DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that the prior art does not teach the newly added claim limitations. This argument is not persuasive because any portions of substrate 7 that are parallel to the housing 3 can be interpreted as flat banded portions. Cooling channels/apertures (11) are also disclosed by Knappenberger.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 12-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Knappenberger (US 9331549).
In re claim 1, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses a tolerance ring, comprising: an annular ring-shaped substrate (7) formed from a metallic material; a plurality of projections (substrate 7 forms the projections protruding in the radial direction) protruding radially inward from an inner surface of the substrate or radially outward from an outer surface of the substrate (as clearly seen in figures 3 and 9b); and one or more cooling features formed in the substrate (portions of the substrate 7 guiding the fluid form the cooling features), the one or more cooling features comprising: a plurality of flat banded portions (any portions extending parallel to housing 3) and one or more cooling channels extending across a width of the substrate or a plurality of apertures (11).
In re claim 12, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the tolerance ring is configured to be disposed within a housing of an electric drive motor assembly and retain or secure a drive motor stator of the electric drive motor assembly within the housing (as shown in figures 4-9a).
In re claim 13, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the one or more cooling features are configured to allow the fluid to pass between the tolerance ring and a housing of the electric drive motor assembly, between the tolerance ring and a stator of the electric drive motor assembly, or a combination thereof (this functionality is inherent to the structure shown in the figures) by the plurality of apertures (apertures through which the coolant flows, as shown in the figures of Knappenberger).
In re claim 14, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the one or more cooling features comprises a plurality of flat banded portions disposed about the tolerance ring (the ring 7 includes multiple flat banded portions that meet the claim limitations as seen in the figures).
In re claims 15-16, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the flat banded portions substantially abut the housing/stator of the electric drive motor assembly to allow the fluid to pass between the flat banded portions of the tolerance ring and the stator/housing of the electric drive motor assembly (as shown in figures 3-9).
In re claims 17-18, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the one or more cooling features comprises a plurality of cooling channels disposed about the tolerance ring, and wherein the cooling channels are configured to allow the fluid to pass between the flat banded portions of the tolerance ring and the housing, the stator, or a combination thereof of the electric drive motor assembly (as clearly shown in the figures) by a plurality of apertures (the cooling channels form the apertures at the ends of the cooling channels where the coolant enters and leaves the channel).
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) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Knappenberger (US 9331549).
In re claim 8, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that the plurality of projections comprises a plurality of waves grouped into a plurality of groups of waves (any number of waves comprises a group of waves), wherein the stator comprises a plurality of stator teeth (15). Knappenberger does not disclose the claimed number of teeth or projections. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have used the claimed number/multiple of projections, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). Please note that in the instant application, applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations.
In re claim 9, Knappenberger, in figures 1-9, discloses that each group of the plurality of waves are divided circumferentially by at least one of the one or more cooling features (the cooling features are clearly distributed around the circumference and thus divide any number of waves/groups that are between the cooling features, as shown in figures 3 and 9b).
Claim(s) 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Knappenberger (US 9331549) in view of Kao et al. (US 8629587).
In re claim 19, Knappenberger teaches the claimed invention except for the raised portions. Kao however teaches that positioning raised portions (121) in a substrate is known in the art. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have positioned raised portions as taught by Kao in the device of Knappenberger to improve heat transfer efficiency.
In re claim 20, Knappenberger discloses an electric drive motor assembly, comprising: an outer component comprising a housing (5); an inner component comprising a stator (3); and at least one tolerance ring (7) disposed within the housing and configured to retain or secure the stator within the housing, wherein the at least one tolerance ring comprises: an annular ring-shaped substrate formed from a metallic material; and one or more cooling features formed in the substrate (portions of the substrate 7 guiding the fluid form the cooling features), the one or more cooling features comprising a plurality of flat banded portions (any portions extending parallel to housing 3) and one or more cooling channels extending across a width of the substrate or a plurality of apertures (11). Knappenberger does not teach the plurality of projections. Kao however, teaches that positioning a plurality of projections (121) in a substrate as claimed is known in the art. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have positioned projections as taught by Kao in the device of Knappenberger to improve heat transfer efficiency.
In re claim 21, Knappenberger discloses that the at least one tolerance ring comprises a substantially constant diameter (as seen in the figures).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alexander Talpalatski whose telephone number is (571)270-3908. The examiner can normally be reached 10 AM - 6 PM PT.
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/Alexander Talpalatski/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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