DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 7, 9, 12-15, 21 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pub. No.: US 2022/0243615 A1 (Turcotte) in view of Pub. No.: US 2020/0158213 A1 (Leque), Pub. No.: US 2020/0307818 A1 (Dubreuil) and US Patent 2,643,511 (Briggs).
Regarding claim 1, Turcotte discloses (see fig. 1) an aircraft system (aircraft engines discussed in par. 20), comprising: an open propulsor rotor 12; an engine housing (engine housing 15 or nacelle 19); a gas turbine engine (gas turbine engine 10 including housing 15; or the internal components of the gas turbine engine housed within the housing 15, see par. 15, top) disposed within the engine housing (nacelle 19; engine housing 15; respectively regarding the two interpretations of gas turbine above), the gas turbine engine including a first rotating assembly (18A,31,propeller shaft (“PS”), see annotated figure below), a compressor section 14, a combustor section 16, a turbine section 18 and a flowpath extending through the compressor section 14, the combustor section 16 and the turbine section 18 (see flow entering inlet 13 and flowing through compressor section 14, combustion section 16, turbine section 18 and exhaust 17), the first rotating assembly (18A,31,PS, see annotated figure below) coupled to (see annotated figure below) and configured to drive (see par. 17) rotation of the open propulsor rotor 12 (via geartrain 31) about an axis 11, and the first rotating assembly (18A,31,PS, see annotated figure below) including a geartrain 31 and a first turbine rotor (see annotated figure below) in the turbine section 18 and the geartrain 31 rotatably coupled (see par. 17) between the first turbine rotor (see annotated figure below) and the open propulsor rotor 12. Turcotte does not disclose an electric machine attached to an exterior of the engine housing, an axial forward end of the electric machine located axially between the open propulsor rotor and the geartrain along the axis, and the electric machine comprising an electric machine rotor; and a drivetrain coupling the electric machine rotor to the first rotating assembly the drivetrain including a ring gear, a pinion gear and an idler gear, the idler gear meshed with and between the ring gear and the pinion gear, the ring gear coupled to the geartrain, and the pinion gear coupled to the electric machine rotor.
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Leque teaches (see figs. 1B and 2) a gas turbine 72 (a turbofan as shown in fig 1B; it is noted the Leque’s teachings are applicable to open rotor engines, i.e. turboprop engines, see par. 29, bottom) and further teaches an electric machine (66’ in fig. 1B and 66 in fig. 2; fig. 2 is schematic explaining in more detail features of fig. 1B for example, see par. 38, top) attached to an exterior of an engine housing 36 (see fig. 1B; in fig. 1B the electric machine 66’ is located within fan nacelle 18; however one of ordinary skill is knowledgeable regarding such an electric machines being not located within a fan nacelle, for example see pertinent prior art Bradley (cited on page 15 of the non-final office action mailed on 04/29/2025) figs. 1 and 4 showing an electric machine attached to an exterior of a nacelle, and this shows how Leque’s teachings could be applied to the turboprop engine of Turcotte discussed at par. 19, bottom of Turcotte, such Turcotte turboprop engine not having a fan nacelle due to the engine being an open rotor engine, but having a core nacelle 19; core and fan nacelles are discussed in the pertinent prior art infra), the electric machine 66’,60 comprising an electric machine rotor 68; and a drivetrain 80,88,70,68 (ring gear 80 of the drivetrain may also be a part of the geartrain 48; see applicant par. 51) coupling the electric machine rotor 68 to a rotating assembly 40,48,64,42.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Turcotte with an electric machine attached to an exterior of the engine housing, and the electric machine comprising an electric machine rotor; and a drivetrain coupling the electric machine rotor to the first rotating assembly as taught by Leque in order to facilitate supplementing power produced by the gas turbine engine during high thrust demands in order to improve propulsive efficiency (see Leque pars. 3 and 36). This is consistent with Leque’s statement in par. 29 that turboprop engines may be improved with the instant combination. This results in the drivetrain taught by Leque coupled to geartrain 31 of Turcotte in a similar manner that the drivetrain 80,88,70,68 of Leque is coupled to the geartrain 48 of Leque.
