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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission of a response was received on 12 November 2025. Presently, claims 1-5 and 7-19 are pending. Claims 1, 2, 7-9, 13-15, and 18 are under consideration.
The previous objections to the specification, drawings, and/or claims are withdrawn as moot in light of corrections made by Applicant.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the previous 102 and 103 rejections have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Interpretation
No claim limitations are interpreted under 112(f).
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, 2, 7-9, 14, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Filipencio (US 2018/0291753) in view of Gilson (US 2016/0090909).
Regarding claim 1, Filipencio discloses:
A fan exit guide vane (¶36 the structure is capable of use at other stages in the fan section, but is illustrated as a fan inlet guide vane) comprising:
a leading edge (46B, see Fig 3, ¶35) and a trailing edge (46C) opposite chordwise from the leading edge; a radially inner attachment region (adjacent 36) opposite spanwise from a radially outer attachment region (adjacent 34); a span dimension extending between the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region (see Fig 3); a chord dimension extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge (see Fig 3, ¶35); a pressure side (concave side of 46 in Fig 4) opposite a suction side (convex side of 46 in Fig 4) of the fan exit guide vane;
a load member cavity (bore 46D, ¶39) formed within the fan exit guide vane extending spanwise through the fan exit guide vane from the radially inner attachment region to the radially outer attachment region (see length of spoke 48 accommodated 46D in Fig 3); and
a load member (spoke 48, ¶38) extending through the load member cavity beyond each of the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region of the fan exit guide vane (extends to the far side of 36 and 34);
Filipencio does not disclose:
an acoustic treatment cavity formed within the pressure side between the leading edge and trailing edge, the acoustic treatment cavity occupying a predetermined volume of the fan exit guide vane; and
acoustic treatment disposed within the acoustic treatment cavity and the acoustic treatment configured to dampen sound waves that contact a surface of the acoustic treatment on the pressure side.
Gilson teaches:
a fan guide vane having a fan noise reduction feature to reduce engine noise from a gas turbine engine (¶2-¶8), comprising:
an acoustic treatment cavity (100, see Fig 3A, ¶51) formed within the pressure side (¶51, see Fig 3A) between the leading edge and trailing edge, the acoustic treatment cavity occupying a predetermined volume of the fan exit guide vane (see Fig 3A); and
acoustic treatment (¶51 “acoustic feature” with an acoustic liner given as an example) disposed within the acoustic treatment cavity and the acoustic treatment configured to dampen sound waves that contact a surface of the acoustic treatment on the pressure side (via the perforated face sheet 102).
COMBINATION
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 guide vane of Filipencio by incorporating an acoustic liner on the pressure side of the vane, as taught by Gilson, to reduce the engine noise. This would be particularly advantageous when the vane of Filipencio is used downstream of a fan, which Filipencio suggests in ¶36.
Regarding claim 2, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson teaches:
the load member (Filipencio 48) is configured to support a load path in tension (Filipencio: ¶21, ¶40, ¶47) along the span dimension of the fan exit guide vane between the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region.
Regarding claim 7, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson teaches:
the load member comprises a cross-section design selected from the group consisting of circular (see Filipencio Fig 4, element 48), oval, square, rectangular, semi-circle, semi-oval, triangular, pentagonal, polygonal, diamond, I-beam, crescent, and H-beam.
Regarding claim 8, Filipencio modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson, as described above with reference to claim 1 and for the same reasons, teaches:
A gas turbine engine (with continued reference to Filipencio, except as noted: 10, ¶30) with a fan exit guide vane (46, ¶35) with a load member (48, ¶38) comprising:
a fan (of fan section 12, ¶30-¶32) located within a fan duct (34, ¶32);
an array of fan exit guide vanes (46 at cross-section 3-3 in Fig 1) supported within the fan duct downstream from the fan (¶36: “Although the guide vane assembly 40 is primarily discussed relative to an IGV assembly, the guide vane assembly 40 can also be utilized at other stages in the fan”), the array of fan exit guide vanes span across the fan duct attached to a radially inner surface of the fan duct and a radially outer surface of the fan duct (via spoke 48, ¶39, ¶40);
each of the fan exit guide vanes comprising a leading edge (46B, see Fig 3, ¶35) and a trailing edge (46C) opposite chordwise from the leading edge; a radially inner attachment region (adjacent 36) opposite spanwise from a radially outer attachment region (adjacent 34), the radially inner attachment region in operative communication with the radially inner surface of the fan duct (in abutment with 36, and attached by 38, see Fig 3 and ¶39), the radially outer attachment region in operative communication with the radially outer surface of the fan duct (in abutment with 34 and attached by 48, see Fig 3 and ¶40); a span dimension extending between the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region;
a chord dimension extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge (see Fig 3, ¶35); a pressure side (concave side of 46 in Fig 4) opposite a suction side (convex side of 46 in Fig 4) of the fan exit guide vane;
a load member cavity (bore 46D, ¶39) formed within at least one fan exit guide vane in the array, the load member cavity extending spanwise through the at least one fan exit guide vane from the radially inner attachment region to the radially outer attachment region (see length of spoke 48 accommodated 46D in Fig 3); and
the load member (48) extending through the load member cavity beyond each of the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region of the at least one fan exit guide vane (see Fig 3); the load member in operative communication with the radially inner surface of the fan duct and the radially outer surface of the fan duct (¶39, ¶40);
an acoustic treatment cavity (Gilson: 100, see Fig 3A, ¶51) formed on the pressure side (Gilson: ¶51, see Fig 3A) between the leading edge and trailing edge, the acoustic treatment cavity occupying a predetermined volume of the fan exit guide vane (Gilson: see Fig 3A); and
acoustic treatment (Gilson: ¶51 “acoustic feature” with an acoustic liner given as an example) disposed within the acoustic treatment cavity and the acoustic treatment configured to dampen sound waves that contact a surface of the acoustic treatment on the pressure side (Gilson: via the perforated face sheet 102).
