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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: change “and and in that the system for retaining the root of each of the vanes comprises” to “and . Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 1-15 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 term “substantially” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In the instant case, it is not clear what orientation would read on “substantially radial.” In other words, how “radial” is considered “substantially radial.”
Claim 1 recites “a ring, preferably sectorized.” It is not clear if the claim requires the ring to be sectorized or not, hence the metes and bounds of the claim are indefinite.
Claim 1 recites bearings that are radially external and internal respectively with respect to said first axis. It is not clear which one would be considered internal and which one would be considered external. The examiner interpreted the one closer to the turbine engines rotational axis to be internal and the other one being external. Claim 1 also confuses the internal and externa, bearing in the subsequent limitation. First it recites the external bearing (48) in the abutment (28). Then it recites an annular screw-nut assembly (68) and that the external nut (68b) being configured to rest in the direction of the pitch axis (A) on the internal bearing (48) on the side of the blade (16) of the vane (14) in order to retain the vane (14) radially outwards with respect to the first axis. The external nut cannot rest in the direction of the pitch axis (A) on the internal bearing (48) on the side of the blade (16) of the vane (14) in order to retain the vane (14) radially outwards with respect to the first axis. Hence, the metes and bounds of claim 1 with regard to the recitations of internal and external in general, and also with regard to the recitation of the internal and external bearings in particular is unclear.
Claims 8, 11, 12, and 15 are indefinite because they recite “and/or”, hence it is not clear if the limitations after “and/or” are required or not.
Any and all claims rejected herein under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, if rejected with art below under sections 35 U.S.C. 102 and/or 35 U.S.C. 103, are rejected as best understood.
Claims 2-7, 9, 10, 13, and 14 are rejected due to their dependency from a previously rejected claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: with regard to claim 1, Violette et al. (US 6015264), referred to hereafter as Violette discloses a propeller for an aircraft turbine engine (Fig. 1-3), the propeller comprising; a hub (12) extending around a first axis and comprising orifices distributed around this first axis (Fig. 1-3), each of these orifices having a substantially radial orientation with respect to said first axis and passing through said hub (Fig. 1-3), vanes (44, 144) each comprising a blade and a root (Fig. 1-3), the roots of the vanes being respectively fitted into the orifices of the hub and each of the vanes comprising a pitch axis substantially radial with respect to said first axis (Fig. 1-3), bearings (39, 64) for guiding the roots of the vanes in the orifices of the hub about said pitch axes (Fig. 1-3), the root of each of the vanes being guided by at least two bearings, radially external and internal respectively with respect to said first axis, mounted around the root and inside the corresponding orifice of the hub (Fig. 1-3), and systems for retaining the roots of the vanes in the orifices of the hub along said pitch axes (Fig. 1-3), wherein the root of each of the vanes is configured so as to be fitted in the corresponding orifice of the hub by translation along the pitch axis of this vane, radially from the outside towards the inside with respect to said first axis, inside the external and internal bearings (Fig. 1-3), the root of each of the vanes comprising: an abutment configured to rest in the direction of the pitch axis on the external bearing in order to retain the vane radially inwards with respect to the first axis (Fig. 1-3), an annular groove extending around the pitch axis (Fig. 1-3), and in that the system for retaining the root of each of the vanes (36) comprises: a ring (36), preferably sectorized, and an annular screw-nut assembly (86, 88) comprising an internal screw comprising an external thread, and an external nut comprising an internal thread for screwing onto the external thread of the internal screw (Fig. 1-3), the internal screw being configured to be mounted around the root, and to rest in the direction of the pitch axis on the ring on the side opposite the blade, but doesn’t disclose that the annular groove is oriented radially outwards with respect to this pitch axis, the groove being located radially inside the abutment with respect to said first axis, and the ring being configured to be fitted in the groove of the root of the vane, and that the internal screw being configured to be mounted between the abutment and the groove, the external nut being configured to rest in the direction of the pitch axis on the internal bearing on the side of the blade of the vane in order to retain the vane radially outwards with respect to the first axis, and it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application, nor any motivation, to modify the prior arts for these deficiencies, because it would require improper hindsight reconstruction, and also changes the principle operation of the primary reference. Claims 2-15 depend from claims 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to the attached form PTO-892 for pertinent prior art disclosing similar propellers such as US 20130336796.
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/BEHNOUSH HAGHIGHIAN/
Examiner
Art Unit 3745
/COURTNEY D HEINLE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745