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 .
Drawings
Figure 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the inner shaft tube “fixedly connected to a wind turbine nacelle” of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the oil supply pipeline and the oil overflow hole must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the oil storage tank and the oil pump 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 § 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 7 and 7 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 limitation "the side" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the side" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1, 3-5, 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over applicant’s cited prior art Chen et al. (CN 202203380 U) in view of Hidding et al. (US 9,797,504 B2). Chen discloses a wind turbine gearbox lubricating apparatus (fig. 1), comprising:
Re claim 1, a driving shaft (2), a driven shaft (6), the driving shaft and the driven shaft being configured as hollow shafts connected by a flexible connector (8); an inner shaft tube (1), wherein the inner shaft tube penetrates into the driving shaft and the driven shaft (fig. 1), wherein an outer wall of the inner shaft tube and an inner wall of the driving shaft define an annular flow channel (7), and wherein a lubricating oil is provided in the annular flow channel (oil indicated by arrows in fig. 1); and a lubricating oil flow channel (10) provided between the annular flow channel and the flexible connector and configured to allow the lubricating oil to enter between connector teeth of the flexible connector through the annular flow channel (fig. 1).
Re claim 3, wherein the outer wall of the inner shaft tube is provided with a plurality of annular flow limiting grooves (grooves adjacent to 3) configured to limit an axial flow of the lubricating oil in the annular flow channel (flows are directed from axially to radially outward).
Re claim 4, wherein the flow limiting grooves are provided on the side close to wind turbine blades relative to the lubricating oil flow channel (fig. 1).
Re claim 5, wherein an accommodating cavity (cavity is positioned on the left side of 4 in fig. 1) in communication with gaps of the flexible connector (gaps between the spline 8 and being occupied by the oil) is provided between the driving shaft and the driven shaft, and wherein the accommodating cavity is configured to accommodate the lubricating oil (the oil exiting from 4 will occupied the cavity thereafter).
Re claim 10, wherein the flexible connector is a flexible spline (8 is described as a spline; by inspection a gap is at the spline for oil to flow therethrough, and as such 8 is a flexible spline).
Re claim 11, a wind turbine gearbox (title), comprising the wind turbine gearbox lubricating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 (see claim 1), the wind turbine gearbox lubricating apparatus being configured to lubricate the flexible connector in the gearbox (fig. 1).
Chen does not disclose:
Re claim 1, the inner shaft tube is fixedly connected to a wind turbine nacelle.
Re claim 9, wherein a sealing structure is provided between the driven shaft and the inner shaft tube, the sealing structure being configured to prevent leakage of the lubricating oil.
However, Hidding teaches a gearbox lubrication system (title), wherein:
Re claim 1, the inner shaft tube is fixedly connected to a wind turbine nacelle (fig. 3 shows the inner shaft tube is fixedly connected to the stationary housing 40, which is construed as part of the nacelle).
Re claim 9, wherein a sealing structure (fig. 3 shows the seal at the right end of the inner shaft tube) is provided between the driven shaft and the inner shaft tube, the sealing structure being configured to prevent leakage of the lubricating oil (fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fix the inner shaft tube to the nacelle, as taught by Hidding, to prevent the inner shaft tube from hitting the inner wall of the driving shaft during operation.
Claim(s) 2, 6-8, 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over applicant’s cited prior art Chen et al. (CN 202203380 U) in view of Hidding et al. (US 9,797,504 B2) and Crouch (US 4,987,974). Chen as modified discloses the apparatus (as cited above):
Re claim 15, wherein a sealing structure (Hidding: fig. 3 shows the seal at the right end of the inner shaft tube) is provided between the driven shaft and the inner shaft tube, the sealing structure being configured to prevent leakage of the lubricating oil (Hidding: fig. 3).
Re claim 16, wherein the flexible connector is a flexible spline (8 is described as a spline; by inspection a gap is at the spline for oil to flow therethrough, and as such 8 is a flexible spline).
Chen as modified does not disclose:
Re claim 2, wherein the annular flow channel is at least partially configured as a tapered cavity, wherein the tapered cavity comprises a first end on a side close to wind turbine blades and a second end in communication with the lubricating oil flow channel, wherein a cross-sectional area of the tapered cavity gradually increases from the first end to the second end, and wherein the tapered cavity is configured to gather the lubricating oil in the annular flow channel to a vicinity of the lubricating oil flow channel.
Re claims 6, 14, wherein the inner shaft tube is internally provided with an oil supply pipeline, and wherein the oil supply pipeline is in communication with the annular flow channel through an oil overflow hole formed in a surface of the inner shaft tube to fill the lubricating oil.
Re claim 7, wherein the oil overflow hole is provided on the side close to wind turbine blades relative to the flexible connector.
Re claim 8, wherein an oil storage tank and an oil pump are provided in the wind turbine nacelle, and wherein the oil pump is configured to pump the lubricating oil in the oil storage tank into the oil supply pipeline (Examiner takes Official Notice that this feature is known).
Re claim 12, wherein the outer wall of the inner shaft tube is provided with a plurality of annular flow limiting grooves (grooves adjacent to 3) configured to limit an axial flow of the lubricating oil in the annular flow channel (flows are directed from axially to radially outward).
Re claim 13, wherein an accommodating cavity (cavity is positioned on the left side of 4 in fig. 1) in communication with gaps of the flexible connector (gaps between the spline 8 and being occupied by the oil) is provided between the driving shaft and the driven shaft, and wherein the accommodating cavity is configured to accommodate the lubricating oil (the oil exiting from 4 will occupied the cavity thereafter).
However, Crouch teaches a lubricating assembly (fig. 2):
Re claim 2, wherein the annular flow channel (86) is at least partially configured as a tapered cavity (fig. 2), wherein the tapered cavity comprises a first end (upstream end of 86; equivalent to the upstream end of Chen annular flow channel 7) on a side close to wind turbine blades and a second end (downstream end of 86; equivalent to the downstream end of Chen annular flow channel 7) in communication with the lubricating oil flow channel, wherein a cross-sectional area of the tapered cavity gradually increases from the first end to the second end (fig. 2), and wherein the tapered cavity is configured to gather the lubricating oil in the annular flow channel to a vicinity of the lubricating oil flow channel (P4).
Re claims 6, 14, wherein the inner shaft tube (10) is internally provided with an oil supply pipeline (70), and wherein the oil supply pipeline is in communication with the annular flow channel (86) through an oil overflow hole (78) formed in a surface of the inner shaft tube to fill the lubricating oil.
Re claim 7, wherein the oil overflow hole is provided on the side close to wind turbine blades relative to the flexible connector (fig. 2: when taught the overflow flow of Chen will be close to the wind turbine blades based on the upstream flow positioning).
It would have been obvious to person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a tapered cavity, as taught by Crouch, to better facilitate the flow towards the oil flow channel. The oil supply pipeline allows for oil to be effectively directed to the flow channel.
Regarding claim 8, Examiner takes Official Notice that an oil storage tank and pump are widely known in the art. It would have been obvious to person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the oil storage tank and pump to effectively deliver pressurized oil to the bearing components.
Conclusion
The cited prior art(s) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINH D TRUONG whose telephone number is (571) 270-3014. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Hodge can be reached at (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Minh Truong/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
