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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 30, 2026 has been entered.
Applicant has amended Claims 1, 2, 4, 6 – 9, and 11, cancelled Claim 10, and added Claims 12 – 15. Claims 1 – 9 and 11 – 15 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered.
Previous 112 rejections are withdrawn due to applicant’s amendment.
With regards to previous prior art, applicant amended Claim 1 to focus on the transmission mechanism. These amendments overcome the previous grounds of rejection. New grounds of rejection are presented below, incorporating the He reference (CN 202914648 U), said new grounds of rejection being necessitated by amendment.
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 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 of this title, 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, 7, 12, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereafter “Zhang” – US 2022/0090476) in view of He (CN 202914648 U) and Bottomley (US 4456109).
With regards to Claims 1 and 12:
Zhang discloses a fracturing device (Figure 9), comprising an engine (gas turbine 12), a clutch assembly (transmission mechanism 3, see Paragraph 108), a brake assembly (Paragraphs 111 – 112), and a fracturing pump (fracturing pump 2). Zhang further teaches a transmission (deceleration mechanism 16), but fails to teach details of the transmission and does not explicitly teach a speed reduction gearbox, a speed adjustment mechanism, or an integrated clutch brake assembly.
He (Figure 1) teaches a transmission device including a planetary gear system, the transmission including a speed reduction gear box (sun gear 2, planet gear 4, carrier 3, ring gear 8), a speed adjustment mechanism (motor 5 and gear 7), wherein: the speed reduction gear box comprises an input gear shaft (input shaft 1), an output gear shaft (output shaft 3 connected to planet carrier) and a speed adjustment shaft (ring gear 8); the output gear shaft of the speed reduction gear box is connected to the output (as seen in Figure 1); the input gear shaft of the speed reduction gear box is connected to the input (see Figure 1); the speed adjustment mechanism is connected to the speed adjustment shaft of the speed reduction gear box for adjusting a rotation speed of the output gear shaft of the speed reduction gear (see Figure 1, motor 5 and gear 7 connected to ring gear 8 in order to adjust the speed of the ring gear, see abstract). He teaches that the transmission may be used to drive a variety of working mechanisms. MPEP 2143B teaches it is obvious to substitute known elements for one another in order to yield predictable results. In this case, given the lack of detail in the transmission of Zhang, and the benefit of wide range stepless speed regulating in the transmission of He, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify Zhang by replacing the deceleration mechanism with the transmission shown in He in order to yield the predictable benefits described above. Upon modification, the input shaft (1) of He would be connected to the engine of Zhang and the output shaft (3) of He would be connected to the fracturing pump of Zhang, much like the deceleration mechanism is.
He teaches a coupler between the between the speed adjustment mechanism (motor 5 and gear 7 of He) and the speed adjustment shaft (ring gear 8 of He) of the speed reduction gear box. Zhang teaches a coupler (coupler 3, which may be a clutch as per Paragraph 108 of Zhang) between the output gear shaft of the speed reduction gear box (shaft 3 of He) and the fracturing pump (upon modification). However, neither of these are described as being clutch brake assemblies. Bottomley (Figures 1, 2) teaches a transmission coupling including a combined clutch-brake assembly for connected an input shaft (5) to an output shaft (6). Bottomley teaches the clutch brake assembly comprises a housing (4), the input shaft (5), the output shaft (6), a clutch (clutch 11) and a brake (brake 22); the output shaft is rotatably installed in the housing (see Figure 1 and abstract); the clutch and the brake are respectively disposed at two sides in an axial direction of the clutch brake assembly, and are sheathed on the output shaft (as shown in Figure 1, clutch 11 and brake 22 are sheathed on shaft 6 on two opposite axial sides of the housing 4); one end of the input shaft is connected with the engine (“input shaft 5”, see also Col. 1, Lines 29); the other end of the input shaft penetrates into the housing and is respectively connected with the clutch which is connected to one end of the output shaft (as shown in Figure 1, other end of shaft 5 corresponding to extension 19 connected to clutch 11); and the other end of the output shaft penetrates out of the housing to be connected with the driven apparatus (“output shaft 6”). Figure 1 of Bottomley further teaches a hydraulic pump (31) which acts to actuate the brake and clutch via a shared hydraulic line (34) to a solenoid valve (35). Bottomley teaches that, when unpressurized, the springs (26) for the brake are operable against a piston to urge the brake to an “on” condition (Col. 3, Line 20), i.e. the brake is engaged to prevent transfer of torque from the input shaft to the output shaft, whereas the compression springs (17) for the clutch urge the clutch into a non-drive position, i.e. disengaged (Col. 3, Line 4) to prevent transfer of torque from the input shaft to the output shaft. As the hydraulic pump activates and directs fluid to the solenoid valve to increase pressure, the clutch gradually engages while the brake gradually disengages, thereby increasing the torque in the clutch and decreasing the torque in the brake (Col. 3, Lines 50 – 57). At some point, the pressure is such that the brake is completely disengaged while the clutch is fully engaged to prevent slippage. MPEP 2143B teaches it is obvious to substitute known elements for one another in order to yield predictable results. In this case, a clutch-brake assembly is known in the art to connect an engine with a driven mechanism, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Zhang as modified by He above, by replacing the unknown type of coupler in both He (coupler 6) and Zhang (coupler 3) with the clutch-brake assembly of Bottomley, with the control arrangement taught in Bottomley, while yielding the predictable result of selectively transferring torque from the input shaft to the output shaft and selectively braking the output shaft.
