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 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claims 1 – 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wilson (US 6,609,592) in view of Hamp (US 10,876,480), and further in view of Keshavan et al. (US 11,655,720).
With respect to claims 1, 9 and 11, Wilson teaches an acoustic panel (Fig.2) for an aircraft turbomachine (Fig.1), the acoustic panel comprising a first skin (Fig.2, Item 34) formed from a first composite material having a first polymer matrix and reinforcing fibers embedded in the first polymer matrix, a second skin (Fig.2, Item 36) formed from a second composite material having a second thermoplastic polymer matrix and reinforcing fibers embedded in the second thermoplastic matrix (Col.7, Lines 21 – 40 and Col.8, Lines 1 – 28), the second skin comprising holes (Fig.2, Items 31) having a diameter less than 1mm (Col.1, Line 38 – 52); a core (Fig.2, Item 35) having a honeycomb structure, the core being arranged between the first skin and the second skin; but fail to disclose a coating having a layer comprising a ceramic material and deposited by thermal spraying, wherein the first skin is arranged between the coating and the core.
Nevertheless, Hamp teaches an acoustic panel (Fig.2) comprising a first and second skins (Fig.2, Items 40 and 42), wherein the first skin (Fig.2, Item 42) comprises a ceramic material (Col.3, Lines 56 – Col.4, Line 2).
Keshavan et al. teach wherein a ceramic coating is sprayed over the surface of an aircraft turbomachine panel (Figs.3 and 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Hamp and Keshavan et al. teachings with the Wilson design because it would provide the versatility of using the same production process to fabricate the first and second skins and then spray the ceramic coating to a desired surface to provide a fire-retardant protection.
Regarding claims 9 and 11, the Examiner considers that the obvious combination of the patents to Wilson, Hamp and Keshavan et al. inherently teach the limitations described in the claims. Additionally, the method of forming a device in not germane to the issue of patentability of the device itself.
With respect to claims 2 and 12, Wilson teaches wherein the diameter of the holes is between 0.1 mm and 0.8 mm (Col.1, Lines 38 – 52).
With respect to claims 3, 4, 13 and 14, The Examiner considers that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to provide the second skin with a desired thickness, and the second polymer matrix having a predetermined melting temperature because it would provide a desired structural strength and temperature resistance as necessitated by the specific requirements of the particular application without departing from the scope and spirit of the Wilson, Hamp and Keshavan et al. inventions. Furthermore, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
With respect to claims 5 and 6, Hamp teaches wherein the coating further comprises an additional layer of glass fibers, arranged between the layer and the first skin, and wherein the additional layer comprises a first sub-layer of non-woven glass fibers and a second sub-layer of woven glass fibers (Col.3, Lines 46 – 55).
With respect to claims 7 and 8, Wilson teaches the panel comprising a stiffener (Fig.3, Item 46), and wherein the stiffener comprises a frame comprising walls arranged on edges of the second skin and/or studs arranged on the second skin (Figs.1 and 3).
With respect to claim 10, Wilson teaches wherein the holes are produced by laser drilling (Col.7, Lines 1 – 2).
Conclusion
The attached hereto PTO Form 892 lists prior art made of record that the Examiner considered it pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDGARDO SAN MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2074. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 - 5:00 M - F.
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/Edgardo San Martin/
Edgardo San Martín
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2837
June 27, 2026
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