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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08/20/2025 and 10/22/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment to Claim 16 is supported by at least Figure 5.
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.
Claims 16-18, 20-21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eriksen (US20110211955A1) in view of Spruce (US20180173215A1), further in view of Frank (EP3014117B1 – See English translation for text citations) and Tomida (US20160133488A1).
Claim 16
Eriksen teaches a method for extracting a component from a nacelle of a wind turbine (Figure 3 shows a system for removing a component from a nacelle (3). ¶0010 teaches the invention pertains to moving heavy components within a housing (interpreted as the nacelle).), the method comprising: configuring a guide system with a first guide part (11) within the nacelle (3) and a second guide part (16) extending through an opening (13) in the nacelle (3) and beyond a first end of the nacelle (See Figure 3): connecting the component to a cart (Figure 2 shows an example of a component (15) being connected to the cart (12). Item 12 of Eriksen is described in the specification as a “means for lifting and/or transporting”. The “transporting” part of this means is interpreted as the analogous cart.) and moving the cart along the first guide part (¶0030 teaches that the component (15) is moved along the rail system by the means for lifting and/or transporting.); and subsequently moving the cart along the second guide part to position the transformer outside of the nacelle. (Figure 3 shows the rail system extends outside the wind turbine. ¶0030 teaches that the component (15) is moved along the rail system by the means for lifting and/or transporting.)
Eriksen does not explicitly disclose that the component is a transformer. Eriksen does disclose the lifting of heavy components using the system (¶0012) and that there is a portion that holds a generator portion of the wind turbine assembly (¶0027).
However, Spruce teaches the replacement of a transformer as part of the maintenance schedule for a wind turbine. (¶0026 teaches the transformer is replaced according to a schedule. ¶0100 or ¶0181 teaches the replacement of a transformer.)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to apply the known transformer replacement technique of Spruce to the wind turbine maintenance method of Eriksen in order to replace a major component (¶0181 of Spruce) in order to prolong the overall service life of the turbine.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed, to apply the known known transformer replacement technique of Spruce to the wind turbine maintenance method of Eriksen because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to apply a known technique to a known method/apparatus to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(D).
The predictable result is Eriksen will use its lifting and moving technique on a transformer.
Eriksen in view of Spruce does not explicitly disclose the guide system having one or more locking elements, the one or more locking elements having an unlocked configuration and a locked configuration; the one or more locking elements connected to the cart; configuring the one or more locking elements in the unlocked configuration allow movement of the cart along the first guide part; and configuring the one or more locking elements in the locked configuration by connecting the one or more locking elements to a longitudinal rail of the guide system in addition to the cart, thereby preventing the cart from moving along the longitudinal rail.
However, Frank teaches the guide system having one or more locking elements (Figure 4 teaches locking elements (54) that are connected to the carriage (5).), the one or more locking elements having an unlocked configuration and a locked configuration (¶0037 teaches the locking (fixing) device holds the guide carriages immovably on the rail. This is the locked configuration. ¶0038 teaches the locking device is released and allows the movement of the guide carriage. This is the unlocked configuration.); the one or more locking elements connected to the cart (Figure 4 shows the locking elements (54) are connected to the carriage (5). The carriage is an analogous cart.); configuring the one or more locking elements in the unlocked configuration allow movement of the cart along the first guide part (¶0038 teaches the locking device is released and allows the movement of the guide carriage. This is the unlocked configuration. Figure 1 shows the guide carriage (5) moves along a rail (1).); and configuring the one or more locking elements in the locked configuration by connecting the one or more locking elements to a longitudinal rail of the guide system in addition to the cart, thereby preventing the cart from moving along the longitudinal rail. (¶0037 teaches the locking (fixing) device holes the guide carriages immovably on the rail. This is the locked configuration. ¶0031 teaches that the locking device fixes the carriage to the rail, and Figure 4 shows the locking device (54) is connected to the rail (1).)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine the locking elements of Frank to the guide carriage/cart of Eriksen in view of Spruce in order to lock the carriage in position when loading and unloading the load (Frank ¶0031, ¶0037, ¶0038) and also to fix the carriage to the rail (Frank ¶0031).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed, to combine the known locking elements of Frank to the guide carriage/cart of Eriksen in view of Spruce because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to combine prior art structures according to known methods to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Eriksen in view of Spruce and Frank does not explicitly disclose connecting the transformer to a cart via one or more silent blocks, the one or more silent blocks configured to absorb vibrations and damp energy transmitted through the one or more silent blocks.
