DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicants election of the invention of Group I, Claims 1 through 11, in the reply filed on December 2, 2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 12 through 20 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 2, 2025.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --Method of Manufacturing Stator--.
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the use of phrases that can be implied, e.g. “Discloses is a method….”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, 4, 7 through 9 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities. It is noted that the following suggested changes have no impact on the scope of the claims.
In Claim 1, “circumferential direction C” (line 3) should be changed to -- circumferential direction (C)--.
In Claim 3, “through-hole G” (1st occurrence on line 1, 2nd occurrence on line 2) should be changed to –through-hole (G)--.
In Claim 4, “through-hole G” (line 3) should be changed to –through-hole (G)--.
In Claim 7, “first hole H1” (line 2) should be changed to –first hole (H1)--; and “second hole H2” (line 3) should be changed to –second hole (H2)--.
In Claim 8, “first hole H1” (line 2) should be changed to –first hole (H1)--; and “second hole H2” (line 3) should be changed to –second hole (H2)--.
In Claim 9, “first and second holes H1 and H2” (line 3) should be changed to –first and second holes (H1) and (H2)--.
In Claim 11, “the other end” (line 3) should be changed to –another end--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
In Claim 1, “a preparation step” (line 2), “a winding step” (line 4), and “an insertion step” (line 6).
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
In this case, the claim limitations recite sufficient acts to entirely perform the recited function. For example in Claim 1, the “preparation step” recites a sufficient act of “preparing a coil material and a stator core having a plurality of slots arranged in a circumferential direction C” (lines 2-3), to entirely perform this recited function. The can be similarly said for each of the “winding step” and the “insertion step”.
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.
Claims 1 through 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication 2019/0305621 to Oka et al (hereinafter “Oka”)1.
Claim 1: Oka discloses a method of manufacturing a stator, the method comprising:
a preparation step of preparing a coil material (e.g. of 3) and a stator core (e.g. 2) having a plurality of slots (e.g. 2a) arranged in a circumferential direction (C)(e.g. Fig. 2);
a winding step of manufacturing a winding coil (e.g. 5) by winding the coil material (e.g. Figs. 3, 7, ¶ [0053]+); and
an insertion step of positioning the winding coil in upper regions of at least some of the plurality of slots and then dropping the winding coil into the at least some of the plurality of slots (e.g. ¶ [0025]).
Claim 2: Oka discloses the method of claim 1, wherein in the insertion step, the winding coil is dropped into the slot by gravity (e.g. at least the vertical portion of dashed line in Fig. 2).
Claim 3: Oka discloses the method of claim 1, wherein a through-hole (G) is defined in a central region of the stator core, and the plurality of slots communicates with the through-hole (G), and
wherein in the insertion step, the winding coil is positioned in the through-hole (G), and then the winding coil is dropped into the at least some of the plurality of slots.
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Claim 4: Oka discloses the method of claim 3, wherein in the insertion step, the plurality of slots of the stator core is disposed in a vertical direction [vertical portion of dashed line in Fig. 2], and the winding coil is moved in a horizontal direction [horizontal arrow in Fig. 2] so as to be positioned in the through-hole (G).
Claim 5: Oka discloses the method of claim 1, wherein in the preparation step, the coil material is prepared to include a first material (e.g. 32a, 32b), and a second material (e.g. 32h, 32g) provided separately from the first material (e.g. Fig. 7), and
wherein in the winding step, the winding coil includes a first bundle (e.g. 18a, 18b) formed by winding the first material, and a second bundle (e.g. 18c, 18d) formed by winding the second material (e.g. Fig. 3).
Claim 6: Oka discloses the method of claim 1, wherein in the winding step, the winding coil includes first bundle (e.g. 18a, 18b) and second bundle (e.g. 18c, 18d) are formed by winding the coil material, and the first and second bundles are integrated by being connected to each other (e.g. Figs. 3, 4, 7, ¶¶ [0053] to [0058]).
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
In each of Claims 7, 8 and 11, Oka does not teach that the first bundle has a first hole (H1) and the second bundle has a second hole (H2). Furthermore, it would not be obvious to modify Oka to include these first and second holes, because to do so would destroy the structure of the winding coil.
Accordingly, Claims 7 through 11 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2015-15003023, discloses inserting or positioning of winding coils (e.g. Fig. 3) into slots of a stator car (Fig. 4, see SOLUTION).
b) Non-Patent Literature, Science Direct Publication to Mahr et al, entitled "Robot-assisted concept for assembling form coils in laminated stator cores of large electric motors”, discloses positioning a winding coil in slots of a stator core (e.g. Figs 1, 7 and 10, see entire document).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to A. DEXTER TUGBANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4570. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896
1 Elements emphasized (in italics) are illustrated in Oka’s annotated Figure 2.