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 Objections
Claim(s) 6, 8 and 12 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6, line 1, recites “RMP error to torque proportional derivative module configured to…” but should recite – RPM error to torque proportional derivative module configured to… –; Claim 12 is objected to for similar reasoning.
Claim 6, lines 2-3, recites “RMP difference value” but should recite – RPM difference value –; Claim 12 is objected to for similar reasoning.
Claim 8, line 11, recites “generate to a motor torque command” but should recite – generate a motor torque command –
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “propulsion assembly configured to…” in claim 1, 5, 8 and 11, “lead/lag filter configured to…” in claim 3 and 9, “torque to collective blade pitch lead module receives…” in claim 4 and 10 and “rmp error to torque proportional derivative module configured to…” in claims 6 and 12.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/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 1, lines 8-9, recites “determine a configuration of the propulsion assembly to cause the command to be executed”. It is unclear to the Examiner what “configuration” is referring to in the claims. In other words, configuration could be referring to modes (i.e., operating states such as takeoff, cruise and descent) of the propulsion assembly, it could be referring to particular settings of the electric motor and blades (i.e., torque, RPM and etc.), or it could be referring to a particular arrangement or positioning including blade pitch. The claim does not specify which operational parameters or states constitute the configuration, nor which parameters must be determined (i.e., none of the parameters are tied to the term). The specification does not provide additional details as to what constitutes a configuration. Therefore, claim 1 is indefinite. Claims 8 and 14 are rejected for similar reasoning. For purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets configuration to be a commanded torque or blade pitch. Claims 2-7, 9-13 and 15-20 are rejected as being dependent upon a rejected claim.
Claim 2, line 1, recites “further comprising a lead/lag filter”. Claim 1, lines 1-2, recites “An aircraft comprising:…” and “a propulsion assembly comprising:…”. It is unclear to the Examiner whether the lead/lag filter is supposed to be part of the aircraft or part of the propulsion assembly. In other words, it is unclear what is further comprising a lead/lag filter, it can be the aircraft or the propulsion assembly. Therefore, claim 2 is indefinite. Claims 6-7 are rejected for similar reasoning. For purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets the lead/lag filter to be part of the aircraft. Claim 3 is rejected as being dependent upon a rejected claim.
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 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) 1, 4-8, 10-14 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang et al. (US 20230026233 A1) in view of de Magalhães (US 20210276693 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8 and 14, Kang teaches an aircraft comprising: a propulsion assembly comprising: an electric motor (¶[0029] “motors”); and a propeller having blades with a variable pitch and blade actuators (¶[0033] “plurality of propellers” “angle adjustment”); and a flight controller (¶[0027] “automatic controller”) configured to: receive a command associated with the aircraft (¶[0008] “command”); determine a configuration of the propulsion assembly to cause the command to be executed (¶[0027] “generating a collective pitch angle command upon receiving a thrust control command”); create a torque command (¶[0027]-[0028] “thrust control command”, i.e., thrust generates and/or is the reactive effect of torque) and a revolutions per minute (RPM) command associated with the configuration (¶[0027]-[0028] “electronic speed control (ESC) command for compensating for a revolution per minute (RPM) error”); and communicate the torque command and the RPM command to the propulsion assembly (¶[0027]-[0028] “thrust control command”, i.e., thrust generates and/or is the reactive effect of torque, and “electronic speed control (ESC) command for compensating for a revolution per minute (RPM) error”; ¶[0018] “transmit command to ESC controller”).
Kang does not explicitly teach wherein the propulsion assembly is configured to: generate a motor torque command based on the torque command and the RPM command; generate a current command based on the motor torque command; create a blade pitch command based on the torque command and the RPM command; and communicate the blade pitch command to the blade actuators to control a pitch of the blade, wherein the current command and the blade pitch command cause the blades to rotate at a revolutions per minute (RPM) associated with the configuration. However, de Magalhães discloses a propeller governor for electric synchronous thrust and teaches wherein the propulsion assembly is configured to: generate a motor torque command based on the torque command and the RPM command (¶[0011] “current adjustment for an electric motor associated with a power command” and [0017] “current dependent on the rotational speed”); generate a current command based on the motor torque command (¶[0011] “current adjustment associated with a power command” and [0017] “current dependent on the rotational speed”); create a blade pitch command based on the torque command and the RPM command (¶[0011] “propeller pitch is controlled as a function of electric current” “current is associated with power command”; ¶[0009] “speed of rotation is controlled by the frequency of the alternator”, i.e., when current is adjusted based on power command, rotation speed increases and blade pitch is adjusted); and communicate the blade pitch command to the blade actuators to control a pitch of the blade ¶[0011] “propeller pitch is controlled as a function of electric current”, wherein the current command and the blade pitch command cause the blades to rotate at a revolutions per minute (RPM) associated with the configuration (¶[0009] “speed of rotation is controlled by the frequency of the alternator”, i.e., when current is adjusted based on power command, rotation speed increases and blade pitch is adjusted).
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 the system for controlling propeller and RPM of an aerial vehicle having multiple power devices of Kang to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, wherein the propulsion assembly is configured to: generate a motor torque command based on the torque command and the RPM command; generate a current command based on the motor torque command; create a blade pitch command based on the torque command and the RPM command; and communicate the blade pitch command to the blade actuators to control a pitch of the blade, wherein the current command and the blade pitch command cause the blades to rotate at a revolutions per minute (RPM) associated with the configuration, as taught by de Magalhães, to provide finding the propeller pitch which produces a desired setup electric current. (de Magalhães at ¶[0014])
Regarding claims 4, 10 and 17, Kang teaches the aircraft of claim 1, wherein a torque to collective blade pitch lead module receives the torque command and applies a correction based on a change of torque that the torque command will cause to the electric motor (¶[0027]-[0031] “collective pitch angle command generating unit 100 generating a collective pitch angle command upon receiving a thrust control command”).
