DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 3 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2, line 3, “an open valve position and a closed valve position” should be revised to: -- [[an]] the open valve position and [[a]] the closed valve position --,
since such positions were previously recited in claim 1;
Claim 3, line 3, “an open valve position, a closed valve position” should be revised to: -- [[an]] the open valve position, [[a]] the closed valve position --,
since such positions were previously recited in claim 1;
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-2, 7-10, 14, 15 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10, 12, 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,359,619 (henceforth, “the patent”). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other.
Regarding independent claim 1, the patent claims a gas turbine engine for an aircraft (claim 1) comprising:
an engine core comprising a turbine, a combustor, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core and arranged to be driven by the core shaft, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 11-17);
a nacelle surrounding the fan and the engine core and defining a bypass duct located radially outside of the engine core, where the bypass ratio, defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of the flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of the flow through the core at cruise conditions, is at least 4 (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 18-23);
a generator heat management system (claim 7, col. 49, ln. 7-8);
a plurality of actuators, comprising an actuator configured to actuate at least one valve within the generator heat management system (claim 7, col. 49, ln. 8-14); and
a fuel supply system, wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel for combustion in the combustor (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 29-34), and to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system (claim 7, col. 49, ln. 11-14);
wherein the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable non-binary position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position (claim 10, col. 49, ln. 29-34, “to enable continuous position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position” implies a “non-binary position adjustment”).
The claims of the patent "anticipate" the claims of the application. Accordingly, the application claims are not patentably distinct from the patent claims. Here, the more specific patent claims encompass the broader application claims. Following the rationale in In re Goodman cited in the preceding paragraph, where applicant has once been granted a patent containing a claim for the specific or narrower invention, applicant may not then obtain a second patent with a claim for the generic or broader invention without first submitting an appropriate terminal disclaimer.
Regarding claim 2, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable continuous position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position (claim 10, col. 49, ln. 29-34).
Regarding claim 7, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the engine comprises an engine heat management system (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 24), wherein the plurality of actuators comprises an actuator configured to actuate at least one valve within the engine heat management system (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 25-27, ln. 35-36), and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system (claim 1, col. 48, ln. 30-34).
Regarding claim 8, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the engine heat management system comprises a plurality of valves, and wherein the at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system is configured to actuate at least two of the plurality of valves within the engine heat management system (claim 4, col. 48, ln. 56-61).
Regarding claim 9, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the engine heat management system comprises a plurality of valves, and wherein the plurality of actuators comprises a plurality of actuators each configured to actuate at least one of the plurality of valves within the engine heat management system (claim 5, col. 48, ln. 62-67).
Regarding claim 10, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system is configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system so as to enable continuous position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position (claim 2, col. 48, ln. 45-49).
Regarding claims 14, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the core shaft outputs drive to the fan directly, so as to drive the fan at the same rotational speed as core shaft, such that the engine is a direct drive turbine engine (claim 12, col. 49, ln. 41-44).
Regarding claim 15, the patent claims the gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the turbine engine comprises a gearbox that receives an input from the core shaft and outputs drive to the fan so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, such that the engine is a geared turbine engine (claim 13, col. 49, ln. 45-49).
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 1-3, 6, 7, 11, 14-16, 18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiner (US 2016/0333783 A1) in view of Schmitz (US 2016/01808815 A1), further in view of Veilleux Jr. (US 2016/0138473 A1).