Regarding claim 9, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson teaches:
the load member (Filipencio 48) is configured to support a load path in tension (Filipencio: ¶21, ¶40, ¶47) along the span dimension of the fan exit guide vane between the radially inner surface and the radially outer surface of the fan duct.
Regarding claim 14, Filipencio modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson, as described above with reference to claim 1 and for the same reasons, teaches:
A process for supporting a structural load path in a gas turbine engine with a fan exit guide vane having a load member comprising:
locating a fan (with continued reference to Filipencio, except as noted: of fan section 12, ¶30-¶32) within a fan duct (34, ¶32);
supporting an array of fan exit guide vanes (46 at cross-section 3-3 in Fig 1) within the fan duct downstream from the fan (¶36: “Although the guide vane assembly 40 is primarily discussed relative to an IGV assembly, the guide vane assembly 40 can also be utilized at other stages in the fan”);
attaching the array of fan exit guide vanes spanned across the fan duct to a radially inner surface of the fan duct (¶39) and a radially outer surface of the fan duct (¶40);
each of the fan exit guide vanes comprising a leading edge (46B, see Fig 3, ¶35) and a trailing edge (46C) opposite chordwise from the leading edge; a radially inner attachment region (46 adjacent 36) opposite spanwise from a radially outer attachment region (46 adjacent 34);
coupling the radially inner attachment region in operative communication with the radially inner surface of the fan duct (via 48, ¶39);
coupling the radially outer attachment region in operative communication with the radially outer surface of the fan duct (via 48, ¶40);
a span dimension extending between the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region;
a chord dimension extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge; a pressure side (concave side of 46 in Fig 4) opposite a suction side (convex side of 46 in Fig 4) of the fan exit guide vane;
forming a load member cavity (bore 46D, ¶39) within at least one fan exit guide vane in the array;
extending the load member cavity spanwise through the at least one fan exit guide vane from the radially inner attachment region to the radially outer attachment region (see Fig 4);
extending the load member (48) through the load member cavity (46D) beyond each of the radially inner attachment region and the radially outer attachment region of the at least one fan exit guide vane (see Fig 3); and
coupling the load member in operative communication with the radially inner surface and the radially outer surface (¶39, ¶40);
forming an acoustic treatment cavity (Gilson: 100, see Fig 3A, ¶51) within the pressure side (Gilson: ¶51, see Fig 3A) between the leading edge and trailing edge, the acoustic treatment cavity occupying a predetermined volume of the fan exit guide vane (Gilson: see Fig 3A); and
disposing acoustic treatment (Gilson: ¶51 “acoustic feature” with an acoustic liner given as an example) within the acoustic treatment cavity, and exposing the acoustic treatment to sound waves to dampen sound waves that contact a surface of the acoustic treatment on the pressure side (this step arises from operating the engine, because the fan will make noise as evidenced by Gilson ¶6-¶8).
Regarding claim 15, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson teaches:
configuring the load member (Filipencio: 48) to support a load path in tension (Filipencio: ¶21, ¶40, ¶47) along the span dimension of the at least one fan exit guide vane between the radially inner surface and the radially outer surface of the fan duct.
Regarding claim 18, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson teaches:
inserting the load member within the array of fan exit guide vanes with at least one of a symmetrically aligned circular pattern (Filipencio: see Fig 2) and an asymmetrically aligned circular pattern (potentially with ¶39).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Filipencio (US 2018/0291753) in view of Gilson (US 2016/0090909) and Mickelson (US 2016/0108757).
Regarding claim 13, Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson does not explicitly teach:
the load member cavity is sized in the absence of contact between the load member and the load member cavity through the fan exit guide vane.
Fig 4 of Filipencio suggests a gap between spoke 48 and vane 46, but it is not discussed.
Mickelson teaches:
“an integrated turbofan engine outer flowpath ducting and front frame system that decouples the fairing/aerodynamic duties from the struts/weight bearing duties thereby enabling efficient distribution of mechanical load” (¶39). The decoupling is exemplified by the absence of contact between the strut and the hollow fairing, as shown in Fig 7.
COMBINATION
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 vane of Filipencio as modified by the acoustic liner of Gilson by sizing the cavity to avoid contact between the load member and the cavity, as taught by Mickelson to decouple, i.e. prevent force transfer between the load member and the vane.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 TOPAZ L ELLIOTT whose telephone number is (571)270-5851. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached on (571) 270-5569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TOPAZ L. ELLIOTT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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