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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 06/23/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 16-22 are examined. Claims 27-29 are withdrawn. Claims 1-15, 23-26, and 30 are canceled.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancellation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Claim Objections
Claim 22 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 22, line 3, change: “between the chamfered tip end and the chamfered root end…”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 16-22 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The term "extending substantially in the spanwise direction" in claim 1 (lines 9 and 12) is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "extending substantially" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, nor is it a term of art, and therefore the claim does not apprise one of ordinary skill in the art of its scope. It is unclear of the extent or degree of departure from extending in the spanwise direction that can be considered as “substantially” extending since a definition of “substantially” pertaining to “extending in the spanwise direction” is not provided by the specification. Therein, the metes and bounds of the claim cannot be determined, which renders the claim indefinite.
Dependent claims are also rejected due to their dependency of a rejected independent claim.
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 16-19 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Christiansen et al. (US 2020/0025178 A1), Wang et al. (US 2014/0234600 A1), and Bjornhov et al. (US 2013/0130583 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Christiansen et al. discloses a wind turbine blade (5) with a lightning protection system ([0069]), comprising:
a pressure side and a suction side (i.e., top and bottom sides shown in Fig. 3 of the blade 5 are representative of the pressure and suction sides), and a leading edge (14) and a trailing edge (13) with a chord (C, Fig. 3) having a chord length extending between the leading and trailing edges (as shown in Fig. 3);
a root end (8) and a tip end (9, as shown in Fig. 2), the wind turbine blade extending in a spanwise direction between the root end and the tip end (as shown in Fig. 2);
the lightning protection system ([0069]) comprising:
at least one lightning receptor (23, Fig. 3, [0069]) arranged at an outer surface of the blade (as shown in Fig. 3, receptor is arranged on an outer surface of blade 5);
a first carbon fibre reinforced spar cap (20, Fig. 3, [0064]) extending substantially in the spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade (i.e., Fig. 3 is a cross section of the blade 5 extending in the longitudinal direction L shown in Fig. 2, therein the spar cap 20 extends in the spanwise direction of the blade 5; further Fig. 7 shows the spar cap 20 extending along longitudinal spanwise direction L) and having a chamfered tip end and an opposing chamfered root end (i.e., as shown in Fig. 7, the ends are chamfered (40, 41), which would correspond to a tip and a root end), the first spar cap arranged inside the blade along the pressure side (i.e., spar cap 20 is arranged on the inside of the pressure side of the blade, as shown in Fig. 3);
a second carbon fibre reinforced spar cap (19, Fig. 3, [0064]) extending substantially in the spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade (i.e., Fig. 3 is a cross section of the blade 5 extending in the longitudinal direction L shown in Fig. 2, therein the spar cap 19 extends in the spanwise direction of the blade 5; further Fig. 7 shows the spar cap 19 extending along longitudinal spanwise direction L) and having a chamfered tip end and an opposing chamfered root end (i.e., as shown in Fig. 7, the ends are chamfered (40, 41), the second spar cap arranged inside the blade along the suction side (i.e., spar cap 19 is arranged on the inside of the suction side of the blade, as shown in Fig. 3); and
an electric connection between the at least one lightning receptor and the chamfered tip end or the chamfered root end of one of the first carbon fibre reinforced spar cap or the second carbon fibre reinforced spar cap (i.e., the spar caps, and therein the chamfered tip and root ends of the spar caps, are electrically connected to a fiber material 25 ([0070]), which is electrically connected to electrical conductor 22, [0069], wherein the conductor 22 is electrically connected to the receptor [0068]).
Christiansen et al. does not specifically disclose the electric connection comprising a conductive fabric having unidirectional carbon fibres bonded by an adhesive, the conductive fabric comprising a thickness of 0.01-0.5 mm and a fibre volume fraction (FVF) of at least 50%.
Wang et al. teaches that for carbon fiber reinforced composite material, which is within the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention and analogous to the carbon fiber material used in the spar caps of Christiansen et al. Specifically, Wang et al. teaches of the use of a conductive ([0036]) carbon fiber unidirectional fiber fabric ([0041], [0044]) with a thickness of the carbon fiber layer of 0.05-0.5 mm ([0042], which is within the recited claimed thickness range), wherein layers of the fabric can be adhesively bonded ([0007], lines 19-23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Christiansen et al. in view of Wang et al. by using a conductive carbon fiber unidirectional fiber fabric with the specificized thickness range for the electric connection as taught by Wang et al. because such configuration has the advantageous properties of having improved impact strength (Wang, [0002]), while maintaining the thickness and weight of the composite structure substantially unchanged ([0085]).
The combination of Christiansen et al. and Wang et al. does not specifically disclose a fibre volume fraction (FVF) of at least 50%.
Bjornhov et al. teaches of the use of fiber reinforcement material, such as carbon fibres, in wind turbines ([0002], [0004]. [0006]) because of their advantageous material properties such as a higher-strength-to-weight ratio, which is within the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention. Specifically, Bjornhov et al. further teaches of the use of the carbon fiber reinforcement composite material having a fiber volume fraction (FVF) of more than 65% ([0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the combination of Christiansen et al. and Wang et al. in view of by Bjornhov et al. by having the carbon fiber reinforcement composite fabric material have a fiber volume fraction (FVF) of more than 65% as taught by Bjornhov et al. because with such fraction metric, the material exhibits advantageous properties such as being more conductive, durable, and less sensitive to local heating (Bjornhov, [0048]).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Christiansen et al., Wang et al., and Bjornhov et al. further discloses wherein the thickness of the conductive fabric is 0.025-0.4 mm (Wang, further teaches that the thickness can be 0.05 mm, which is within the recited claimed range, [0042]).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Christiansen et al., Wang et al., and Bjornhov et al. further discloses wherein the fibre volume fraction (FVF) of the conductive fabric is at least 55% (Bjornhov et al. teaches of the use of the carbon fiber reinforcement composite material having a fiber volume fraction (FVF) of more than 65% ([0047])).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Christiansen et al., Wang et al., and Bjornhov et al. further discloses wherein the conductive fabric (Wang, fabric [0041]) is a nonwoven material void of stitching material (nonwoven, [0041], lines 10-12, [0047]), void of stitches in the essence that the nonwoven material can be spunlaced, air-laid, wet-laid, spun-bond, melt-blown, or needled, [0047], lines 7-10).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Christiansen et al., Wang et al., and Bjornhov et al. further discloses wherein the unidirectional carbon fibres in the conductive fabric (Wang, carbon fiber unidirectional fiber fabric ([0036], [0041], [0044])) are arranged in a spanwise direction between the chamfered tip end and chamfered root end of the first carbon fibre reinforced spar cap or the second carbon fibre reinforced spar cap (i.e., Christiansen, as shown in Fig. 7, the fibres of the spar cap 19 are arranged in a spanwise direction L between the chamfered tip end and the chamfered root end, which are chamfered ends 40 and 41).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20-21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 20, Christiansen et al. fails to disclose or suggest wherein the electric connection further comprises a metallic mesh. Christiansen discloses that the electrical connection between the spar cap and the conductor, and therein the receptor, is provided without meshes ([0030]). Therein, any modification to incorporate a mesh for the electrical connection would teach away from the disclosure and result from improper hindsight reasoning.
Claim 21 would be allowable due to its dependency on claim 20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC J ZAMORA ALVAREZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am- 5:00 pm EST alternating Fridays off.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, COURTNEY HEINLE can be reached at (571)270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC J ZAMORA ALVAREZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745 07/15/2026
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