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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hines (US 5,376,827).
Regarding claim 22: Hines discloses a method, comprising:
positioning a gas inlet (area circled in annotated Fig. 1 below) of a rotor assembly of an electrical turbine generator (16, Fig. 1) to receive an exhaust gas stream (12) from a gas turbine engine (10), the electrical turbine generator having an electrical rotor assembly (40, 54A) coupled to the rotor assembly, and a stator assembly (48) electro-magnetically coupled with the electrical rotor assembly (Fig. 1).
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Regarding claim 23: Hines discloses mechanically coupling a housing of the electrical turbine generator (34) to an exhaust gas housing (housing of 10) of the gas turbine engine (as 34 and 10 are connected in Fig. 1).
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.
Claims 1-6, 10-21, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hines, in view of Delf (US 2009/0250933).
Regarding claim 1: Hines discloses an electrical turbine generator (Fig. 1) comprising:
a movable shaft (42);
a rotor assembly (40, 54A) comprising a plurality of blades (40) not configured to compress gas and a generator rotor (54A), the plurality of blades coupled to the generator rotor, the rotor assembly being supported by the movable shaft (Fig. 3);
a stator assembly (48) including a plurality of stator windings electro-magnetically coupled to the rotor assembly;
a housing (34, Fig. 1) supporting the rotor assembly and the stator assembly, the housing having an exhaust inlet opening and exhaust outlet opening (shown by arrows 12), the exhaust inlet opening and the exhaust outlet opening aligned with the blades of the rotor assembly (Fig. 1).
Hines does not explicitly disclose a power converter in communication with the stator windings to convert electrical energy induced in the stator windings into an output current having at least one of a steady frequency and a steady voltage.
However, Delf discloses a power converter (118, Fig. 1) in communication with the stator windings to convert electrical energy induced in the stator windings into an output current having at least one of a steady frequency and a steady voltage (paragraph 0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the generator Hines to include the power converter of Delf in order to control the power output (paragraph 0047).
Regarding claim 2: Hines discloses at least one bearing (64) disposed between the housing and the movable shaft (via 60), the at least one bearing supporting the movable shaft of the rotor assembly within the housing and isolating rotation of the movable shaft from the housing (as this is the purpose of a bearing).
Regarding claim 3: Hines discloses the electrical turbine generator further comprises a mechanical interface (circles annotated in Fig. 3 below) extending from the movable shaft, the mechanical interface operable to support the rotor assembly.
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Regarding claim 4: Hines discloses the rotor assembly and the stator assembly comprise one of a switch reluctance generator, an induction generator, and a permanent magnet generator (in this case, permanent magnet generator, see N and S magnets in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5: Hines discloses the rotor assembly further comprises a blade root mechanically coupling the plurality of turbine blades to the movable shaft (above circled areas in annotated Fig. 3), the blade root constructed of a solid, continuous material impermeable to the high-pressure and high-temperature gases (inherent to be located in that area of the engine).
Regarding claim 6: Hines discloses the plurality of blades of the rotor assembly are disposed longitudinally along the movable shaft (there are 3 rows of blades 40).
Regarding claim 10: Hines discloses an apparatus (Fig. 1), comprising:
a gas turbine engine (10) comprising:
a compressor section (18, 20) for compressing incoming air (30), the compressor section comprising a turbine shaft (connecting 18 to 26 and 20 to 24);
a combustion section (22) for receiving the compressed incoming air and igniting fuel and producing high-pressure and high-temperature gases (as this is inherent to combustion sections in turbine engines);
a turbine section (24, 26) having turbine blades supported by the turbine shaft, the turbine blades receiving the high-pressure and high-temperature gases so as to induce rotation to the turbine blades and the turbine shaft thereby extracting energy from the high-pressure and high-temperature gases and converting at least a portion of the high-pressure and high-temperature gases into rotational mechanical energy (as is inherent for turbine engines); and
an exhaust gas housing (housing at arrow 10) defining a turbine exhaust gas outlet downstream of the turbine section (shown by arrows 12); and
an electrical turbine generator (16, shown in detail in Fig. 3) comprising:
a movable shaft (42);
a rotor assembly (40, 54A) surrounding the movable shaft and comprising a plurality of blades (40) coupled to a generator rotor (54A), the rotor assembly being supported by the movable shaft (Fig. 3);
a stator assembly (48) including a plurality of stator windings (48) electro-magnetically coupled to the rotor assembly;
a housing (34, Fig. 1) supporting the rotor assembly and the stator assembly, the housing having an exhaust inlet opening (allowing 12 in) and exhaust outlet opening (shown by arrow 12 leaving 34 in Fig. 1), the exhaust inlet opening and the exhaust outlet opening aligned with the blades of the rotor assembly, the housing fluidly connecting the exhaust gas housing of the gas turbine engine to the exhaust inlet opening of the electrical turbine generator (as shown in Fig. 1).