With regards to Claim 7:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the engine comprises a gas turbine engine (turbine engine 12, Figure 9 of Zhang); the gas turbine engine is connected with the speed reduction gear box (deceleration mechanism 16 of Zhang, replaced by transmission of He); the speed adjustment mechanism (motor 5 and gear 7 of He) is directly connected (as shown in Figure 1 of He and best understood in light of the specification) to the speed adjustment shaft (ring gear 8 of He) of the speed reduction gear box; and the output gear shaft of the speed reduction gear box is connected with the clutch through the input shaft of the clutch brake assembly (clutch is part of the transmission mechanism 3, see Paragraph 108 of Zhang, which receives as an input the output of the deceleration mechanism 16, replaced by transmission of He per modification).
With regards to Claim 13:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the speed adjustment mechanism comprises a variable speed electric motor (motor 5 of He).
With regards to Claim 15:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the speed reduction gear box comprises a planetary gear assembly (see Figure 1 of He, sun gear 2, planet gear 4, carrier 3, ring gear 8).
Claims 2 – 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereafter “Zhang” – US 2022/0090476) in view of He (CN 202914648 U) and Bottomley (US 4456109), further in view of Conroy et al. (hereafter “Conroy” – US 3971461).
With regards to Claim 2:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the clutch comprises a clutch outer gear portion (portion of output shaft 6 from which clutch plates 21 extend, Figure 1 of Bottomley), a clutch friction plate set (clutch plates 20, 21, Figure 1 of Bottomley) and a clutch inner gear portion (portion of input shaft 5 from which clutch plates 20 extend, Figure 1 of Bottomley) sequentially disposed in a radial direction of the clutch brake assembly;
the clutch friction plate set is respectively connected with the clutch inner gear portion and the clutch outer gear portion (as shown in Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the clutch further comprises a clutch actuator (piston ring 15, Figure 1 of Bottomley) and a first elastic reset element (compression spring 17, Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the clutch actuator and the first elastic reset element are positioned between the clutch outer gear portion and the clutch inner gear portion (as shown in Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the clutch actuator is connected with the clutch friction plate set (Col. 2, Lines 65+ of Bottomley);
the first elastic reset element is connected with the clutch actuator (Col. 2, Lines 65+ of Bottomley); and
the clutch actuator is configured to drive the clutch friction plate set to slide in an axial direction of the clutch brake assembly so that the clutch is in an open or closed state (Col. 2, Lines 65+ of Bottomley).
Bottomley does not explicitly teach sleeves that are sheathed on the input and output shafts. Conroy (Figure 1) teaches a similar clutch-brake assembly including an input shaft (10) and an output shaft (12). Instead of forming the clutch plates on the shaft itself (as Bottomley appears to do, although there is no discussion of it), Conroy teaches a clutch inner gear sleeve (drum 14) and clutch outer gear sleeve (drum 16) that are connected to and sheathed on the input shaft and output shaft, respectively, and connecting the clutch plates onto the sleeves. Conroy teaches similar inner and outer sleeves (22, 20) for a brake mechanism, the sleeves connected to the output shaft and a stationary housing, respectively. This facilitates repair/replacement/maintenance of the clutch plates and brake plates, which would no longer be directly connected to the shafts. Given the teachings above, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Zhang and Bottomley by adding inner and outer clutch sleeves that hold the clutch plates and brake plates in order to yield the predictable results described above.
