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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-9 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,139,786 (“the ‘786 patent”) in view of the disclosure of U.S. Patent 11,299,803 (“the ‘803 patent”), more specifically Column 4 Line 28 – Column 5 Line 18 of the ‘803 patent. Each of the instant application and the two cited references are drawn to convergent subject matter (the instant application is a divisional of the ‘786 patent, which is a divisional of the ‘803 patent), and Claim 1 of the instant application contains verbatim every limitation of Claim 1 of the ‘786 patent (and contains limitations comparable to Claim 1 of the ‘803 patent). As such, applying the teachings of the ‘803 patent to the claims of the ‘786 patent would be prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art; those elements of the claims in the instant application not disclosed in the claims of the ‘786 patent are disclosed at Column 4 Line 28 – Column 5 Line 18 of the ‘803 patent (and comparably at Column 4 Line 32 – Column 5 Line 22 of the ‘786 patent, further speaking to the obviousness of the combination of claims and teachings of the cited references).
References of Record
After search and consideration, Examiner cites Aichert ‘253 (U.S. Patent 4,192,253), Sharp ‘559 (U.S. PGPub 2010/0189559), and Boucard ‘914 (U.S. PGPub 2004/0261914) as the closest prior art to the present application.
‘253 teaches some limitations of Claim 1, the substrates in the present case being gas turbine blades (col. 6, lines 44-45), a substrate rack 20 (Fig. 1, col. 6, lines 55-56), The arms 44 and 45 are rotatable about a common axis D--D which lies in the same plane of symmetry as the longitudinal axis A--A of the evaporating crucible 12 (col. 7, lines 43-46), The rocking of the arms 44 and 45 is brought about by the fact that they are fastened to a pair of coaxial hollow shafts 50 and 51 which are borne within a tube 52 which is fastened to the carriage 18 (col. 7, lines 47-50), the ball bearing spline shaft 80 being brought through the end wall 61 of the loading chamber 16 to a motor 81 (col. 8, lines 50-52, the claimed “A rotatable mounting fixture comprising: a base attachment fixture having an axis that defines a rotation axis for the rotatable mounting fixture; a rotatable plate attached to the base attachment fixture and oriented perpendicular to the rotation axis”, note the hollow shafts 50 and 51 is the claimed “base attachment fixture“ and either arms 44 or 45, or both, is considered as “a rotatable plate”); The substrate rack consists of two parallel substrate bearers 25 and 26 disposed in a fork-like manner, whose longitudinal axes B--B and C--C are in a mirror-image symmetrical relationship with the plane of symmetry passing through the longitudinal axis A—A (col. 6, lines 64-67), The substrate bearers 25 and 26 are each fastened to a casing 38 and 39, respectively, into which the drive shafts 31 and 32 are also prolonged. Within the casings are angle drives 40 and 41, respectively, which are connected to radial shafts 42 and 43 (col. 7, lines 7, lines 3-36. Casings 38, 39 is the claimed “a plurality of tubes attached to a periphery of the rotatable plate opposite the base attachment fixture, wherein each of the plurality of cylindrical tubes has with a tube axis parallel to the rotation axis”; and the substrate bearers 25, 26 is the claimed “a plurality of removable linear mounting supports wherein one of the plurality of removeable linear mounting supports is inserted into each of the plurality of tubes”). Couplings 27 and 28 for the substrates 15 are disposing on the confronting inner sides of the bearer arms, the rotational axes of the couplings being aligned perpendicular to the above-named plane of symmetry. Between the couplings 27 and 28 and the substrates 15 are spacers 29 and 30, respectively (col. 6, line 67 to col. 7, line 5, the claimed “wherein each of the plurality of removable linear mounting supports is configured to hold a plurality of components attached lengthwise along each of the plurality of removeable linear mounting supports and each of the plurality of removable linear mounting supports further comprises a linear T bar with a mounting plate attached lengthwise along each of the plurality of removeable linear mounting supports, wherein the mounting plate is configured to accommodate attachment features of a combustor liner”, note turbine blades is considered as a liner, note the substrate shape or type is not part of the apparatus, T-bars present in Figure 1 e.g. the T-shaped element disposed at least between pointers indicating elements 33 and 27 in the upper right; other representations present in same figure).
‘253 does not teach the other limitations of: Claim 1:
(1A) wherein the rotatable plate has a circular shape with a circumference and is configured to rotate around the rotation axis;
(1B) (a plurality of) cylindrical (tubes attached to a periphery of the rotatable plate opposite the base attachment fixture, wherein each of the plurality of) cylindrical (tubes has with a tube axis parallel to the rotation axis) and is configured to rotate with the rotable plate around the rotation axis; (a plurality of removable linear mounting supports wherein one of the plurality of removeable linear mounting supports is inserted into each of the plurality of) cylindrical (tubes, wherein each of the plurality of removable linear mounting supports) is configured to rotate with rotable plate around the rotation axis;
(1C) such that the combustor liner extends outside the circumference of the rotatable plate and to cause the combustor liner to rotate with rotable plate around the rotation axis.
‘559 is an analogous art in the field of FIXTURE FOR USE IN A COATING OPERATION (title), a fixture for use in a physical vapor deposition coating operation which comprises a support structure 14 comprising a circular base member 10, a circular top member 11 opposite the circular base member 10, and a plurality of structural members 12 joining said top member 11 to said base member 10; a plurality of panel members 13 aligned in a vertical direction around the outer periphery of said support structure 14 forming a cylinder-like structure … for simultaneously coating a plurality of workpieces 19 and 35, such as gas turbine compressor blades and vanes, with erosion resistant coatings using the fixture of this invention (Figs. 1 and 4, abstract), to apply ceramic thermal barrier coatings on turbine airfoils by electron beam evaporation ([0006]) as depicted in FIG. 4, the fixture should be of appropriate size so as to permit its positioning onto a rotatable drive system 40 in a coating chamber 41 and to permit the drive system 40 to be operated, thereby allowing the fixture to rotate ([0041]). Figs. 1-7 show the turbine blades on the panel members 13 extend outside the circumference of the base member 10 and “rotate with rotable plate around the rotation axis“. Note each panel member 13 corresponds to a substrate bearer 25, 26 of ‘253.
‘914 is an analogous art in the field of Method Of Locally Repairing Parts Covered With A Thermal Barrier (title), coatings deposited by the electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) ([0005], 4th sentence), In order to able to cover the profile of a new turbine blade, it is therefore necessary to rotate the part in the vapor like cooking on the spit ([0006], last sentence). ‘914 teaches that the device 27 shown in FIG. 12 comprises, for example, an arm 30 terminated by a fork having two parallel prongs 31a and 31b on which parts 1, e.g. turbine blades or vanes, are mounted in such a manner as to be capable of pivoting through an angle of ±[Symbol font/0x71]1 about an equilibrium position, as can be seen in FIG. 13 ([0088]), Fig. 12 shows the prongs 31a and 31b are cylindrical as well as various T bars and also both “rotate with rotable plate around the rotation axis”.
The combination of references cited above is not properly combinable to arrive at the apparatus described in the context of the present invention, as the rotation means of Sharp ‘559 is different from that described in the other references such that accommodation of the teachings of Sharp ‘559 would unsuitably modify the other combined references to perform their intended purpose. However, the references are all related to the same field of endeavor as the instant application and are pertinent enough to merit notice herein.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL G MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1861. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30 EST.
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/MICHAEL G MILLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712