Office Action 2: Notice of Allowance (2025-03-18)

CLAIMS:
Amendments to the Claims:

This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application:

1\. (Currently Amended) A rotorcraft comprising:
a fuselage arranged within a fuselage outer shell;
at least one main rotor located on top of the fuselage;
at least one engine provided for driving the at least one main rotor; and
at least one energy source storage unit comprising at least one energy source configured to provide energy for powering the at least one engine for driving the at least one main rotor;
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the fuselage outer shell in a subfloor region of the rotorcraft; and
wherein the fuselage and the fuselage outer shell form a central box-like structure in the subfloor region;wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged laterally at the central box-like structure, at least essentially in parallel to a length direction of the fuselage, and wherein sholl form in icinity of the t loastooctorago unit the central box-like structure forms a crashable structureconfigured to be crachable that contacts ground in an emergency landing at least forSVG {EMBED HERE} 0.1376.503 before the at least one energy source storage unit may contact ground in order to deform and dissipate energy.

2\. (Original) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises at least one energy source storage container for accommodating the at least one energy source; and
wherein the at least one energy source comprises at least one of a hydrogen storage device or an electrical energy storage device.

3\. (Original) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage container is removably attached to the fuselage and/or the fuselage outer shell.

4\. (Cancelled)

5\. (Cancelled)

6\. (Currently Amended) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft ofwherein the SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.0770.067 SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.0770.067 SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.0770.067 central box-like structure is provided with lateral extensions in the subfloor region; and
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged laterally at the lateral extensions, at least essentially in parallel to a-thelength direction of the fuselage.

7\. (Original) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the central box-like structure and the lateral extensions form a subfloor outer shell forming with the fuselage outer shell an aerodynamically shaped outer skin; and

wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the aerodynamically shaped outer skin.

8\. (Cancelled)

9\. (Currently Amended) The rotorcraft ofclaimA The rotorcraft ofclaimA
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit forms an accessible step.

10\. (Cancelled)

11\. (Cancelled)

12\. (Currently Amended) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises a storage extension extending from the subfloor region into an upper region of the rotorcraft.

13\. (Cancelled)

14\. (Currently Amended) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is provided with at least one energy absorption means, and wherein the at least one energy absorption means comprises at least one bumper.

15\. (Original) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of

wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises at least one air inlet configured to enable air cooling of the at least one energy source.

16\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the central box-like structure is provided with lateral extensions in the subfloor region;
and wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged laterally at the lateral extensions, at least essentially in parallel to the length direction of the fuselage.

17\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the central box-like structure and the lateral extensions form a subfloor outer shell forming with the fuselage outer shell an aerodynamically shaped outer skin; and
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the aerodynamically shaped outer skin.

18\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit forms an accessible step.

19\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises a storage extension extending from the subfloor region into an upper region of the rotorcraft.

20\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of

wherein the at least one energy source storage unit forms an accessible step.

21\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises a storage extension extending from the subfloor region into an upper region of the rotorcraft.

22\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is provided with at least one energy absorption means, and wherein the at least one energy absorption means comprises at least one bumper.

23\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises at least one air inlet configured to enable air cooling of the at least one energy source.

24\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises a storage extension extending from the subfloor region into an upper region of the rotorcraft.

25\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of
wherein the at least one energy source storage unit is provided with at least one energy absorption means, and wherein the at least one energy absorption means comprises at least one bumper.

26\. (New) The rotorcraft of The rotorcraft of

wherein the at least one energy source storage unit comprises at least one air inlet configured to enable air cooling of the at least one energy source.

