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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 9 objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 9, line 4 states “a first step using outer the rotor drives” which should be amended to read “a first step using the outer rotor drives”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-7, 9-10, 12-13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2, line 9 states “aligned essentially parallel” which is indefinite as it is unclear the rotor axis is aligned to be parallel or not. Applicant should amend to clearly and distinctly point out the limitations of the claim. Claim 3, line 4 also uses the same terminology and is rejected in the same manner as stated above.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prampolini (US 2013/0087659) in view of Ramanathan (US 2019/0225330).
Regarding claim 1, Prampolini discloses a launch vehicle, comprising: a rocket body (9) including a longitudinal axis (X), a propulsion stage drivable by a first reaction propulsion system (8) acting substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (X); a plurality of rotors each drivable by a rotor drive ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine) and including a respective rotor axis (vertical longitudinal axis thereof) aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (X) of the rocket body (9); a separate takeoff stage (14) coupled to or couplable to and decouplable from the rocket body (9) or the propulsion stage, the takeoff stage (14) including a plurality of outer rotors each including a respective outer rotor drive ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end), wherein the outer ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end) are arranged in a multi-copter configuration radially outside (Fig. 1) the rocket body (9) surrounding the rocket body (9), wherein each respective outer rotor drive includes at least one electric drive motor ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end), wherein the takeoff stage (14) includes a power storage device configured to store electrical energy (Implicitly stated since the electrical energy needed to control and operate the propellers must be provided by the electric motors of the system) and to supply the electrical energy to the outer rotor drives ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end), but does not expressly disclose wherein a portion of the outer rotor drives is operable in a generator mode where electrical energy is generatable during an autorotation of the outer rotors, wherein the portion of the outer rotor drives is configured to feed the electrical energy generated back into the power storage device.
However, Ramanathan discloses a vehicle propulsion system to regenerate lift (100) having outer rotor drives (102) operable in a generator mode where electrical energy is generatable during an autorotation of the outer rotors ([0038] A dynamic propulsion system may be implemented to recover some or all of the wasted energy. The dynamic propulsion system may include one or more propellers that are configured to act as a propulsion system when altitude is rising and act as a windmill to generate energy to charge a battery during descent.), wherein the portion of the outer rotor drives (102) is configured to feed the electrical energy generated back into the power storage device ([0039] The regenerative mode may be used for recapturing the potential energy on descent by converting the kinetic energy of the motor to an electrical current to recharge the UAV battery).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Prampolini, by making the outer rotor drives operable in a generator mode where electrical energy is generatable during an autorotation of the outer rotors, wherein the portion of the outer rotor drives is configured to feed the electrical energy generated back into the power storage device, as taught by Ramanathan, for the purpose of providing a system on the vehicle that regenerates energy for the vehicle.
Claims 2, 4-5, 7-8, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prampolini (US 2013/0087659) and Ramanathan (US 2019/0225330) in view of Nakamats (CN113460334).
Regarding claims 2, 5, 7, Prampolini/Ramanathan disclose the invention substantially as set forth above and Prampolini further discloses wherein the propulsion stage (8) forms a main propulsion stage (8) which is coupled to or couplable to and decouplable from the takeoff stage (14) and which is coupled to or couplable to and decouplable from the rocket body (9) or from an upper stage (4, 6) of the launch vehicle (2), wherein the main propulsion stage includes the first reaction propulsion system (8) and a plurality of inner rotors each drivable by an inner rotor drive ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end) and whose respective rotor axis (vertical longitudinal axis thereof) is aligned essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis (X) of the rocket body (9), and wherein the inner rotors ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end) are arranged in an annular pattern (Fig. 1) about the longitudinal axis (X) in a multi-copter configuration (Fig. 1), but does not expressly disclose wherein the upper stage includes a second reaction propulsion system.
However, Nakamats discloses a rocket system (1a) having a multistage propulsion system (first and second stages, Fig. 1) wherein the upper stage (second stage, Fig. 1) includes a second reaction propulsion system (Fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Prampolini, by making the upper stage include a second reaction propulsion system, as taught by Nakamats, for the purpose of providing a system with multiple propulsion stages.
Regarding claim 4, Prampolini discloses wherein each inner rotor drive ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end) and landing rotor drive includes a respective electric motor as a prime mover ([0071] a propeller with a thermal engine or an electric engine. The propeller may be in the central body or at the wing end).
Regarding claims 8, 11, Prampolini discloses a method for operating the launch vehicle according to claim 1 including the reusable takeoff stage (14), but does not disclose the method comprising: transferring the launch vehicle from a launch site to a predetermined first altitude level in a first step by using the outer rotor drives of the takeoff stage; upon reaching the first altitude level igniting the first reaction propulsion system of the propulsion stage and decoupling the takeoff stage from the rocket body or from the propulsion stage; and descending the takeoff stage from the first altitude level and returning the takeoff stage to a takeoff site.
However, Nakamats discloses a rocket system (Fig. 4) having the method of transferring the launch vehicle (1) from a launch site (ground) to a predetermined first altitude level (Fig. 5) in a first step by using the outer rotor drives (31, 32) of the takeoff stage (3); upon reaching the first altitude level (Fig. 5) igniting the first reaction propulsion system of the propulsion stage (4) and decoupling the takeoff stage (3) from the rocket body (1) or from the propulsion stage (4); and descending the takeoff stage (3) from the first altitude level (Fig. 5) and returning the takeoff stage (3) to a takeoff site (Fig. 6)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention/application, to modify Prampolini, by transferring the launch vehicle from a launch site to a predetermined first altitude level in a first step by using the outer rotor drives of the takeoff stage; upon reaching the first altitude level igniting the first reaction propulsion system of the propulsion stage and decoupling the takeoff stage from the rocket body or from the propulsion stage; and descending the takeoff stage from the first altitude level and returning the takeoff stage to a takeoff site, as taught by Nakamats, for the purpose of greatly reducing the cost of the rocket.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, 9-10, 12-13 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Examiner lists referenced documents on PTO-892 because the references present other/alternative or conceptual designs similar in scope that illustrate relevant features, which may demonstrate the level of novelty in comparison to Applicant’s inventive submission. The record relates to Applicant’s identified material and Examiner’s discovered references concerning Applicant’s subject matter relevant for a patentability determination.
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/AARON M RODZIWICZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3642 /JOSHUA J MICHENER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642