Regarding independent claim 1, Weiner discloses a gas turbine engine 10 for an aircraft (Para. 0024) comprising:
an engine core 26 comprising a turbine (implicit in a gas turbine engine, Abstract, Para. 0029) , a combustor (implicit from the discussion of fuel lines, Para. 0062), a compressor (implicit, Para. 0067), and a core shaft (“low-pressure spool… and a high-pressure spool”, Para. 0029) connecting the turbine to the compressor;
a fan 24 located upstream of the engine core and arranged to be driven by the core shaft (Para. 0029, Fig. 2A), the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades (Fig. 2A);
a nacelle 28 (fan shroud, Fig. 2A) surrounding the fan and the engine core and defining a bypass duct 32 located radially outside of the engine core (Fig. 2A, Para. 0029);
a generator heat management system (Fig. 1, 2B, & 4A-B, lubrication system with an air-oil cooler 100’, Para. 0025-28, 0036, 0040-43; the system can include an air-oil cooler 100’ for cooling a “second lubrication circuit… such as for a generator”; hence the engine has a generator heat management system comprising the air-oil cooler 100’ to manage the temperature of the oil; details of the generator heat management system would be similar to that of the general engine heat management system having air-oil cooler 100);
comprising an actuator 220’ (Fig. 7B, Para. 0061-62) configured to actuate at least one valve 200 (“air diverter”, Fig. 1, Para. 0025-28, 0044) within the generator heat management system (Fig. 1, 7B, the air diverter controls air flow to the air-oil cooler 100 of the heat management system, and the generator heat management system would have such a diverter as well, Para. 0049-52, “Radial displacement of respective ends of nozzle flaps 210 in turn establishes the amount of air admitted to air-oil cooler 100 from bypass duct 32”);
a fuel supply system (“fuel lines”) to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system (Para. 0062, “Advantageously, in embodiments of gas turbine engine 10 where fuel lines cannot be run within first compartment 38, embodiments of actuator 220′ allow for powering linear actuator 222′ hydraulically using high-pressure fuel. This potentially simplifies the construction of gas turbine engine 10”);
wherein the actuator 220’configured to actuate the at least one valve 200 within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable non-binary position adjustment between an open valve position (Fig. 8B) and a closed valve position (Fig. 8A; Para. 0064-65, “In is contemplated that air diverter 200 can be a modulating air diverter where synchronization ring 206 is configured for positioning nozzle flap 210 radially between the first position and second to match a temporal heat rejection requirement with a temporal heat rejection capability of air-oil cooler 100. This matches heat rejection capability with heat rejection requirements as the latter changes during operation of gas turbine engine 10 (shown in FIG. 1)”; the valve position can be adjusted to be between fully open and fully closed, hence a non-binary valve with multiple positions).
Weiner fails to disclose where the bypass ratio, defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of the flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of the flow through the core at cruise conditions, is at least 4; a plurality of actuators that comprise the actuator of the at least one valve; the fuel supply system arranged to supply fuel for combustion in the combustor.
Schmitz teaches a gas turbine engine 20 for an aircraft, including an engine core comprising a turbine 28, combustor 26, and compressor 24 with a core shaft 30, 32 connecting the turbine to the compressor (Para. 0025, Fig. 1), and a fan 42 upstream of the engine core (Fig. 1) driven by the core shaft 30 (through a gear architecture 48), where the bypass ratio, defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of the flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of the flow through the core at cruise conditions, is at least 4 (Para. 0027, “the engine 20 bypass ratio is greater than about six (6), with an example embodiment being greater than about ten (10)”; Para. 0028, “The fan section 22 of the engine 20 is designed for a particular flight condition—typically cruise at about 0.8 Mach and about 35,000 feet (10,688 meters)”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the engine of Weiner such that the bypass ratio is at least 4 (such as greater than 6 or greater than 10) as taught by Schmitz, in order to provide a high-bypass geared aircraft engine can provide significant thrust while having efficient fuel consumption (Schmitz Para. 0027-28). High-bypass ratio turbofan engines are well-known in the art.
Weiner in view of Schmitz still fails to teach a plurality of actuators that that comprise the actuator of the at least one valve; the fuel supply system arranged to supply fuel for combustion in the combustor.
