DETAILED 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 .
This Office Action is in response to papers filed on 12/22/2025. Amendments made to the claims and the Applicant's remarks have been entered and considered.
Claims 23, 25, 26 have been amended. Claims 1-22 have been canceled. Claims 28-33 are newly added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argued that Goto at least does not teach or suggest the above recitation [of claim 23]. For example, Goto discloses a stator cooling structure and coolant passages 20. In Goto, the system does not include a first cooling circuit including a plurality of first fluid passageways or a second cooling circuit including a plurality of second fluid passageways nor the first internal fluid passageways defined within the thermally conductive material and wherein the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly between the two magnetic rotors from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly. Instead, Goto discloses a single magnetic rotor and cooling passages 20 which must pass through the stator body to return to a radially interior side and outlet port 24 rather than being positioned at the radially interior side. The claimed invention includes two cooling circuits positioned spaced away from each other at the radial exterior and radial interior sides of the stator assembly. Furthermore, Woolmer does not overcome Goto's deficiencies. Woolmer merely discloses stators 12 and annular passages 152a and 152b. Like Goto, Woolmer at least does not teach or suggest the above recitation. Instead, Woolmer discloses "Inside the chamber 152 barriers 158 are disposed between the first coils and the housings 102, 146 to divide the chamber 152 into two parallel annular passages 152a, b. Each is supplied with their own respective branch 156a, b of the inlet port 156." Woomer further discloses "The parallel passages 152a, b are separated by the coils 122, between which there are gaps 155. Thus, cooling medium circulating in the passages 152a, b can cross and circulate around the entire periphery of the coils 122." As such, Woolmer does not disclose two cooling circuits but a single circuit. Furthermore, Shimuzu does not overcome Goto's and Woolmer's deficiencies. Shimuzu merely discloses a system with a single rotor and only two coolant passages 15 and 16. Shimuzu further discloses a resin mould outside the wire coils and stator body. Like Goto and Woolmer, at least does not teach or suggest the above recitation. Specifically, Shimuzu does not disclose at least a plurality of first and second fluid passageways. Further a person of ordinary skill in the art would have no reason to modify Goto and Woolmer in view Shimuzu to disclose the above recitation. Combining Goto with Woolmer and Shimuzu would not have led to the claimed subject matter because Goto, Woolmer, and Shimuzu, either individually or in combination, at least do not disclose or suggest a first cooling circuit including a plurality of first fluid passageways; a second cooling circuit including a plurality of second fluid passageways; each of the first internal fluid passageways defined within the thermally conductive material and being located at one of the radial interior side and the radial exterior side of the stator assembly, the first internal fluid passageway being configured for receiving a cooling fluid; wherein the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly between the two magnetic rotors from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly, wherein each of the second internal fluid passageways is defined at a radially exterior side of the stator assembly, as recited by amended Claim 23. Accordingly, independent Claim 23 is distinguishable over the cited art, and Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of this rejection of Claim 23.
This argument is not persuasive because Goto shows an axial flux machine with second internal fluid passageways defined at a radially exterior side of a stator assembly and motor with two rotors (para[0064]). Shimuzu shows (FIG. 10) a first cooling circuit including first internal fluid passageways 15 defined within the thermally conductive material 14 and being located at the radial interior side of the stator assembly, each of the first internal fluid passageways 15 being configured for receiving a cooling fluid (para[0059]). Woolmer shows (FIG. 9-11) the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly between the two magnetic rotors from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly. In response to the Applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
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 “third cooling circuit including a third plurality of fluid passageways is defined through the coils” recited in claim 32 and the “fourth cooling circuit including a fourth plurality of fluid passageways is defined through the stator cores” recited in claim 33 in addition to the first and second cooling circuits 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 Objections
Claims 23-27 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 23, line 10, “first fluid passageways” should be -- first internal fluid passageways ---;
In claim 23, line 11, “second fluid passageways” should be -- second internal fluid passageways ---;
In claim 27, lines 1-2, “a second internal fluid passageway” should be -- the second internal fluid passageways --;
In claim 28, line 9, “a annular” should be -- an annular --.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 32 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The original specification does not show or describe “a third cooling circuit including a third plurality of fluid passageways is defined through the coils” recited in claim 32 or “a fourth cooling circuit including a fourth plurality of fluid passageways is defined through the stator cores” recited in claim 33 in addition to the first and second cooling circuits recited in claim 28.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 23 - 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goto (JP 2006050752 A) in view of Shimuzu (JP 2006014564 A) and Woolmer (US 2011/0309694 A1).