Dubreuil teaches a turboprop gas turbine engine (see pars. 22 and 25) and further teaches (see fig. 1) an axial forward end (the end towards propeller 11) of the electric machine 18 located axially between an open propulsor rotor 11 and a geartrain 20 (reduction gearbox 22 may be integrated with geartrain 20; see par. 23; such an integration is shown in US 7,775,044 to Julien -- incorporated into Dubreuil at par. 24 -- at fig. 7 wherein gearbox 12 is a reduction gearbox and also combines input from gas turbine shaft 20 and rotary engine shaft 22; Julien also teaches the claimed an axial forward end (at 39) of the electric machine (starter 391),) located axially between an open propulsor rotor “propeller” and a geartrain 12). It is further noted that “when a patent claims a structure already known in the prior art that is altered by the mere substitution of one element for another known in the field, the combination must do more than yield a predictable result.” KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 at 1395 (U.S. 2007). Thus, Dubreuil axial forward end is between the reduction geartrain and the propeller, and this teaching can be applied to the reduction geartrain and propeller of Turcotte. Julien also teaches the instant limitation as pointed about above in this paragraph.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to substitute the location of the forward end of the electric machine of Turcotte in view of Leque for the location of the forward end of electric machine of Dubreuil in order to provide exchanging one known element for another for the predictable result of housing an electric machine thereby providing ease of maintenance (access to the electric machine forward of the geartrain, as opposed to aft the geartrain is less affected by high temperature of engine after shutdown for example).
The teachings of Leque applied to Turcotte in this claim 1 analysis above include (see figs. 2 and 3) the drivetrain 80,88,70,68 includes a ring gear 80, a pinion gear 70; the ring gear 80 coupled to the geartrain 48; and the pinion gear 70 coupled to the electric machine rotor 68.
Briggs teaches (see fig.) a gas turbine 1 and further teaches an idler gear 15, the idler gear meshed with and between a gear 16 and a pinion gear 14.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Turcotte in view of Leque and Dubreuil with an idler gear, the idler gear meshed with and between the ring gear and the pinion gear as taught by Briggs in order to facilitate reducing the size of the pinion gear and thus reducing weight and improving fuel consumption.
Regarding claim 3, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Leque applied to Turcotte in the claim 1 analysis above include (see fig. 2) the electric machine 60’,60 comprises an electric motor 60’,60; and the electric machine rotor 68 is configured to drive rotation of a first rotating assembly (40,48,64,42) through a drivetrain 80,88,70,68.
Regarding claim 7, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Leque applied to Turcotte in the claim 1 analysis above include a drivetrain 80,88,70,68 comprises gearing 80 coupled to the geartrain 48 (see par. 39).
Regarding claim 9, The combination of Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination teaches the drivetrain is coupled to the first rotating assembly at an intermediate location axially between the first turbine rotor and the open propulsor rotor. Leque teaches the drive train 80,88,70,68 is coupled to the geartrain 48 (see fig. 2). The geartrain 31 of Turcotte (see fig. 1) is at an intermediate location axially (along axis 11) between the first turbine rotor (see annotated figure above) and the open propulsor rotor 12.
Regarding claim 12, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte further discloses the first rotating assembly (first turbine rotor,18A, 31,PS,12; see annotated figure above) is configured without a compressor rotor (compressor 14 is not configured with the instant first rotating assembly; see annotated figure above).
Regarding claim 13, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte further discloses (see annotated figure above) the gas turbine engine (gas turbine engine 10, or the internal components of the gas turbine engine housed within the housing 15, see par. 15, top) further includes a second rotating assembly (14,second turbine rotor; see annotated figure above), and the second rotating assembly includes a compressor rotor (at 14) in the compressor section 14; and a second turbine rotor (see annotated figure above) in the turbine section 18.
