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 .
Application Status
Claims 1-12 are pending and have been examined in this application.
This communication is the first action on the merits.
Claims 1-12 are rejected herein.
Information Disclosure Statement
As of the date of this action, an information disclosure statement (IDS) has been filed on 12/03/2024 and reviewed by the Examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the phrases “on one hand” and “on the other hand”. These expressions are conversational and render the claim unnecessarily verbose. The Examiner suggests that claim 1 should be amended to directly recite the structural relationship without such phrases. For example, “fixed, on one hand, to the engine and, on the other hand, to the lower spar” should be amended to recite “fixed to the engine and to the lower spar”.
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 1-12 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 recitation of claim 1 wherein “…two transverse fixing lugs, a first transverse fixing lug comprising a port-side lug on a port side of the vertical median plane and a second transverse fixing lug comprising a starboard-side lug…” renders the claim indefinite because the recitation is creating ambiguity as to how many transverse fixing lugs are being claimed, in particular, it is unclear whether the “first transverse fixing lug and the second transverse fixing lugs correspond to the previously recited “two transverse fixing lugs” or whether they are additional to the two transverse fixing lugs. For purposes of examination, the Examiner has interpreted the two transverse fixing lugs, a first transverse fixing lug and a second transverse fixing lug are referring to the same element.
Claim 8 is indefinite because it is unclear whether the recitation “the through-bore” recited in line
Dependent claims 2-12 are rejected based on their respective dependencies.
Appropriate correction/explanation is required.
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, 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 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Glemarec (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2023/0028982 A1) in view of Berjot (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2022/0055758 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Glemarec teaches an assembly comprising:
an engine mounting pylon (30); and,
an aircraft engine (20), the aircraft engine extending along a longitudinal axis,
wherein the engine mounting pylon comprises
a primary structure (body of 30) comprising a structure extending from a front to a rear along the longitudinal axis, the box structure separated into a port part (left portion of 30) and a starboard part (right side of 30) by a longitudinal median vertical plane (central vertical plane long the length of 12) passing through the longitudinal axis,
wherein the assembly further comprises, to the rear of the box structure, a rear engine mount (40) fixed, on one hand, to the engine and, on the other hand, to the lower spar (bottom of 30) and, at the front of the structure, a front engine mount (100) fixed, on one hand, to the engine mounting pylon and, on the other hand, to a set of fittings (82, 98) secured to the engine,
wherein the set of fittings comprises, on one hand, a clevis block (98) with branches distributed one on each side of the median vertical plane and extending parallel to the median vertical plane and, on the other hand, two transverse fixing lugs (86), a first transverse fixing lug (86 left) comprising a port-side lug on a port side of the vertical median plane and a second transverse fixing lug (86 right) comprising a starboard-side lug on a starboard side of the vertical median plane, distributed symmetrically one on each side of the vertical median plane,
wherein the front engine mount comprises a body (body of 20) extending from a front to a rear along the longitudinal axis, partially fitted to the primary structure and extending forward, the elongated body being articulated, at a front end of the elongate body, to the clevis block with a first pivot pin (G1 see annotated figure below) extending transversely to the vertical median plane and in a space contained between a plane (horizontal plane above top surface of 30) along which the upper spar extends and a plane (horizontal plane extending below 98 along bottom portion of 30) along which the lower spar extends, and the elongate body being articulated, on each side of the vertical median plane, to the port side lug and to the starboard-side lug, with, respectively, a second pivot (one of the pin of 86 left) pin and third pivot pin (one of the pin off 86 right) parallel to the longitudinal axis.
However, Glemarec is silent to disclose the primary structure comprising a box structure and the body being elongated.
Berjot teaches the primary structure (structure of 52) comprising a box structure extending the primary structure further comprising an upper spar (Berjot; 56.1), a lower spar (Berjot; 56.2), a port-side lateral panel (Berjot; 58.2), and a starboard-side lateral panel (Berjot; 58.1), which respectively forming an upper face, a lower face, a port lateral face, and a starboard lateral face of the box structure,
an elongate body (Berjot; 62) extending from a front to a rear along the longitudinal axis, partially fitted into the primary structure (Berjot; 52) and extending forward, the elongated body being articulated, at a front end of the elongate body, to the clevis block (Berjot; 96) with a first and second pivot pins (Berjot;100).
Glemarec and Berjot are analogous because they are from the same field of endeavor or a similar problem-solving area e.g. providing a structure for supporting an object. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the invention of Berjot having the primary structure in form of a box and the elongated body partially extending into the primary structure. The motivation would have been to provide appropriate strength during the retention.
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Regarding claim 7, Glemarec teaches each of the branches of the clevis block (98) comprises a through-bore (bore for receiving G1) having an axis which is parallel to an axis oriented transversely to the vertical median plane, the through-bores of the branches having their axes aligned, each of said through-bores being fitted with a bushing (108) and accepting the first pivot pin.
Regarding claim 12, Glemarec teaches an aircraft [0042; line 7] comprising:
the assembly according to claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 and 8-11 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD IJAZ whose telephone number is (571)272-6280. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11:00 am-10:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at 5712728227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MUHAMMAD IJAZ
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3631
/Muhammad Ijaz/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631