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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 November 10th, 2025 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 29 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 29 line 3, “…a rear and…” should read “…a rear region and…”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 28-33, 35-38, and 40-44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144) in view of Tkach et al. (US 2016/0280399), Andrews (US 4,518,137) and Scher et al. (US 3,508,724).
Regarding claim 28, Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) an atmosphere reentry and landing device for a rocket stage for a safe reentry of the rocket stage into an atmosphere and for a safe splashdown of the rocket stage, the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) which is configured to be folded in a first state (figure 1) and to be unfolded in a second state (figure 2) (Col. 3 lines 21-32), wherein,
in the first state the ballute is folded (clearly seen in figure 1) (Col. 3 Lines 22-24), and
in the second state where the ballute is unfolded (clearly seen in figure 2), the ballute is configured to substantially shroud the rocket stage (Col. 3 Lines 21-32; spacecraft (10) comprises a rocket stage and the entire spacecraft is substantially shrouded by the ballute/aerodynamic braking device);
a shrouding mechanism which is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the rocket stage with the ballute, wherein the shrouding mechanism substantially shrouds the entire rocket stage (clearly seen in figure 2; shrouding is carried out by shrouding mechanism);
but it is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device:
wherein in the first state where the ballute is folded the ballute is configured to be disposed on the rocket stage so that an aerodynamics of the rocket stage is not compromised by the ballute.
Tkach et al. ‘399 teaches (figures 1-9) a ballute/inflatable raft (24) configured to be folded in a first state (figures 2-3) where the ballute is configured to be disposed on the rocket stage/engine (9) and capsule (Para 0045, 0050)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Tkach et al. ‘399 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device:
wherein in the first state where the ballute is folded the ballute is configured to be disposed on the rocket stage so that an aerodynamics of the rocket stage is not compromised by the ballute.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would prevent drag and enhance aerodynamic efficiency.
Modified Thorton ‘144 is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a shrouding mechanism which, prior to reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the rocket stage with the ballute, and
a control unit which is configured to control the shrouding mechanism.
Andrews ‘137 teaches (figures 1-10) a space vehicle (10) and an inflatable bag/ballute (28) folded and disposed on rocket motor/ stage (16) in a stowed position wherein the inflatable bag/ballute (28) substantially shrouds the space vehicle (10) prior to reentry into the atmosphere (clearly seen in figure 10) (Col. 4 Lines 1-2, 10-17; Col. 5 Lines 46-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Andrews ‘137 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device:
a shrouding mechanism which, prior to reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the rocket stage with the ballute, and
a control unit which is configured to control the shrouding mechanism (ballute is controlled/deployed via control unit).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would ensure positive deployment of the ballute before entering the atmosphere.
Modified Thorton ‘144 is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a filling mechanism which, during the reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to fill the ballute in the second state, where the ballute is unfolded so as to substantially shroud the rocket state, with air or a gas from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed in front of a surface of the atmosphere reentry and landing device during the reentry and the surface of the atmosphere reentry and landing device and
a control unit which is configured to control the filling mechanism.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a folded balloon (13) in a compartment attached on a rocket booster (10) wherein the balloon has a plurality of openings (16) through which atmosphere/air is channeled into the balloon for inflation and the plurality of openings are provide with valves (20) so that atmosphere flow into and out of the balloon can be regulated (Col. 2 Lines 42-46, 57-61; Col. 3 Lines 6-12; boundary layer atmosphere/air created at the arms extending from booster (10) is channeled into the balloon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a filling mechanism which, during the reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to fill the ballute in the second state, where the ballute is unfolded so as to substantially shroud the rocket state, with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed in front of a surface of the atmosphere reentry and landing device during the reentry and the surface of the atmosphere reentry and landing device (extreme friction from high speed of the rocket stage create plasma), and
a control unit which is configured to control the filling mechanism (control unit regulates atmospheric flow).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would enable to utilize air to inflate the ballute.
Regarding claim 29, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein,
the ballute comprise a rear region and an upper region when viewed in a direction of flight through the atmosphere, and the ballute is further configured to be disposed on the rocket stage so that a rocket engine of the rocket stage, during the reentry into the atmosphere is disposed at the rear of the ballute (as modified by Tkach et al. ‘399; clearly shown in the figure below).
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Regarding claim 30, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device further comprising:
a main body (clearly shown in the figure below) which is configured to be dimensionally stable, the main body comprising a central cylindrical through opening, an internal diameter of the central through-opening being adapted to an external diameter of the rocket stage (clearly shown in the figure below) (entire spacecraft including rocket stage is shrouded by the ballute).