However, Tomida (Figure 3) teaches connecting a load (6) to a cart (transport portion, 16) via one or more silent blocks (The analogous structure(s) in Tomida that can be interpreted as “silent blocks” as claimed are either: the entire support mechanism (23) that is an intermediate structure between the cart (16) and the load (6) and has damper elements (36); or each of the damper elements (36) that are part of the connection between the load (6) and cart (16).), the one or more silent blocks configured to absorb vibrations and damp energy transmitted through the one or more silent blocks. (¶0037 and ¶0048 teach the damper elements reduce vibrations transmitted to the article support portions.)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to apply the intermediate damper element technique of Tomida to the means for lifting and transporting device in Eriksen in order to add an element that reduces vibrations transmitted to the load during movement of the cart and/or hoisting of the load. (See ¶0048 of Tomida)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed to apply the known intermediate damper element technique of Tomida to the means for lifting and transporting device in Eriksen because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to apply a known technique to a known method/apparatus to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(D).
The predictable result is that the means for lifting and transporting in Eriksen will have an intermediate structure of a damper element in between the load and the means.
Claim 17
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein connecting the transformer to the cart comprises suspending the transformer from the cart. (Eriksen Figure 2 shows the component (15) is suspended (hanging below) the cart (12).)
Claim 18
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the first end of the nacelle is a rear end of the nacelle. (Eriksen Figure 3 shows the opening (13) is located at the rear end of the nacelle (3).)
Claim 20
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the guide system is a telescopic guide system (Eriksen, ¶0035 teaches the system is a telescopic system.), the method comprising moving the
Claim 21
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, further comprising attaching the second guide part to the first guide part. (Eriksen Figure 3 shows the second guide part (16) is attached to the first (11).)
Claim 23
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the guide system includes a hoist, and wherein the method further comprises lifting the transformer off a floor of the nacelle to the cart with the hoist. (Eriksen, ¶0021 teaches the means for lifting and/or transporting can include a hoist. Figure 2 shows the component being held by the means (12) up off of the floor of the nacelle, and up against the cart (12). It is asserted that the means (12) of Eriksen includes both a cart (12) that moves along the rails, and a hoist as described in ¶0021.)
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eriksen (US20110211955A1) in view of Spruce (US20180173215A1), Frank (EP3014117B1) and Tomida (US20160133488A1), as applied in Claim 16, further in view of Fujioka (EP2871357B1).
Claim 19
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the component is moved out of the nacelle. (Eriksen Figures 2-3)
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida does not disclose moving elements within the nacelle out of a trajectory of the transformer along the first guide part within the nacelle.
However, Fujioka teaches when moving components out of a nacelle using a lifting device, to move components out of the trajectory of the desired component. (¶0061 teaches that when another component is in the way of the intended component to be removed (in this case the hydraulic motor is being moved), to first move the obstructing component.)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to use the known technique of clearing any obstructions from Fujioka to the component movement method of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida in order to eliminate obstacles from the path and perform the movement of the desired component efficiently (See Fujioka ¶0061)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed, to apply the known technique of clearing any obstructions from Fujioka to the component movement method of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to apply a known technique to a known method/apparatus to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(D).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eriksen (US20110211955A1) in view of Spruce (US20180173215A1), Frank (EP3014117B1) and Tomida (US20160133488A1), as applied in Claim 21, further in view of Cingolani (US20200182223A1).