As to claim 23, Goto shows (FIG. 4, 8) A motor assembly comprising:
a) a motor shaft 1;
b) a rotor assembly 2 with two magnetic rotors;
c) a stator assembly 3 including a plurality of stator cores 11, the stator assembly 3 includes wire windings 12 wound about each of the stator cores 11 and a thermally conductive material 31 located between each stator core 11 and each wire coil 12, the stator assembly 3 defining an annulus with a radial interior side and a radial exterior side, wherein the stator assembly 3 is located axially between the two magnetic rotors; and
e) a second cooling circuit including a plurality of second fluid passageways 20;
f) the second internal fluid passageway 20 being configured for receiving a cooling fluid, wherein each of the second internal fluid passageways 20 is defined at a radially exterior side of the stator assembly 3 (motor with two rotors para[0064], FIG. 8 shows coil 12 between paper 31 and insulator 32 para[0055]).
Goto does not show:
a first cooling circuit including a plurality of first fluid passageways, each of the first internal fluid passageways defined within the thermally conductive material and being located at the radial interior side of the stator assembly, each of the first internal fluid passageways being configured for receiving a cooling fluid; and
the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly between the two magnetic rotors from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly.
As to the first bullet, Shimuzu shows (FIG. 10) a first cooling circuit including a plurality of first fluid passageways 15, each of the first internal fluid passageways 15 defined within the thermally conductive material 14 and being located at the radial interior side of the stator assembly, each of the first internal fluid passageways 15 being configured for receiving a cooling fluid (para[0059]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator 3 of Goto to have a first cooling circuit including a plurality of first fluid passageways 15, each of the first internal fluid passageways 15 defined within the thermally conductive material and being located at the radial interior side of the stator assembly, each of the first internal fluid passageways 15 being configured for receiving a cooling fluid as taught by Shimuzu, for the advantageous benefit of reducing unevenness in the cooling capacity in the stator axial direction without incurring a decrease in flow rate as taught by Shimuzu (para[0060]).
As to the second bullet, Woolmer shows (FIG. 9-11) the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly 100 between the two magnetic rotors 114 from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly 116 (para[0077]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator assembly 3 of Goto in view of Shimuzu to have the cooling fluid enters the stator assembly 3 between the two magnetic rotors 114 from the radial exterior side of the stator assembly 3 as taught by Woolmer, for the advantageous benefit of facilitating the interconnection of motors in tandem as taught by Woolmer (para[0098]).
As to claim 24/23, Goto in view of Shimuzu and Woolmer was discussed above with respect to claim 23 and Goto further shows (FIG. 4, 8) the thermally conductive materials 31,32 is an insulated material, wherein the coils 12 are embedded within the insulating material 32, wherein a portion of the insulating material 31 is located radially between the coils 12 and stator body 11 at one of a radially interior side or radially exterior side of the stator assembly.
As to claim 25/23, Goto in view of Shimuzu and Woolmer was discussed above with respect to claim 23 and Goto further shows (FIG. 4, 8) the second internal fluid passageways 20 are defined in the portion of the insulating material 32 at the radially exterior side or by a motor housing.
As to claim 26/23, Goto in view of Shimuzu and Woolmer was discussed above with respect to claim 23 except for the first internal fluid passageway is defined in the portion of insulating material at the radially interior side.