Veilleux Jr. teaches an aircraft fuel system 10 comprising a plurality of actuators 52a-52n (servo systems) supplied with fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuators (Para. 0011, 0017-18, 0024-25, “Servo systems 52a-52n use the fuel as a source of hydraulic power to operate the servos which control actuators within an aircraft system”), the fuel supply system also arranged to supply fuel for combustion in a combustor (via nozzles 38, Para. 0011, 0022, “fuel continues through nozzle fuel line portion 40f to nozzles 38, where the fuel is injected into a combustor of a gas turbine engine”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz, the fuel system having a plurality of actuators operated fueldraulically, and supplying fuel for combustion in a combustor, as taught by Veilleux Jr., in order to provide fuel-driven servo systems that can operate multiple control actuators in the aircraft systems, such as compressor bleed air valves, thereby eliminating the need for a separate hydraulic fluid to operate the servo systems (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0024), while also providing fuel to the combustor to facilitate combustion and operation of the gas turbine engine (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0022). A fuel supply system that provides fueldraulic fluid to actuators and fuel to a combustor for combustion is also well-known and common in the art (see for further example, Angevin US 2019/0170065, Potel US 2013/0283811, Crowley US 2017/0321608).
Regarding claim 2, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches wherein the actuator 220’ configured to actuate the at least one valve 200 within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable continuous position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position (Para. 0064-65, “In is contemplated that air diverter 200 can be a modulating air diverter where synchronization ring 206 is configured for positioning nozzle flap 210 radially between the first position and second to match a temporal heat rejection requirement with a temporal heat rejection capability of air-oil cooler 100. This matches heat rejection capability with heat rejection requirements as the latter changes during operation of gas turbine engine 10 (shown in FIG. 1)”; the valve position can be adjusted to be between fully open and fully closed).
Regarding claim 3, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches wherein the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable discrete position adjustment between an open valve position, a closed valve position, and at least two intermediate valve positions (Para. 0064-65, the actuator can modulate the valve position to be between the open position of Fig. 8B and the closed position of 8A to match the air-oil cooler’s “heat rejection capability” with a particular “temporal heat rejection requirement”; this would imply multiple intermediate positions between the fully open and fully closed position to tailor the bypass air flow through the air-oil cooler to match the desired heat rejection as the requirement changes throughout engine operation).
Regarding claim 6, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, but fails to teach wherein the engine comprises a bleed air valve, wherein the plurality of actuators comprises an actuator configured to actuate the bleed air valve, and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the bleed air valve.
Veilleux Jr. teaches wherein the engine comprises a bleed air valve (Para. 0024, “an actuator that allows compressed air to escape from a high pressure compressor stage within a gas turbine engine”), wherein the plurality of actuators 52a-52n comprises an actuator configured to actuate the bleed air valve (Id.), and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the bleed air valve (Id.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., a bleed air valve with respective fueldraulic actuator, as taught by Veilleux Jr., in order to provide a servo system that allows compressed air to escape from the high pressure compressor stage within the gas turbine engine, allowing for control of the compressor pressure ratio or to provide a source of compressed air for other aircraft systems (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0024).
Regarding claim 7, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches wherein the engine comprises an engine heat management system (Fig. 1, lubrication system with an air-oil cooler 100, Para. 0025-28; the lubrication system can be broadly interpreted as an engine heat management system since engine oil can act as a coolant for the engine, and the air-oil cooler 100 manages the temperature of the oil);
wherein the plurality of actuators (see claim 1 above) comprises an actuator 220’ (Fig. 7A-7B) configured to actuate at least one valve 200 (air diverter for the respective air-oil cooler 100, Fig. 1, Para. 0025-28, 0044) within the engine heat management system (Fig. 1, Para. 0061-62), and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system (Para. 0062, “Advantageously, in embodiments of gas turbine engine 10 where fuel lines cannot be run within first compartment 38, embodiments of actuator 220′ allow for powering linear actuator 222′ hydraulically using high-pressure fuel. This potentially simplifies the construction of gas turbine engine 10”; the air-oil coolers of the engine in general, including both engine and generator heat management systems, can use the fueldraulic actuators to control respective air diverter valves of the heat management systems).
