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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/29/2026 has been entered.
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 1-8, 10-11, 21, 24-25, and 31-33 are 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.
For Claim 1, 2-4, and 6, each of the claims attempts to define structural limitation of the an aircraft such as the propulsion system, powerplant, batteries, etc. but they are not part of the claimed “A device configured to removably attach to an aircraft”. As such it is not clear if those limitation are required by the claims. The Examiner suggest Claim 1 being “an aircraft” and then further defining the parts of the aircraft, i.e. the propulsion system, the device, etc. Claims 5, 7-8, 10-11, 21, 24-25, and 31-33 are indefinite as being dependent on Claim 1.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8, 10, 21, 24, and 31-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tamada (US PgPub #2020/0164992).
For Claim 1, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose a device (2-1) configured to removably attach to an aircraft (2-101) and serve as an energy source for the aircraft, the device comprising: an enclosure (2-2); an engine (2-5); an electric generator (2-4); at least one fuel tank (2-22) configured to provide fuel to the engine; and electrical connectors (2-3) for outputting power to a propulsion system of the aircraft, wherein the power is generated by the electric generator and output, via the electrical connectors, to at least one electrical component (2-107) of the aircraft, wherein the engine, the electric generator, and the fuel tank are each housed within the enclosure, wherein the propulsion system of the aircraft is not within the enclosure of the energy source, wherein the electric generator is configured to generate the power within the enclosure as the engine rotates a shaft (2-6) connected to the electric generator, wherein the engine is configured to rotate the shaft within the enclosure by burning the fuel from the fuel tank within the enclosure, and wherein the power is configured to be output to the propulsion system of the aircraft via the electrical connectors which pass from inside the enclosure to outside the enclosure.
For Claim 2, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the energy source is a first energy source, the propulsion system of the aircraft comprises a lift motor (2-105), the aircraft comprises a second energy source (2-108) separate from the first energy source, and a powerplant of the aircraft is flyable and configured to provide power the lift propulsion motor using the second energy source with or without the use of the first energy source.
For Claim 3, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the propulsion system (2-102) is located elsewhere on the aircraft than a location where the energy source is mounted to the aircraft.
For Claim 4, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the power generated by the electric generator propulsion system passes through the wiring of the aircraft before being provided to the propulsion system of the aircraft, wherein the wiring of the aircraft is not within the enclosure of the energy source.
For Claim 5, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the electrical component (2-107) is connected to the propulsion motors (2-105 and 2-106) of the aircraft.
For Claim 6, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the energy source is configured to power a same propulsive motor that is fed by batteries (2-108) of the aircraft, wherein the batteries are not housed within the enclosure of the energy source.
For Claim 8, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the electrical connectors (2-3) are removably connectable to a corresponding electrical connector of the aircraft.
For Claim 10, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the engine is a turbine.
For Claim 21, paragraph [0110] of Tamada ‘992 discloses that the energy source is configured to attach to a wing of an aircraft.
For Claim 24, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose mounting hardware that is configured to permit non-destructive removal of the energy source from the aircraft.
For Claim 31, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the is no fluid connectors configured to connect the device to the aircraft.
For Claim 32, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that no fuel is received at the device from the aircraft.
For Claim 33, the figures of Tamada ‘992 disclose that the device is only configured to output energy in the form of electric power to the aircraft via the electrical connectors.
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(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamada (US PgPub #2020/0164992).
For Claim 7, while Tamada ‘992 is silent about the power output being AC or DC, the Examiner takes Official Notice that AC or DC are the only two options for electrical output and therefore would be obvious as a power output. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Tamada ‘992 with the power source providing either AC or DC power as those are the only two power output types.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamada (US PgPub #2020/0164992) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA).
For Claim 11, while Tamada ‘992 discloses a fuel tank in the enclosure, it is silent about a first and second fuel tank on opposite sides of the enclosure. However, the AAPA teaches that it is well known in the art to provide a plurality of fuel tanks for a system as well as to have them on opposite sides of each other in order to maintain weight balance and distribution. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Tamada ‘992 with the known two fuel tanks on opposite sides of a system as taught by AAPA. The motivation to do so would be to provide a balanced system.
For Claim 25, while Tamada ‘992 discloses the ability to remove the energy source, it is silent about permitting destructive removal of the aircraft. However, the AAPA teaches that the only two options are non-destructive or destructive removal of the energy source. As such it would be obvious to use one or the other. Therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Tamada ‘992 with the known destructive removal of the energy source as taught by AAPA. The motivation to do so would be to remove the energy source.
Response to Arguments
The Official Notice of Claim 25 was not argued. As such per MPEP 2144.03 this is now taken to be Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA).
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-11, filed 1/29/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Tamada ‘992 in view of the amendments.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP J BONZELL whose telephone number is (571)270-3663. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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/PHILIP J BONZELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642 3/6/2026