With regards to Claim 3:
The Zhang modification of Claim 2 teaches the clutch friction plate set comprises a plurality of first clutch friction plates (plates 20, Figure 1 of Bottomley) and a plurality of second clutch friction plates (plates 21, Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the first clutch friction plates and the second clutch friction plates are sequentially disposed in a crossed manner in the axial direction of the clutch brake assembly (see Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the first clutch friction plates are connected with the clutch inner gear sleeve (see Figure 1 of Bottomley, as per modification with Conroy to add sleeve 14);
the second clutch friction plates are connected with the clutch outer gear sleeve (see Figure 1 of Bottomley, as per modification with Conroy to add sleeve 16); and
the clutch actuator is configured to drive the first clutch friction plates and the second clutch friction plates to slide in the axial direction of the clutch brake assembly (see Figures 1, 2 of Bottomley and Col. 3, Lines 49+).
With regards to Claim 4:
The Zhang modification of Claim 2 teaches the brake comprises a brake inner gear sleeve (portion of housing 4 from which brake plates 24 extend in Figure 1 of Bottomley, modified to include a sleeve as shown via drum 20 in Figure 1 of Conroy), a brake outer gear sleeve (portion of output shaft 6 from which brake plates 23 extend in Figure 1 of Bottomley, modified to include a sleeve as shown via drum 22 in Figure 1 of Conroy) and a brake friction plate set (plates 23, 24, Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the brake inner gear sleeve is fixedly connected with the housing (see Figure 1 of Bottomley and Figure 1 of Conroy);
the brake outer gear sleeve is sheathed on the output shaft (see Figure 1 of Bottomley and Figure 1 of Conroy);
the brake friction plate set is respectively connected with the brake inner gear sleeve and the brake outer gear sleeve (see Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the brake further includes a brake actuator (piston 27, Figure 1 of Bottomley) and a second elastic reset element (compression spring 26, Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the brake actuator and the second elastic reset element are positioned between the brake inner gear sleeve and the brake outer gear sleeve (as shown in Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the brake actuator is connected with the brake friction plate set (Col. 3, Lines 11+ of Bottomley);
the second elastic reset element is connected with the brake actuator (Col. 3, Lines 11+ of Bottomley); and
the brake actuator is configured to drive the brake friction plate set to slide in an axial direction of the clutch brake assembly so that the brake is in an open or closed state (Col. 3, Lines 11+ and 62+ of Bottomley).
With regards to Claim 5:
The Zhang modification of Claim 2 teaches the brake friction plate set comprises a plurality of first brake friction plates (brake plates 24, Figure 1 of Bottomley) and a plurality of second brake friction plates (brake plates 23, Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the first brake friction plates and the second brake friction plates are sequentially disposed in a crossed manner in the axial direction of the clutch brake assembly (see Figure 1 of Bottomley);
the first brake friction plates are connected with the brake inner gear sleeve (see Figure 1 of Bottomley, as per modification with Conroy to add sleeve 20);
the second brake friction plates are connected with the brake outer gear sleeve (see Figure 1 of Bottomley, as per modification with Conroy to add sleeve 22); and
the brake actuator is able to drive the first brake friction plates and the second brake friction plates to slide in the axial direction of the clutch brake assembly (Col. 3, Lines 11+ and 62+ of Bottomley).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereafter “Zhang” – US 2022/0090476) in view of He (CN 202914648 U) and Bottomley (US 4456109), further in view of Yater et al. (hereafter “Yater” – US 4739865).
With regards to Claim 6:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the clutch brake assembly further comprises an oil passage (oil lines 36, 37, Figure 1 of Bottomley); and
the oil passage communicates with the brake and/or the clutch (see Figure 1 and Col. 3, Lines 25 – 47 of Bottomley).
Bottomley does not explicitly teach the oil passage penetrates through the housing, instead teaching the oil passages and the control valve (35) contained within the housing. However, placing the pump outside the housing and having the oil passages penetrate the housing is known in the art. Yater (Figure 1) teaches a similar clutch-brake assembly including clutch plates (55) and brake plates (70). Yater teaches actuating either the clutch or brakes via passages (46, 47) penetrating a housing (10), wherein the control valve (180) is located outside the housing. Locating the control valve and pump outside the housing facilitates maintenance of these components. Given the teachings of Yater, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Zhang and Bottomley by relocating the pump and control valve outside the housing such that the oil passage penetrate the housing in order to yield the predictable results described above.
Claims 8, 9, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereafter “Zhang” – US 2022/0090476) in view of He (CN 202914648 U) and Bottomley (US 4456109), further in view of Beck et al. (hereafter “Beck” – US 2020/0318713).