Shimuzu shows (FIG. 10) the first internal fluid passageway 15 is defined in the portion of insulating material at the radially interior side (para[0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator assembly 3 of Goto in view of Shimuzu and Woolmer to have the first internal fluid passageway 15 is defined in the portion of insulating material 32 at the radially interior side as taught by Shimuzu, for the advantageous benefit of reducing unevenness in the cooling capacity in the stator axial direction without incurring a decrease in flow rate as taught by Shimuzu (para[0060]).
As to claim 27/26/23, Goto in view of Shimuzu and Woolmer was discussed above with respect to claim 26 and Goto further shows (FIG. 4, 8) a second internal fluid passageway 20 is defined in the portion of insulating material 32 at the radially exterior side.
Claim(s) 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimuzu (JP 2006014564 A) in view of Woolmer (US 2011/0309694 A1) and Goto (JP 2006050752 A).
As to claim 28, Shimuzu shows (FIG. 8, 10) A motor assembly comprising:
a motor shaft 1 defining an axis of rotation;
a rotor assembly 2 of the motor assembly that extends along the axis of rotation;
a stator assembly 3 positioned axially, the stator assembly 3 including a plurality of stator cores 11 positioned around the axis of rotation, the stator assembly 3 also including wire windings 12 wound about each of the stator cores 11, the stator assembly 3 defining an annulus with an annular interior side that surrounds the axis of rotation and a annular exterior side that surrounds the axis of rotation;
a first cooling circuit for cooling the annular interior side of the stator assembly 3 and a second cooling circuit for cooling the annular exterior side of the stator assembly 3;
the first cooling circuit including a plurality of first cooling passages 15 that surround the axis of rotation at the annular interior side of the stator assembly 3, the first cooling passages 15 being spaced apart from one another in the axial dimension of the motor assembly, and the first cooling passages 15 being defined through the thermally conductive material;
the second cooling circuit including a plurality of second cooling passages 16 that surround the axis of rotation at the annular exterior side of the stator assembly 3, the second cooling passages 16 being spaced apart from one another in the axial dimension of the motor assembly; and
a motor housing 4b,4c surrounding the annular exterior side of the stator assembly 3, the motor housing 4C including a heat exchanger, wherein the first and second cooling circuits are both in fluid communication with the heat exchanger (motor para [0009], a heat exchanger is implied because coolant travels from coolant inlets 17,18 to coolant outlets 19,20 and cools the stator coil 12 para[0020]).
Shimuzu Does not show:
a rotor assembly with two magnetic rotors separated by an axial dimension;
a stator assembly positioned axially between the two magnetic rotors;
the coil windings being embedded in a thermally conductive material.
As to the first two bullets, Woolmer shows (FIG. 2):
a rotor assembly with two magnetic rotors 14a,14b separated by an axial dimension;
a stator assembly 12 positioned axially between the two magnetic rotors 14a,14b (para [0051]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the motor assembly of Shimuzu to have:
a rotor assembly with two magnetic rotors 2 separated by an axial dimension;
a stator assembly 3 positioned axially between the two magnetic rotors 2
as taught by Woolmer, for the advantageous benefit of reducing cogging and torque ripple as taught by Woolmer (para[0004],[0051]).
As to the third bullet, Goto shows (FIG. 8a,8b) the coil windings 12 being embedded in a thermally conductive material 32 (para [0057] to [0059]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coil windings of Shimuzu in view of Woolmer to have the coil windings being embedded in a thermally conductive material as taught by Goto, for the advantageous benefit of cooling the coil windings with high cooling effect as taught by Goto (para[0057]).
As to claim 29/28, Shimuzu in view of Woolmer and Goto was discussed above with respect to claim 28 and Shimuzu further shows (FIG. 10) the second cooling passages 16 are defined through the thermally conductive material 14.
As to claim 30/28, Shimuzu in view of Woolmer and Goto was discussed above with respect to claim 28 and Shimuzu further shows (FIG. 10) the second cooling passages 16 are defined through the motor housing 4b (at 18,20).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 31 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not show or suggest the coolant inlet/outlet are respectively adjacent to the first/second rotors.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E MATES whose telephone number is (571)270-5293. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 12:00pm to 8pm.
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/ROBERT E MATES/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834