Ex Parte Viassolo et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Sep 20, 2016

12473413 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 20, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
12/473,413 05/28/2009
6147 7590 09/22/2016
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
GLOBAL RESEARCH
ONE RESEARCH CIRCLE
BLDG. Kl-3A59
NISKAYUNA, NY 12309
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Daniel Edgardo Viassolo
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
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
225685-1 9562
EXAMINER
KIM,EUNHEE
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2123
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
09/22/2016 ELECTRONIC
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.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
haeckl@ge.com
gpo.mail@ge.com
Lori.e.rooney@ge.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte DANIEL EDGARDO VIASSOLO,
A VINASH VINA YAK TA WARE and BRENT JEROME BRUNELL
Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413 1
Technology Center 2100
Before MARC S. HOFF, MELISSA A. HAAPALA, and JOYCE CRAIG,
Administrative Patent Judges.
HOFF, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from a Non-Final
Rejection of claims 1-11, 14-25, and 27-36.2 We have jurisdiction under 35
U.S.C. § 6(b).
We reverse.
Appellants' invention is a method of generating linear engine models
for an aircraft engine system. First, a set of linear engine models is
determined offline, by linearization of a nonlinear computation model of the
1 The real party in interest is General Electric Company.
2 Claims 12, 13, and 26 have been cancelled.
Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413
engine system at selected operating points or from desired data. Second, the
accuracy of each linear engine model is analyzed, and inaccurate models are
eliminated, producing a residual set of linear engine models. Third, linear
engine models are generated offline, corresponding to grid points of one or
more lookup tables based on the residual set of linear engine models. Fourth,
lookup table grid points are associated offline with selected scheduling
variables. Fifth, algorithmic software is generated for the engine system such
that the linear engine models generated offline form the basis for online
scheduling of linear engine models. See Abstract.
Claim 1 is exemplary of the claims on appeal:
1. A method of generating linear models for an aircraft
engine system, the method comprising:
determining, offline, a set of linear models for the aircraft
engine system by linearization of a nonlinear model of the
aircraft engine system at selected operating points or from
desired data;
analyzing, offline, accuracy of each linear model and
eliminating inaccurate linear models therefrom to provide a
residual set of the linear engine models;
generating, offline, linear models corresponding to grid
points of one or more rectangular lookup tables based on the
residual set of the linear engine models;
associating, offline, lookup table grid points or the residual
set of the linear engine models with selected scheduling
variables; and
generating, offline, algorithmic software for the aircraft
engine system therefrom such that the linear models for the
aircraft engine system generated offline form a basis for online
scheduling of linear models.
The Examiner relies upon the following prior art in rejecting the
claims on appeal:
Dudek us 5,094,213 Mar. 10, 1992
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Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413
Volponi
Ellis
US 7,472,100 B2
US 8,117,017 B2
Dec. 30, 2008
Feb. 14,2012
Bharath Reddy Endurthi, Linearization and Health Estimation of a
Turbofan Engine (December 2004) (M.S. thesis, Cleveland State University)
(hereinafter "Endurthi").
Paulo Rosa et al., Autolanding Controller for a Fixed Wing
Unmanned Air Vehicle, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Inc. 2007 (hereinafter "Rosa").
Claims 1-7, 9, 14-17, 20-24, 27, 29-34, and 36 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Endurthi, Ellis, and Dudek.
Claims 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 28, and 35 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Endurthi, Ellis, Dudek, and Rosa.
Claims 25 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Endurthi, Ellis, Dudek, and V olponi.
Throughout this decision, we make reference to the Appeal Brief
("App. Br.," filed Oct. 14, 2014), the Reply Brief ("Reply Br.," filed Jan. 20,
2015), and the Examiner's Answer ("Ans.," mailed Nov. 21, 2014) for their
respective details.
ISSUES
1. Does Ellis disclose or suggest generating, offline, linear models
corresponding to grid points of one or more rectangular lookup tables based
on the residual set of the linear engine models, as recited in claim 1?
2. Does Ellis disclose or suggest generating linear engine models
corresponding to grid points of one or more lookup tables based on a
secondary set of linear engine models, as recited in claim 29?
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Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413
ANALYSIS
CLAIMS 1-7, 9, 14-17, 20-24, AND 27
The Examiner finds that Ellis teaches generating linear models
corresponding to grid points of one or more rectangular lookup tables based
on the residual set of linear engine models. Ans. 4. Responding to
Appellants' arguments, the Examiner finds that Ellis discloses that the
linearized engine models are "based on the state space representation:
where u, x and y are vectors respectively corresponding to engine
control variables u, engine state variables x and the engine performance
variables y, x is a vector corresponding to the time derivatives of the engine
state variables x, and A, G, C and Dare matrices of partial derivatives." Ans.
