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
Claims 1, 16 and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 3; claim 16, line 4; claim 18, lines 4, 20 and 21 recite “atmospheric air” and should recite “the atmospheric air”.
Claim 1, line 8; claim 16, line 9; claim 18, lines 10 and 23 recite “it” and should recite “the turbine”.
Claim 1, line 10; claim 16, line 11; claim 18, lines 12 and 23 recite “one or each of the compressor and the driving system” and should recite “the one or each of the compressor and the driving system”.
Claim 18, line 22 recites “a fluid” and should recite “the fluid”.
Claim 18, line 17 recites “a mixture of the compressed atmospheric air and the expanded fluid” and should recite “the mixture of the compressed atmospheric air and the expanded fluid”.
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 1-4 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Wolf et al. (US 3,740,949).
Regarding claim 1, Wolf discloses an air turborocket apparatus (Figure 2), comprising:
an air intake (114) designed to receive atmospheric air (Arrow labelled A);
a compressor (142) designed to compress atmospheric air received by the air intake (Figure 2),
a turbine (136),
a gas generator system (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132, pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit), including
a fluid circuit (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132) defining a flow path to the turbine (13) and
a driving system (pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit) designed to convey a fluid (From tank 120) along the fluid circuit (Figure 2) for the fluid to expand through the turbine (Figure 2, through 132) and rotate it (via shaft 146),
a coupling system (shaft 146) coupling the turbine with one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2 shows both are connected to the turbine via the shaft), to transfer energy to one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2);
a combustion chamber (154) designed to receive and combust a mixture of the compressed atmospheric air (from 142) and the expanded fluid (from 155);
a nozzle (116) arranged to expel the combusted mixture and thereby create thrust (Figure 2); and
a boiler (164) designed to generate heat (heat is generated in the combustor and into the boiler 164), wherein the boiler is in thermal communication with said flow path to transfer the generated heat to the fluid conveyed along said flow path (via the piping that extends into 164).
Regarding claim 2, Wolf discloses wherein
the coupling system couples the turbine with the compressor (Figure 2), whereby the rotated turbine at least contributes to rotate the compressor (col. 5, ll. 59-65) to accordingly compress the atmospheric air received by the air intake (Figure 2), in operation.
Regarding claim 3, Wolf discloses wherein
the driving system includes a pump (124) designed to pump liquid fuel (The pump 124 is structurally capable of pumping liquid fuel, fuel is pumped from fuel tank 120), the pump connected to the fluid circuit (via piping 122) to inject the pumped liquid fuel into the fluid circuit (Figure 2 shows the pump 124 connected to the piping of the fluid circuit), whereby said fluid is obtained from the pumped liquid fuel, in operation (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 4, Wolf discloses wherein
the coupling system couples the turbine with the pump (col. 5, ll. 59-65), whereby the rotated turbine at least contributes to actuate the pump, in operation (col. 5, ll. 59-65).
Regarding claim 16, Wolf discloses an aircraft (col. 1, ll. 1-7 describes the propulsion engine accelerating to hypersonic speeds, i.e. on an aircraft) comprising
one or more air turborocket apparatuses (Figure 2), each comprising:
an air intake (114) designed to receive atmospheric air (Arrow labelled A);
a compressor (142) designed to compress atmospheric air received by the air intake (Figure 2),
a turbine (136),
a gas generator system (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132, pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit), including
a fluid circuit (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132) defining a flow path to the turbine (13) and
a driving system (pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit) designed to convey a fluid (From tank 120) along the fluid circuit (Figure 2) for the fluid to expand through the turbine (Figure 2, through 132) and rotate it (via shaft 146),
a coupling system (shaft 146) coupling the turbine with one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2 shows both are connected to the turbine via the shaft), to transfer energy to one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2);
a combustion chamber (154) designed to receive and combust a mixture of the compressed atmospheric air (from 142) and the expanded fluid (from 155);
a nozzle (116) arranged to expel the combusted mixture and thereby create thrust (Figure 2); and
a boiler (164) designed to generate heat (heat is generated in the combustor and into the boiler 164), wherein the boiler is in thermal communication with said flow path to transfer the generated heat to the fluid conveyed along said flow path (via the piping that extends into 164).
Regarding claim 17, Wolf discloses wherein
the aircraft further includes one or more fuel tanks (120), to which the gas generator system and the boiler are connected (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 18, Wolf discloses a method of operating an air turborocket apparatus (Figure 2), the method comprising:
providing an air turborocket apparatus (Figure 2) comprising:
an air intake (114) designed to receive atmospheric air (Arrow labelled A);
a compressor (142) designed to compress atmospheric air received by the air intake (Figure 2),
a turbine (136),
a gas generator system (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132, pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit), including
a fluid circuit (Piping from 120 through to 152 and 132) defining a flow path to the turbine (13) and
a driving system (pump 124 and valves along the fluid circuit) designed to convey a fluid (From tank 120) along the fluid circuit (Figure 2) for the fluid to expand through the turbine (Figure 2, through 132) and rotate it (via shaft 146),
a coupling system (shaft 146) coupling the turbine with one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2 shows both are connected to the turbine via the shaft), to transfer energy to one or each of the compressor and the driving system (Figure 2);
a combustion chamber (154) designed to receive and combust a mixture of the compressed atmospheric air (from 142) and the expanded fluid (from 155);
a nozzle (116) arranged to expel the combusted mixture and thereby create thrust (Figure 2); and
a boiler (164) designed to generate heat (heat is generated in the combustor and into the boiler 164), wherein the boiler is in thermal communication with said flow path to transfer the generated heat to the fluid conveyed along said flow path (via the piping that extends into 164); and
operating the air turborocket apparatus (10) for:
the air intake to receive atmospheric air (Arrow labelled A enters air intake 114);
the compressor to compress atmospheric air received by the air intake (col. 3, ll. 54-61);
the driving system to convey a fluid (fuel from 120) along the fluid circuit (col. 4, ll. 56-61) for the fluid to expand through the turbine and rotate it (col. 5, ll. 4-10), to transfer energy to one or each of the compressor and the driving system (col. 5, ll. 59-65);
the boiler to generate heat and transfer the generated heat to the fluid conveyed along said flow path (col. 5, ll. 10-25);
the combustion chamber (154) to receive and combust a mixture of the compressed atmospheric air (from 142) and the expanded fluid (from 155); and
the nozzle (116) to expel the combusted mixture and thereby create thrust (exhaust out of 116 provides the thrust to the propulsion engine).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-15 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 fails to anticipate and/or render obvious, either alone or in combination, the multiple subcircuits arranged in the manner described in claim 5 or the boiler and gas generator set up as described in claim 9.
Claims dependent thereon inherit the allowable subject matter of the respective base claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katheryn Malatek whose telephone number is (571)272-5689. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 9 am - 6 pm.
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/KATHERYN A MALATEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
