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 without traverse of group I in the reply filed on 11/19/2025 is acknowledged.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 11-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Byeon (WO 2019199056) in view of Byeon (hereinafter “Byeon2”) (WO 2020091378).
1. Byeon teaches:
A motor (FIG 1) comprising:
a shaft 100;
a rotor 300 coupled to the shaft;
a stator 200 disposed between the shaft and the rotor;
a bearing 900 disposed between the shaft and the stator; and
a base plate 700,
wherein the rotor includes a yoke 300 coupled to the shaft,
the base plate includes a body 700, a first partition 820 protruding from the body, and a second partition 830 extending from the first partition,
wherein the rotor further includes a drive magnet 400 and a sensing magnet 500 coupled to the yoke (fig 4), and at least a portion of the first partition in the radial direction is disposed to be overlapped with the stator, the drive magnet and the sensing magnet (fig 6); but does not teach that the first partition is disposed between the bearing and the stator, a portion of the second partition is disposed to be overlapped with the first partition, and the first partition is in contact with a lateral surface of an outer ring of the bearing and the second partition is in contact with one surface of the outer ring of the bearing.
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Byeon2 teaches that the first partition 810 is disposed between the bearing 920 and the stator 210 (fig 15), a portion of the second partition 822 is disposed to be overlapped with the first partition (fig 15), and the first partition is in contact with a lateral surface of an outer ring of the bearing (fig 15) and the second partition is in contact with one surface of the outer ring of the bearing (fig 15) to prevent axial displacement (excerpt below) which prolongs that life of the motor.
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention of Byeon was effectively filed to modify it so that the first partition is disposed between the bearing and the stator, a portion of the second partition is disposed to be overlapped with the first partition, and the first partition is in contact with a lateral surface of an outer ring of the bearing and the second partition is in contact with one surface of the outer ring of the bearing, as taught by Byeon2 so as to prolong the life of the motor.
2. Byeon teaches:
The motor of claim 1, wherein the yoke includes a first hole (fig above) penetrated by the shaft, the base plate includes a second hole (fig above) penetrated by the shaft, an inner diameter of the second hole is larger than (fig above) an inner diameter of the first hole (fig above), the shaft is in contact with an inner surface of the first hole (fig above), and an outer surface of the bearing is in contact with an inner surface of the second hole (fig above).
3. Byeon teaches:
The motor of claim 1, wherein the yoke includes an extension part in contact with the shaft (Byeon fig above); but does not teach that the second partition is disposed to be overlapped with the extension part in a radial direction because neither Byeon or Byeon2 teach a single type ball bearing (they both teach two ball bearings).
However, removing the upper ball bearing such that the second partition is disposed to be overlapped with the extension part in a radial direction would result in a lighter weight and reduced axial thickness in the motor which would improve its robustness. Still further, it has been held that omission of an element (the upper bearing) and its function in a combination where the remaining elements perform the same functions as before involves only routine skill in the art. In re Karlson, 136 USPQ 184.
As a result, it would have been obvious prior to the invention of Byeon being effectively filed to modify it so that the second partition is disposed to be overlapped with the extension part in a radial direction, so as to improve the robustness of the motor.
4. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first partition is disposed to be overlapped with the stator in the radial direction (Byeon2 fig above).
11. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor according claim 1 wherein a curved surface disposed in a boundary between the body and the first partition is provided (Byeon2 fig above).
12. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor according claim 1 wherein a distance from the body to an upper end of the first partition exceeds a length of the bearing and is less than the longest distance from the body to the yoke in an axial direction (Byeon2 fig above).
13. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor according claim 1 wherein the rotor further includes a drive magnet 400 and a sensing magnet 500 coupled to the yoke (Byeon2 fig above), and at least a portion of the first partition (Byeon2 fig above) in the radial direction is disposed to be overlapped with the stator, the drive magnet and the sensing magnet (Byeon2 fig above).
14. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor according claim 1 wherein a portion of the base plate is disposed to overlap the bearing in a radial direction (Byeon2 fig above).
15. Byeon in view of Byeon2 teach:
The motor according claim 2 wherein a portion of the base plate is disposed to overlap the yoke in a radial direction (Byeon2 fig above).
16. Byeon teaches:
The motor according claim 2 wherein a distance in the radial direction between an inner surface of an inner ring and an outer surface of an outer ring of the bearing is equal to a difference between an inner diameter of the second hole and an inner diameter of the first hole (Byeon2 fig above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRANCE L KENERLY whose telephone number is (571)270-7851. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/TERRANCE L KENERLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834