Regarding claim 10, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 7, and Weiner further teaches wherein the actuator 220’ configured to actuate the at least one valve 200 within the engine heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable continuous position adjustment between an open valve position and a closed valve position (Para. 0064-65, “In is contemplated that air diverter 200 can be a modulating air diverter where synchronization ring 206 is configured for positioning nozzle flap 210 radially between the first position and second to match a temporal heat rejection requirement with a temporal heat rejection capability of air-oil cooler 100. This matches heat rejection capability with heat rejection requirements as the latter changes during operation of gas turbine engine 10 (shown in FIG. 1)”; the valve position can be adjusted to be between fully open and fully closed).
Regarding claim 11, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, but fails to teach wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least ten of the plurality of actuators.
Veilleux Jr. teaches wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least ten of the plurality of actuators 52a-52n (servo systems 52a to 52n are 14 total servo systems and thus 14 total actuators, Para. 0024, Fig. 1).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. the fuel supply system arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least ten of the plurality of actuators, as taught by Veilleux Jr., in order to provide multiple servo systems that utilize fuel as their hydraulic fluid, in order to control various aircraft systems without the need for a separate hydraulic fluid supply (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0003, 0023-25).
Regarding claim 14, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, but fails to teach wherein the core shaft outputs drive to the fan directly, so as to drive the fan at the same rotational speed as core shaft, such that the engine is a direct drive turbine engine.
Schmitz teaches the gas turbine engine wherein the turbofan engine can be a direct drive turbine engine driving the fan directly with the core shaft (Para. 0027, “the present invention is applicable to other gas turbine engines including direct drive turbofans”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. such that the core shaft outputs drive to the fan directly as a direct-drive turbine engine, as taught by Schmitz, in order to drive the fan without the need for a geared architecture, reducing engine weight and simplifying the engine configuration (Schmitz Para. 0027)
Regarding claim 15, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, but fails to teach wherein the turbine engine comprises a gearbox that receives an input from the core shaft and outputs drive to the fan so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, such that the engine is a geared turbine engine.
Schmitz teaches wherein the turbine engine comprises a gearbox 48 (geared architecture, Para. 0048) that receives an input from the core shaft 30 (low pressure spool) and outputs drive to the fan 42 so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft (“a gear reduction ratio of greater than about 2.3”), which would cause the fan to rotate at a lower speed than the input of the core shaft, Para. 0027), such that the engine is a geared turbine engine (Fig. 1, Para. 0027).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. such that the fan is driven through a gearbox at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, as taught by Schmitz, in order to drive the fan at a desired speed relative to the core shaft input rotational speed and thus provide a desired level of propulsive thrust (Schmitz Para. 0027-28).
Regarding claim 16, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches wherein the generator heat management system comprises an air-oil heat exchanger 100’ (“air-oil cooler” for the second lubrication circuit for generator cooling, Para. 0025-28, 0036, 0040-43), and wherein the actuator 220’ configured to actuate at least one valve 200 within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate an air-side valve of the air-oil heat exchanger (the valve 200 is an air diverter valve for controlling the airflow through the air-oil heat exchanger 100, Para. 0027-28, 0057, 0061-62; the air diverter valve would be applicable to the air-oil cooler 100’ since they are discussed as within the same scope of the invention).
Regarding claim 18, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weinger further teaches wherein the generator heat management system comprises a plurality of air-oil heat exchangers (Para. 0043, the air-oil coolers 100’ can be formed of “two or more arcuate segments”, suggesting a plurality of air-oil coolers arranged circumferentially).
