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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites “the upstream rim” and “said upstream rim” without a proper antecedent basis.
Claim 5 recites “the upstream rim” without a proper antecedent basis.
Claim 6 recites the term “substantially” which is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 10 recites “the first cavity” and “the second cavity” without proper antecedent bases.
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, 6-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Da Costa (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0294597).
As per claim 1, Da Costa discloses a foil (30; figure 5) for a turbomachine turbine disk (10), comprising a casing at least partially surrounding a tooth of a turbine disk (foil 30 forming a casing for bulb 11 (tooth); figure 6), said tooth separating a first and a second cavity (12) of the disk (as shown; figure 3), each adapted to receive a root (21) of a movable vane (20) of the turbine, wherein the casing is adapted to at least partially cover: each of the side walls of the tooth (via side portions 34; figure 5), a downstream rim of said tooth (via axial locking means 33A, 33B; figures 5, 6).
As per claim 3, Da Costa discloses the foil according to claim 1, and further discloses a tab (33A, 33B) radially extending along an upstream rim of the tooth of the disk (as shown; figures 5, 6).
As per claim 6, Da Costa discloses the foil according to claim 1, and further discloses a substantially C-shaped cross-section, with a main body (35, 36; figure 5) of the C which covers the outer face of the tooth of the disk (as shown; figure 6) and two arms of the C which cover the side walls of the tooth of the disk (side portions of foil 30 shown; figure 6).
As per claim 7, Da Costa discloses the foil according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein the casing is formed from a metal sheet (foil 30, i.e., inherently a thin sheet metal by definition).
As per claim 8, Da Costa discloses an assembly for a turbomachine rotor comprising: at least a first and a second movable vane configured to be rotatably movable about an axis of rotationof the rotor (a plurality of blades; paragraph [0043]) and each including a vane root (21) provided with a lower face and two side flanks extending on either side of the lower face (as shown; figure 3), a disk (10) including at least a first and a second cavity (12) each adapted to receive a vane root, and a tooth (11) separating the first and the second cavity (as shown; figure 3), and a foil (30) according to claim 1.
As per claim 9, Da Costa discloses the assembly according to claim 8, and further discloses wherein the first side surface of the foil is housed between one of the side walls of the tooth of the disk and the side flank of the vane root of the first movable vane and the second side surface of the foil is housed between another of the side walls of the tooth of the disk and the side flank of the vane root of the second movable vane (as shown; figures 3, 6).
As per claim 10, Da Costa discloses a method for mounting a rotor assembly for a turbomachine according to claim 8 comprising: positioning a foil (30) according to claim 1 around a tooth (11) of the disk (10) so that said foil covers at least the side walls and the downstream rim of the tooth of the disk (as shown; figures 3, 6), folding at least one tab so as to position it the at least one tab along the upstream rim of the tooth of the disk (locking means 33A and 33B (tab) of foil 30 is shown to be bent, i.e., inherently involving folding of a foil; figure 5), and installing the root of the first movable vane into the first cavity of the disk and the root of the second movable vane into the second cavity so that a portion of the foil is positioned between the root of the first movable vane and one of the side walls of the tooth of the disk and another portion of the foil is positioned between the root of the second movable vane and the other side wall of the tooth of the disk (bulbs (root) of blades fitted in recesses of a disc; paragraph [0003]; figure 3).
As per claim 11, Da Costa discloses a turbomachine rotor, comprising a plurality of assemblies according to claim 8, juxtaposed circularly next to one another (discs 10 and blades 20, collectively; paragraph [0043]).
As per claim 12, Da Costa discloses the turbomachine, comprising a plurality of assemblies according to claim 8 mounted so as to form a rotor (discs 10 and blades 20, collectively; paragraph [0043]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 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.
Claims 4 and 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Claim 2 contains allowable subject matter a downstream surface extending between the main surface and the side surfaces to at least partially cover a downstream rim of the tooth of the disk.
In the closest prior art, Da Costa teaches a main surface (35, 36) adapted to cover an outer face of the tooth of the disk (as shown; figure 6), a first and a second side surface (34) extending from the main surface to cover side walls of the tooth of the disk (as shown; figure 6).
Da Costa fails to teach a downstream surface extending between the main surface and the side surfaces to at least partially cover a downstream rim of the tooth of the disk.
In other prior arts, Murdock (U.S. Patent No. 10,415,402) and Goyon (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2024/0200460) teach a foil for a rotor blade that wraps around the blade root unlike the claimed invention wrapping a tooth of the disk. Murdock and Goyon teach downstream surface extending between the main surface and the side surfaces. However, the downstream surface do not cover a part of a downstream rim of the tooth of the disk. Furthermore, even if one attempts to modify Da Costa’s foil to incorporate Murdock or Goyon’s downstream surface, it would render Da Costa’s device unsuitable for its intended use of allowing air flow to pass through channels formed at the outer surface of the tooth because Murdock and Goyon’s downstream surface would obstruct such channel.
In another prior art, Giguet (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2025/0035002) teaches a tab having a downstream surface that covers a downstream rim. However, Giguet’s downstream surface is not arranged such that it would be extending between the main surface and the side surfaces.
No relevant prior art of record sufficiently teaches the allowable subject matter in such a way that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the prior arts to create the claimed invention of claim 2.
Claims 4 and 5 also contain allowable subject matter by virtue of their dependency on claim 2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Douguet (U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2009/0016890) teaches a shim placed on a tooth of a rotor disk.
Ravenhall (U.S. Patent No. 6,290,466) also teaches a shim placed on a tooth of a rotor disk.
Forgue (U.S. Patent No. 7,938,626) teaches a shim for a root of a rotor blade having a plurality of tabs.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANG K KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-1324. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/SANG K KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
