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 ii, directed to Claims 1-2, 6-12, and 16-20, in the reply filed on 11/19/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 3-5 and 13-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/19/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed on 03/14/2025. 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 § 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.
Claims 1-2, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2020/0284195, hereinafter Gebhard.
Regarding Claim 1: Gebhard discloses a passive auxiliary lubrication system comprising a gearbox assembly (Figure 5, No. 22) of an engine (10), the gearbox assembly comprising one or more gears including a plurality of planet gears (38) on a rotating planet carrier, and at least one pin (42) disposed in at least one of the one or more gears; an auxiliary tank (16) for storing lubricant, the auxiliary tank being passively pressurized (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-5); a primary lubrication system for supplying the lubricant to the auxiliary tank (Figure 5); an auxiliary tank feed line (72) fluidly coupled with the auxiliary tank and the primary lubrication system, wherein the lubricant is supplied to the auxiliary tank from the primary lubrication system through the auxiliary tank feed line, and the lubricant is passively pressurized in the auxiliary tank (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-5; Paragraph [0041], Lines 1-4); an auxiliary supply line (line going from tank 16 through valve 66 to line 48) fluidly coupled with the auxiliary tank (Figure 5) and the at least one pin, the lubricant in the auxiliary tank being supplied to the one or more gears through the auxiliary supply line and through the at least one pin (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-3); and a lubricant transfer device (66) including a cavity (the valve comprises a cavity), the lubricant transfer device fluidly coupled to the auxiliary supply line and fluidly coupled to the plurality of planet gears on the rotating planet carrier (Figure 5), and facilitating transfer of the lubricant from the auxiliary supply line to the plurality of planet gears to passively lubricate the gearbox assembly (Paragraph [0045], Lines 8-11).
Regarding Claim 2: Gebhard discloses the passive auxiliary lubrication system of Claim 1, wherein the plurality of planet gears has one or more passages (the passages through pins 42), and the cavity receives the lubricant from the auxiliary supply line and supplies the lubricant to the one or more passages of the plurality of planet gears as the rotating planet carrier rotates (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-3; Paragraph [0045], Lines 8-11; Paragraph [0047], Lines 1-3).
Regarding Claim 11: Gebhard discloses a passive auxiliary lubrication system comprising a gearbox assembly (Figure 5, No. 22) of an engine (10), the gearbox assembly comprising one or more gears including a plurality of planet gears (38) on a rotating planet carrier, and at least one pin (42) disposed in at least one of the one or more gears; an auxiliary tank (16) for storing lubricant, the auxiliary tank being passively pressurized (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-5); a primary lubrication system for supplying the lubricant to the auxiliary tank (Figure 5); an auxiliary tank feed line (72) fluidly coupled with the auxiliary tank and the primary lubrication system, wherein the lubricant is supplied to the auxiliary tank from the primary lubrication system through the auxiliary tank feed line, and the lubricant is passively pressurized in the auxiliary tank (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-5; Paragraph [0041], Lines 1-4); an auxiliary supply line (line going from tank 16 through valve 66 to line 48) fluidly coupled with the auxiliary tank (Figure 5) and the at least one pin, the lubricant in the auxiliary tank being supplied to the one or more gears through the auxiliary supply line and through the at least one pin (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-3); and a lubricant transfer device (66) including a cavity (the valve comprises a cavity), the lubricant transfer device fluidly coupled to the auxiliary supply line and fluidly coupled to the plurality of planet gears on the rotating planet carrier via the at least one pin (Figure 5); the auxiliary supply line being stationary and the at least one pin rotating (Figure 5; Paragraph [0033], Lines 16-18); and the lubricant transfer device facilitating transfer of the lubricant from the auxiliary supply line to the plurality of planet gears to passively lubricate the gearbox assembly (Paragraph [0045], Lines 8-11).
Regarding Claim 12: Gebhard discloses the passive auxiliary lubrication system of Claim 11, wherein the plurality of planet gears has one or more passages (passages through pins 42), and the cavity receives the lubricant from the auxiliary supply line and supplies the lubricant to the one or more passages of the plurality of planet gears as the rotating planet carrier rotates (Paragraph [0037], Lines 1-3; Paragraph [0045], Lines 8-11; Paragraph [0047], Lines 1-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-10 and 16-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art fails to disclose a passive auxiliary lubrication system as claimed, wherein the lubricant transfer device includes a transfer manifold having one or more internal passages, the one or more internal passages of the transfer manifold fluidly coupled to the cavity and fluidly coupled to the one or more passages of the plurality of planet gears. Gebhard discloses a lubricant transfer device; however, the device comprises a valve, not a transfer manifold having one or more internal passages. Sheridan (US Patent No: 8,020,665) discloses a passive auxiliary lubrication system (Figure 4) comprising a lubricant transfer device (44) fluidly coupled to an auxiliary supply line (124), to an auxiliary tank (42), and to a plurality of planet gears (10, 14, 18); however, the lubricant transfer device of Sheridan comprises a pump, not a transfer manifold. The prior art fails to disclose a passive auxiliary lubrication system as claimed in Claims 6 and 16; therefore, Claims 6-10 and 16-20 contain allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY D HEINLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3508. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9:00am-5:00pm).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alford Kindred can be reached at (571) 272-4037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/COURTNEY D HEINLE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745