Regarding independent claim 20, Weiner discloses a method of operating a gas turbine engine 10 for an aircraft (Para. 0024), the engine comprising:
an engine core 26 comprising a turbine (implicit in a gas turbine engine, Abstract, Para. 0029), a combustor (implicit from the discussion of fuel lines, Para. 0062), a compressor (implicit, Para. 0067), and a core shaft (“low-pressure spool… and a high-pressure spool”, Para. 0029) connecting the turbine to the compressor;
a fan 24 located upstream of the engine core and arranged to be driven by the core shaft (Para. 0029, Fig. 2A), the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades (Fig. 2A);
a nacelle 28 (fan shroud, Fig. 2A) surrounding the fan and the engine core and defining a bypass duct 32 located radially outside of the engine core (Fig. 2A, Para. 0029);
a generator heat management system (Fig. 1, 2B, & 4A-B, lubrication system with an air-oil cooler 100’, Para. 0025-28, 0036, 0040-43; the system can include an air-oil cooler 100’ for cooling a “second lubrication circuit… such as for a generator”; hence the engine has a generator heat management system comprising the air-oil cooler 100’ to manage the temperature of the oil; details of the generator heat management system would be similar to that of the general engine heat management system having air-oil cooler 100);
an actuator 220’ (Fig. 7B, Para. 0061-62) configured to actuate at least one valve 200 (“air diverter”, Fig. 1, Para. 0025-28, 0044) within the generator heat management system (Fig. 1, 7B, the air diverter controls air flow to the air-oil cooler 100 of the heat management system, and the generator heat management system would have such a diverter as well, Para. 0049-52, “Radial displacement of respective ends of nozzle flaps 210 in turn establishes the amount of air admitted to air-oil cooler 100 from bypass duct 32”), wherein the actuator 220’configured to actuate the at least one valve 200 within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate said valve so as to enable non-binary position adjustment between an open valve position (Fig. 8B) and a closed valve position (Fig. 8A; Para. 0064-65, “In is contemplated that air diverter 200 can be a modulating air diverter where synchronization ring 206 is configured for positioning nozzle flap 210 radially between the first position and second to match a temporal heat rejection requirement with a temporal heat rejection capability of air-oil cooler 100. This matches heat rejection capability with heat rejection requirements as the latter changes during operation of gas turbine engine 10 (shown in FIG. 1)”; the valve position can be adjusted to be between fully open and fully closed, hence a non-binary valve with multiple positions); and
a fuel supply system (“fuel lines”); and
wherein the method comprises: supplying, using the fuel supply system, fuel to fueldraulically drive at least the generator heat management system valve actuator (Para 0061-62, “Advantageously, in embodiments of gas turbine engine 10 where fuel lines cannot be run within first compartment 38, embodiments of actuator 220′ allow for powering linear actuator 222′ hydraulically using high-pressure fuel. This potentially simplifies the construction of gas turbine engine 10”; said actuator would be applied to the air-oil cooler 100’).
Weiner fails to disclose where the bypass ratio, defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of the flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of the flow through the core at cruise conditions, is at least 4; a plurality of actuators; wherein the method comprises: supplying, using the fuel supply system, fuel for combustion in the combustor.
Schmitz teaches a gas turbine engine 20 for an aircraft, including an engine core comprising a turbine 28, combustor 26, and compressor 24 with a core shaft 30, 32 connecting the turbine to the compressor (Para. 0025, Fig. 1), and a fan 42 upstream of the engine core (Fig. 1) driven by the core shaft 30 (through a gear architecture 48), where the bypass ratio, defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of the flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of the flow through the core at cruise conditions, is at least 4 (Para. 0027, “the engine 20 bypass ratio is greater than about six (6), with an example embodiment being greater than about ten (10)”; Para. 0028, “The fan section 22 of the engine 20 is designed for a particular flight condition—typically cruise at about 0.8 Mach and about 35,000 feet (10,688 meters)”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the engine of the method of Weiner such that the bypass ratio is at least 4 (such as greater than 6 or greater than 10) as taught by Schmitz, in order to provide a high-bypass geared aircraft engine can provide significant thrust while having efficient fuel consumption (Schmitz Para. 0027-28). High-bypass ratio turbofan engines are well-known in the art.