Regarding claims 5, 11 and 18, Kang teaches the aircraft of claim 1, wherein the propulsion assembly is configured to subtract a determined current RPM measurement of the blades to create an RPM difference value (¶[0015] “a difference between the RPM of the RPM limiting signal generated by the rotation speed change rate limiting unit and the RPM of the information on the real-time RPM measured by the current rotation speed checking unit”).
Regarding the further limitation in claim 18, Kang teaches determining a current RM of the blades (¶[0015] “real-time RPM measured by the current rotation speed checking unit”).
Regarding claims 6, 12 and 19, Kang teaches the aircraft of claim 5, further comprising an RMP error to torque proportional derivative module configured to receive the RPM difference value and modify the RMP difference value to increase a bandwidth of the flight controller by adding an adjustment to the RPM difference value (¶[0036] “RPM compensation from a difference between an RPM limiting signal derived through the rotation speed change rate limiting unit 230 and the current RPM measured by the current rotation speed checking unit 220”).
Regarding claims 7, 13 and 20, Kang teaches the aircraft of claim 5, further comprising an RPM governor proportional integral derivative controller configured to receive the RPM difference value and apply proportional, integral, and derivative actions to the RPM difference value (¶[0036] and [0039]-[0040] “proportional-integral (PI) control of the RPM compensation ESC command generating unit”).
Regarding claim 16, Kang teaches the method of claim 14, further comprising determining a current RPM of the blades (¶[0015] “real-time RPM measured by the current rotation speed checking unit”), wherein the blade pitch command is based at least partially on the determined current RPM of the blades (abstract and ¶[0027] “generating the collective pitch angle command by the collective pitch angle command generating unit and the RPM compensation ESC command”).
Claim(s) 2-3, 9 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang et al. (US 20230026233 A1) in view of de Magalhães (US 20210276693 A1), as applied to claims 1, 8 and 14 above, and in further view of Cameron (US 20120078446 A1).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Kang and de Magalhães does not explicitly teach the aircraft of claim 1, further comprising a lead/lag filter. However, Cameron discloses filtering for a multi-rate controller for an electro-mechanical flight actuation system and teaches the aircraft of claim 1, further comprising a lead/lag filter (¶[0029] “lead-lag filter 204”).
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 the system for controlling propeller and RPM of an aerial vehicle having multiple power devices of Kang as modified by de Magalhães to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, further comprising a lead/lag filter, as taught by de Magalhães, to provide producing a feed forward rate command that reduces phase loss at low frequencies. (de Magalhães at ¶[0029])
Regarding claims 3, 9 and 15, the combination of Kang and de Magalhães does not explicitly teach the aircraft of claim 2, wherein the lead/lag filter is configured to receive the torque command and apply forward path shaping to a bandwidth and a crossover frequency of the torque command. However, Cameron discloses filtering for a multi-rate controller for an electro-mechanical flight actuation system and teaches the aircraft of claim 2, wherein the lead/lag filter is configured to receive the torque command and apply forward path shaping to a bandwidth and a crossover frequency of the torque command (abstract and ¶[0025] and [0029] “lead-lag filter for filtering the limited incremental command to attenuate high frequencies, and a feed forward path for reducing phase loss in rate output signal at low frequencies”).
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 the system for controlling propeller and RPM of an aerial vehicle having multiple power devices of Kang as modified by de Magalhães to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, wherein the lead/lag filter is configured to receive the torque command and apply forward path shaping to a bandwidth and a crossover frequency of the torque command, as taught by de Magalhães, to provide producing a feed forward rate command that reduces phase loss at low frequencies. (de Magalhães at ¶[0029])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kastiel (US 20240002078 A1) is pertinent because it is a rotorcraft including three rotor system arms each having a rotor system. Each rotor system includes a mast having at least two rotor blades and an electric rotor motor. A flight control system continuously controls the at least three electric rotor motors and the floating masts cyclic rotor blade pitch in response to a desired input maneuver and its mast tilt feedback signal.
Tao (US 11505314 B2) is pertinent because it is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with tiltable rotors.
Chahal et al. (US 11408357 B2) is pertinent because it is an engine and propeller control system.
Kunii et al. (US 20210001974 A1) is pertinent because it is an unmanned aerial vehicle that eliminates or minimizes the laboriousness involved in optimal pitch adjustment of propellers while eliminating or minimizing complexity and instability in airframe structure and/or flight programs.
Gillett (US 20200290733 A1) is pertinent because it is a system and method for rotorcraft autorotation entry assist.
Kaufman et al. (US 20190291856 A1) is pertinent because it relates to systems and methods for reducing propeller noise.
White et al. (US 20180231986 A1) is pertinent because it relates to an aircraft with speed or acceleration command.
Kobayashi et al. (US 20170190435 A1) is pertinent because it is a motorized aircraft that is controlled by a drive control means that rotationally drives a propulsion system propeller. The propulsion system propeller is driven by a plurality of electric motors.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Connor L Knight whose telephone number is (571)272-5817. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30AM-4:30PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anne Antonucci can be reached at (313)446-6519. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.L.K/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/ANNE MARIE ANTONUCCI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666