7DETAILED 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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Groups I-II and III in the reply filed on 6/19/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Groups I-II-III should be examined together. This is found persuasive and claims 1-20 will be examined together.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the plastic screws for fastening elements must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ito et al. [US 2001/0052835 A1].
Regarding claims 1 and 8-10, Ito et al. discloses a transformer assembly for use in a transformer [figure 1], comprising:
- a core [1];
- an inner coil [3] arranged around the core;
- an outer coil [6] arranged around the inner coil; and
- an insulation assembly arranged between the inner and outer coils, the insulation assembly comprising a plurality of tubular insulation barriers [4a, 4b, 4c] adapted to be arranged around the inner coil to electrically isolate the inner coil from the outer coil, each pair of adjacent tubular insulation barriers being separated by a gap [figure 1] and an air blocking element [15a, 15b] arranged in at least one gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers to at least partially block an air flow from passing through the at least one gap, an innermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [4a] being spaced apart from the inner coil to form a gas channel [B], and an outermost one of the plurality tubular insulation barriers [4a] being spaced apart from the outer coil to form a second gas channel [E].
Ito et al. further discloses the air blocking elements [15a, 15b] arranged at a position away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers, wherein the air blocking element arranged in each gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [figure 1].
Regarding claim 11, Ito et al. discloses the inner coil is a low voltage coil and the outer coil is a high voltage coil.
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(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. [WO 2018/170912 A1] in view of Ito et al. [US 2001/0052835 A1].
Regarding claims 1 and 3-4, Xu et al. discloses an insulation assembly for use in a transformer, comprising:
- a tubular insulation barrier [140] adapted to be arranged around an inner coil [120] of the transformer to electrically isolate the inner coil from an outer coil of the transformer, and an air blocking element [162, 163, 163] arranged to at least partially block an air flow from passing through, the air blocking element is arranged in the middle of both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [figure 1], wherein the air blocking element is of a ring shape [figures 4-5].
Xu et al. further discloses the air blocking element [164] arranged away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Xu et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for a plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Ito et al. discloses an insulation assembly for a transformer including a plurality of tubular barriers [4a, 4b, 4c] and blocking elements [15a, 15b] arranged in at least one gap arranged between each pair of the tubular insulation barriers.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include a plurality of tubular insulation barriers in Xu et al., as suggested by Ito et al., for the purpose of improving insulation.
Regarding claim 5, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element [162] provided with one or more openings [or slots 166].
Regarding claim 6, Xu et al. the air blocking element is coupled to the corresponding tubular insulation barriers via fastening elements [142, 143, 165, 166].
Regarding claim 8, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element is arranged in each gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [figure 1].
Regarding claims 7 and 9, the specific type of fastener and material use for the fastener and barriers would have been an obvious design consideration for the purpose of providing fastening/connecting and insulation.
Regarding claims 10-11, Xu et al. discloses a transformer assembly for use in a transformer, comprising:
- a core [170];
- an inner coil [120] arranged around the core;
- an outer coil [110] arranged around the inner coil, wherein the inner coil is a low voltage coil and the outer coil is a high voltage coil; and
- an insulation assembly arranged between the inner and outer coils, the insulation assembly comprising a tubular insulation barrier [140] adapted to be arranged around the inner coil to electrically isolate the inner coil from the outer coil, and an air blocking element [162, 163, 164] arranged to at least partially block an air flow from passing through the at least one gap.
Xu et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for a plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Ito et al. discloses an insulation assembly for a transformer including a plurality of tubular barriers [4a, 4b, 4c] and blocking elements [15a, 15b] arranged in at least one gap arranged between each pair of the tubular insulation barriers.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include a plurality of tubular insulation barriers in Xu et al., as suggested by Ito et al., for the purpose of improving insulation.
Ito et al. further discloses an innermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the inner coil to form a first channel, and an outermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the outer coil to form a second channel [figure 1].
Claim(s) 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. in view of Ito et al. and Navarro [WO 2012/103613].
Xu et al. discloses a dry-type transformer [200] comprising:
- a core [170];
- an inner coil [120] arranged around the core;
- an outer coil [110] arranged around the inner coil; and
- an insulation assembly arranged between the inner and outer coils, the insulation assembly comprising tubular insulation barrier [140] adapted to be arranged around the inner coil to electrically isolate the inner coil from the outer coil.