Weiner in view of Schmitz still fails to teach a plurality of actuators that that comprise the actuator of the at least one valve; and the method comprising supplying, using the fuel supply system, fuel for combustion in the combustor.
Veilleux Jr. teaches an aircraft fuel system 10 comprising a plurality of actuators 52a-52n (servo systems) supplied with fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuators (Para. 0011, 0017-18, 0024-25, “Servo systems 52a-52n use the fuel as a source of hydraulic power to operate the servos which control actuators within an aircraft system”), and a method of using the fuel supply system to supply fuel for combustion in a combustor (via nozzles 38, Para. 0011, 0022, “fuel continues through nozzle fuel line portion 40f to nozzles 38, where the fuel is injected into a combustor of a gas turbine engine”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine and method of Weiner in view of Schmitz, the fuel system having a plurality of actuators operated fueldraulically, and a method step of supplying fuel for combustion in a combustor, as taught by Veilleux Jr., in order to provide fuel-driven servo systems that can operate multiple control actuators in the aircraft systems, such as compressor bleed air valves, thereby eliminating the need for a separate hydraulic fluid to operate the servo systems (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0024), while also providing fuel to the combustor to facilitate combustion and operation of the gas turbine engine (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0022). A fuel supply system that provides fueldraulic fluid to actuators and fuel to a combustor for combustion is also well-known and common in the art (see for further example, Angevin US 2019/0170065, Potel US 2013/0283811, Crowley US 2017/0321608).
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., and further in view of Wang (US 2013/0086909 A1).
Regarding claims 4 & 5, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teach the gas turbine engine of claim 1, but fails to teach wherein the generator heat management system comprises a plurality of valves, and wherein the at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate at least two of the plurality of valves within the generator heat management system; or, wherein the plurality of actuators comprises a plurality of actuators each configured to actuate at least one of the plurality of valves with the generator heat management system
Wang teaches a gas turbine engine 11 (Para. 0021) having an engine heat management system 110 (Fig. 2, the oil cooling circuit; see also Fig. 1, oil circuit 10), and a generator heat management system (Para. 0033, oil circuits for variable frequency generators (VFGs), having fuel-oil heat exchangers 113b’, 113b”, Fig. 2, Para. 0034-35; Fig. 1, air-oil heat exchangers 22, 32 for generators 21, 31) with a plurality of valves 149’, 149” controlling the flow of fuel through each respective fuel-oil/air-oil heat exchanger (Para. 0035, Fig. 2; Fig. 1, valves 28, 38).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the system of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., the generator heat management system having multiple heat exchangers with a plurality of valves therein, as taught by Wang, in order to provide cooling to generator oil and maintain the generator oil at a desirable temperature through the use of multiple heat exchangers, while also enabling control of oil temperature (Wang Para. 0004-5, 0033-35). By having multiple heat exchangers/coolers, there would be a plurality of valves for controlling each respective cooler. Consequently, there would be at least one actuator configured to actuate at least one valve in the generator heat management system, with at least two of the plurality of valves being actuated to control the multiple coolers, since Weiner discloses each air-oil cooler 100/100’ having a fuel driven actuator 220’. This arrangement would also include a plurality of actuators each configured to actuate at least one of the plurality of valves within the generator heat management system, as each heat exchanger would have its own respective valve and actuator. Veilleux Jr. as incorporated in claim 1 above teaches a plurality of actuators 52a-52n (servo systems) supplied with fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuators (Para. 0011, 0017-18, 0024-25, “Servo systems 52a-52n use the fuel as a source of hydraulic power to operate the servos which control actuators within an aircraft system”). Hence it is common and obvious in the art to provide multiple actuators for actuating separate valves/elements in the system.
Claims 8, 9 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., and further in view of Burr (US 4,696,156).
