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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed at the EPO on 10/15/2024. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the EP24383126.0 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “at least one nozzle duct and at least one diffusing duct formed between each of the at least one pair of V-shaped straight ribs, or between one V-shaped straight rib and one of the side walls” and “the at least one nozzle duct and the at least one diffusing duct are bounded by the at least one narrow hole and by the at least one wide hole” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-15 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.
Claim 1 recites “at least one nozzle duct and at least one diffusing duct formed between each of the at least one pair of V-shaped straight ribs, or between one V-shaped straight rib and one of the side walls” in lines 26-28. It is unclear how both at least one nozzle duct and at least one diffusing duct can be formed either between at least one pair of V-shaped straight ribs or between one V-shaped straight rib and one of the side walls. This renders the claim indefinite.
Claim 1 recites “the at least one nozzle duct and the at least one diffusing duct are bounded by the at least one narrow hole and by the at least one wide hole” in lines 29-30. It is unclear how the at least one narrow hole and the at least one wide hole can bound both the nozzle and diffusing ducts. This renders the claim indefinite.
Claims 2-15 each recite “an airfoil” in lines 1, respectively. It is unclear whether this airfoil is the same as that recited in claim 1. This renders the claims indefinite. In order to overcome this rejection “an airfoil” should be changed to --the airfoil--.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Smith et al. (US 9,051,842) discloses an airfoil with trailing edge cooling holes that converge.
Lee et al. (US 10,060,270) discloses an airfoil with ribs positioned at the trailing edge that form the shape of a V.
Gossilin et al. (US 11,053,802) discloses a turbine vane with trailing edge cooling holes that converge.
Pietraszkiewicz et al. (US 7,150,601) discloses a turbine vane with trailing edge cooling holes formed by straight ribs.
Meier et al. (US 2019/0178089) discloses an airfoil with cooling holes near the trailing edge formed with different sizes.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIELLE M CHRISTENSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3275. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 PM.
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, Courtney Heinle can be reached at 571-270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Danielle M. Christensen/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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