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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species III (embodiment of figure 6) in the reply filed on 12/19/2025 is acknowledged. Applicant identified claims 1-10 and 13-20 correspond to the elected Species III. Accordingly, claims 11-12 were withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Claim 5 requires one or more springs or one or more shape memory alloys configured to effectuate opening and closing of the one or more passages. Currently, the drawings do not show this feature. Therefore, the spring or a shape memory alloy that effectuate opening and closing of the one or more passages must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 § 102
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 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) 1-3, 6, 7, 9, 14-16, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sigfried (European Patent Document EP 3,477,158 A1).
As per claim 1, Sigfried discloses a gearbox assembly (gear drive having at least one gear; paragraph [00002]) for a gas turbine engine, the gearbox assembly comprising: a hollow gear (1, 31; figures 1, 9) having: (a) one or more reservoirs (annular chamber 17 in figure 2 and annular chamber 30 in figure 10) configured to store a lubricant (lubricant/coolant is forced into the cavities; paragraph [0031]); and (b) one or more passages (channels 11, 31) configured to supply the lubricant to one or more gear meshes in the gearbox assembly (via orifices 7 and 27 formed on the gear teeth; figures 2, 10), wherein the hollow gear is configured to absorb vibrations and loading experienced in the gearbox assembly, to provide impact resistance for the gearbox assembly (lubricant and/or coolant is synthetic oil, i.e., inherently having a viscosity to absorb vibration and impact; paragraph [0029]), and to provide internal cooling of the hollow gear (by feeding lubricant and coolant; paragraphs [0006], [0007]), and wherein the one or more reservoirs extend circumferentially around the hollow gear such that an annular cavity is formed by the one or more reservoirs (annular chambers 17 and 30; figures 2, 10; paragraphs [0031], [0040]).
As per claim 2, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the hollow gear is configured to accommodate misalignment of one or more gears within the gearbox assembly (gear teeth 3 and 23 extend along a length, i.e., capable of engaging the opposing gear teeth even when there is a slight misalignment in the axial direction as long as two gear teeth are in engagement; figures 2, 11).
As per claim 3, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the one or more passages (11, 31; figures 2, 10) are in fluid communication with the one or more reservoirs (17, 30).
As per claim 6, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1, and further discloses a plurality of struts including a gap therebetween configured to absorb impact under loading (blades 9 in figure 2 and supports 33 in figure 10 capable of absorbing impact).
As per claim 7, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the hollow gear is formed from electroforming, hydroforming, additive manufacturing, or combinations thereof (made by SLM or SLS, i.e., additive manufacturing; paragraph [0024]).
As per claim 9, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the lubricant is supplied to a gear mesh between adjacent relatively rotating gears of the gearbox assembly through sides of the hollow gear or through a root of gear teeth of the hollow gear (via channels 31 formed through the root of gear teeth; figure 11).
As per claim 14, Sigfried discloses a hollow gear for a gearbox assembly of a gas turbine engine, the hollow gear comprising: (a) one or more reservoirs (annular chamber 17 in figure 2 and annular chamber 30 in figure 10) configured to store a lubricant; and (b) one or more passages (channels 11, 31) configured to supply the lubricant to one or more gear meshes in the gearbox assembly (via orifices 7 and 27 formed on the gear teeth; figures 2, 10), wherein the hollow gear is configured to absorb vibrations and loading experienced in the gearbox assembly, to provide impact resistance for the gearbox assembly (lubricant and/or is synthetic oil, i.e., inherently having a viscosity to absorb vibration and impact; paragraph [0029]), and to provide internal cooling of the hollow gear (by feeding lubricant and coolant; paragraphs [0006], [0007]), and wherein the one or more reservoirs extend circumferentially around the hollow gear such that an annular cavity is formed by the one or more reservoirs (annular chambers 17 and 30; figures 2, 10; paragraphs [0031], [0040]).
As per claim 15, Sigfried discloses the hollow gear of claim 14, and further discloses wherein the hollow gear is configured to accommodate misalignment of one or more gears within the gearbox assembly (gear teeth 3 and 23 extend along a length, i.e., capable of engaging the opposing gear teeth even when there is a slight misalignment in the axial direction as long as two gear teeth are in engagement; figures 2, 11).
As per claim 16, Sigfried discloses the hollow gear of claim 14, and further discloses wherein the one or more passages (11, 31; figures 2, 10) are in fluid communication with the one or more reservoirs (17, 30).
As per claim 19, Sigfried discloses the hollow gear of claim 14, and further discloses a plurality of struts including a gap therebetween configured to absorb impact under loading (blades 9 in figure 2 and supports 33 in figure 10 capable of absorbing impact).
