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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/25/2026 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.
Claims 14, 18-20 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.
Claim 18 “wherein the BC system comprises a plurality of first BC inlets including the first BC inlet and a plurality of second BC inlets including the second BC inlet spaced along a circumferential direction of the gas turbine engine, wherein [the1] plurality of first ducts comprise a plurality of radial ducts, wherein each radial duct is in airflow communication with a respective BC inlet of the plurality of first BC inlets and the plurality of second BC inlets” is unclear. It is unclear whether the italicized text reads on just “plurality of second BC inlets including the second BC inlet” or both “a plurality of first BC inlets including the first BC inlet and plurality of second BC inlets including the second BC inlet.
Claim 14 “wherein the CP inlet is in airflow communication with the working gas flowpath” is not further limiting claim 1, as this limitation is in the 3rd paragraph of claim 1.
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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) 1-3, 5-9, 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rambo (2019/0128189) in view of either Klees (4294068) or Hoover et al (20100126182) and for claim 17 further in view of Simpson et al (2013/0283762). Rambo [see annotations of Fig. 3] teaches (1) A gas turbine engine comprising: a fan assembly comprising a fan 38; a turbomachine drivingly coupled to the fan and comprising a compressor section 22, 24, a combustion section 26, and a turbine section 28, 30 arranged in serial flow order and defining in part a working gas flowpath 64, 66, the gas turbine engine defining a bypass passage 56 over the turbomachine, the turbomachine defining an annular cooling passage (CP) 126 extending between a CP inlet 128 and a CP outlet 150, the CP inlet in airflow communication with the working gas flowpath, the bypass passage, or both; an accessory system [not shown in Fig. 3, but in Fig. 2]; a heat exchanger 152 positioned in thermal communication with the annular cooling passage at a location between the CP inlet and the CP outlet, the heat exchanger 152 in thermal communication with the accessory system [shown in Fig. 2, ¶ 0053, 0060]; and a bleed cooling (BC) system 122 defining a first BC inlet [upstream 152] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage at a location between the CP inlet 128 and the CP outlet 150; wherein the BC system comprises a duct assembly including at least one first ducts, one or more second ducts [see annotations], and a third duct [see annotations], wherein the at least one first ducts are in fluid communication with the first BC inlet, one or more second ducts, and a third duct. Rambo does not teach a second BC inlet in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage downstream of the first BC inlet and upstream of the CP outlet; wherein the BC system comprises a duct assembly including a plurality of first ducts, wherein the plurality of first ducts are in fluid communication with the first BC inlet and the second BC inlet. Klees [Fig. 2] teaches an analogous flow system where the airflow from 42a exits a first BC inlet [upstream one of 54] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage 42a at a location between the CP inlet and the CP outlet [50 & 38 together] and a second BC inlet [downstream one of 54] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage downstream of the first BC inlet and upstream of the CP outlet; wherein the BC system comprises a duct assembly including a plurality of first ducts [between each set of 54], one or more second ducts, and a third duct, wherein the plurality of first ducts [between 54] are in fluid communication with the first BC inlet [upstream one of 54] and the second BC inlet [downstream one of 54], one or more second ducts, and a third duct. Klees teaches the use of multiple BC inlets 54 allows cooling of the wall 44a and also facilitates redirecting the flow of air in 42a into the inner duct 41. Hoover et al teach bleed cooling (BC) system defining a first BC inlet [left of 226] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage at a location between the CP inlet and the CP outlet and a second BC inlet [right of 226] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage downstream of the first BC inlet and upstream of the CP outlet; wherein the BC system comprises a duct assembly including a plurality of first ducts [separated by 226], one or more second ducts, and a third duct, wherein the plurality of first ducts [separated by 226] are in fluid communication with the first BC inlet and the second BC inlet [left and right of 226, respectively], The louver 226 separating the first and second BC inlets and plurality of first ducts reduces resonance and pressure pulses within the system. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to a first BC inlet in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage at a location between the CP inlet and the CP outlet and a second BC inlet in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage downstream of the first BC inlet and upstream of the CP outlet; wherein the BC system comprises a duct assembly including a plurality of first ducts, wherein the plurality of first ducts are in fluid communication with the first BC inlet and the second BC inlet, so as to be in fluid communication with the one or more second ducts, and a third duct of Rambo, as taught by either Klees or Hoover et al, in order to allow cooling of the wall containing the outlet 130A of Rambo, and to facilitate redirecting the flow of air into the inner duct 122 of Rambo or to reduce resonance / pressure pulses within the system. Rambo further teaches: (2) wherein the accessory system is in thermal communication with the accessory system for cooling an oil cooling system [lubrication], a cooled cooling air system [ACC], an electric machine cooling system [e.g. electric generator ¶ 0053], or a combination thereof. (3) wherein the bleed cooling system 122 is a clearance control system 82 [ACC ¶ 0053], an undercowl ventilation cooling system 122, or combination thereof. (5) wherein the second BC inlet of the bleed cooling system is co-located with the heat exchanger 152 [note 130A is close to 152 and thus co-located to it]. (6) a third BC inlet [note there are at least three 54 in Klees and thus in combination there will be at least three in the modified Rambo, though the third is not separately annotated] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage, wherein the third BC inlet [portion of 130A] of the bleed cooling system is located downstream of the heat exchanger 152 and upstream of the CP outlet. (7) wherein the bleed cooling system is a first bleed cooling system including the first BC inlet 130A [note there are at least three 54 in Klees and thus in combination there will be at least three in the modified Rambo, though the third is not separately annotated], and wherein the gas turbine engine further comprises: a second bleed cooling system defining the second BC inlet [130A or radially adjacent 152] in airflow communication with the annular cooling passage at a second location between the CP inlet and the CP outlet. (9) wherein the second BC inlet 130a is co-located with the heat exchanger [close to 152] or located downstream 130A of the heat exchanger 152 and upstream of the CP outlet 130B. (14) wherein the CP inlet 128 is in airflow communication with the working gas flowpath 64, 66. (16) wherein the bleed cooling system further includes a valve 150 in airflow communication with the duct assembly to modulate an amount of airflow through the duct assembly of the bleed cooling system. (19) wherein the turbomachine defines an under-cowl area 122, wherein the duct assembly further comprises an axial duct 122 in airflow communication with the plurality of radial ducts, wherein the axial duct 122 extends to the under-cowl area. Rambo further teaches (17) … wherein the valve is a variable throughput valve 150. Rambo does not clearly teach a controller that is operably coupled to the variable throughput valve. Simpson et al teach a controller 500 that is operably coupled to the variable throughput valve 112, 114 that is used for cooling air 104, 106 and controls the output thereof [¶ 0026]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a controller that is operably coupled to the variable throughput valve, as taught by Simpson et al, in order to control the output of the to the variable throughput valve(s).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 21 are 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.
Claim 18 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. This is contingent on the narrower construction of claim 18 being made explicitly clear.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s amendments require a new construction of Rambo with either Klees (4294068) or Hoover et al (20100126182)
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TED KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-4829. The Examiner can be reached on regular business hours before 5:00 pm, Monday to Thursday and every other Friday.
The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer, can be reached at 571-272-7118 Alternate inquiries to Technology Center 3700 can be made via 571-272-3700.
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/Ted Kim/
Telephone
571-272-4829
Primary Examiner
Fax
571-273-8300
August 21, 2026
1 Note that “the” is missing as it references the features of claim 1.
Prosecution Insights