OFFICE ACTION:
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: US Patent Application Number 2017/0313434 by Peryea discloses a rotorcraft comprise a fuselage and at least one energy source storage unit comprising at least one energy source configured to provide energy for powering an engine of the aircraft to drive at least one main rotor, but does not teach nor suggest the at least one energy source storage unit being both arranged outside the fuselage outer shell in a subfloor region of the rotorcraft and the fuselage outer shell forming a central box-like structure arranged laterally of the energy source storage unit to form a crashable structure that contacts ground in an emergency landing before the at least one energy source storage unit does.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee.  Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: Remarks
Reconsideration of the above-identified application in view of the present Amendment is respectfully requested.
Claims 1-15 were pending in the application. By this paper, without acquiescing in the grounds for rejection and for expediting prosecution, claims 1, 6, 9 and 12 have been amended. Claims 4, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 13 have been cancelled, and new claims 16-26 have been added. No new matter has been added by the present amendment.
Claim Bases
Independent claim 1 has been amended based on, at least, original claims dependent claims 4 and 5, and paragraphs [0068] and [0069] of the specification as filed. Dependent claims 6, 9 and 12 have been amended to depend from amended independent claim 1, and claim 14 has also been amended. Claims 2, 3, 7, 14, and 15 remain unchanged. Claims 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, and 13 were cancelled. Furthermore, new dependent claims 16-19 have been added based on original dependent claims 6, 7, 9 and 12; new dependent claims 20-23 have been added based on original dependent claims 9, 12, 14 and 15; and new dependent claims 24-26 have been added based on original dependent claims 12, 14 and 15. No new matter has been added by the present amendment.
Claim Rejections Under 35 U.S.C.
$
102 and 103
Claims 1, 4, 5, 8 and 13 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102 as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2017/0313434 to Peryea et al., hereinafter Peryea;
claims 2-3 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over Peryea;
claims 6, 7, 9 and 12 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being obvious over Peryea in view of U.S. Patent No. 4,860,972 to Lannerd et al., hereinafter Lannerd;
claims 10 and 11 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over Peryea in view of U.S. Publication No. 2015/0136906 to Fink et al., hereinafter Fink;
claim 14 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over Peryea in view of U.S. Patent No. 5,451,015 to Cronkhite et al., hereinafter Cronkhite; and
claim 15 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over Peryea in view of U.S. Publication No. 2018/0170509 to Mores et al., hereinafter Mores.
Applicant respectfully traverses these rejections for at least the following reasons.
As will be explained further below, each and every limitation of claim 1 is not disclosed in Peryea.
The law is clear that under 35 U.S.C. § 102, "anticipation requires that
each and every element
of the claimed invention be disclosed in the prior art." Akzo N. V. vs. United States Int'l Trade Comm'n 1 USPQ 2d 1241, 1245 (Fed. Cir. 1986), cert denied, 482 U.S. 909 (1987). As will be explained in more detail below, that is not the case here. Moreover, not only does anticipation require that each and every element of the claimed invention be disclosed in the prior art, but each element
must be arranged
in the prior art reference as they are arranged in the claim. Lindemann Maschinenfabrik GmbH vs. American Hoist and Derrick Co., 221 USPQ 481, 485 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
Peryea does not place each and every element of claim 1 in the possession of the public.
Amended claim 1 is reproduced (with emphasis added) below:
A rotorcraft comprising:
a  fuselage
arranged
within
a   fuselage
outer    shell;
at least one main rotor located on top
of the
fuselage;
at    least
one
engine
provided
for
driving the at
least one main
rotor; and
at    least
one    energy
source
storage
unit
comprising
at    least
one
energy
source
configured
to  provide
energy    for
powering
the    at   least
one    engine
for
driving
the   at   least    one main
rotor;
wherein the at least one energy source
storage
unit
is
arranged
outside
the
fuselage outer shell
in a subfloor region
of the
rotorcraft;
and
wherein
the
fuselage
and
the
fuselage
outer
shell
form
a
central
box-like
structure
in
the
subfloor
region;
wherein
the
at
least
one
energy
source
storage unit is arranged laterally at the central
box-like
structure,
at
least
essentially
in
parallel
to
a
length
direction
of
the
fuselage,
and
wherein
the
central
box-like
structure
forms
a
crashable structure
that contacts ground
in   an   emergency
landing
before
the
at
least one energy source storage unit may contact
ground
in
order
to
deform
and
dissipate energy.
As will be discussed in more detail below, the cited references not disclose, teach or suggest each and every limitation of these claims.
Without acquiescing to the grounds for rejection, and to expedite prosecution, independent claim 1 has been amended as described above to further include the limitations of original claims 4 and 5, and at least paragraphs [0068] and [0069] of the specification as filed. Accordingly, amended independent claim 1 now relates to a rotorcraft comprising a fuselage arranged within a fuselage outer shell; at least one main rotor located on top of the fuselage; at least one engine provided for driving the at least one main rotor; and at least one energy source storage unit comprising at least one energy source configured to provide energy for powering the at least one engine for driving the at least one main rotor.
The at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the fuselage outer shell
in a subfloor region of the rotorcraft.
The fuselage and the fuselage outer shell form a central box-like structure in the subfloor region, and the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged laterally at the central box-like structure, at least essentially in parallel to a length direction of the fuselage. The central box-like structure forms a crashable structure that contacts ground in an emergency landing before the at least one energy source storage unit may contact ground in order to deform and dissipate energy.
