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 § 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, 7, and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by GRAVINA (US 10,8890,247).
Regarding claim 1, GRAVINA discloses a turbine engine comprising: a turbo-engine coupled to an input shaft (120); a fan (38) coupled to an output shaft (45); and a gearbox assembly (46), wherein a torque is transferrable from the input shaft to the output shaft through the gearbox assembly, the gearbox assembly comprising: a split sun gear (106) rotationally coupled to the input shaft, the split sun gear comprising a forward sun gear (114) and an aft sun gear (112) separate from the forward sun gear, wherein the forward sun gear and the aft sun gear are each rotationally coupled to the input shaft; a plurality of planet gears (122, 124) located radially outward of, and intermeshing with, the split sun gear; and a single piece ring gear (126) located radially outward of, and intermeshing with, the plurality of planet gears ; and a connection device for rotationally coupling the split sun gear (106) to the input shaft (120), the connection device comprising a forward support member ((A), see Figure 1 below), an aft support member (B) , and an input shaft coupling member (C), wherein the forward support member, the aft support member, and the input shaft coupling member are coupled together (via the bolt and nut) at the input shaft coupling member.
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Figure 1: Simplified and annotated Fig. 2 of GRAVINA
Regarding claim 7, the combination of GRAVINA_247-GRAVINA_260 discloses the forward support member (A) extends between the input shaft (120) and the forward sun gear (114), the aft support member (B) extends between the input shaft (120) and the aft sun gear (112), and the input shaft coupling member (C) rotationally couples the forward sun gear and the aft sun gear to the input shaft.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of GRAVINA discloses each of the forward support member (A), the aft support member (B), and the input shaft coupling member (C) comprises a first portion and a second portion.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of GRAVINA discloses a fastening device (bolts and nut) extending through the first portion of each of the forward support member, the aft support member, and the input shaft coupling member to secure the forward sun gear and the aft sun gear in an axial direction with respect to the input shaft
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 (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 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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GRAVINA (US 10,8890,247) as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, and further in view of MOULY et al. (US 11,674,592).
Regarding claim 2, GRAVINA does not disclose the split sun gear as a double helical gear.
MOULY teaches a sun gear (11) that has helical teeth (col. 3, lines 4-7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to have the teeth of the sun gear of GRAVINA be helical, as taught by MOULY, as MOULY teaches the teeth of the reducer can be straight, helical, or herringbone (col. 3, lines 4-7).
Claim(s) 5 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GRAVINA (US 10,8890,247) as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, and further in view of GRAVINA et al. (US 10,823,260).
Regarding claim 5, GRAVINA_247 discloses the aft support member (B) is rotationally coupled to the input shaft coupling member (C) but does not disclose it being a curvic connection.
GRAVINA_260 teaches a connection device comprising a forward support member (51c), an aft support member (74c), and an input shaft coupling member (32c) via a curvic connection (see col. 9, lines 42-47; and Figs. 9-10 of GRAVINA_260).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the connection device of GRAVINA_247 to have the details of GRAVINA_260 as they both are used to connect an input shaft to a split sun gear of a gear box assembly of a turbine engine. The design detailed in GRAVINA_260 allows for the transmission device to be manufactured and assembled simply, so as to reduce the errors in construction and assembly. (GRAVINA_260, col.1, lines 63-67).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of GRAVINA-GRAVINA_260 discloses the forward support member is rotationally coupled to the aft support member with a curvic connection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 9-14, and 17-22 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 4 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection required by the claim amendments.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEREK D. KNIGHT whose telephone number is (571)272-7951. The examiner can normally be reached Telework: From 5:30am-1:30pm EST.
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, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at 571-270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEREK D KNIGHT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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