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Regarding claim 31, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein,
the main body comprises a head piece/circular end portion of the main body which comes in contact with the heat shield (14) (shown in the figure above) which is arranged on an end side of the cylindrical through-opening around the cylindrical through-opening, the head piece being provided so as to be heat-resistant (Col. 3 Lines 21-29; head piece is overlapped by heat shield thus the head piece is heat resistant), and
a front end of the ballute, in terms of an orientation of the ballute during the reentry into the atmosphere, is fastened to the head piece (as modified by Tkash et al. ‘399).
Regarding claim 32, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the head piece comprises an air inlet which is configured to be closable so that air from the boundary layer is flowable therethrough into the ballute (as modified by Scher et al. ‘724; head piece surrounds and encloses the ballute thus head piece has an air inlet which fills the ballute).
Regarding claim 33, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the air inlet comprises at least one flap/valve (as modified by Scher et al. ‘724).
Regarding claim 35, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the ballute is further configured so that a rear end of the ballute, in terms of an orientation of the ballute during the reentry into the atmosphere, is fastenable to the rocket stage (as modified by Tkash et al. ‘399; ballute is fastenable).
Regarding claim 36, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein,
the rocket stage comprises a launching fastening arrangement (figure 1) and a landing fastening arrangement (figures 2-3), and
the atmosphere reentry and landing device is configured to move the main body from the launching fastening arrangement on the rocket stage externally along the rocket stage to the landing fastening arrangement on the rocket stage (clearly seen in figures 2-3; the main body moves externally along the side wall of the spacecraft which comprises rocket stage).
Regarding claim 37, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the landing fastening arrangement is proximal to a tip of the rocket stage (as modified by Tkash et al. ‘399).
Regarding claim 38, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the main body is configured to be movable externally along the rockets stage via the shrouding mechanism (clearly seen in figures 2-3; the main body moves externally along the side wall of the spacecraft which comprises rocket stage)
Regarding claim 40, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device further comprising:
a transport cover/band (18) which is configured to cover the ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) during a rocket launch and to be separated off (Col. 3 Lines 19-33).
Regarding claim 41, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the ballute is configured to be resistant to a high temperature and to have a low air permeability (Col. 3 Lines 34-37).
Regarding claim 42, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) a system comprising:
the atmosphere reentry and landing device as recited in claim 28; and
the rocket stage (spacecraft comprises a rocket stage).
Regarding claim 43, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the system wherein the rocket stage is a booster stage (rocket stage provides first propulsion).
Regarding claim 44, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the system as recited in claim 42, but it is silent about the system wherein the atmosphere reentry and landing device further comprises, in addition to the filling mechanism, a further filling mechanism which is configured to fill the ballute with a gas from a rocket tank so as to initially bring the ballute in a shape prior to the reentry into the atmosphere.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a folded balloon (13) in a compartment attached on some convenient position on the booster wherein a small mass of gas (15) inside the balloon is used to initially inflate the balloon (Col. 2 Lines 44-48; gas is confined within a tank).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the system wherein the atmosphere reentry and landing device further comprises, in addition to the filling mechanism, a further filling mechanism which is configured to fill the ballute with a gas from a rocket tank so as to initially bring the ballute in a shape prior to the reentry into the atmosphere.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would easily and quickly inflate the ballute once the rocket stage and the atmosphere reentry and landing device reenters the atmosphere.
Claim(s) 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144), Tkach et al. (US 2016/0280399), Andrews (US 4,518,137) and Scher et al. (US 3,508,724) as applied to claim 38 above, and further in view of Kuehlmuss (WO 2011/044168).
Regarding claim 39, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the atmosphere reentry and landing device of claim 38 but it is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the shrouding mechanism comprises at least one of a winch, a gearwheel system, and a linear drive.
Kuehlmuss ‘168 teaches (figures 1a-1d) an aerostat system comprising an envelope (10) with a top-most point called the crown (20), spooling line (120) connected to the spool (100) comprising spooling motor (110) on one end and the crown (20) on the other end wherein the spooling line (120) and spool (100) comprising spooling motor assist in the inflation and deflation of the envelope (10) (Para 0030, 0035, 0047-0052, 0071-0078; spool, spooling line and the spooling motor forms a winch).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Kuehlmuss ‘168 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device wherein the shrouding mechanism comprises at least one of a winch, a gearwheel system, and a linear drive.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would properly align the ballute next to the wall of the rocket stage during inflation of the ballute.
Claim(s) 45-47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144) in view of Andrews (US 4,518,137) and Scher et al. (US 3,508,724).
