional airfoil shape (from top to bottom of surfaces in Fig. 1B).
6. (Original) The airfoil structure of claim 5, wherein the first joining surface and the second joining surface are mated in a substantially face-to-face relationship (at 106a and 106b; See Fig. 1B).
7. (Original) The airfoil structure of claim 5, wherein the second joining surface comprises one or more surface portions mated in a substantially face-to-face relationship (at 106a and 106b) with one or more surface portions of the first joining surface.
11. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein the airfoil structure is selected from the group consisting of a wing (100 is a wing of a wind turbine), a horizontal tail, and a vertical tail.
61. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional airfoil shape is defined at least at one of the one or more spanwise locations where the receiving apertures are defined (as shown in Fig. 1B).
62. (Previously Presented) The airfoil structure of claim 1, wherein the first component is monolithic and the second component is monolithic ((“in one continuous piece”; Col 1 Line 21).
Method claims 28-31, 35, and 41 are rejected using the same elements and reasoning as recited for the apparatus claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 32, and 33 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/BRIAN M O'HARA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642