Hines does not explicitly disclose a power converter in communication with the stator windings to convert electrical energy induced in the stator windings into an output current having at least one of a steady frequency and a steady voltage.
However, Delf discloses a power converter (118, Fig. 1) in communication with the stator windings to convert electrical energy induced in the stator windings into an output current having at least one of a steady frequency and a steady voltage (paragraph 0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the generator Hines to include the power converter of Delf in order to control the power output (paragraph 0047).
Regarding claim 11: Hines discloses the exhaust gas housing of the gas turbine engine is mechanically coupled to the housing of the electrical turbine generator (as they are connected in Fig. 1), but does not explicitly disclose the connection by one or more bolt.
However, Delf discloses a gas turbine engine housing (202) and generator housing connected by a bolt (203, paragraph 0036).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the housings of Hines to be connected by bolts, as disclosed by Delf, in order to ensure a secure, yet removeable, connection.
Regarding claim 12: Hines discloses the exhaust inlet is in fluid communication with the turbine exhaust gas outlet of the exhaust gas housing (shown by the arrows 12 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13: Hines discloses the turbine shaft and the movable shaft are not mechanically linked (as they are not linked in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14: Hines discloses the plurality of blades of the rotor assembly are operable to receive the high-pressure and high-temperature gases generated by the gas turbine engine and induce rotation in the movable shaft (shown by arrows 12 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 15: Hines discloses the electrical turbine generator further comprises at least one bearing (64) disposed between the housing and the movable shaft (via 60), the at least one bearing supporting the movable shaft within the housing and isolating rotation of the movable shaft from the housing (as this is the purpose of a bearing).
Regarding claim 16: Hines discloses the electrical turbine generator further comprises a mechanical interface (circles annotated in Fig. 3 above) extending from the movable shaft, the mechanical interface operable to support the rotor assembly.
Regarding claim 17: Hines discloses the rotor assembly and the stator assembly comprise one of a switch reluctance generator, an induction generator, and a permanent magnet generator (in this case, permanent magnet generator, see N and S magnets in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 18: Hines discloses the rotor assembly further comprises a blade root mechanically coupling the plurality of turbine blades to the movable shaft (above circled areas in annotated Fig. 3), the blade root constructed of a solid, continuous material impermeable to the high-pressure and high-temperature gases (inherent to be located in that area of the engine).
Regarding claim 19: Hines discloses the plurality of blades of the rotor assembly are disposed longitudinally along the movable shaft (there are 3 rows of blades 40).
Regarding claim 20: Hines discloses the turbine shaft and the movable shaft are axially aligned (along 28, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 21: Hines discloses the turbine shaft and the movable shaft rotate independently of each other (as they are not connected in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 24: Hines discloses a stator assembly but does not explicitly disclose connecting a power converter to one or more winding of the stator assembly, the power converter operable to convert an induced current received by the stator assembly into an output current having a predetermined format.
However, Delf discloses a power converter (118, Fig. 1) in communication with the stator windings to convert electrical energy induced in the stator windings into an output current having at least one of a steady frequency and a steady voltage (paragraph 0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the generator Hines to include the power converter of Delf in order to control the power output (paragraph 0047).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hines and Delf as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cho et al. (“Cho”; US 5,702,273).
Regarding claim 7: Hines discloses the generator rotor is provided with a first annular retainer (38, radially inward of the magnets), and a plurality of permanent magnets (N and S in Fig. 2), but does not explicitly disclose a second annular retainer and the permanent magnets positioned between the first annular retainer and the second annular retainer.
However, Cho discloses a second annular retainer (56, radially outward of magnets 64, along with inner retainer 91) and the permanent magnets (64) positioned between the first annular retainer and the second annular retainer (as shown in Fig. 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the rotor of Hines to include the second retainer of Cho in order to add support to the magnets.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hines, Delf, and Cho as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Wilsdorf (US 2008/0246365).
Regarding claim 8: Hines discloses a plurality of permanent magnets, but does not explicitly disclose the plurality of permanent magnets are in a Hallbach configuration.
However, Wilsdorf discloses the plurality of permanent magnets are in a Hallbach configuration (Fig. 1, paragraph 0038).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the magnets of Hines to be in a Hallbach configuration, as disclosed by Wilsdorf, in order to all for zones of strong magnet fields (paragraph 0038).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hines, Delf, and Cho as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Simonetti et al. (“Simonetti”; US 2022/0228505).
Regarding claim 9: Hines discloses the plurality of permanent magnets, but does not explicitly disclose the plurality of permanent magnets are constructed of samarium-cobalt.
However, Simonetti discloses the plurality of permanent magnets are constructed of samarium-cobalt (paragraph 0041).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the permanent magnets of Hines to be samarium-cobalt, as disclosed by Simonetti, in order to utilize a strong permanent magnet.
Conclusion
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/SEAN GUGGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834