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, 11-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 4: claim 1 states “the heat exchanger… coupled to the fan cowl” and the heat exchanger defines a portion of the fan duct, while claim 4 states that the bracket “couple the heat exchanger to the forward portion of the fan duct”. The fan duct appears to refer to the air path inside of fan cowl yet here is being defined as a solid object to be connected to. The claim will be rejected as best understood to refer to the bracket connecting to the fan cowl.
Claim 19: “couple the heat exchanger to the forward portion of the fan duct” appears to refer to the heat exchanger being connected to the interior of the duct as in claim 4 above. The claim will be rejected as best understood to refer to the bracket connecting to the outer cowl.
Claim 11: “heat exchanger forms an aft portion of the fan duct” and “heat exchanger located in an aft 50% of the fan duct” appears to claim that the heat exchanger is both within the fan duct and forms the fan duct and it is unclear how this is to be interpreted as to its location, for examination purposes, it will be considered that the heat exchanger forms the outer edge of the duct. 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 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, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hrubec (US-Pub 2021/0310417).
Regarding claim 1, Hrubec discloses a gas turbine engine comprising: a turbomachine (10, fig 1) comprising a compressor section (27, fig 1), a combustion section (28, fig 1), and a turbine section (29, fig 1) arranged in serial flow order, the turbomachine including an inlet duct defining an engine inlet (inlet 70 and duct extending downstream to 72 and 73 therefrom, fig 1), a fan duct defining a fan duct inlet (duct from inlet 73 down to the exit of the duct at 78, fig 1), and a core duct defining a core inlet (duct from inlet 72 to exit 80, fig 1); a fan cowl (77, fig 1) disposed circumferentially around the turbomachine; and a heat exchanger (74, fig 5) defining a portion of the fan duct (the heat exchangers are formed on the fan duct walls thus form a portion of the duct), at least a portion of the heat exchanger coupled to the fan cowl (par. 0056 states heat exchangers may be “surface coolers extending circumferentially around a substantial portion of the inner surface of the fan cowl” and would thus need to be connected to it), wherein the heat exchanger comprises an inlet, a main body, and an outlet (par. 0056 states the heat exchangers can be a brick type with air passing through passages, this means that the heat exchanger, which would inherently have to have a main body, would also need an inlet and outlet to allow for flow), and wherein the inlet and the outlet are coupled to the fan cowl (the main body is connected and so must be the inlet and outlet).
Regarding claim 5, Hrubec discloses wherein the heat exchanger is coupled to an aft portion of the fan cowl (par. 0056).
Regarding claim 8, Hrubec discloses wherein the fan duct comprises a forward portion (area in front of 42, fig 5) and an aft portion (area to the rear of 42, fig 5), and wherein the heat exchanger forms (par. 0056, “mounted to a surface”, the heat exchanger is mounted along the surface of the outer cowl and thus would form the wall of the duct) the aft portion of the fan duct (rearmost heat exchanger 74 forms the portion downstream of 42, fig 5).
Regarding claim 9, Hrubec discloses wherein the heat exchanger is located in an aft 50% of the fan duct (rearmost heat exchanger 74 is in the back half of the fan duct, fig 5).
Regarding claim 11, Hrubec discloses a gas turbine engine (10, fig 1) comprising: a turbomachine comprising compressor section (27, fig 1), a combustion section (28, fig 1), and a turbine section (29, fig 1) arranged in serial flow order, the turbomachine including an inlet duct defining an engine inlet (inlet 70 and duct extending downstream to 72 and 73 therefrom, fig 1), a fan duct defining a fan duct inlet (duct from inlet 73 down to the exit of the duct at 78, fig 1), and a core duct defining a core inlet (duct from inlet 72 to exit 80, fig 1); a primary fan (21, fig 1 driven by the turbomachine; a secondary fan (40, fig 1) located downstream of the primary fan within the inlet duct; and a heat exchanger (rearmost heat exchanger 74, fig 5) located in an aft 50% of the fan duct (the vane 42 approximately splits the duct into a front half and back half, and the heat exchanger is located in the rear half, fig 5), wherein the fan duct comprises a forward portion and an aft portion (portion in front of and behind vane 42, fig 5), and wherein the heat exchanger forms (par. 0056, “mounted to a surface”, the heat exchanger is mounted along the surface of the outer cowl and thus would form the wall of the duct) the aft portion of the fan duct.
Regarding claim 12, Hrubec discloses an outer cowl assembly comprising: an outer cowl (77, fig 1) disposed circumferentially around the turbomachine; wherein the heat exchanger is configured as part of the outer cowl assembly (par. 0056 states heat exchangers may be “surface coolers extending circumferentially around a substantial portion of the inner surface of the fan cowl”).
Regarding claim 14, Hrubec discloses wherein the heat exchanger is coupled to an aft portion of the fan cowl (par. 0056).
Regarding claim 17, Hrubec discloses wherein the heat exchanger comprises an inlet, a main body, and an outlet (par. 0056 states the heat exchangers can be a brick type with air passing through passages, this means that the heat exchanger, which would inherently have to have a main body, would also need an inlet and outlet to allow for flow), and wherein the inlet and the outlet are coupled to the fan cowl (the main body is connected and so must be the inlet and outlet).
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 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.
Claims 2, 3, 10, 13, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hrubec.