Regarding claim 14, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte further discloses (see annotated figure above) the second turbine rotor (see annotated figure above) is axially between the compressor rotor (at 14) and the first rotating assembly (first turbine rotor,18A, 31,PS,12; see annotated figure above).
Regarding claim 15, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte further discloses (see fig. 1) the open propulsor 12 rotor comprises a propeller rotor 12.
Regarding claim 21, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte further discloses the first rotating assembly (first turbine rotor,18A, 31,PS,12; see annotated figure above) is configured to rotate about the axis 11.
Regarding claim 22, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Turcotte does not disclose an axial aft end of the electric machine axially overlaps the geartrain along the axis. The teachings of Leque applied to Turcotte in the claim 1 analysis above include an axial aft end (see annotated figure below) of an electric machine 66’ axially overlaps (see annotated dashed line below showing overlap) a geartrain 48 along an axis A.
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Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pub. No.: US 2010/0219779 A1 (Bradbrook).
Regarding claim 2, Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Leque applied to Turcotte in the claim 1 analysis above include (see fig. 2) a rotating assembly 40,48,64,42 is configured with of the electric machine rotor 68 through a drivetrain 80,88,70,68. The combination does not explicitly the electric machine comprises an electric generator; and the first rotating assembly drives rotation of the electric machine rotor.
Bradbrook teaches (see fig. 2) a gas turbine 30 and further teaches an electric machine 70 comprises an electric generator (see par. 61); and a rotating assembly 38,42 drives rotation of an electric machine rotor 72.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Turcotte in view of Leque, Dubreuil and Briggs with the electric machine comprises an electric generator; and the first rotating assembly drives rotation of the electric machine rotor as taught by Bradbrook in order to facilitate providing further electricity (see Bradbrook col. 2, ll. 25-30).
Claim(s) 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 7,775,044 B2 (Julien) in view of US Patent 8,324,746 B2 (Bradbrook) and US 2007/0240426 A1 (Wiegman).
Regarding claim 23, Julien discloses (see fig. 7) an aircraft system 10, comprising: an open propulsor rotor (propeller of turboprop engine; see col. 4, l. 23 and see fig. 7); a gas turbine engine (14,15,16,17,18,20; also see claim 27) with an engine housing (structure 23 and annotated “engine housing” portions; see annotated figure below; for example the annotated “engine housing” is the outer bound of the flowpath of the compressor 14 and turbines 17,18; this is considered a casing or housing; this is evidenced by Bradbrook housing 23 being the outer bound of the flowpath of compressor 16 for example shown in fig. 1), the gas turbine engine (14,15,16,17,18,20; also see claim 27) including a first rotating assembly (shaft 20, turbine 18,four meshed gears of gearbox 12 between shaft 20 and propeller shaft; see annotated figure below), a compressor section 14, a combustor section (combustion section of rotary engine 16 that provides exhaust to turbines 17,18; see col. 4, ll. 5-15), a turbine section 17,18 and a flowpath (see arrows showing flow in fig. 7) extending through the compressor section 14, the combustor section (combustion section of rotary engine 16 that provides exhaust to turbines 17,18; see col. 4, ll. 5-15) and the turbine section 17,18, the first rotating assembly (shaft 20, turbine 18,four meshed gears of gearbox 12 between shaft 20 and propeller shaft; see annotated figure below) coupled to the open propulsor rotor (propeller; see annotated figure below) and configured to drive rotation (see col. 4, ll. 15-25) of the open propulsor rotor (propeller of turboprop engine; see col. 4, l. 23 and see fig. 7) about an axis (central axis of propeller shaft; see annotated