Xu et al. further discloses the air blocking element [164, figure 1] is arranged at a position away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Xu et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for a plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Ito et al. discloses an insulation assembly for a transformer including a plurality of tubular barriers [4a, 4b, 4c] and blocking elements [15a, 15b] arranged in at least one gap arranged between each pair of the tubular insulation barriers.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include a plurality of tubular insulation barriers in Xu et al., as suggested by Ito et al., for the purpose of improving insulation.
Ito et al. further discloses an innermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the inner coil to form a first channel, and an outermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the outer coil to form a second channel [figure 1].
Ito et al. further discloses the transformer being housed/enclosed in a housing
each pair of adjacent tubular insulation barriers being separated by a gap [131, 141] and an air blocking element [162, 163, 164] arranged in at least one gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers to at least partially block an air flow from passing through the at least one gap, an innermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the inner coil to form a first gas channel, and an outermost one of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers being spaced apart from the outer coil to form a second gas channel [figure 1].
Xu et al. further discloses at least one fan [150] and the transformer [200] being housed or enclosed in a tank/housing.
Xu et al. in view of Ito et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for the cooler and housing.
Navarro discloses a dry type transformer [figure 1] comprising:
- a first housing provided with a first air inlet and a first air outlet;
- one or more transformer assemblies arranged in the first housing, each transformer assembly of the one or more transformer assemblies comprising: a core [1.1, 1.2, 1.3]; an inner coil [2] arranged around the core; an outer coil [3] arranged around the inner coil; and an insulation assembly arranged between the inner and outer coils; and
- a cooler comprising: a second housing provided with a second air inlet in fluid communication with the first air outlet and a second air outlet in fluid communication with the first air inlet; a heat exchanger [12’] arranged in the second housing to cool the air in the second housing; and a fan [11’] arranged in the second housing to circulate the air between the first and second housings.
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the housing and cooler design of Navarro in Xu et al., as modified, for the purpose of providing protection and improving cooling.
Regarding claim 14, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element [164, figure 1] is arranged in the middle of both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers.
Regarding claim 15, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element is of a ring shape [162, figure 5], wherein the air blocking element is provided with one or more openings [166].
Regarding claim 17, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element is coupled to the corresponding tubular insulation barriers via fastening elements [142, 143, 165, 166].
Regarding claim 19, Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element is arranged in each gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [figure 1].
Regarding claims 18 and 20, the specific type of fastening element and material use for the fastening element and barriers would have been an obvious design consideration for the purpose of providing fastening/connecting and insulation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/23/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that:
[1] Ito fails to teach or suggest “the air blocking element is arranged at a position away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers”.
[2] The combination of Xu in view of Ito would not be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art.
[3] Navarro relates to a dry distribution transformer with cooling ducts are part of the cooling circuit for circulating a liquid cooling arranged in spaced between windings/core.
The Examiner disagrees.
Regarding [1], Ito discloses, in figure 1, the air blocking element [15a, 15b] arranged at a position away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers, wherein the air blocking element arranged in each gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [4a, 4b, 4c, figure 1].
Regarding [2], Xu et al. discloses the air blocking element [164] arranged away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers. Ito discloses, in figure 1, the air blocking element [15a, 15b] arranged at a position away from both ends of the plurality of tubular insulation barriers, wherein the air blocking element arranged in each gap between the plurality of tubular insulation barriers [4a, 4b, 4c, figure 1]. In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, both Xu et al. and Ito et al. disclose a dry-type transformer using tubular barriers with air blocking element arranged thereof. A skilled artisan would highly seeking tubular barriers of Ito et al. in Xu et al. for the purpose of improving insulation.
Regarding [3], as applicant acknowledged, Navarro discloses a dry-type transformer enclosed in a housing that using cooler, wherein the housing including air inlet/outlet provided to cool down the dry-type transformer. The Examiner uses the teaching of the housing with air inlet/outlet and cooler provided to cool down the air-dry transformer. A skilled artisan would highly motivated to seek the housing and cooler arrangement of Navarro for the dry-type transformer of Xu et al. in view of Ito et al. for the purpose of improving cooling.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/TUYEN T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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