18 (citing Ellis col. 9, 11. 9-18). The Examiner further points out that
Appellants' Specification discloses a linear engine model (LEM) which is
defined by matrices A, B, C, D. Ans. 18; Spec. ,-i 13.
The Examiner finds that because matrix D in Ellis has as components
"[t]he engine performance variables y with respect to the engine control
variables u," matrix Chas as components "the engine performance variables
y with respect to the engine state variables x," and matrix G has as
components "the engine state variables x with respect to the engine control
variables u," Ellis teaches subject matter corresponding to the claimed "grid
points of one or more rectangular lookup tables based on the residual set of
the linear engine models." Ans. 18.
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Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413
While we agree with the Examiner that Ellis discloses details of an
individual linear engine model that are similar to Appellants' individual
linear engine models, we do not agree with the Examiner's findings
concerning the claimed invention, because the Examiner has not fully
considered the definition of the claim term "rectangular" in the
Specification.
Appellants disclose that
[b ]y rectangularity, it is implied that for instance, if the
scheduling variables were altitude and ambient temperature and
there were, say, 5 altitudes and 5 ambient temperatures that form
the scheduling grid, then for each of these 25 grid points, there
needs to be a LEM associated. This condition of rectangularity is
a prerequisite for most interpolation algorithms. If there are more
than two scheduling variables, then accordingly for every
combination of the scheduling variables, there needs to be a LEM
associated.
Spec. ,-i 26.
Appellants further disclose that, if the residual set of LEMs is not
rectangular with respect to the selected set of scheduling variables, that
residual set is then employed "to generate LEMs that are used to form the
grid or vertex points of one or more lookup tables satisfying the condition of
rectangularity with respect to the selected scheduling variables." Spec. ,-i 27.
The Examiner's discussion of Ellis has failed to establish that Ellis
discloses "generating, offline, linear models corresponding to grid points of
one or more rectangular lookup tables," because the Examiner has not
identified any disclosure in Ellis that, based on the residual set of linear
engine models, a set of linear models that is rectangular, within the meaning
expressed by Appellants, is generated. The Examiner's finding that
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Appeal2015-002842
Application No. 12/473,413
individual LEMs in Ellis are similar to the individual LEMs disclosed by
Appellants is not sufficient to show a disclosure of the claimed
rectangularity.
Endurthi and Dudek, as relied upon by the Examiner, do not remedy
the deficiencies of Ellis.
We agree with Appellants that the Examiner has failed to identify, in
Ellis, "generating, offline, linear models corresponding to grid points of one
or more rectangular lookup tables, based on the residual set of linear engine
models," as recited in claim 1. Because we conclude that the Examiner
erred, we do not sustain the Examiner's § 103 rejection of claim 1 and its
dependent claims 2-7, 9, 14-17, 20-24, and 27 over Endurthi, Ellis, and
Dudek.
CLAIMS 29-34 AND 36
Independent claim 29 recites "generating the linear engine models
corresponding to grid points of one or more lookup tables based on the
secondary set of linear engine models."
Similar to our analysis of independent claim 1, we find error in the
Examiner's rejection of claim 29, based on the content of Ellis. We do not
agree with the Examiner's finding that Ellis teaches this limitation. We agree
with Appellants that "[t]he vectors of the matrices [of Ellis, discussed supra]
do not correspond to grid points" of one or more lookup tables, "nor are they
based on [secondary] set of linear [engine] models." App. Br. 9.
Accordingly, we find that the combination of Endurthi, Ellis, and
Dudek fails to teach or suggest all the elements of claim 29, and its
dependent claims 30-34 and 36. We do not sustain the Examiner's§ 103
rejection.
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Application No. 12/473,413
CLAIMS 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 28, AND 35
We agree with Appellants that Rosa does not remedy the deficiencies
of the combination of Endurthi, Ellis, and Dudek. We do not sustain the
Examiner's§ 103 rejection of claims 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 28, and 35.
CLAIM25
We agree with Appellants that Volponi fails to cure the deficiencies of
Endurthi, Ellis, and Dudek, as discussed supra. We do not sustain the
Examiner's§ 103 rejection of claim 25.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Ellis does not disclose or suggest generating, offline, linear models
corresponding to grid points of one or more rectangular lookup tables based
on the residual set of the linear engine models, as recited in claim 1.
2. Ellis does not disclose or suggest generating linear engine models
corresponding to grid points of one or more lookup tables based on a
secondary set of linear engine models, as recited in claim 29.
ORDER
The Examiner's rejection of claims 1-11, 14-25, and 27-36 is
reversed.
REVERSED
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