With regards to Claim 8:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 teaches the gas turbine engine is a single shaft gas turbine (see Figure 9, shaft coming out of turbine 12), but does not explicitly teach an auxiliary speed adjustment mechanism. Second transmissions are widely known in the art. Beck (Figure 1) teaches a transmission assembly including a main transmission (32) comprising a planetary gear set and a second transmission (34) also comprising a planetary gear seat, the second transmission being between the main power take off (14) and the main transmission. The second transmission performs essentially the same function as the main transmission, albeit acting to widen the range of speed difference between the input from the engine (24) to the power take off. MPEP 2143A teaches it is obvious to combine prior art elements according to known methods in order to yield predictable results. In this case, the addition of a second transmission downstream of the main transmission of the Zhang modification would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in order to yield the predictable benefit of widening the range of speeds achievable at the output of the second transmission. As shown in Beck, the second transmission and main transmission are coupled via a clutch assembly (S3, S4). Upon modification of the Zhang system of Claim 1, the second transmission would be added immediately downstream of the coupler/clutch-brake assembly (3) such that one side of the auxiliary second transmission is connected with the brake through the output shaft of the clutch brake assembly; and the other side of the auxiliary second transmission is connected with the fracturing pump
With regards to Claim 9:
The Zhang modification of Claim 8 does not explicitly teach the auxiliary speed adjustment mechanism comprises a second speed reduction gear box, an adjustable-speed driving motor, and a second clutch brake assembly. He (Figure 1) as similarly taught in the rejection of Claim 1, teaches a transmission including a second speed reduction gear box (sun gear 1, planetary gear 4, carrier 3, ring gear 8), an adjustable-speed driving motor (motor 5), and a coupler (coupler 6). As stated in the rejection of Claim 1, this type of transmission allows for a wide range of stepless speed regulating (see abstract of He). MPEP 2143B teaches it is obvious to substitute known elements for one another in order to yield predictable results. In this case, given the teachings of He, it would have been obvious to modify the Zhang modification of Claim 8 by replacing the second transmission of Beck with the transmission shown in He in order to yield the predictable benefits described above. Further, like the rejection of Claim 1, it would have been obvious to replace the unknown type of coupler (6) in He with a clutch brake assembly as shown in Bottomley in order to yield the predictable result of selectively transferring torque from the input shaft to the output shaft and selectively braking the output shaft. Upon modification the adjustable-speed driving motor is connected to the second speed reduction gear box through the second clutch brake assembly (see Figure 1 of He, motor 5 connected to planetary gear box via coupler/clutch brake assembly 6 and gear 7), and the second speed reduction gear box is connected with the fracturing pump (as per placement of the second transmission that the transmission of He is replacing, see rejection of Claim 8).
With regards to Claim 14:
The Zhang modification of Claim 8 teaches the speed adjustment mechanism comprises an adjustable gear assembly downstream from the engine (see auxiliary speed adjustment mechanism as added in the rejection of Claim 8).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereafter “Zhang” – US 2022/0090476) in view of He (CN 202914648 U) and Bottomley (US 4456109), further in view of Zhong et al. (hereafter “Zhong” – US 2022/0298906).
With regards to Claim 11:
The Zhang modification of Claim 1 does not explicitly teach the fracturing pump comprises a second reduction gear box; the second reduction gear box is positioned at one side near the clutch brake assembly; and the fracturing pump is positioned at one side far away from the clutch brake assembly. Zhong (Figures 8, 10, 11) teaches a fracturing apparatus including a fracturing pump (1C) and a transmission (2C), as well as a second reduction gear box (reduction gearbox 8B). As per Zhong in paragraph 185, “[t]he reduction gearbox assembly 8B includes a planetary reduction gearbox and a parallel reduction gearbox, the transmission gears of which are all bevel gears. The planetary reduction gearbox includes a sun gear, four planetary gears, a planetary carrier, and an inner gear ring, constituting a planetary gear mechanism, with the sun gear at the center of the planetary gear mechanism; the parallel reduction gearbox includes a pinion and a bull gear, the pinion is connected to an input end, the bull gear is connected to a sun gear of the planetary reduction gearbox. A reduction gearbox is used to slow down and increase the torque”. MPEP 2143A teaches it is obvious to combine prior art elements according to known methods in order to yield predictable results. In this case, the addition of another reduction gearbox to the system of Zhang as modified in Claim 1 would have been obvious in order to yield the predictable results described above. Upon modification, the second reduction gear box is positioned at one side near the clutch brake assembly; and the fracturing pump is positioned at one side far away from the clutch brake assembly (note that the second reduction gear box in Zhong is directly abutting the fracturing pump, and as such, the second reduction gearbox would be similarly located in the Zhang modification, i.e. downstream of the coupler (3) / clutch-brake assembly of Zhang as modified.
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/Laert Dounis/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
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