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 Objections
Claim 26 is objected to because of the following informalities:
the word ‘blade’ is missing between the word “turbine” and the word “of”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 16-20, 22, 24, and 26-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0143135 A1 to Nies et al.
Nies et al. clearly teaches a Torsionally Loadable Wind Turbine, comprising:
a shell (20) comprising a root portion (see Figure 5), the shell extending in a longitudinal direction (see Figure 5); and
a torque transferring member (22) at least partly arranged inside the shell (see Figures 2 and 5);
the torque transferring member comprising a root section (see Figure 5) and a longitudinal axis oriented along the longitudinal direction of the shell (see Figure 5), the root section rotatable around the longitudinal axis relative to the root portion (see Figure 5) and mechanically connected via at least one coupling with the shell (see paragraph [0020]) to provide a torsional moment on the shell.
With regards to claim 17, Nies et al. discloses:
the torsional moment on the shell is established by one or both of an angle of rotation of the root section of the torque transferring member around the longitudinal axis and a coupling status between the torque transferring member and the coupling.
With regards to claim 18, Nies et al. discloses:
the coupling being controllable (see paragraph [0020]) to change the coupling status is controllable; and
a torque meter (not illustrated but necessary for the control methodology of paragraph [0024]) configured to measure a torque value acting at the torque transferring member.
With regards to claim 19, Nies et al. discloses:
the torque transferring member being mechanically connected via a plurality of the couplings with the shell (see paragraph [0020]) at spaced apart locations along the longitudinal direction (see Figure 5), the couplings each arranged between a load bearing structure of the wind turbine blade and the torque transferring member.
With regards to claim 20, Nies et al. discloses:
mechanical properties (length) of at least two of the couplings are different (see Figure 5), the mechanical properties of each of the couplings based on one or more of a direction or magnitude of an angle of rotation of the torque transferring member; and
wherein one or both of a clearance and a stiffness between the couplings and a connected portion of the torque transferring member is changeable.
With regards to claim 22, Nies et al. discloses a method for operating a wind turbine (see Figure 1) having:
a rotor (9) with a wind turbine blade (10) according to paragraph 5 above; and
an actuator (26) mechanically connected with the torque transferring member (22),
the method (see paragraph [0024]) comprising the steps of:
determining, during operating the wind turbine, a current torsional state of the shell;
determining a desired torsional state of the shell; and
using the actuator and the coupling to change the torsional moment on the shell, so that a difference between the current torsional state of the shell and the desired torsional state of the shell is reduced.
With regards to claim 24, Nies et al. discloses the torsional state of the shell being changed for one or a combination of:
to counteract an instability of the wind turbine blade;
to adjust a distribution of an angle of attack over a of the wind turbine blade;
to aid in pitching the wind turbine blade (see paragraph [0022]);
to reduce noise; and
to align the aerodynamic or mechanical properties of the wind turbine blade with another wind turbine blade of the wind turbine.
With regards to claim 26, Nies et al. discloses:
a wind turbine (see Figure 1), the wind turbine comprising the wind turbine blade described in paragraph 5 above.
With regards to claim 27, Nies et al. discloses:
an actuator (26) connected with the root section of the torque transferring member (see Figures 2 and 5), and configured to rotate the root section around the longitudinal axis of the torque transferring member.
With regards to claim 28, Nies et al. discloses:
the actuator being configured to move the root section in the longitudinal direction of the shell and to measure a total torque applied by the torque transferring member.
With regards to claim 29, Nies et al. discloses:
a controller (16) connected with the actuator and configured to control the actuator based on the measured torque.
With regards to claim 30, Nies et al. discloses:
the controller being configured to operate the wind turbine in accordance to paragraph 5 above with the method of paragraph 10 above.
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.
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 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0143135 A1 to Nies et al. in view of DE 100 21 430 A1 to Nies et al.
Nies et al. (U.S. Patent) clearly teaches a Torsionally Loadable Wind Turbine as described in paragraph 5 above.
However, it fails to disclose the torque transferring member comprises one or a combination of: a cylindrical outer surface, a cylindrical shell, a tube, and a fiber-reinforced plastic.
Nies et al. (DE Patent) discloses an Adaptive Blade Adjustment and Adaptive Rotor for Wind Energy Rotors, comprising:
a wind turbine blade having a torque transferring member that comprises one or a combination of: a cylindrical outer surface (see Figures 3 and 7), a cylindrical shell (see Figures 3 and 7), a tube (see Figures 3 and 7), and a fiber-reinforced plastic.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to use the cylindrical shape disclosed by Nies et al. (DE Patent) on the blade of the Torsionally Loadable Wind Turbine disclosed by Nies et al. (U.S. Patent), for the purpose of providing torque using a longitudinal twist.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23 and 25 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 prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, does not teach or suggest a method as recited by dependent claim 23, wherein:
at least one of the current torsional state and the desired torsional state of the shell are determined based on one or more current operating parameters of the wind turbine;
determining the current torsional state of the shell comprises at least one of a measurement, using a look-up table, a calculation, or a simulation; and
the desired torsional state of the shell is determined and the torsional moment on the shell is changed as a function of at least one of: position of the rotor, a wind speed, a horizontal misalignment between a rotor axis of the rotor and a wind direction.
The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, does not teach or suggest a method as recited by dependent claim 25, comprising one or a combination of:
determining the current torsional state of the shell as a function of a longitudinal coordinate with respect to the longitudinal direction of the shell;
selecting a parameter for the wind turbine blade, and determining a current functional dependency of the parameter in the longitudinal direction of the shell, and determining a deviation between the current functional dependency and a desired functional dependency of the selected parameter in the longitudinal direction of the shell;
determining one of a desired twist of the shell or a desired torsional moment to be exerted on the shell in order to reduce the deviation; and
selecting an optimizing criterion that depends on a current operating parameter of the wind turbine or a current wind condition, and determining a desired functional dependency of the selected optimizing criterion in the longitudinal direction of the shell.
Conclusion
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/PEDRO J CUEVAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 May 16, 2026
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