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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-9, and 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CA-3063116 (CA’116) in view of GB-2155143 (GB’143).
Re: claims 1, 3-5, 7-9, 11-13, 15-18, and 20. CA’116 shows in figure 3 an assembly, comprising: a shock strut comprising: a shock strut cylinder 110; and a shock strut piston 120 slidably disposed within the shock strut cylinder which includes gas 134 the condition of which (pressure/temperature) sensor 150 detects as disclosed in paragraph [0046]; and a temperature control unit assembly 25, 150 with part of it or element 150 disposed within the shock strut cylinder and discloses in paragraph [0004] gas pressure (which is tied to gas temperature) being maintained within a design envelope), wherein the shock strut cylinder is divided into a liquid chamber 132 and a mixed fluid chamber 134, wherein the landing gear assembly is configured such that liquid from the liquid chamber 132 enters the mixed fluid chamber responsive to compression of the shock strut or responsive to the landing gear assembly being in a retracted stowed position by virtue of the chambers being open to each other and not separated by a barrier, the mixed fluid chamber 134 comprising a gas portion 134 and a liquid portion or the portion of 132 entering 134 as broadly recited, and wherein the temperature control unit assembly 25, 150 is configured such that a component of the temperature control unit assembly 25, 150 is positioned within the gas portion 134 of the mixed fluid chamber regardless of whether the landing gear assembly is in an extended position, a compressed position, or in the retracted or stowed position particularly in the retracted or stowed position to the point before the liquid reaches the temperature control unit assembly as broadly recited, but is silent with regard to the temperature control unit assembly comprising: a temperature regulator; a temperature sensor electrically coupled to the temperature regulator and is silent with regard to a heating element electrically coupled to the temperature regulator being configured to, responsive to a temperature within the shock strut cylinder falling below a predetermined temperature, heat gas within the shock strut cylinder. With regard to claim 9, CA’116 discloses an aircraft in the abstract.
GB’143 teaches in figure 1 and claim 1 the use of a temperature control unit assembly comprising in addition to a temperature sensor 28 a temperature regulator 32 and a heating element 30 electrically coupled to the temperature regulator 32.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the temperature control assembly of CA’116, as modified, to have also included a temperature regulator and a heating element electrically coupled to the regulator, in view of the teachings of GB’143, in order to provide an assembly made up of components that enable an increase in the gas pressure to make the strut stiffer to help it support more static load depending on the particular application.
GB’143 teaches in figure 1 and in clam 1 the use of a temperature control unit assembly 28, 30 being configured to, responsive to a temperature within the shock strut cylinder falling below a predetermined temperature, heat gas within 10 which is within the shock strut.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the temperature control assembly of CA’116, as modified, to have been configured to, responsive to a temperature within the shock strut cylinder falling below a predetermined temperature, heat gas within the shock strut cylinder, in view of the teachings of GB’143, in order to provide a means of increasing the gas pressure to make the strut stiffer to help it support more static loads depending on the particular application. With regard to claims 7, 8, 15, and 16 see claim 1 of GB’143 which describes heating up to the predetermined max temperature (claims 7, 15, and 20) and being configured to cease heating or maintain the gas temperature at said predetermined max temperature value (claims 8, 16, and 18).
Re: claims 6, 14, and 19. CA’116, as modified, is silent with regards to the heating element being a certain type.
GB’143 teaches in figure 1 the use of a heating element 30 being of the strip type, since it comprises a coil structure arranged in a strip fashion, as best understood.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the heating element of CA’116, as modified, to have been of the strip type, in view of the teachings of GB’143, in order to provide to provide an arrangement that results in a more compact assembly due to the strip type arrangement not taking up as much vertical space as another type of heating element.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/21/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the prior art of record does not show or disclose the limitation wherein the temperature control unit assembly is configured such that a component or heating element of the temperature control unit assembly is positioned within the gas portion of the mixed fluid chamber regardless of whether the landing gear assembly is in an extended position, a compressed position, or in the retracted or stowed position. Upon further review, Examiner notes that figure 3 of the instant invention shows the strut landing gear assembly in a retracted or stowed position. As can be seen in figure 3 the retracted or stowed position is slanted but not completely in a vertical position in which liquid completely fills the mixed chamber and covers the heating element. Similar to the instant invention, Examiner notes that CA’116 shows in figure 3 a mixed chamber 134 and a liquid chamber 132 open to each other and not separated by a barrier such that it similarly achieves a retracted or stowed position at least up to a comparable slanted position up to the point before the liquid from chamber 132 reaches the temperature control unit assembly component 150, as broadly recited. The instant invention simply describes in paragraph [0027] of the published application that the temperature control unit assembly 250 is configured such that the heating element 256 is positioned within the gas portion of the mixed fluid chamber 214, i.e. above line 213 regardless of whether the landing gear assembly 200 is in an extended or landing position, as illustrated in FIG. 2 or in a retracted or stowed position as illustrated in Fig 3. Without further detail there does not appear to be any barrier preventing liquid from further entering the mixed chamber from the liquid chamber due to gravity. Accordingly, the above rejections using CA’116, as modified, have been maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MELODY M BURCH whose telephone number is (571)272-7114. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:30AM-3PM, generally.
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mmb
February 25, 2026
/MELODY M BURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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