As per claim 20, Sigfried discloses the hollow gear of claim 14, and further discloses wherein the hollow gear is a sun gear, one or more planet gears of a plurality of planet gears, or a ring gear (gear shown in figure 1 has outside teeth capable of using it as sun gear or planet gear and the gear shown in figure 9 has inside teeth which is capable of using it as a ring gear of a planetary gear system).
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.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sigfried in view of Wu (Chinese Patent Document CN 112,283,319 A).
As per claims 4, 5, 17 and 18, Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1 and the hollow gear of claim 14. Sigfried does not explicitly teach wherein the one or more passages are passive controlled to open and close based on a load experienced by the hollow gear (claims 4 and 17) and one or more springs or one or more shape memory alloys configured to effectuate opening and closing of the one or more passages (claims 5 and 18).
Wu (Chinese Patent Document CN 112,283,319 A) is related prior art in that it deals with lubrication of a gear. Wu teaches wherein the one or more passages are passive controlled to open and close based on a load experienced by the hollow gear (via the force acting on plunge rod 24 opening and closing one way valve 21; figure 3) and one or more springs or one or more shape memory alloys configured to effectuate opening and closing of the one or more passages (spring 23 engaging plunger rod 24 and check valve 21; figure 3).
Wu teaches this arrangement prevent oil leakage and ensure the lubricating oil can flow evenly to the teeth thereby achieving good lubrication (paragraph [0011]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify Sigfried’s gear to incorporate Wu’s one way valve actuated by a plunge rod with a spring reset, because as Wu teaches, this arrangement prevent oil leakage and ensure the lubricating oil can flow evenly to the teeth thereby achieving good lubrication (paragraph [0011]).
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-10 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0114887) in view of Sigfried.
As per claims 1, Miller discloses a gearbox assembly for a gas turbine engine.
While Miller does not explicitly teach wherein the gearbox assembly has the hollow gear of claim 1, Sigfried as discussed above, teaches all features of the hollow gear of claim 1. Sigfried also teaches its gear drive is designed to be a planetary gear (paragraph [0028]). Sigfried also teaches embodiments having appropriate structures for a sun gear, planet gear (gear having outer teeth as shown; figure 1), and a ring gear (gear having inner teeth as shown; figure 9) for a planetary or epicyclic gear system. Therefore, Sigfried is a relevant prior art for the epicyclic gear system of Miller. Sigfried teaches the hollow gear allows to directly introduce lubricant and/or coolant to the tooth engagement region and has the effect that sufficient lubricant and/or coolant is offered in the tooth engagement region and simultaneously cooling the location where the heating arises (paragraph [0007]).
Therefore, in order to ensure proper lubrication and cooling, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify Miller’s epicyclic gear system to incorporate Miller’s hollow gear because as Sigfried teaches, the hollow gear allows to directly introduce lubricant and/or coolant to the tooth engagement region and has the effect that sufficient lubricant and/or coolant is offered in the tooth engagement region and simultaneously cooling the location where the heating arises (paragraph [0007]).
As discussed above in the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection, Sigfried teaches all limitations of claims 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9. Therefore, by the combination of claim 1 above, modifying Miller’s epicycle gear system to incorporate Miller’s hollow gear, the modified structure would also have all claimed features of claims 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9.
As per claim 8, Miller in view of Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1. Miller further discloses wherein the gearbox assembly (116; figure 1) is configured to connect a low-pressure shaft (126) of the gas turbine engine and a fan rotor linkage (122) of the gas turbine engine (as shown; figure 1).
As per claim 10, Miller in view of Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1. Miller further discloses a sun gear (202; figure 2), a plurality of planet gears (204), and a ring gear (206).
As per claim 13, Miller in view of Sigfried discloses the gearbox assembly of claim 1. Miller further discloses the plurality of planet gears (204; figure 2) being fixed to a stationary planet carrier (carrier 208 remains stationary; paragraph [0029]). However, Miller does not explicitly teach herein the hollow gear is at least one planet gear of the plurality of planet gears.
Sigfried teaches its hollow gear drive is designed to be a planetary gear (paragraph [0028]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify Miller’s planet gears to incorporate Sigfried’s hollow gear because as Sigfried teaches its suitability for use as a planetary gear (paragraph [0028]).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chmylkowski (U.S. Patent No. 10,487,917) teaches a epicyclic gear for a gas turbine engine having an annulus gear forming a lubricant chamber.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL EDWARD WIEHE whose telephone number is (571)272-8648. The examiner can normally be reached M-F approx. 7-4:30 EST.
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/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745