In contrast thereto, Peryea merely describes a rotorcraft 10 that includes a fuselage 16 having a fuel tank receiving assembly 24 with a fuel tank 28 positioned therein. More specifically, Peryea explicitly indicates that
"located in a lower portion of fuselage 16
,
rotorcraft 10 includes a fuel tank receiving assembly 24 that supports and contains a fuel system 26 including a fuel tank 28" (see Peryea, paragraph [0021]). Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1A and 1B
(reproduced below) of Peryea, the fuel tank receiving assembly 24 is clearly located within the fuselage 16 and only visible in a side view with a partial cut away of the fuselage 16.
ij10 14
Therefore, Peryea clearly does not disclose, teach or suggest, at least, that "the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged
outside the fusela
g
e outer shell."
Moreover, the description of the fuel tank receiving assembly 24 being independent of but secured to fuselage 16 dose not in any way describe or imply that the fuel tank receiving assembly 24 may be arranged outside the fuselage.
Accordingly, Peryea clearly does not disclose, teach or suggest a rotorcraft having a fuselage arranged within a fuselage outer shell, wherein the fuselage and the fuselage outer shell form a central box-like structure in a subfloor region of the rotorcraft, wherein at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the fuselage outer shell and laterally at the central box-like structure, at least essentially in parallel to a length direction of the fuselage, and wherein the central box-like structure forms a crashable structure that contacts ground in an emergency landing before the at least one energy source storage unit may contact ground in order to deform and dissipate
energy. Therefore, the subject-matter of amended independent claim 1 is clearly patentable in view of Peryea.
Lannerd does not cure Peryea's defects. Lannerd describes with reference to Figure 2, a helicopter 10 which has auxiliary fuel tanks 26 attached to the body of the helicopter. More specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the auxiliary fuel tank 26 comprises a main body section 28 having a generally convex outer wall 30, a top wall 32, an aft wing section 34 and a forward wing section 36. The tank 26 also has a generally concave inner wall 40 as do walls 44 and 46 of wing sections 34, 36 which abut the curved wall 42 of the aircraft (see Lannerd, col. 2, lines 51-57). Furthermore, the helicopter 10 has a plurality of lower connector lugs 70 extending from the curved wall 42 under the belly of the helicopter (see Lannerd, col. 3, lines 3-5). The tank 26, at the forward lower end in wing 46, has a generally triangular plate 100 which is attached by bolts 105 and nuts to a bracket 106 mounted on the lower edge 48 of the tank 26 and to the lug 70 by a rod 75 having a cotter pin 77 (see Lannerd, col. 3, lines 23-28). Each lug or hard point 70 has a certain downward break factor such that
"should the helicopter crash, the lu
g
s should break allowin
g
the tanks 26 to fall away from the aircraft
,
thus eliminating the possibility of an explosion on or near the helicopter" (see Lannerd, col. 3, lines 40-46).
Therefore, in contrast to amended independent claim 1, Lannerd does not disclose, teach or suggest, at least, that the fuselage and the fuselage outer shell form a central box-like structure 10a in the subfloor region and that the central box-like structure forms a crashable structure that contacts ground in an emergency landing before the at least one energy source storage unit may contact ground in order to deform and dissipate energy.
Furthermore, since Lannerd explicitly teaches that should the helicopter crash, the tanks 26 should be allowed to fall away from the aircraft, when modifying the rotorcraft of Peryea using the auxiliary fuel tanks 26 of Lannerd, one skilled in the art would not arrive at a rotorcraft with a crashable structure according to amended independent claim 1, as Lannerd clearly teaches away therefrom. Accordingly, the subject-matter of amended independent claim 1 is clearly patentable over Lannerd or a hypothetical combination of Peryea and Lannerd.
Notably, none of Fink, Cronkhite and Mores cure Peryea's or Lannerd's defects. At this point, it should be noted that the disclosures of Fink, Cronkhite and Mores do not go beyond
the above described disclosure of Peryea or Lannerd, as neither Fink, Cronkhite, nor Mores discloses, teaches or suggests that the at least one energy source storage unit is arranged outside the fuselage outer shell and that the central box-like structure forms a crashable structure that contacts ground in an emergency landing before the at least one energy source storage unit may contact ground in order to deform and dissipate energy. For instance, the fuel tank bladders 12 of Fink are housed within the integral subfloor structure 15 of the airframe 2, the fuel cell 35 of Cronkhite is contained within the fuel compartment 33 inside the helicopter's belly skin 37 and the helicopter's side skins, and the exchangeable energy source 11 of Mores is arranged within the propulsion system carrying section 10 of the modular airframe 2. Therefore, as the disclosures of Fink, Cronkhite, and Mores do not cure the deficiencies of Peryea or Lannerd. Furthermore, even a hypothetical combination of any of these documents would not lead to the subject-matter of amended independent claim 1. Accordingly, amended independent claim 1 appears patentable over the cited prior art as a whole.
In summary, amended independent claim 1 appears clearly to be patentable over any one of Peryea, Lannerd, Fink, Cronkhite and Mores, or any hypothetical combination of the cited prior art documents.
Accordingly, for at least the above reasons, independent claim 1 is allowable.
Claims 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 15 all depend either directly or indirectly from claim 1, and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons as claim 1. Moreover, these claims add further limitations that also render them separately allowable.
Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection of these claims.
New Claims
New claims 16-26 have been added.
Claims 16-26 all depend either directly or indirectly from claim 1, and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons as claim 1. Moreover, these claims add further limitations that also render them separately allowable.
Conclusion


CITED REFERENCE SUMMARIES: Ref US2383532A: [content unavailable]