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Hrubec discloses wherein the fan cowl defines a maximum radius (at outer wall 75, fig 1), wherein the fan duct comprises a forward portion (the entrance as set forth above to the rearmost heat exchanger 74, fig 5), and a maximum radius (located approximately at the radius of point H, fig 1).
Hrubec discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the forward portion of the fan duct defines the maximum radius, and wherein the maximum radius of the fan duct is at most 65% of the maximum radius of the fan cowl. Applicants states that the radius of the fan duct is limited to increase the space available to place an engine accessory within the fan cowl (par. 0053). Thus the movement of parts into the fan cowl and the associated decrease in radius of the fan duct is resultant of a rearrangement of parts of a design similar to Hrubec. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the fan duct have its maximum radius at the forward end, the maximum radius being at most 65% of the maximum radius of the fan cowl, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 3, Hrubec discloses wherein the compressor section comprises a high pressure compressor (par. 0035), and wherein the forward portion extends over the high pressure compressor (the forward portion is defined to 74, which does extend over the high pressure compressor).
Regarding claims 10 and 20, Hrubec discloses an embodiment (fig 9) with the same structural elements as those claimed in fig 1, wherein the compressor section comprises a high pressure compressor (par. 0035), and wherein the forward portion extends over the high pressure compressor (upstream of the location of arrow 76, fig 9) and an aft portion (portion after arrow 76, fig 5) located aft of the forward portion and the heat exchanger forms a portion of the fan duct (par. 0056, “mounted to a surface”, the heat exchanger is mounted along the surface of the outer cowl and thus would form the wall of the duct).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the embodiment with the aft portion located downstream of the high pressure compressor. Doing so would allow for a mixing section to mix core air with the fan duct air (par. 0064), as suggested by Hrubec.
Hrubec discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the heat exchanger forms the aft portion of the fan duct. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the heat exchanger located in the aft portion of the fan duct rather than the forward portion, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claims 4, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hrubec in view of Dreischarf (10393147).
Regarding claim 4, Hrubec does not disclose a forward bracket configured to couple the heat exchanger to the forward portion of the fan duct.
Dreischarf teaches a surface cooler heat exchanger (52, fig 1) with a mounting bracket (90, fig 5) to the forward portion of the fan duct (the fan duct is one part thus it would connect to the forward part of the fan duct)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger disclosed by Hrubec by using an aft bracket (there is no mention of an aft bracket, so thus the singular bracket would teach the forward bracket) to couple the heat exchanger to the fan duct based on the teachings of Dreischarf. Doing so would allow for ease of mounting while allowing for thermal growth (col 1, lines 25-32), as suggested by Dreischarf.
Regarding claim 18, Hrubec does not disclose an aft bracket configured to couple the heat exchanger to the outer cowl.
Dreischarf teaches a surface cooler heat exchanger (52, fig 1) with a mounting bracket (90, fig 5) configured to couple the heat exchanger to the outer cowl (52 forms a portion of the outer cowl 34, fig 1)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger disclosed by Hrubec by using an aft bracket (there is no mention of a forward bracket, so thus the singular bracket would teach the aft bracket) to couple the heat exchanger to the outer cowl based on the teachings of Dreischarf. Doing so would allow for ease of mounting while allowing for thermal growth (col 1, lines 25-32), as suggested by Dreischarf.
Regarding claim 19, Hrubec does not disclose a forward bracket configured to couple the heat exchanger to the forward portion of the fan duct.
Dreischarf teaches a surface cooler heat exchanger (52, fig 1) with a mounting bracket (90, fig 5) to the forward portion of the fan duct (the fan duct is one part thus it would connect to the forward part of the fan duct)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger disclosed by Hrubec by using an aft bracket (there is no mention of an aft bracket, so thus the singular bracket would teach the forward bracket) to couple the heat exchanger to the fan duct based on the teachings of Dreischarf. Doing so would allow for ease of mounting while allowing for thermal growth (col 1, lines 25-32), as suggested by Dreischarf.
Claims 6, 7, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hrubec in view of Stewart (9650917).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Hrubec does not disclose wherein at least a portion of the fan (outer) cowl is moveable away from the turbomachine during a maintenance operating condition of the gas turbine engine.
Stewart teaches a gas turbine cowling (16a, fig 1) wherein at least a portion of the fan (outer) cowl is moveable away from the turbomachine during a maintenance operating condition of the gas turbine engine (fig 1 vs fig 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the cowling disclosed by Hrubec by having the cowling move away from the turbine during maintenance based on the teachings of Stewart. Doing so would allow for easy access to the engine core during maintenance (col 2, lines 1-13), as suggested by Stewart.
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Hrubec as modified by Stewart teaches wherein the fan (outer) cowl includes one or more fan cowl doors moveable away from the turbomachine during the maintenance operating condition of the gas turbine engine (see rejection under Stewart above), and wherein the heat exchanger is moveable away from the turbomachine with the one or more fan cowl doors during the maintenance operating condition of the gas turbine engine (the heat exchanger is a surface cooler attached to the outer wall of the cowl doors, that means that when the cowl doors move so must the surface coolers attached to said walls).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN V MEILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-9229. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached at 571-272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SEAN V MEILLER/Examiner, Art Unit 3741
/GERALD L SUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
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