DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Internet/E-mail Communication
In order to permit communication regarding the instant application via email, Applicant is invited to file form PTO/SB/439 (Authorization for Internet Communications) or include the following statement in a separately filed document (see MPEP 502.03 II):
Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.
If such authorization is provided, please include an email address in the remarks of a filed response. The examiner’s e-mail address is CHRISTOPHER.LEGENDRE@USPTO.GOV.
Benefit Claim
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 121 as follows:
Applicant states that this application is a divisional application of the prior-filed application. A continuation or divisional application cannot include new matter. Applicant is required to delete the benefit claim or change the relationship (continuation or divisional application) to continuation-in-part because this application contains the following matter not disclosed in the prior-filed application:
- claim 1, due to reciting “the angular distribution reaches the maximum range of values at a location along the length of the vane closer to the leading edge than the trailing edge”;
-- claim 1, due to reciting “an angular distribution of the vanes increases along the length of the vane from a first value at the leading edge to a maximum range of values and thereafter remains within the maximum range of values, wherein the maximum range of values varies by less than 0.5 degrees… such that an angular distribution remains within the maximum range of values from the location to the trailing edge”;
- claim 15, due to reciting “the angular distribution of the vanes deviates from the maximum angular value by no more than 0.5 degrees between the location of the maximum angular value and the trailing edge of the vane”;
- claim 28, due to reciting “the angular distribution reaches the maximum range of values within 35% or less along the length of the vane from the leading edge”;
- par. [0034], due to reciting “The angular distribution may reach the maximum range of values within 35% or less along the length of the vane from the leading edge”;
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed 08 July 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of US 12,065,938 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded. The previous corresponding double patenting rejections are withdrawn.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant's remarks/arguments filed 06 July 2026 stating “the objection to the use of the 50% in the range is believed moot and withdrawal of this basis of the rejection of claim… is respectfully requested” have been fully considered. The Office respectfully notes that “closer to the leading edge than the trailing edge” amounts to a range that is not supported by the originally filed disclosure.
Applicant's remarks/arguments filed 06 July 2026 stating that claim 15 does not recite “the angular distribution reaches the maximum range of values with 50%...” have been fully considered and they are persuasive. Accordingly, the previous corresponding 35 U.S.C. 112 rejection(s) is/are withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, “such that an angular distribution remains within the maximum range of values from the location to the trailing edge” (starting at 3rd line from bottom) should be deleted (since it is duplicative of the antecedent limitation “an angular distribution… increases along the length of the vane from a first value at a leading edge to a maximum range of values and thereafter remains within the maximum range of values”, emphasis added).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-6, 13, and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for failing the written description requirement.
In claim 1, the limitation recited as “the angular distribution reaches the maximum range of values at a location along the length of the vane closer to the leading edge than the trailing edge” in combination with the antecedent limitation “an angular distribution of the vanes increases along the length of the vane from a first value at the leading edge to a maximum range of values and thereafter remains within the maximum range of values, wherein the maximum range of values varies by less than 0.5 degrees” was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that Applicant, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The originally filed disclosure does not provide implicit or explicit support for the combination of the claimed parameters having these values. The only possible support in the disclosure for these limitations is Table 2 and/or Table 8 - however, the instant limitations establish an envelope of values that extends beyond those disclosed in Table 2 and/or Table 8. For example, it can be shown:
- from analysis of Table 2, the maximum range of values corresponding with 0.5 degrees that would satisfy closer to the leading edge than the trailing edge spans the length from 41.666666666% (i.e., the location of the maximum value of angle) to approximately 32% (i.e., determined by interpolating between the points that bound the value resulting from the mathematical operation 1.20642288 - 0.5*pi/180) - accordingly, the range closer to the leading edge than the trailing edge, considered in the context of a “maximum range of values” of 0.5 degrees, includes values that are not in the range of 41.66666666% to approximately 32%;
- from analysis of Table 8, the angle values aft of the maximum value of 1.2418039 radians define a range that is greater than 0.5 degrees.
The above examples are not an exhaustive list of the incongruity - the originally filed disclosure does not support the envelope of values established by the claimed combination of ranges in various aspects and/or for other values of the claimed ranges.
Due to dependency, this rejection also applies to claim 2-6, 13, and 28.
Examiner’s Comment / Allowable Subject Matter
Although claims 1-6, 13, and 28 are not rejected over prior art, patentability cannot be determined in light of the 35 U.S.C. 112 issues described above.
Claims 7-11 and 15 are allowed.
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 extension fee 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 CHRISTOPHER RYAN LEGENDRE whose telephone is (571)270-3364 and email is christopher.legendre@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Eugene Kim can be reached at 571-272-4463. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER R LEGENDRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
