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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0258420 A1 to Yamazawa in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0042965 A1 to Atallah et al.
Yamazawa discloses a wind power generation device, comprising:
a base (6) including a generator (7) housed therein (see Figure 2);
a pinion gear (81) connected to the generator via a shaft (71, see Figure 2);
a bull gear (82) in mechanical communication with the pinion gear (see Figure 2);
a rotating shaft (2) rigidly connected to the magnetic bull gear (see Figure 2);
a wind turbine blade (4) connected to the rotating shaft (see Figure 2) and including a photovoltaic (PV) panel (5); and
an energy storage device (9) electrically coupled to the generator and the PV panel (see paragraph [0044]),
wherein rotation of the wind turbine blade and rotating shaft is transferred to the generator via the magnetic bull gear and magnetic pinion gear to produce electrical energy.
However, it fails to discloses said pinion gear and said bull gear being magnetic gears.
Atallah et al. discloses a wind turbine power train, comprising magnetic gearing (see paragraphs [0002]-[0006], [0016], [0017], [0019]-[0021], [0023], [0024], [0026], [0027], [0029]-[0031], [0033]-[0035], [0040], [0041], [0044], [0047]-[0049], [0057]-[0066], and [0068]; see Figures 7-10).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to use the magnetic gearing disclosed by Atallah et al. on the gears of the drivetrain of the wind power generation device disclosed by Yamazawa, for the purpose of providing “a number of advantages over mechanical gears, such as reduced wear, lubricant-free operation, reduced maintenance costs, and inherent overload protection” (see paragraph [0003]).
With regards to claim 10, Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al. disclose:
lower bearing proximate the magnetic bull gear and an upper bearing proximate a top of the rotating shaft.
With regards to claim 11, Yamazawa discloses:
the lower bearing and the upper bearing are ball bearings or roller bearings.
Claims 2 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0258420 A1 to Yamazawa in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0042965 A1 to Atallah et al. as applied to claims 1, 10, and 11 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0322095 A1 to Mazur.
Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al. disclose a wind power generation device as described in paragraph 5 above.
However, it fails to disclose a stationary shaft, wherein the rotating shaft rotates about the stationary shaft.
Mazur discloses a wind turbine, comprising:
a stationary shaft (118), wherein a rotating shaft (104) rotates about the stationary shaft (see Figure 1A).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to use the stationary and rotating shaft arrangement disclosed by Mazur on the wind power generation device disclosed by Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al., for the purpose of providing a stable vertical axis wind turbine.
With regards to claim 12, Mazur discloses:
a magnetic levitating bearing (see Figure 1A), wherein the magnetic levitating bearing levitates the rotating shaft relative to the stationary shaft (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 13, Mazur discloses:
the magnetic levitating bearing includes a top half and a bottom half (see Figure 1A), and a polarity of magnets in the bottom half is arranged to oppose a polarity of magnets in the top half to levigate the top half relative to the bottom half.
With regards to claim 14, Mazur discloses:
the top half is secured to the rotating shaft and the bottom half is secured to the stationary shaft (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 15, Mazur discloses:
the top half includes concentric rings of magnets, wherein each ring has an opposing polarity of its neighboring ring (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 16, Mazur discloses:
the bottom half includes concentric rings of magnets, wherein each ring has an opposing polarity to its neighboring ring (see Figure 1A), wherein the concentric rings of the bottom half to limit lateral movement of the concentric rings of the top half (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 17, Mazur discloses:
a magnetic lift bearing (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 18, Mazur discloses:
the magnetic lifting bearing includes a top half and a bottom half (see Figure 1A), and a polarity of magnets in the top half is arranged to attract a polarity of magnets in the top half to lift the bottom half in the direction of the top half (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 19, Mazur discloses:
the top half is secured to the stationary shaft and the bottom half is secured to the rotating shaft (see Figure 1A).
With regards to claim 20, Mazur discloses:
the top half includes concentric rings of magnets (see Figure 1A), wherein each ring has an opposing polarity of its neighboring ring wherein the concentric rings of the bottom half to limit lateral movement of the concentric rings of the top half (see Figure 1A).
Claims 3-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0258420 A1 to Yamazawa in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0042965 A1 to Atallah et al. and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0322095 A1 to Mazur as applied to claims 2, 12, 13, above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0230333 A1 to Kashyap.
Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al. and Mazur disclose a wind power generation device as described in paragraph 9 above.
However, it fails to disclose a brush housing secured to the rotating shaft.
Kashyap discloses a solar-paneled windmill, comprising:
a brush housing (see Figure 2) secured to the rotating shaft.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to use the brush housing disclosed by Kashyap on the wind power generation device disclosed by Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al. and Mazur, for the purpose of housing brushes.
With regards to claim 4, Kashyap discloses:
a pair of brushes (90) mounted in the brush housing and in electrical communication with the PV panel.
With regards to claim 5, Mazur discloses:
a cap (see Figures 1, 4, and 7) mounted to the stationary shaft.
With regards to claim 6, Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al., Mazur, and Kashyap discloses:
at least two pins, each pin configured for electrical communication to one of the pair of brushes while the brushes rotate with the rotating shaft about the at least two pins.
With regards to claim 7, Yamazawa in view of Atallah et al., Mazur, and Kashyap disclose:
the pins being in electrical communication via a wire with an energy storage device such that electrical energy generated by the PV panel is transmitted via the pair of brushes, pins, and wire to the energy storage device.
With regards to claim 8, Yamazawa discloses:
the energy storage device is one or more of a battery, a flywheel, or a supercapacitor.
With regards to claim 9, Kashyap discloses:
a plurality of PV panels connected electrically in series, wherein a positive polarity connection of the plurality of PV panels is connected to one of the pair of brushes and a negative polarity connection of the plurality of PV panels is connected to a second of the pair of brushes (see Figure 2).
Conclusion
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/PEDRO J CUEVAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896 February 3, 2026