Claim 22
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 21, comprising attaching the second guide part to the first guide part. (Eriksen Figure 3 shows the second guide part (16) is attached to the first (11).)
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida does not disclose how the second guide part is placed into position. As such, Eriksen does not disclose hoisting the second guide part to the nacelle with a crane.
However, Cingolani teaches a rail system (6, 13, 14) that are used to move a component within a nacelle (¶0007-0009). The rail modules are moved into position using a crane (onboard crane, 8) from the ground and into the nacelle (See Figure 1-2 and ¶0074)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to apply the known crane lifting technique of Cingolani to the second guide part arrangement method of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida in order to pass the rail module through a normal service hatch during installation and move the rail into position inside the nacelle. (Cingolani ¶0023) This also means that the rail parts can be removed via a crane after the movement of the component is completed, thereby saving space within the nacelle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed, to apply the known crane lifting technique of Cingolani to the second guide part arrangement method of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to apply a known technique to a known method/apparatus to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(D).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eriksen (US20110211955A1) in view of Spruce (US20180173215A1), Frank (EP3014117B1) and Tomida (US20160133488A1), as applied in Claim 16, further in view of Bitsch (US20140017047A1).
Claim 24
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the component is moved outside the nacelle (Eriksen, Figure 3 teaches the rail (16) that the cart (12) moves along extends outside of the nacelle.) and that an additional crane can be attached to the rail system (¶0036).
Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida does not explicitly disclose lifting the transformer with a crane after moving the transformer outside of the nacelle, the crane attached to the second guide part.
However, Bitsch teaches the lifting the component up with a crane (Figure 2 teaches a second drive arrangement (11) that is part of a crane (¶0078) and is used to lover the component (7) between the nacelle and the ground (¶0078).) after moving the component to the end of the rail system (Figure 2 shows the crane (11) is located at one end of the rail system.), the crane attached to the second guide part. (Figure 2 shows the crane (11) is attached to the nacelle, similar to the disclosure in Eriksen Figure 4, Item 18. Eriksen states that this crane (18) is attached to the rail system in ¶0036. Alternatively, the crane in Bitsch is attached the nacelle and the rail system is also connected to the nacelle. Therefore, the crane is connected to the rail system.)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to apply the known second drive component technique of Bitsch to the system of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida in order to facilitate that movement of components by allowing the first drive component to pick up another component while the second drive component moves the first component to the ground level (Bitsch ¶0014) The use of separate drive arrangements allows each one to be optimized for its specific duty (Bitsch ¶0015)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was effectively filed, to apply the known second drive component technique of Bitsch to the system of Eriksen in view of Spruce, Frank and Tomida because it has been held to be prima facie obvious to apply a known technique to a known method/apparatus to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(D).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks, filed 07/02/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC 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 using Tomida (US20160133488A1) to teach the newly added limitation regarding silent block(s).
Eriksen, Spruce and Frank do not teach a silent block as amended in Claim 16.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found on the PTO-892 Notice of References Cited Form.
Document
Date
Description of Relevant Subject Matter
US20160133488A1
2015-11-10
Figure 1 teaches a ceiling transport vehicle (1) that has a support section (23) between the article (6) being carried and the carriage, or travel portion (16). Figure 3 shows the support section (23) in detail, where damper elements (36) made from elastically deformable material (¶0029) and are used to reduce vibration that occurs during travel of the travel portion (16) that is transmitted to the article (6) (¶0036).
US20190241406A1
2017-09-21
Kobayashi teaches (Figures 1-2) a load carrying cart (3) that includes an intermediate structure (10) including silent blocks (shock-absorbing mechanisms (50)) that are configured to absorb vibrations (¶0031-0032).
US20170129748A1
2016-11-04
Patel teaches (Figures 1-3) a load carrying cart (40) that includes an intermediate structure (38) comprising silent blocks (shocks, 116) that are configured to absorb vibrations (inherent property of a spring).
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/MICHAEL W HOTCHKISS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726