Ex Parte Salunkhe

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Nov 13, 2014

12433439 (P.T.A.B. Nov. 13, 2014)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARKOFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
12/433,439 04/30/2009 Anil Salunkhe 234619-1 (GETH:0024) 9085
82438 7590 11/13/2014
GE Power & Water
Fletcher Yoder PC
P.O. Box 692289
Houston, TX 77269-2289
EXAMINER
GILMAN, ALEXANDER
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2831
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
11/13/2014 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
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Ex parte ANIL SALUNKHE
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Appeal 2013-001370
Application 12/433,439
Technology Center 2800
________________

Before TERRY J. OWENS, CATHERINE Q. TIMM, and
N. WHITNEY WILSON, Administrative Patent Judges.

OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s
rejection of claims 1–5, 7–11, 13–15, and 21–27. We have jurisdiction
under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
The Invention
The Appellant claims a system comprising a specified plug. Claims 1
and 10 are illustrative:
1. A system, comprising:
a rotary machine, comprising:
a casing;
a shaft extending through the casing;
a plurality of blades coupled to the shaft inside the casing; and
Appeal 2013-001370
Application 12/433,439

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a plug disposed in an opening in the casing, wherein the plug
comprises a filler coupled to a base, and the filler is configured to break
away upon impact with at least one of the plurality of blades.

10. A system, comprising:
a plug configured to mount in an inspection opening in a rotary
machine, wherein the plug comprises a plurality of bristles coupled to a
mounting base, and the bristles are configured to break away upon impact
with at least one rotary blade in the rotary machine.

The References
Hansel US 4,815,276 Mar. 28, 1989
Nelson US 6,506,491 B2 Jan. 14, 2003
Datta US 6,880,829 B1 Apr. 19, 2005
Syzmbor US 2006/0130323 A1 June 22, 2006
The Rejections
The claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as follows: claims 1,
2, 4, 5, 7–10, 13, 15, and 21–27 over Hansel in view of Datta, claims 3, 11,
23, and 24 over Hansel in view of Datta and Syzmbor and claims 14 and 25
over Hansel in view of Datta and Nelson.
OPINION
We reverse the rejections. We need to address only the independent
claims (1, 10, and 21).1 Those claims require a plug comprising a filler
(claim 1) or bristles (claims 10 and 21) configured to break away upon
impact with a blade.
Hansel discloses that the conventional borescope plug has the problem
of the plug tip not conforming to the flowpath surface, thereby resulting in

1 The Examiner does not rely upon Syzmbor or Nelson for any disclosure
that remedies the deficiency in the references applied to the independent
claims (Ans. 3–5).
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Application 12/433,439

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airflow problems and, in certain areas of an engine, overheating of the tip
due to stagnant heated air (col. 1, ll. 62-66).
Datta discloses a brush shroud assembly comprising a bristle strip
having a plurality of bristles mounted in a compliant casing such that the
bristles are flared to form a continuous surface to seal a gap between a gas
turbine engine compressor casing and rotating blades (col. 1, ll. 15–21, 27–
28). The brush shroud assembly is inexpensive, easy to manufacture,
relatively light weight and easily can be replaced (col. 2, ll. 52–55).
The Examiner argues that “it would have been obvious to one having
ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide [the
conventional borescope port disclosed by] Hansel with the filler, as taught
by Datta, to conform to the flow path surface” (Ans. 2) because “[t]he
secondary reference (Datta) presented a reasonable, technically and cost
effective solution of the problem” (Ans. 6).
Establishing a prima facie case of obviousness of an invention
comprising a combination of known elements requires “an apparent reason
to combine the known elements in the fashion claimed . . . .” KSR Int’l Co.
v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 418 (2007).
The problem for which Datta provides a cost effective solution is the
problem of short-duration rotor rubs causing abradable seal wear damage
which enlarges the clearance between the casing and blade tips, thereby
reducing compressor performance (col. 1, ll. 47–62; col. 2, ll. 44–49), not
the problem disclosed by Hansel of nonconformity of a borescope plug tip to
the flowpath surface causing airflow problems and blade tip heating (col. 1,
ll. 62–66). The Examiner has not established that the relied-upon disclosure
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Application 12/433,439

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in Datta of a brush shroud assembly having bristles which form a continuous
surface to seal the blade tip flow area (col. 1, ll. 19–21; col. 4, ll. 42–45;
Fig. 4) would have provided one of ordinary skill in the art with an apparent
reason to attach bristles to a plug mounting base such that the bristles fill the
conventional borescope port (18) disclosed by Hansel conformally with the
flowpath surface (col. 1, ll. 30–32; 62–66; Fig. 1). Accordingly, we reverse
the rejections.
DECISION/ORDER
The rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–10, 13,
15, and 21–27 over Hansel in view of Datta, claims 3, 11, 23, and 24 over
Hansel in view of Datta and Syzmbor and claims 14 and 25 over Hansel in
view of Datta and Nelson are reversed.
It is ordered that the Examiner’s decision is reversed.
REVERSED

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