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 § 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 4, 6, and 9 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 4 recites the limitation “a second bearing which is removable through the access opening for removal thereof”. The utilization of phraseology “thereof” causes indefiniteness because it’s not clear which bearing is being referenced.
Claim 6 recites a carriage assembly which ca be used to move the first bearing. The phrasing of this limitation renders it unclear whether moving the first bearing is required capability of the assembly or an intended utilization.
Claim 9 recites the rotor shaft being fixable to a stationary component for removal of the first bearing. However, the claim incorporates the mounting system of claim 1, which already recites “a stationary component”. It’s therefore not clear if this is the same one, or a different stationary component. The composition of the claim therefore produces indefiniteness.
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.
Claims 1, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Purucker (US 11933362).
Regarding claim 1, Purucker discloses a mounting system for a drive train of a wind turbine on a nacelle of the wind turbine, the mounting system comprising: a rotor bearing housing (5), the rotor bearing housing configured to be mounted to a machine support structure of the nacelle (support surfaces 20); a stationary component (22); and a first bearing (4), the first bearing being mounted in the rotor bearing housing for rotatably supporting a rotor shaft of the drive train (see axis of rotation 8), wherein the mounting system is configured such that the rotor shaft is fixable to the stationary component for removal of the first bearing (rotor lock disk 14 bolted to crossmember 14 via bolts 30 during a bearing exchange).
Regarding claims 9-10, Purucker discloses the mounting system according to claim 1 above. Purucker further discloses a wind turbine with the mounting system in its installed state. Purucker discloses a nacelle having a machine support structure (machine carrier 18 carries bearing housing 5 fastened by screws), and further comprising: a rotor shaft and the mounting system, the rotor bearing housing being mounted to the machine support structure, the rotor shaft being rotatably supported by the first bearing in the rotor bearing housing (rotor shaft 6 supported by bearing 4), and the rotor shaft being fixable to a stationary component for removal of the first bearing (holding device 22 and rotor lock disk 14). Additionally, Purucker discloses the method for removing the bearing from the housing, the method comprising: fixing the rotor shaft to a stationary component (Col. 9, Lines 35-52); releasing attachment of the first bearing after the rotor shaft has been fixed (Col. 10, Lines 27-53).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Purucker (US 11933362) in view of Levin (US 20210108620).
Purucker discloses the mounting system according to claim 1 above. The stationary component is a holding device (22) for bearing removal.
Purucker fails to teach the stationary component is formed by the rotor bearing housing.
Levin teaches a wind turbine with a toro lock (202) mounted on the main bearing housing (146) and fixes the rotor by pin engagement with the rotor lock plate (150) on the rotor shaft (122). Levin then teaches a lock with the shaft fixed via the lock plate and pin shaft to the bearing housing (Paragraphs 35, 40, 41) and therefore the stationary component formed by the rotor bearing housing.
Purucker and Levin are directed to immobilizing a wind turbine rotor shaft relative to stationary nacelle structure; thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mounting system of Purucker such that the stationary component is formed by the rotor bearing housing as taught by Levin for the purposes of utilizing the existing turbine frame for the locking interface and thereby eliminating a separate holding frame structure.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Purucker (US 11933362) in view of Burner (WO 2009042478).
Purucker discloses the mounting system according to claim 1 above. Purucker further discloses performing the bearing exchange by relative axial displacement toward the transmission side (Col. 10, Lines 32-39).
Purucker fails to teach the rotor bearing housing has an access opening at an end opposite a rotor of the wind turbine, through which the first bearing is removable during disassembly.
Burner teaches a wind turbine main shaft pillow block has removable end plates closing a cylindrical bore including a plate at the downwind end (Page 3, Lines 7-10 in Figure 5, Page 4 lines 18-21). The endplate is then removable and exposes an access opening at the end opposite the rotor communicating with the cylindrical bore in which the bearing assembly rests, and is removable through the opening.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mounting system of Purucker such that the rotor bearing housing has an access opening at an end opposite a rotor of the wind turbine, through which the first bearing is removable during disassembly as taught by Burner for the purposes of gaining internal access for bearing service while the housing remains attached to the machine carrier.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Purucker (US 11933362) in view of Taylor (US 5058256).
Purucker discloses the mounting system according to claim 1 above.
Purucker fails to teach the mounting system is configured to release an outer ring of the first bearing from a seat in the rotor bearing housing by means of a screw.
Taylor teaches a screw-driven axial withdrawal of a bearing unit from a housing bore with the extraction force applied to the unit’s outer ring by rotating a thread (Col. 1, Lines 49-62).
Because Purucker discloses the means of release being the utilization of a hydraulic power unit, and because Taylor teaches a means of generating the controlled axial force that withdraws a bearing unit from a housing bore through the utilization of a screw, it therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the mounting system of Purucker such that the mounting system is configured to release an outer ring of the first bearing from a seat in the rotor bearing housing by means of a screw as taught by Taylor for the purposes of effecting controlled axial extraction with a self-contained tooling without he utilization of a hydraulic supply tower.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 6, and 8 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, and overcome any 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN D SEABE whose telephone number is (571)272-4961. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathaniel Wiehe can be reached at 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN D SEABE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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