Regarding claim 45, Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) a method for a reentry of a rocket stage into an atmosphere, the method comprising:
shrouding a rocket stage with a ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) so as to form a reentry body, wherein the entire rocket stage is substantially shrouded (clearly seen in figure 2; spacecraft comprises a rocket stage and the entire spacecraft is substantially shrouded by the ballute/aerodynamic braking device);
but it is silent about the method comprising:
shrouding the rocket stage with a ballute prior to the reentry into the atmosphere.
Andrews ‘137 teaches (figures 1-10) a space vehicle (10) and an inflatable bag/ballute (28) folded and disposed on rocket motor/ stage (16) in a stowed position wherein the inflatable bag/ballute (28) substantially shrouds the space vehicle (10) prior to reentry into the atmosphere (clearly seen in figure 10) (Col. 4 Lines 1-2, 10-17; Col. 5 Lines 46-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Andrews ‘137 to configure the method comprising:
shrouding the rocket stage with a ballute prior to the reentry into the atmosphere.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would ensure positive deployment of the ballute before entering the atmosphere.
Modified Thorton ‘144 is silent about the method comprising:
filling the ballute with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during the reentry into the atmosphere and a surface of the reentry body.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a folded balloon (13) in a compartment attached on a rocket booster (10) wherein the balloon has a plurality of openings (16) through which atmosphere/air is channeled into the balloon for inflation and the plurality of openings are provide with valves (20) so that atmosphere flow into and out of the balloon can be regulated (Col. 2 Lines 42-46, 57-61; Col. 3 Lines 6-12; boundary layer atmosphere/air created at the arms extending from booster (10) is channeled into the balloon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the method comprising:
filling the ballute with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during the reentry into the atmosphere and a surface of the reentry body (extreme friction from high speed of the rocket stage create plasma).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would enable to utilize air to inflate the ballute.
Regarding claim 46, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the method further comprising generating a positive pressure in the ballute (as modified by Scher et al. ‘724; forcing air into the ballute via opening of the valves create a positive pressure inside the ballute ).
Regarding claim 47, modified Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) the method further comprising splashdown of the rocket stage with a tip of the rockets stage being ahead (portion of the rocket stage closest to the ground is a tip of the rocket stage).
Claim(s) 48 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144) in view of Andrews (US 4,518,137) and Scher et al. (US 3,508,724).
Regarding claim 48, Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) an atmosphere entry and landing device for a body for a safe entry into an atmosphere and for a safe splashdown, the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a transport region/payload section (12) which is configured to receive the body/payload during a transport (Col. 3 Lines 19-20; payload section receives payloads);
a ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) which is configured to be folded in a first state (figure 1) and to be unfolded in a second state (figure 2), wherein, in the second state where the ballute is unfolded, the ballute is configured to substantially shroud the atmosphere entry and landing device from outside (clearly seen in figure 2) (Col. 3 lines 21-32), wherein,
a shrouding mechanism which is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the atmosphere entry and landing device with the ballute, wherein the shrouding mechanism substantially shrouds the entire atmosphere entry and landing device (clearly seen in figure 2; shrouding is carried out by shrouding mechanism);
but it is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a shrouding mechanism which, prior to reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the atmosphere entry and landing device with the ballute, and
a control unit which is configured to control the shrouding mechanism.
Andrews ‘137 teaches (figures 1-10) a space vehicle (10) and an inflatable bag/ballute (28) folded and disposed on rocket motor/ stage (16) in a stowed position wherein the inflatable bag/ballute (28) substantially shrouds the space vehicle (10) prior to reentry into the atmosphere (clearly seen in figure 10) (Col. 4 Lines 1-2, 10-17; Col. 5 Lines 46-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Andrews ‘137 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a shrouding mechanism which, prior to reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to carry out the substantial shrouding of the atmosphere entry and landing device with the ballute, and
a control unit which is configured to control the shrouding mechanism (ballute is controlled/deployed via control unit).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would ensure positive deployment of the ballute before entering the atmosphere.
Modified Thorton ‘144 is silent about the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a filling mechanism which, during the reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to fill the ballute in the second state, where the ballute is unfolded so as to substantially shroud the atmosphere reentry and landing device, with air or a gas from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed in front of a surface of the atmosphere entry and landing device during the entry and the surface of the atmosphere entry and landing device and
a control unit which is configured to control the filling mechanism.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a folded balloon (13) in a compartment attached on a rocket booster (10) wherein the balloon has a plurality of openings (16) through which atmosphere/air is channeled into the balloon for inflation and the plurality of openings are provide with valves (20) so that atmosphere flow into and out of the balloon can be regulated (Col. 2 Lines 42-46, 57-61; Col. 3 Lines 6-12; boundary layer atmosphere/air created at the arms extending from booster (10) is channeled into the balloon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the atmosphere reentry and landing device comprising:
a filling mechanism which, during the reentry into the atmosphere, is configured to fill the ballute in the second state, where the ballute is unfolded so as to substantially shroud the atmosphere reentry and landing device, with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed in front of a surface of the atmosphere entry and landing device during the entry and the surface of the atmosphere entry and landing device (extreme friction from high speed of the rocket stage create plasma), and
a control unit which is configured to control the filling mechanism (control unit regulates atmospheric flow).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would enable to utilize air to inflate the ballute.
