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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 10-11 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/22/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Detry et al., US PGPub 2013/0205745.
PNG
media_image1.png
262
278
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 1, Detry et al. discloses a power system (see fig 2) comprising: a power unit (2); a supply pump (11) configured to feed oil (6) in a liquid form for lubricating the power unit (2); a supply flow path (connecting 11 and 9) configured to guide, to the power unit (2), the oil (6) fed from the supply pump (11); a return pump (13) configured to return the oil (6) having flowed through the power unit (2); a return flow path (connecting 2 and 6) configured to guide, to the return pump (13), the oil (6) having flowed through the power unit (2); a circulation flow path (7) configured to guide, to the supply pump (11), the oil returned (and collected in 6) by the return pump (13); a bypass flow (BP) path connecting the supply flow path (as described above) and the return flow path (as described above); and an on-off valve (9) configured to open and close the bypass flow path (BP).
Regarding claim 2, Detry et al. discloses the power system according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve (9) comprises a relief valve (see fig 2A-2B) that is pushed by the oil (entering at IN) to open (see fig 2B) when a pressure of the oil supplied from the supply pump (11) reaches a predetermined pressure upper limit value (as determined by strength of spring).
Regarding claim 9, Detry et al. discloses the power system according to claim 1, wherein the power unit (2) comprises: a bearing (4) that rotatably supports a rotor (3); and a lubrication flow path (see fig 1) configured to allow the oil to flow through the bearing (4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Detry et al. in view of Glahn et al., US PGPub 2011/0155508.
Regarding claim 2, Detry et al. discloses the power system according to claim 1 but does not specify that a capacity of the return pump is larger than a capacity of the supply pump. Glahn et al. teaches a similar engine lubrication system wherein a capacity of the return pump (30) is larger than a capacity of the supply pump (32) (see [0024]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the varied capacity pumps described by Glahn et al. to the system disclosed by Detry et al. in order to avoid engine flooding.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Detry et al. in view of Glahn et al. and further in view of Hutchison, US Patent 5,004,407.
Regarding claim 3, Detry et al. in view of Glahn et al. disclose the power system according to claim 2 but do not specify that the oil led out from the power unit is mixed with gas, and the circulation flow path is provided with a gas-liquid separator configured to separate the gas from the oil.
PNG
media_image2.png
348
502
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Hutchison teaches a similar turbine engine lubrication system (see fig 1) wherein the oil led out from the power unit (3) is mixed with gas (air), and the circulation flow path is provided with a gas-liquid separator (1) configured to separate the gas from the oil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the gas liquid separator described by Hurchison to the system disclosed by Detry et al. in view of Glahn et al. in order to avoid plugging and slugging, e.g. pressure pulsations and slugs of air, then slugs of oil in the fluid provided to the aircraft components. These pressure fluctuations can cause damage to the aircraft components.
Claim(s) 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Detry et al. in view of Delaloye, US PGPub 2006/0054406.
Regarding claims 5-7, Detry et al. discloses the power system according to claim 1, but does not disclose the specified pump motor and control.
PNG
media_image3.png
452
384
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Delaloye teaches a similar gas turbine lubrication system further comprising: a motor (129) configured to drive the supply pump (122) and the return pump (125). (claim 5)
wherein the motor (129) is a sole motor (see fig 1), and the power system further comprises a power transmission mechanism (128) configured to transmit a rotational driving force of the motor (129) to the supply pump (122) and the return pump (125). (claim 6)
further comprising: a controller (140) comprising one or more processors (see [0039]) that execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory (see [0040]), wherein the one or more processors (as described above) execute the computer- executable instructions to cause the controller (140) to control the motor (129) to set torque of the motor (129) to predetermined target torque in a state where the on-off valve (as described by Detry et al.) is opened. (claim 7)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide specified pump motor and control described by Delaloye to the system disclosed by Detry et al. in order to control the lubrication circuit in a simple, straightforward, and responsive manner, to changing turbine machine needs and to airframe maneuver parameters, so that the lubrication circuit can provide sufficient lubrication regardless of airframe maneuver forces.
Regarding claim 8, Detry et al. in view of Delaloye discloses the power system according to claim 7, wherein the one or more processors (as described above – Delaloye) cause the controller (as described above – Delaloye) to control the motor (as described above – Delaloye) to set a rotational speed of the supply pump (11) to a target rotational speed in a state where the on-off valve (9) is closed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A RIEGELMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7956. The examiner can normally be reached 8-6 EST Monday - Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Hodge can be reached at (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
MICHAEL A. RIEGELMAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3654
/MICHAEL A RIEGELMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
Prosecution Insights