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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/17/2025 has been entered.
Notice to Applicant
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 11-19 have been examined in this application. This communication is a non-final rejection in response to the “Amendments to the claims” and “Remarks” filed 12/17/2025.
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, 4, 6, 11-19 are rejected under 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Number 2019/0211695 by Propheter-Hinckley.
Regarding claim 1, Propheter-Hinckley discloses an airfoil (airfoil 92) comprising:
A wall (sidewall 102) that defines a leading edge (leading edge 98) and a trailing edge (trailing edge 100);
One or more cavities located within the wall (200A and 200B in Figure 5); and
A rib; where at least two cavities are separated by the rib (walls 134 in Figure 4); wherein the rib or the wall comprises two or more neighboring split plies (Figure 4 shows wall 134 comprising a top section above impingement passage 132 and a bottom section below impingement passage 132 which comprise neighboring plies), each of which comprises a consolidated section and one or more split sections; wherein the split sections emanate from the consolidated section (Figure 4 shows the top section of wall 134 having a consolidated section at the wall and a split section at the top); and where the split sections define the wall and the cavities of the airfoil (the split sections of wall 134 define cavities 114); and where a split in one ply is opposedly oriented to a split in a neighboring ply (the top section splits at the top of the airfoil and the bottom section splits at the bottom of the airfoil).
Propheter-Hinckley does not disclose the consolidated section comprises 10 or more plies. However, paragraph 45 discloses “The ceramic material 202 may include multiple layers of two-dimensional weave of the ceramic fibers 204”. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ceramic material 202 out of however many layers is needed to provide the desired strength and material properties.
Propheter-Hinckley does not explicitly disclose each split section comprises a 10:90 to 90:10 split ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section. However, Figure 5 shows the layers of each split section being approximately equal in size, and it would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section equal in order to provide the same structural strength in the material in front of and behind the internal wall 134.
Regarding claims 2 (dependent on claim 1), 18 (dependent on claim 15), Propheter-Hinckley discloses the two or more ply sections emanating from one end of the consolidated section. Annotated Figure 5 shows the two or more ply sections emanating from the top end of the consolidated section.
Regarding claim 4 (dependent on claim 1), Propheter-Hinckley discloses the rib or the wall further comprising a plurality of non-split plies. Figure 4 shows wall 102 comprising a plurality of non-split plies around the innermost split plies.
Regarding claim 11 (dependent on claim 1), Propheter-Hinckley, as best understood, does not disclose the first ply section in the wall being located at the trailing edge of the airfoil. However, would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to place splits wherever in the wall in order to form the interior chambers of the airfoil, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claims 12 (dependent on claim 1) and 13 (dependent on claim 1), Propheter-Hinckley does not disclose the consolidated section comprises 50 or more plies or 100 or more plies. However, paragraph 45 discloses “The ceramic material 202 may include multiple layers of two-dimensional weave of the ceramic fibers 204”. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ceramic material 202 out of however many layers is needed to provide the desired strength and material properties.
Regarding claim 14 (dependent on claim 1), Propheter-Hinckley does not disclose each ply section comprising a 40:60 to 60:40 split ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section. However, Figure 5 shows the layers of each split section being approximately equal in size, and it would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section equal in order to provide the same structural strength in the material in front of and behind the internal wall 134.
Regarding claim 15, Propheter-Hinckley discloses a method of manufacturing an airfoil comprising:
Winding on a plurality of mandrels a plurality of plies to form a preform (Figure 6 shows the method of forming the walls, with the hollow member of step 306 comprising the mandrels and the ceramic material of step 308 comprising the plies to form a preform); wherein the preform comprises a first split ply and a neighboring second split ply (Figure 4 shows wall 134 comprising a top section above impingement passage 132 and a bottom section below impingement passage 132 which comprise neighboring plies); where the first split ply and the second split ply each comprises a consolidated section and a split section; where the consolidated section is located at a rib or a wall of the airfoil (Figure 4 shows the top section of wall 134 having a consolidated section at the wall and a split section at the top) and where the split sections define the wall and a cavity in an airfoil (the split sections of wall 134 define cavities 114); and where a split in the first split ply is opposedly oriented to a split in the neighboring second split ply (the top section splits at the top of the airfoil and the bottom section splits at the bottom of the airfoil); and where a non-split ply is disposed between the first split ply and the neighboring second split ply (a middle section of wall 134 where the layers are not split can be considered a non-split ply);
Subjecting the preform to chemical vapor infiltration, melt infiltration, or a combination thereof (paragraph 54 discloses “forming the CMC component from the ceramic material 202 may include chemical vapor infiltrating the ceramic material 202 instead of melt infiltrating”); and
Cooling the preform to form an airfoil (the airfoil inherently cools after the curing).
Propheter-Hinckley does not disclose the consolidated section comprises 10 or more plies. However, paragraph 45 discloses “The ceramic material 202 may include multiple layers of two-dimensional weave of the ceramic fibers 204”. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ceramic material 202 out of however many layers is needed to provide the desired strength and material properties.
Propheter-Hinckley does not explicitly disclose each split section comprises a 10:90 to 90:10 split ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section. However, Figure 5 shows the layers of each split section being approximately equal in size, and it would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the ratio between plies that emanate from the consolidated section equal in order to provide the same structural strength in the material in front of and behind the internal wall 134.
Regarding claim 16 (dependent on claim 15)¸ Propheter-Hinckley does not disclose a chemical vapor in the chemical vapor infiltration process comprising SiC, Al2O3, BN, B4C, Si3N4, MoSi2, SiO2, SiOC, SiNC, and/or SiONC. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use whatever type of chemical vapor was needed to produce the desired vapor infiltration process, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See also Ballas Liquidating Co. v. Allied industries of Kansas, Inc. (DC Kans) 205 USPQ 331.
Regarding claim 17 (dependent on claim 15), Propheter-Hinckley discloses the plurality of plies comprising silicon carbide fibers. Paragraph 45 discloses “Examples of the ceramic fibers 204 may include fibers of alumina, mullite, silicon carbide”.
Regarding claim 19 (dependent on claim 15), Propheter-Hinckley discloses the cavity further comprises two or more cavities separated by the rib (200A and 200B are separated by the rib in Figure 5).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the argument that Propheter-Hinckley does not teach a rib between passage that includes split plies and oriented in opposite directions, the wall between cavities 114 in Figure 4 and between cavities 200A and 200B comprises a rib, this wall comprises consolidated sections, and Figures 4 and 5 shows the layers of the wall splitting to form cavities, which comprises split sections. Furthermore, “neighboring” is merely defined as “next to or near each other”, and the different wall sections shown in Figures 4 and 5 of Propheter-Hinckley are next to or near each other and are therefore neighboring.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL H WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6554. The examiner can normally be reached 10-6:30.
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MICHAEL H. WANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3642
/MICHAEL H WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642