figure below), the first rotating assembly including a geartrain (four gears connecting shaft 20 to propellor shaft) and a first turbine rotor 18 in the turbine section 17,18 and the geartrain (four gears connecting shaft 20 to propellor shaft) rotatably coupled between the first turbine rotor 18 and the open propulsor rotor (propeller; see annotated figure below); an apparatus (accessory gearbox AGB with starter 39; see fig. 7 and col. 3, ll. 40-45), the apparatus attached (via shaft 20 and reduction gearbox 12) to an outer case (see annotated figure below; the outer case can be the outer surface of the engine housing, see outer case 110 of engine housing 52 in elected fig. 5 and see applicant par. 46) of the engine housing; and a drivetrain (see annotated figure below) coupling the apparatus to the first rotating assembly (shaft 20, turbine 18,four meshed gears of gearbox 12 between shaft 20 and propeller shaft, propeller shaft; see annotated figure below), the drivetrain (see annotated figure below) comprising gearing (see annotated figure below) coupled to the geartrain (four gears connecting shaft 20 to propellor shaft). Julien does not explicitly disclose the gas turbine engine arranged within an engine housing (Julien’s housing is a part of the gas turbine engine); the apparatus is a fluid apparatus; and the fluid apparatus comprising an apparatus rotor.
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Bradbrook teaches (see fig. 1) a gas turbine engine 14,16,18-20,22-24 (gas turbine engine is interpreted as “An internal-combustion engine2 consisting essentially of an air compressor, combustion chamber, and turbine wheel that is turned by the expanding products of combustion” (see image below from the instant dictionary), American Heritage Dictionary online; such gas turbines inherently have a casing or housing, see below, surrounding the compressor and turbine so compressed and combusted gasses are contained to create thrust) and further teaches the gas turbine engine 14,16,18-20,22-24 arranged within an engine housing 25.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Julien with the gas turbine engine arranged within an engine housing as taught by Bradbrook in order to facilitate protecting the engine of Julien from weather and tarmac FOD with an aerodynamic housing defining the air intake (see Bradbrook col. 3, ll. 30-35). This results in the engine of Julien being housed within a nacelle. The gearing 29 of Bradbrook is outside of the housing 25 and thus the gearing 12 of combination Julien in view of Bradbrook would also be outside of the nacelle housing of the combination. Therefore the apparatus AGB Starter shown in Julien fig. 7 would also be outside of the nacelle housing thus satisfying the claim limitations the apparatus outside of the engine housing and attached to an outer case (see annotated figure below) of the engine housing.
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Wiegman teaches (see fig. 3) a gas turbine 10 and further teaches an apparatus is a fluid apparatus (26; hydraulic pump or pneumatic; see par. 16); and the fluid apparatus comprises a rotor 40 (pump 26 comprises a rotor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Julien in view of Bradbrook with the apparatus is a fluid apparatus; the fluid apparatus comprising an apparatus rotor as taught by Wiegman in order to facilitate extracting mechanical power from the gas turbine engine of Julien in view Bradbrook in order to drive engine accessories for example to provide hydraulic power for aircraft actuators or engine lubrication (see Wiegman par. 19). Wiegman teaches a fluid apparatuses such as hydraulic pumps and pneumatic pumps are coupled to and driven by an accessory gearbox 30 (see par. 16). Thus, the combination of Julien in view of Bradbrook and Wiegman results in the fluid apparatus taught by Wiegman being driven by the accessory gearbox of Julien.
Regarding claim 24, The combination of Julien in view of Bradbrook and Wiegman teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination teaches (see Wiegman fig. 3) a fluid apparatus 26 comprises a pneumatic pump (see par. 16).
