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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 8-9 of the response, filed 07/08/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) and §103, have been fully considered and are persuasive. As discussed in the interview conducted on 06/10/2026, the previously cited prior art fails to disclose an inlet guide vane apparatus as claimed. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kahan (US Publication No: 2023/0304508) and Fukuda (JP 2010223201 A).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/15/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the non-final rejection on 04/09/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 9, 11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kahan (US Publication No: 2023/0304508) in view of Fukuda (JP 2010223201 A).
Regarding Claim 1: Kahan discloses an inlet guide vane apparatus (Figure 3) comprising a housing (102, 104) defining a fluid flow passageway (“P”); a plurality of guide vanes (112) connected to the housing, each guide vane including a vane disposed within the fluid flow passageway (Figure 3), wherein each of the guide vanes is rotatable relative to the housing such that an orientation of the vane within the fluid flow passageway is selectively adjustable (Paragraph [0032], Lines 6-9); a motor (174) operably connected to at least one of the plurality of guide vanes (Paragraph [0033], Lines 1-3); a sensor configured to detect a rotational position of at least one of the plurality of guide vanes (Paragraph [0071]); and a controller connected to the sensor and the motor, the controller comprising at least one memory and at least one processor (Paragraph [0066], Lines 10-15). Kahan, however, fails to disclose the controller being configured to identify a first rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor; identify a second rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor; and calibrate a neutral position of the guide vane based on the determined first and second rotational stop positions of the guide vane.
Fukuda teaches a control system for a turbomachine nozzle (Paragraph [0001]), wherein the system comprises a controller (Figure 2, No. 130) configured to identify a first rotational stop position of a guide vane based on feedback from a sensor (Paragraph [0031]); identify a second rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor (Paragraph [0031]); and calibrate a neutral position (Position “X”) of the guide vane based on the determined first and second rotational stop positions of the guide vane (Paragraph [0031]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the inlet guide vane assembly of Kahan with identifying and calibrating steps, as taught by Fukuda, for the purpose of eliminating the influence of changes in the range of motion of the vanes due to wear (Paragraph [0031]).
Regarding Claim 2: Kahan, as modified by Fukuda, discloses the inlet guide vane apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to calibrate a neutral position of the guide vane by determining a calibrated neutral position of the guide vane; and storing the calibrated neutral position of the guide vane in the memory (Kahan: Paragraphs [0031] & [0033]).
Regarding Claim 11: Kahan discloses a compressor (Figures 19-20, No. 300) comprising a compressor housing (302) including an inlet (310); a driveshaft (304) rotatably supported within the compressor housing (Figure 20); an impeller (306) connected to the driveshaft and operable to impart kinetic energy to incoming refrigerant gas upon rotation of the driveshaft (Paragraph [0073], Lines 4-6); an inlet guide vane apparatus (Figure 3) connected to the compressor housing and disposed upstream from the impeller, the inlet guide vane apparatus comprising a housing (102, 104) defining a fluid flow passageway (“P”); a plurality of guide vanes (112) connected to the housing, each guide vane including a vane disposed within the fluid flow passageway (Figure 3), wherein each of the guide vanes is rotatable relative to the housing such that an orientation of the vane within the fluid flow passageway is selectively adjustable (Paragraph [0032], Lines 6-9); a motor (174) operably connected to at least one of the plurality of guide vanes (Paragraph [0033], Lines 1-3); a sensor configured to detect a rotational position of at least one of the plurality of guide vanes (Paragraph [0071]); and a controller connected to the sensor and the motor, the controller comprising at least one memory and at least one processor (Paragraph [0066], Lines 10-15). Kahan, however, fails to disclose the controller being configured to identify a first rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor; identify a second rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor; and calibrate a neutral position of the guide vane based on the determined first and second rotational stop positions of the guide vane.
Fukuda teaches a control system for a turbomachine nozzle (Paragraph [0001]), wherein the system comprises a controller (Figure 2, No. 130) configured to identify a first rotational stop position of a guide vane based on feedback from a sensor (Paragraph [0031]); identify a second rotational stop position of the guide vane based on feedback from the sensor (Paragraph [0031]); and calibrate a neutral position (Position “X”) of the guide vane based on the determined first and second rotational stop positions of the guide vane (Paragraph [0031]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the inlet guide vane assembly of Kahan with identifying and calibrating steps, as taught by Fukuda, for the purpose of eliminating the influence of changes in the range of motion of the vanes due to wear (Paragraph [0031]).
Regarding Claim 14: Kahan, as modified by Fukuda, discloses the compressor of Claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to calibrate a neutral position of the guide vane by: determine a calibrated neutral position of the guide vane; and store the calibrated neutral position of the guide vane in the memory (Paragraphs [0031] & [0033]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kahan and Fukuda as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Schoonover (US Patent No: 6,203,734).
Regarding Claim 12: Kahan, as modified by Fukuda, discloses the compressor of Claim 11; however, Kahan fails to disclose at least one of the plurality of guide vanes operably connected to the motor being constructed of stainless steel.
Schoonover teaches an inlet guide vane (Figure 3c) constructed of stainless steel (Column 2, Lines 50-51; Column 5, Lines 16-17).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make at least one of the plurality of guide vanes of Kahan, as modified by Fukuda constructed of stainless steel, as taught by Schoonover, for the purpose of allowing the at least one guide vane to be manufactured using soft tooling, thus keeping the tooling cost relatively low, keeping the manufacturing time relatively short, and producing the at least one guide vane while requiring little or no additional processing (Column 5, Lines 53-61).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kahan and Fukuda as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Beaulieu (US Patent No: 8,662,819).
Regarding Claim 13: Kahan, as modified by Fukuda, discloses the compressor of Claim 11; however, Kahan fails to disclose the at least one of the plurality of guide vanes being constructed of aluminum.
Beaulieu teaches a guide vane (Figure 2, No. 100) constructed of aluminum (Column 1, Lines 28-29).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make at least one of the plurality of guide vanes of Kahan, as modified by Fukuda constructed of aluminum, as taught by Beaulieu, for the purpose of providing the guide vane with required stiffness and the ability to withstand an impact from a foreign object (Column 1, Lines 28-32).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9, 10, and 15-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. See previous office action for reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter in Claims 3-8, 10, and 15-17. Regarding Claim 9, the prior art fails to disclose an inlet guide vane apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sensor is a rotary position sensor that generates a voltage value based on a detected rotational position. Neither Kahan nor Fukuda, nor any of the other prior art, disclose a rotary position sensor generating a voltage value based on a detected rotational position.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L SEHN whose telephone number is (571)270-3564. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM-6 PM, every other Friday off.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Courtney Heinle can be reached at 571-270-3508. 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 L SEHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
Prosecution Insights