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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim 10 is 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.
Regarding Claim 10, the recitation(s) “a plurality of fixing blocks” is not clear whether it includes the previously claimed fixing block.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shemyatovskiy 20200056492.
Regarding Claim 1, Shemyatovskiy teaches a blade-disk assembly (Figs 3-4) for a gas turbine (Figs 1-2) comprising:
a blade (incl. 1320) having a root part (incl. 1325);
a disk (incl. 1310) having a disk slot (1312), into which the root part is inserted (Figs 3-4); and
a fixing block (1400) inserted into a block assembly groove (of 1530) of the blade and a block insertion groove (between 1510 and 1520) of the disk in a circumferential direction (Figs 3-4) to retain an axial position of the blade with respect to the disk (Figs 3-6).
Regarding claim 2, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the disk includes:
a disk body (of 1310), in which the disk slot is formed (Figs 3-4); and
wherein the block insertion groove is formed in the disk body such that the fixing block is inserted thereinto, and the block insertion groove extends in the circumferential direction (Figs 3-4).
Regarding claim 3, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the block insertion groove has a T-shaped cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the circumferential direction (Figs 3-4, 6).
Regarding claim 4, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the disk body further includes:
a pair of separation preventing projections forming the block insertion groove (1510, 1520),
wherein a lower projection (1510) of the pair of separation preventing projections extends radially outward and an upper projection (1520) of the pair of separation prevention projections extends radially inward such that they face each other to form the T-shaped cross-section of the block insertion groove, and wherein the block insertion groove is formed to be opened toward one axial side (Figs 3-4).
Regarding claim 5, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the blade further includes:
a blade body (incl. 1321); and
a platform part (incl. 1322) formed between the blade body and the root part (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 6, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the block assembly groove (in 1530) is formed in the root part (incl. 1325, 1530; Fig 3) and configured such that the fixing block is inserted thereinto (Fig 5), and the block assembly groove extends in the circumferential direction (Figs 3-4).
Regarding claim 7, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the block assembly groove together with the block insertion groove defines a slide groove when the blade and the disk are coupled to each other (Fig 3-4), into which the fixing block is inserted and in which the fixing block is configured to slide (Figs 3-4, 6).
Regarding claim 8, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the slide groove is divided into the block assembly groove located in a central area in the circumferential direction and the block insertion groove located at opposite sides of the block assembly groove (Figs 3-4), and an opening opened toward one axial side is formed (vertically between 1530 and 1510 in Fig 6), and
wherein a portion (upper portion, e.g. at least 1421) of the fixing block is inserted into the block assembly groove (Figs 5-6), and a remaining portion (at least 1423) of the fixing block is inserted into the block insertion groove (Figs 5-6).
Regarding claim 9, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the root part further includes:
an assembly rib (1530) extending radially inward to define the block assembly groove (Fig 4), and
wherein a position of a radially inward end of the assembly rib is located at a position more distant from a central axis of the disk than a position of a radially inward end of other portions of the root part (Fig 4 shows the radially inward end of 1530 being more distant from the central axis than 1326).
Regarding claim 10, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the fixing block includes:
an insertion part (incl. 1421, 1423; Fig 6) inserted into the block assembly groove and the block insertion groove (Figs 3-6); and
an exposure part (face of 1420 where 1425 is formed to receive 1430) integrally formed with the insertion part and protruding to the one axial side (Figs 5-6), and
wherein the exposure part is configured to be exposed to an outside of the slide groove through the opening when the fixing block is assembled in the slide groove (Fig 6).
Regarding claim 11, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches the fixing block has a T-shaped cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the circumferential direction (Figs 5-6).
Regarding claim 12, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches a plurality of fixing blocks are provided (Fig 3),
wherein opposite circumferential ends of a portion of the slide groove defined by the block insertion groove are opened (Figs 3-4), and
wherein the plurality of fixing blocks are disposed in the slide groove along the circumferential direction (Figs 3-4).
Regarding claim 13, Shemyatovskiy teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention as discussed above. Shemyatovskiy further teaches a gas turbine (Figs 1-2) comprising:
a compressor (1100) configured to draw in and compress external air ([0051]);
a combustor (1200) configured to mix fuel with the external air compressed in the compressor and to combust a mixture of fuel and the compressed air ([0055]); and
a turbine (1300) which comprises a blade-disk assembly (Figs 3-4) in which a blade (incl. 1320) and a disk (incl. 1310) are assembled and rotated by a combustion gas discharged from the combustor ([0057]), wherein the blade-disk assembly comprises:
the blade having a root part (incl. 1325);
the disk having a disk slot (1312), into which the root part is inserted (Figs 3-4); and
a fixing block (1400) inserted into a block assembly groove (of 1530) of the blade and a block insertion groove (between 1510 and 1520) of the disk in a circumferential direction (Figs 3-4) to retain an axial position of the blade with respect to the disk (Figs 3-6).
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHANIE SEBASCO CHENG whose telephone number is (469)295-9153. The examiner can normally be reached 0600-0900 AM ET M-F and 1-2PM T/R.
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, Phutthiwat Wongwian can be reached at 571-270-5426. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEPHANIE SEBASCO CHENG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