Regarding claim 8 & 9, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 7, but fails to teach wherein the engine heat management system comprises a plurality of valves, and wherein the at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one valve within the engine heat management system is configured to actuate at least two of the plurality of valves within the engine heat management system; wherein the plurality of actuators comprises a plurality of actuators each configured to actuate at least one of the plurality of valves within the engine heat management system.
Burr teaches a gas turbine engine 10 having an engine heat management system (Fig. 1), and wherein the engine comprises two air-oil coolers 18 & 26 coupled to the engine heat management system, and a plurality of valves 24, 32 within the engine heat management system (first and second air control valves for the respective air-oil coolers, Col. 4, ln. 36-54).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., a second air-oil cooler and respective air control valve, as taught by Burr, in order to provide separate air-oil coolers in separate oil loops for cooling oil from the accessory drive gearbox and oil from the engine (Burr Col. 4, ln. 36-54). Weiner already teaches one air-oil cooler 100 for cooling engine oil, with a respective fueldraulic actuator 220’ driving air control valve 200, and also suggests two or more arcuate segments of air-oil coolers can be provided (Weiner Para. 0043). By incorporating a second air-oil cooler with its own respective air diverter valve, the oil within other oil loops can be cooled according to separate heat rejection requirements as controlled by the respective air diverter valve. Consequently, incorporation of the second air-oil cooler and air diverter valve would provide the gas turbine engine with a plurality of valves with a respective plurality of actuators within the engine heat management system (i.e. an actuator and air diverter valve for each air-oil cooler).
Regarding claim 19, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 18, but fails to teach wherein each of the plurality of air-oil heat exchangers comprises a valve controllable via an associated actuator, and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive each of the associated actuators.
Burr teaches a gas turbine engine 10 having an heat management system (Fig. 1), and wherein the engine comprises a plurality of air-oil heat exchangers 18 & 26 coupled to the heat management system, and each air-oil heat exchanger comprises a controllable valve 24, 32 (first and second air control valves for the respective air-oil coolers, Col. 4, ln. 36-54).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. & Burr, each air-oil heat exchanger having a controllable valve, as taught by Burr, in order to provide individual control of the air flow through each respective air-oil heat exchanger (Burr Col. 4, ln. 36-54).
Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. & Burr still fail to teach wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel so as to fueldraulically drive each of the associated actuators.
However, Weiner teaches the air-oil heat exchanger 100, 100’ having a valve 200 with a respective actuator 220’ that is supplied with fuel by the fuel system to fueldraulically drive the actuator to control the air flow through the air-oil heat exchanger (Weiner Para. 0062, “Advantageously, in embodiments of gas turbine engine 10 where fuel lines cannot be run within first compartment 38, embodiments of actuator 220′ allow for powering linear actuator 222′ hydraulically using high-pressure fuel. This potentially simplifies the construction of gas turbine engine 10”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have modified the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. & Burr such that the respective valves of each of the plurality of air-oil heat exchangers includes an actuator that is fueldraulically driven, as taught by Weiner, in order to utilize fuel as the hydraulic fluid for the actuator, thereby simplifying the construction of the engine by eliminating the need for a separate hydraulic fluid to operate the valves (Weiner Para. 0062). Veilleux Jr. as incorporated in claim 1 above teaches a plurality of actuators 52a-52n (servo systems) supplied with fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuators (Para. 0011, 0017-18, 0024-25, “Servo systems 52a-52n use the fuel as a source of hydraulic power to operate the servos which control actuators within an aircraft system”). Hence it is common and obvious in the art to provide multiple actuators for actuating separate valves/elements in the system.
Claims 12 & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., and further in view of Goulds (US 2015/0101331 A1).
Regarding claim 12 & 13, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches the engine comprises an actuated engine system that includes the generator heat management system (the actuator 220’ of the air-oil cooler 100’), and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive the actuator (Para. 0062, high-pressure fuel is used to drive the actuator 220’).
Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. fails to teach wherein the engine comprises a plurality of actuated engine systems including the generator heat management system and a turbine case cooling system, and wherein the fuel supply system is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least three of the plurality of actuated engine systems; or at least five of the plurality of actuated engine systems.
Veilleux Jr. teaches wherein the engine comprises a plurality of actuated engine systems 52a-52n (servo systems, Para. 0011, 0017-18, 0024-25), wherein the fuel supply system 10 is arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least three of the plurality of actuated engine systems; or at least five of the plurality of actuated engine systems (Fig. 1, the system supplies fuel to fueldraulically drive the respective actuators of all the actuated engine systems 52a-52n, totaling 14 actuated engine systems).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., the plurality of actuated engine systems with the fuel supply system arranged to supply fuel to fueldraulically drive at least three/five of the actuated engine systems, as taught by Veilleux Jr., in order to provide hydraulic fluid to multiple servo systems of the aircraft, such as compressor bleed/bypass air control, using fuel as to eliminate the need for an additional hydraulic fluid circuit within the engine (Veilleux Jr. Para. 0003, 0024-25). Note, the fuel driven actuator 220’ of Weiner would be one of the plurality of actuated, fueldraulically driven engine systems.
Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. still fails to teach the actuated engine systems include a turbine case cooling system.
Goulds teaches a gas turbine engine having an actuated engine system 101 that is a turbine case cooling system (Para. 0073) actuated by an actuation mechanism that is a fuel driven valve (Para. 0071-72, “the actuation mechanism 101 includes an actuator (not shown) that is located in the first fire zone 110 and is configured to generate a mechanical force when operated … In a preferred example, the actuator is a fuel driven valve, which is preferably driven by high pressure fuel.”; Para. 0064, 0073, “the actuation mechanism 101 also includes an actuatable device (not shown)… The actuatable device may be a turbine case cooling valve”; Para. 0023-24).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., the turbine case cooling system that is actuated by the fuel driven actuator, as taught by Goulds, in order to provide a turbine case cooling valve that can provide cooling air to the turbine case while using a fueldraulic actuator located in a cooler, more benign/fireproofed area of the engine (Goulds Para. 0005-7, 0064, 0071-73). Consequently, the incorporated turbine case cooling valve/system would be one of the plurality of actuated, fueldraulically driven engine systems, since Goulds suggests the turbine case cooling valve be actuated as a fuel driven valve.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., and further in view of Potel (FR 2,969,701, see attached English translation).
Regarding claim 16, Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. teaches the gas turbine engine of claim 1, and Weiner further teaches wherein the generator heat management system comprises an air-oil heat exchanger 100’ (“air-oil cooler”, Para. 0025-28, 0036, 0040-43).
Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr. fails to teach wherein the actuator configured to actuate at least one valve within the generator heat management system is configured to actuate an oil-side valve of the air-oil heat exchanger.
Potel teaches a gas turbine engine having an air-oil heat exchanger 32, including an oil-side valve 36 (Fig. 2, a three-way valve enabling oil to bypass the air-oil heat exchanger; alternatively, valves 36’ & 36” in Fig. 3 & 5) of the air-oil heat exchanger that is actuated fueldraulically (Pg. 5, ln. 194-206, “The valve 36 may be an electric valve or an electro-hydraulic valve using the fuel as hydraulic fluid.”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have incorporated into the engine of Weiner in view of Schmitz & Veilleux Jr., the oil-side valve actuated by the a fueldraulic actuator, as taught by Potel, in order to provide the air-oil heat exchanger with an oil-side bypass that enables oil to bypass the heat exchanger when the air temperature is below a predetermined temperature, in order to further control the temperature of the oil and also the temperature of fuel that may also be heated by the oil (Potel Pg. 2, ln. 62-72).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record on the attached PTO 892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure for disclosing additional examples of heat management systems and aspects of the claimed invention.
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/ALAIN CHAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
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