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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/12/2026 has been entered.
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, 3-5, 7, 8, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koizumi et al. (US 20180254673) in view of Miller (US 4833354).
1. Koizumi et al. teach:
A stator 30 for an electrical machine 100, comprising:
a stator core 32 comprising stator slots 1 formed along an axial direction (fig 4) with respect to a center axis (see fig 1 in combination with fig 4) of the stator, arranged in a manner distributed in a circumferential direction with respect to the center axis (fig 4);
a hairpin winding 36 comprising a multiplicity of hairpin element arrangements 5 which are arranged in the stator slots and each one of the hairpin element arrangements emerges from the end face 32a/32b of the stator core (fig 4); but does not teach i) at least one insulating device comprising an annular body in which a multiplicity of passage openings distinct from the stator slots are distributed in the circumferential direction on a plane parallel to the annular body, ii) wherein each one of the hairpin element arrangements passes through one of the passage openings and iii) wherein the insulating device predefines a distance of each one of the hairpin element arrangements from an edge of the stator slot receiving each one of the hairpin element arrangements, iv) wherein an edge of each one of the passage openings has protrusions which support the hairpin element arrangements, extend inwardly into each one of the passage openings in a direction transverse to the edge, and predefine the distance.
Miller teaches that i) at least one insulating device 36 comprising an annular body in which a multiplicity of passage openings 38 distinct from the stator slots (since the insulating device is at opposite ends of stator 34’ and winding 8 passes through both, figs 3-7) are distributed in the circumferential direction on a plane parallel to the annular body (figs 3-7) to improve insulation in the electric machine which prolongs the service life of the electric machine.
Since Koizuni et al. discloses slot liners 3 with passage openings and this slot liner teaches points iii-v and since Miller’s electric machine also has slot liners, the person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to incorporate points iii-iv into the insulating device of Miller and apply this insulating device to Koizumi et al. for the benefit of prolonging the service life of the electric machine (please see the annotated fig below for the limitations in points iii-v in Koizumi et al.).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to modify the invention of of Koizumi et al. such that i) at least one insulating device comprising an annular body in which a multiplicity of passage openings distinct from the stator slots are distributed in the circumferential direction on a plane parallel to the annular body, ii) wherein each one of the hairpin element arrangements passes through one of the passage openings and iii) wherein the insulating device predefines a distance of each one of the hairpin element arrangements from an edge of the stator slot receiving each one of the hairpin element arrangements, iv) wherein each one of the hairpin element arrangements passes through one of the passage openings, and v) wherein the insulating device predefines a distance of each one of the hairpin element arrangements from an edge of the stator slot receiving each one of the hairpin element arrangements, as taught by Miller, so as to prolong the service life of the electric machine.
3. Koizumi et al. teach:
The stator as claimed in claim 1, wherein each one of the hairpin element arrangements has a plurality of hairpin elements 5 which are arranged in one of the stator slots in a manner laminated in a lamination direction with respect to the center axis (see annotated fig above).
4. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller teach:
The stator as claimed in claim 3, wherein each one of the protrusions (of Koizumi et al. on the insulating device of Miller) is formed on an edge portion (on the insulating device of Miller) of each one of the passage openings (of Miller), the edge portion extending along or parallel to the lamination direction (of Koizumi et al., fig above).
5. Koizumi et al. teach:
The stator as claimed in claim 3, wherein for each one of the hairpin elements that is an outer hairpin element with respect to the lamination direction (of Koizumi et al., fig above), one of the protrusions is formed on an edge portion (of Miller) of each one of the passage openings (of Koizumi et al. on the insulating device of Miller), the edge portion extending transversely with respect to the lamination direction (fig 3 above).
7. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller teach:
The stator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one insulating device (of Miller) is arranged on the first end face of the stator core (of Koizumi et al.).
8. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller teach:
The stator as claimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one insulating device (of Miller) is arranged on another end face of the stator core (of Koizumi et al.) opposite the first end face (Miller discloses two insulating devices).
10. Koizumi et al. teach:
An electrical machine, comprising: a stator 30 as claimed in claim 1; and a rotor 50 which is arranged rotatably within the stator.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koizumi et al. in view of Miller and in further view of Kim (KR 1020180028767).
6. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller has been discussed above, re claim 1; but does not teach that a casting compound surrounding the hairpin element arrangements is arranged in the stator slots.
Kim teaches that in a hairpin winding where the ends are connected in a welding process, a resin is needed to be applied at the welded ends for insulation purposes (see machine translation). Although Miller appears to teach away from a varnish/resin applied to the windings, this is because Miller does not teach a hairpin winding configuration. When applying a hairpin configuration to Miller such as Jung’s hairpin winding, the resin application to the winding would become necessary.
Thus, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed would be motivated to modify the invention of Koizumi et al. with a casting compound surrounding the hairpin element arrangements is arranged in the stator slots, as taught by Kim, so as to provide insulation around the welded ends of the hairpin winding.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koizumi et al. in view of Miller and further view of Jack et al. (US 20090243406).
9. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller teach:
an insulating device (of Miller) on the opposing ends of the stator laminations (Miller discloses two insulating devices); but does not teach that the stator core is subdivided along the axial direction into at least two partial stator cores, the at least one insulating device being arranged between a respective pair of adjacent partial stator cores.
Jack et al. teach that the stator core 10’-10’’’ is subdivided along the axial direction into at least two partial stator cores 10’ & 10”. This configuration can have the following benefits: increased torque from the stator (if the electric machine is a motor) and increased electricity generated (if the electric machine is a generator) and more control due to there being three stators as opposed to only one (whether the electric machine is a motor or generator). As for “an insulating device being arranged between a respective pair of adjacent partial stator cores” this would be adopted when combining Jack et al. with Miller for the benefit of Millers insulating laminations between each stator (of Jack et al.).
Thus, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed would be motivated to modify the invention of Koizumi et al. so that the stator core is subdivided along the axial direction into at least two partial stator cores, an insulating device being arranged between a respective pair of adjacent partial stator cores, as taught by Jack et al., so as to increased torque from the stator (if the electric machine is a motor) and increased electricity generated (if the electric machine is a generator) and more control due to there being three stators as opposed to only one (whether the electric machine is a motor or generator).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koizumi et al. in view of Miller and in further view of Cai et al. (US 20030214196).
11. Koizumi et al. in view of Miller has been discussed above, re claim 10; but does not teach a vehicle, comprising: an electrical machine as claimed in claim 10, which is configured to drive the vehicle.
Cai et al. teaches that hairpin windings benefit hybrid vehicles because they have a good slot-fill ratio (para 0098 1st & 2nd sentences). The person having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to manufacture a vehicle, comprising: an electrical machine as claimed in claim 10, which is configured to drive the vehicle for the same benefit because the more windings fit into the slot, the more torque or electricity can be generated (whether the electric machine is a motor or generator).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to modify the invention of Koizumi et al. with a vehicle, comprising: an electrical machine as claimed in claim 10, which is configured to drive the vehicle, as taught by Cai et al., so as to increased torque from the stator (if the electric machine is a motor) and increased electricity generated (if the electric machine is a generator) and more control due to there being three stators as opposed to only one (whether the electric machine is a motor or generator).
Conclusion
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/TERRANCE L KENERLY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834