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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ledwith US 3,028,729 in view of Rosengart US 2,694,291.
Regarding claim 1, Ledwith a turbopump assembly 20, 27 in a rocket propulsion system, the turbopump assembly comprising: a rotor 38 with at least one integral pump impeller 20 and at least one integral turbine impeller 27; a housing containing the rotor, referring to the sole figure, Ledwith shows a casing surrounding the turbopump which is interpreted as the housing. Ledwith is not relied upon to teach first bearings and second bearings supporting the rotor, the first bearings and second bearings being directly coupled to the rotor and directly mounted on the housing; wherein the rotor is disposed between the first bearings and second bearings such that the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are supported between the first and second bearings, the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are between all bearings supporting the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one turbine impeller in the housing; and the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are directly interconnected to each other to translate rotation therebetween without a drive shaft positioned between the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller.
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Rosengart teaches first bearings 1 and second bearings 2 supporting the rotor, the first bearings and second bearings being directly coupled to the rotor and directly mounted on the housing, the first and second bearings are directly coupled to the rotor and directly mounted to the housing; wherein the rotor is disposed between the first bearings and second bearings such that the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are supported between the first and second bearings, the rotor is supported by the first and second bearings and between the bearings to support the integral turbine and impeller, the at least one integral pump impeller IPC and the at least one integral turbine impeller IT are between all bearings supporting the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one turbine impeller in the housing, the turbocompressor assembly has only turbines 1 and 2; and the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are directly interconnected to each other to translate rotation therebetween without a drive shaft positioned between the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller, referring to fig. 5, the IPC and the IT are formed together in a similar manner to that disclosed by the Applicant in fig. 2F such that the backs of the IPC and IT are integrally formed, the center of the IPC and IT are hollow in the rotor space, the translation of the IPC by the IT occurs by the integral walls. Rosengart teaches that the arrangement of the engine results in a compact construction with reduced axial dimensions. See col. 4, liens 18-20.
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled worker to provide an integrated turbine impeller having the characteristics of Rosengart, in the fuel turbopump of Ledwith, in order to provide reduced axial dimensions and compact construction. Id.
Regarding claim 2, Ledwith, in view of Rosengart, discloses the at least one integral pump impeller and the at least one integral turbine impeller are fixed directly to each other and rotate at the same rotational velocity.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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 for the reasons previously discussed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to all claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
The Applicant’s amendments overcome the prior art Clemmens. However, newly applied prior art presents the claimed subject manner in a similar form.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERALD LUTHER SUNG whose telephone number is (571)270-3765. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571)272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GERALD L SUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
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