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
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, 3, and 5 are rejected under 35 USC §102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 3,591,109 to McLarty.
Regarding claim 1, McLarty teaches a flying apparatus comprising:
a main body assembly 1;
a plurality of arms (shaft housings 19, see fig. 4) extending from the main body assembly;
a plurality of rotors (S and S′) respectively attached to the plurality of arms (fig. 1); and
an engine (E) to supply a driving force to the rotors (via drive shafts and bevel gears, see fig. 4);
wherein the plurality of rotors include a first-side rotor and a second-side rotor such that, in a plan view, the first-side rotor is provided on a first side of the engine and the second-side rotor is provided on a second side of the engine opposite the first side (fig. 1); and
the engine includes a first output shaft (leftmost shaft 18 in fig. 4) to supply a driving force to the first-side rotor and a second output shaft (rightmost shaft 18 in fig. 4) to supply a driving force to the second-side rotor.
Regarding claim 3, McLarty teaches that the main body assembly includes a framed main body to enclose the engine in a plan view (fig. 1);
the framed main body includes a first frame member (leftmost framework bracing member 10 in fig. 1) provided on the first side of the engine and a second frame member (rightmost framework bracing member 10 in fig. 1) provided on the second side of the engine;
the first output shaft (inside shaft housing 19) extends obliquely relative to the first frame member in a plan view; and
the second output shaft (inside shaft housing 19) extends obliquely relative to the second frame member in a plan view (fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, McLarty teaches that the engine includes an engine main body (cylindrical housing partially shown in fig. 1 at ref. E) from which the first output shaft and the second output shaft project (via vertical tubular housing 31); and
the engine main body is oriented obliquely relative to the frame main body in a plan view (where the engine main body has a circular shape in plan view, and therefore portions of it are oblique to the frame main body around its circumference).
Claims 1−3 are rejected under 35 USC §102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 3,053,480 to Vanderlip.
Regarding claim 1, Vanderlip teaches a flying apparatus comprising:
a main body assembly (fig. 1 and annotated figure below, which shows elements of Vanderlip fig. 1 as they would appear in plan view);
a plurality of arms (arms formed by pairs of struts 37) extending from the main body assembly;
a plurality of rotors (such as rotors W and N in fig. 1 and annotated figure below; see col. 5 lines 18−21) respectively attached to the plurality of arms; and
an engine 20 to supply a driving force to the rotors (via shafts and bevel gears, see fig. 2);
wherein the plurality of rotors include a first-side rotor and a second-side rotor such that, in a plan view, the first-side rotor is provided on a first side of the engine and the second-side rotor is provided on a second side of the engine opposite the first side (see annotated figure below); and
the engine includes a first output shaft (sleeve 33 contains one shaft 45 or 46) to supply a driving force to the first-side rotor and a second output shaft (sleeve 34 contains another shaft 45 or 46) to supply a driving force to the second-side rotor.
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Regarding claim 2, Vanderlip teaches that the first output shaft and the second output shaft extend, in a plan view, obliquely relative to a line connecting a center of the first-side rotor to a center of the second-side rotor (see annotated figure).
Regarding claim 3, Vanderlip teaches that the main body assembly includes a framed main body (tubular frame comprised of tubes 10, 11, 12 at the bottom, best seen in fig. 5, tubular frame 24 forming a square or rectangle at the top, and vertical corner posts 25 and diagonals 26 connecting the bottom to the top; col. 4 lines 15−23) to enclose the engine in a plan view;
the framed main body includes a first frame member (one of the pair of struts 37 corresponding to rotor W) provided on the first side of the engine and a second frame member (one of the pair of struts 37 corresponding to rotor N) provided on the second side of the engine (see annotated figure);
the first output shaft extends obliquely relative to the first frame member in a plan view and the second output shaft extends obliquely relative to the second frame member in a plan view (see annotated figure).
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.
Claims 6−7 are rejected under 35 USC §103 as being unpatentable over McLarty as applied to claim 1 above.
Regarding claims 6−7, McLarty fails to teach the orientation of the air intake and exhaust port for the engine. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand the combustion engine taught by McLarty as including an air intake and exhaust port, since combustion engines require a source of air (i.e. oxygen) to mix with fuel for combustion, as well as an exhaust to expel the combustion byproduct gases from the engine. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to orient an air intake facing upward so that the air intake would not ingest as much dust and dirt from the ground compared to other positions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to orient the exhaust port facing upward so as to prevent exhausting pollution directly toward and ground support crew who may be in the vicinity of the vehicle on takeoff and landing.
Claims 6−7 are rejected under 35 USC §103 as being unpatentable over Vanderlip as applied to claim 1 above.
Regarding claims 6−7, Vanderlip fails to teach the orientation of the air intake and exhaust port for the engine. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand the combustion engine taught by Vanderlip as including an air intake and exhaust port, since combustion engines require a source of air (i.e. oxygen) to mix with fuel for combustion, as well as an exhaust to expel the combustion byproduct gases from the engine. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to orient an air intake facing upward so that the air intake would not ingest as much dust and dirt from the ground compared to other positions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to orient the exhaust port facing upward so as to prevent exhausting pollution directly toward and ground support crew who may be in the vicinity of the vehicle on takeoff and landing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the nearest prior art is considered to be Vanderlip, McLarty.
Multirotor VTOL aircraft prior art overwhelmingly employs individual electric motors for each lift rotor. Furthermore, where a centralized engine is used to drive multiple lift rotors mechanically, belt drives are more common, most likely due to the reduced weight and increased flexibility of belts compared to rotating output shafts.
McLarty and Vanderlip both teach apparatuses having output shafts driven at a common central hub (or gearbox) using bevel gears. Out of necessity, such arrangements feature output shafts which radiate out from a central axis. It would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify either to arrive at a design where two of the output shafts are parallel but not colinear.
Conclusion
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/M.B.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3642
/JOSHUA J MICHENER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642