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 .
Status
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to the application papers filed on 28 January 2025 and 21 July 2026.
Claim(s) 1-30 is/are pending.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of species B in the reply filed on 21 July 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the claims are generic or species B only. Therefore, there is no search burden for multiple claimed species. This is found persuasive.
The requirement is withdrawn..
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 21 August 2025, 24 November 2025, 14 April 2026, and 8 July 2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has/have been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as follows:
(A) Fig. 12F: reference numeral 22 lacks a lead line.
(B) Fig. 29C: two lead lines lack respective reference numerals.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 28-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20110012360 to Numajiri (hereinafter “NUMAJIRI”) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6470645 to Maliszewski et al. (hereinafter “MALISZEWSKI”) and further in view of U.S. Patent No. 8162608 to Birkemose et al. (hereinafter “BIRKEMOSE”).
(A) Regarding Claim 28:
NUMAJIRI teaches:
A wind turbine nacelle (Fig. 2) comprising:
a frame (12 Fig. 1) rotatably mounted on a tower (2); and
a yaw drive system (15A) that rotates the frame to adjust orientation of the frame, the yaw drive system comprising:
a yaw brake assembly (20A) positioned coaxially with the tower comprising:
a brake disk (21) connected to the frame (via coupling member 11c) and a brake pad (23) with a coefficient of friction (para. 0055: braking force).
However, the difference between NUMAJIRI and the claimed invention is that NUMAJIRI does not explicitly teach a stub mast.
MALISZEWSKI teaches:
A wind turbine tower comprised of a plurality of cylindrical segments and transition rings (Fig. 2).
NOTE ON PRIOR ART INTERPRETATION:
The transition ring (58) adjacent to the nacelle is considered equivalent to the claimed stub mast.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the tower of NUMAJIRI from a plurality of segments and having transition rings, or stub masts, including one at the nacelle, as taught by MALISZEWSKI, in order to have a tower with no specialized welding required (MALISZEWSKI col. 4, ll. 64-66) and thereby achieve the predictable result of a wind tower that is economical and fast to erect (MALISZEWSKI col. 1, ll. 9-14).
However, the difference between modified NUMAJIRI and the claimed invention is that modified NUMAJIRI does not explicitly teach the yaw brake assembly exerts a constant braking torque on a brake disk connected to the frame and has a brake pad with a coefficient of friction that creates the braking torque without slipstick.
BIRKEMOSE teaches:
A yaw system comprising:
a controller adapted to determine and to output a horizontal pitch signal (BIRKEMOSE col. 4, ll. 55-67); and
a yaw brake assembly exerts a constant braking torque on a brake disk connected to the frame and has a brake pad with a coefficient of friction that creates the braking torque without slipstick (col. 4, ll. 30-49).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the yaw system of modified NUMAJIRI include a controller and brake assembly that exerts a constant braking torque, as taught by BIRKEMOSE, in order to allow for detection of yaw moments and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing the torque acting on the yaw system (BIRKEMOSE col. 1, ll. 16-21).
(B) Regarding Claim 29:
Modified NUMAJIRI further teaches:
a yaw worm drive of the yaw drive system (NUMAJIRI Fig. 1) provides a rotational force that overcomes the constant braking torque on the brake disk when the frame is rotated (BIRKEMOSE col. 4, ll. 30-49).
(C) Regarding Claim 30:
Modified NUMAJIRI further teaches:
rotation of the frame stops when the rotational force generated by the yaw worm drive (NUMAJIRI Fig. 1) is overcome by the constant braking torque generated by the yaw brake assembly (BIRKEMOSE col. 4, ll. 30-49).
Cited Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20200102932 to Hovgaard et al. teaches yaw drive system with roller bearings. WO 2019215466 A1 to Sonajalg et al. teaches a yaw drive system with a bearing housing. US 20120134841 to Madge et al. and US 20120112458 to Numajiri teach a yaw drive system with roller bearings connected to the tower and nacelle by respective bolt arrangements. US 20100209246 to Migliori teaches a yaw drive system with yaw housing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1, 7, 8 is/are allowed.
Claim(s) 2-6 is/are allowed due to dependence from claim 1.
Claim(s) 9-27 is/are allowed due to dependence from claim 8.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
(A) Regarding Claim(s) 1:
Claim(s) 1 is/are deemed novel and nonobvious over the cited art due to the inclusion of the limitation “an inner casing rotatably connected to the outer casing and the rear chassis…a yaw drive housing comprising a vertical annular portion; and a horizontal annular portion connected to a top of the vertical annular portion, wherein the horizontal annular portion is connected to the inner casing of the yaw bearing” which, in combination with the other requirements of the claim(s), is neither taught nor suggested by the cited prior art as a whole, either alone or in combination. Specifically, the cited art teaches (1) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a bottom of the vertical annular portion (e.g. see WO 2019215466 A1 to Sonajalg et al.) and (2) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a top of the vertical annular portion but the inner casing is removed from the nacelle by a stub shaft and cannot connect to the neck flange (e.g. see US 20100209246 to Migliori). Thus, the cited art fails to disclose, teach or suggest the claimed relationship of the inner casing of the yaw bearing to the neck flange and horizontal annular portion of the yaw housing.
(B) Regarding Claim 7:
Claim(s) 7 is/are deemed novel and nonobvious over the cited art due to the inclusion of the limitation “an inner casing rotatably connected to the outer casing and the inner neck flange of the rear chassis…a yaw drive housing comprising a vertical annular portion; and a horizontal annular portion connected to a top of the vertical annular portion, wherein the horizontal annular portion is connected to the inner casing of the yaw bearing” which, in combination with the other requirements of the claim(s), is neither taught nor suggested by the cited prior art as a whole, either alone or in combination. Specifically, the cited art teaches (1) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a bottom of the vertical annular portion (e.g. see WO 2019215466 A1 to Sonajalg et al.) and (2) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a top of the vertical annular portion but the inner casing is removed from the nacelle by a stub shaft and cannot connect to the neck flange (e.g. see US 20100209246 to Migliori). Thus, the cited art fails to disclose, teach or suggest the claimed relationship of the inner casing of the yaw bearing to the neck flange and horizontal annular portion of the yaw housing
(C) Regarding Claim(s) 8:
Claim(s) 8 is/are deemed novel and nonobvious over the cited art due to the inclusion of the limitation “a yaw drive housing…bolts that connect the inner neck flange of the chassis and the yaw drive housing to the inner casing of the yaw bearing” which, in combination with the other requirements of the claim(s), is neither taught nor suggested by the cited prior art as a whole, either alone or in combination. Specifically, the cited art teaches (1) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a bottom of the vertical annular portion (e.g. see WO 2019215466 A1 to Sonajalg et al.) and (2) the inner casing of the yaw bearing is connected to a horizontal annular portion at a top of the vertical annular portion but the inner casing is removed from the nacelle by a stub shaft and cannot connect to the neck flange (e.g. see US 20100209246 to Migliori). Thus, the cited art fails to disclose, teach or suggest the claimed relationship of the inner casing of the yaw bearing to the neck flange and horizontal annular portion of the yaw housing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAYLA M MCCAFFREY whose telephone number is (571)272-3438. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday (excluding Wednesday) 10AM - 2 PM EST.
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KAYLA M. MCCAFFREY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3745
/Kayla McCaffrey/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
Prosecution Insights