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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“a biasing member which urges the movable member toward its deployed position” in claim 1; which is being interpreted as “The biasing member 220 here is constituted by a compression spring” as in page 7 line 28.
“a holding device for holding the movable member in its retracted position under certain predetermined conditions” in claim 1; which is being interpreted as “the holding device comprises a counterbalancing cylinder with a counterbalancing chamber in contact with a piston integral with the movable member, capable of receiving a pressurized fluid to counterbalance the urge of the biasing device” as in page 4 lines 1-3 as well as, “the predetermined conditions consist of a supply pressure of the chambers of the control actuator greater than a threshold” page 3 lines 33-34.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 14 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.
The term “substantially” in claim 7 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite; it 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. “substantially” is defined as “consisting of or relating to substance” (see Merriam Webster online dictionary). This language is indefinite as the specification does not describe how much the term “substantially” modifies a target, and implicitly requires boundaries at some maximum value above the target and at some minimum value below the target beyond which one is not “substantially” the target any more.
The term “substantially” in claim 14 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite; it 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. “substantially” is defined as “consisting of or relating to substance” (see Merriam Webster online dictionary). This language is indefinite as the specification does not describe how much the term “substantially” modifies a target, and implicitly requires boundaries at some maximum value above the target and at some minimum value below the target beyond which one is not “substantially” the target any more.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 8-13 are allowed.
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Regarding claim 1, Morreale et al. (US PGPUB 2019/0024672 A1) discloses a pitch change mechanism (Fig. 2, Abstract) for adjusting an angular position ([0028]) of at least one variable-setting blade (3) around a pivot axis (Y) of the variable-setting blade, said pitch-change mechanism comprising:
a frame (7) fixed relative to the pivot axis ([0039]),
a control actuator ([0020]) including a fixed part (16) integral with the frame (Fig. 2) and a movable part (17) that is translatable along a longitudinal axis (X) with respect to the fixed part between a retracted position and a deployed position (Fig. 2, Fig. 4, Fig. 5),
a connecting system (13, 14, 15) connecting the movable part to the variable-setting blade so as to convert the translation of the movable part along the longitudinal axis into a rotation of the variable setting blade around the pivot axis ([0043]), and
a pitch locking device (26a, 28) suitable for locking the translation of the movable part with respect to the fixed part in at least one direction (Fig. 2),
wherein the pitch locking device comprises:
a surface (24) integral with the frame or movable jointly with the movable part with respect to the frame (Fig. 2),
a biasing member (26, 27) which urges the movable member towards its deployed position (Fig. 2), and
However, Morreale et al. nor any of the prior art of record teach or suggest, “a locking member having an unlocked configuration away from the surface and a locked configuration engaged with the surface such that the movable part is immobilized with respect to the frame,
a movable member that is translatable with respect to the locking member between a retracted position in which it leaves the locking member free to be in its unlocking configuration and a deployed position in which it forces the locking member into its locked configuration, and
a holding device for holding the movable member in its retracted position under certain predetermined conditions, and
wherein the locking member comprises at least one deformable element, elastically deformable, having at rest a first radial thickness and, when compressed parallel to the longitudinal axis, a second radial thickness greater than the first radial thickness, the locking member being in the unlocked configuration when the deformable element is at rest and in the locked configuration when the deformable element is compressed parallel to the longitudinal axis.”
Claims 2-6 and 8-13 are allowable based on their dependencies.
Claim 7 and 14 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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US PGPUB 2019/0003484 A1 discloses a fan module having variable-pitch blades for a turbine engine.
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US PGPUB 2019/0106198 A1 discloses a simplified pitch actuation system for a turbomachine propeller.
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US PGPUB 2014/0294585 A1 discloses a turbo engine with propeller(s) for an aircraft with a system for changing the pitch of the propeller.
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US PGPUB 2007/0212220 A1 discloses a controlled propeller pitch lock actuation system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN C CLARK whose telephone number is (571)272-2871. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 0730-1730, Alternate Fridays 0730-1630.
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/RYAN C CLARK/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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