Claim(s) 49 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144) in view of Andrews (US 4,518,137) and Scher et al. (US 3,508,724).
Regarding claim 49, Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) a method for an entry of a body into an atmosphere, the method comprising:
shrouding the body/spacecraft (10) with a ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) so as to form an atmosphere entry body, wherein the entire atmosphere entry body is substantially shrouded (Col. 3 Lines 19-20);
but it is silent about the method comprising:
shrouding the body with a ballute prior to entering into the atmosphere.
Andrews ‘137 teaches (figures 1-10) a space vehicle (10) and an inflatable bag/ballute (28) folded and disposed on rocket motor/ stage (16) in a stowed position wherein the inflatable bag/ballute (28) substantially shrouds the space vehicle (10) prior to reentry into the atmosphere (clearly seen in figure 10) (Col. 4 Lines 1-2, 10-17; Col. 5 Lines 46-47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Andrews ‘137 to configure the method comprising:
shrouding the body with a ballute prior to entering into the atmosphere.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would ensure positive deployment of the ballute before entering the atmosphere.
Modified Thorton ‘144 is silent about the method comprising:
filling the ballute during the entry into the atmosphere with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during the entry into the atmosphere and a surface of the atmosphere entry body.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a folded balloon (13) in a compartment attached on a rocket booster (10) wherein the balloon has a plurality of openings (16) through which atmosphere/air is channeled into the balloon for inflation and the plurality of openings are provide with valves (20) so that atmosphere flow into and out of the balloon can be regulated (Col. 2 Lines 42-46, 57-61; Col. 3 Lines 6-12; boundary layer atmosphere/air created at the arms extending from booster (10) is channeled into the balloon).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the method comprising:
filling the ballute during the entry into the atmosphere with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during the entry into the atmosphere and a surface of the atmosphere entry body (extreme friction from high speed of the rocket stage create plasma).
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would enable to utilize air to inflate the ballute.
Claim(s) 50 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thorton (US 6,264,144) in view of Scher et al. (US 3,508,724).
Regarding claim 50, Thorton ‘144 teaches (figures 1-3) a method for filling a ballute during an entry into an atmosphere, the method comprising:
filling the ballute/aerodynamic braking device (16) and an atmosphere entry body/spacecraft (10) entering into the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed (Col. 3 Lines 20-25; atmosphere entry body/spacecraft (10) enters Earth’s atmosphere from the space at hypersonic speed );
but it is silent about the method comprising:
filling the ballute with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during an entry into the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed and a surface of an atmosphere entry body
wherein,
the air is sucked in a controller manner, through an air inlet in the atmosphere entry body, inwards into the ballute, and is accumulated in the ballute.
Scher et al. ‘724 teaches (figures 1-5) a method for filling of a ballute/inflatable balloon (14) comprising:
filling the ballute/inflatable balloon (14) with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during an entry into the atmosphere and a surface of an atmosphere entry body/rocket booster (10) (Col. 2 Lines 42-49, 57-61; Col. 3 Lines 6-12; extreme friction from high speed of the rocket booster create plasma; boundary layer atmosphere/air created at the arms extending from booster (10) is channeled into the balloon),
wherein,
the air/atmosphere is sucked in a controller manner, through an air inlet (16) in the atmosphere entry body, inwards into the ballute/inflatable balloon (14), and is accumulated in the ballute (Col. 2 Lines 57-61; valves (20) enables the controlled air flow into the ballute; rocket booster (10) and ballute/inflatable balloon (14) forms an atmosphere entry body).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Thorton ‘144 to incorporate the teachings of Scher et al. ‘724 to configure the method comprising:
filling the ballute with air from a boundary layer which is created between a plasma formed during an entry into the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed and a surface of an atmosphere entry body
wherein,
the air is sucked in a controller manner, through an air inlet in the atmosphere entry body, inwards into the ballute, and is accumulated in the ballute.
One of ordinary skill in art would recognize that doing so would enable to utilize air to inflate the ballute.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 34 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 10th, 2025, with respect to the amended claims 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 as explained in the rejection above.
Conclusion
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/ASHESH DANGOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642