Regarding claim 25, The combination of Julien in view of Bradbrook and Wiegman teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The combination teaches (see Wiegman fig. 3) a fluid apparatus 26 comprises a hydraulic pump (see par. 16).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-9, filed 01/27/2026, with respect to claim 1 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that there is no motivation to combine the idler gear of Briggs with Turcotte in view of Leque and Dubreuil because Briggs is silent the benefit of using an idler gear to facilitate reducing the size of the pinion gear. In response, one of the purposes of an idler gear is for reduction in size of neighboring gears. For example, Wikipedia states “An idler gear is a gear inserted between two or more gears (which include at a minimum a drive gear and a driven gear) to either change the direction of rotation of the output shaft, reduce the size of either or both gears while maintaining the spacing of the shafts, or both” (underlining added). This is supported by statements in the gear arts; see Siler (US 20160209244 A1) par. 54 and fig. 5: “The ring gear 62 is engaged by a driven gear 64. As the ring gear 62 rotates, the driven gear 64 also rotates. In order to reduce the overall size of the driven gear 64, and idler gear (not shown) may be provided between the ring gear 62 and the driven gear 64.” Because for example, the driven gear weight may be reduced it also goes that fuel economy will be improved. It is further noted that such idler gears are coupled to ring gears in gas turbines . For example, Howell (US 20180149091 A1) teaches in fig. 6A an idler gear 180b coupled to a ring gear 132 of a gas turbine. It is noted applicant disclosure does not appear to provide a reasoning for using an idler gear. Applicant further argues the prior art does not teach the newly amended claim 1 limitations. In response such limitations were taught by the Leque and Briggs in the claim 8 103 analysis on page 11 of the non-final office action mailed 04/29/2025. Such teachings are also included herein in the claim 1 103 section above wherein such new claim 1 limitations were in former claim 8.
Applicant's arguments on page 10 with respect to claim 23 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the non-final office action mailed 04/29/2025 refers to the accessory gearbox as the claimed fluid apparatus. In response the office action stated “Julien does not disclose the apparatus is a fluid apparatus; the fluid apparatus comprising an apparatus rotor.” at page 12, bottom. In response to applicant current amendments this office action refers to the engine housing of Julien as the structure 23 and annotated “engine housing” portions (see annotated figure below). For example the annotated “engine housing” is the outer bound of the flowpath of the compressor 14 and turbines 17,18; this is considered a casing or housing; this is evidenced by Bradbrook housing 23 being the outer bound of the flowpath of compressor 16 for example shown in fig. 1. Bradbrook also teaches nacelle housing 25 in which the gas turbine engine with housing 23 is arranged. Different portions of the engine housing of Julien are shown in annotated figure below, Julien being modified to also include the gas turbine engine being arranged within a housing (i.e. a nacelle) as taught by Bradbrook.
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Applicant argues even if Julien were combined with Wiegman as alleged in the Office Action (assuming without admitting proper combination), such a combination does not disclose at least the features of 'fluid apparatus outside of the engine housing, the fluid apparatus attached to an outer case of the engine housing" recited in claim 23. Applicant’s arguments in this respect have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
nacelle is engine casing: US 2244467 (page 2, middle, right), US 3028730 (col. 2, middle);
compound engines similar to Julien: US 5692372, US 20180209338 (par. 12).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARC J AMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-9948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARC AMAR/Examiner, Art Unit 3741 /DEVON C KRAMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3741
1 Starter may be an electric machine, see Dubreuil par. 50, and starter 39 may extend from geartrain 12 separately from the accessory gearbox, see Julien col. 5, ll. 1-5.
2 Internal combustion engines are often thought of as piston engine. However gas turbine engines can also be classified as internal combustion engines. See US 20110281679 A1 par. 83 discussing both piston and gas turbine engines: “ The term internal combustion engine can include, but is not limited to, an engine in which combustion is intermittent or semi continuous, such as four-stroke, two-stroke, five stroke, or six stroke, piston engines, along with any known variants, such as, but not limited to, a Wankel rotary engine or other known type of engine. A second class of internal combustion engines use continuous combustion, e.g., but not limited to, gas turbines, jet engines and most rocket engines, each of which are internal combustion engines ...”