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 .
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yazaki (JP2012161209A).
Yazaki discloses the claimed invention as follows:
Claim 1. A rotor manufacturing method for manufacturing a rotor of a rotating electrical machine, the rotor manufacturing method comprising:
a jig attachment step (see Figs. 1, 5 and 9) of attaching a holding jig (together, holding plates 7 and 8) to a rotor core (3) formed by laminated steel sheets (see [0016]), the holding jig being a member that holds the rotor core by sandwiching the rotor core in a stacking direction of the laminated steel sheets and pressing the rotor core (see [0014], [0022] and [0028]);
a transmission member insertion step (see Figs. 2, 7 and 10) of inserting a transmission member (4) into an inner peripheral surface of the rotor core with the rotor core and the holding jig heated to a temperature equal to or higher than an insertable temperature at which the transmission member is able to be inserted into the inner peripheral surface of the rotor core (see [0017], [0026] and [0031]), the transmission member being a member that transmits rotation; and
a cooling step (see [0018], [0026] and [0033]) of cooling the rotor core to fix the rotor core and the transmission member together, wherein
the transmission member insertion step is performed with the holding jig kept (7 with 8) attached to the rotor core (see Figs. 2, 7 and 10).
Claim 2. The rotor manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising:
a heating step (see transition from (1) to (2) in Fig. 4; see [0017]) of heating the rotor core and the holding jig so that a temperature of the rotor core (170 °C) becomes equal to or higher than the insertable temperature that is higher than a curing start temperature of a resin;
a resin injection step (see Fig. 2; see [0017]) of injecting a thermosetting resin (10, Fig. 2) into hole portions (2, Fig. 2) of the rotor core with magnet members (3, Fig. 2) placed therein by a resin injection device (“injection device” in [0016]) after the heating step; and
a resin curing step of maintaining the rotor core at the curing start temperature or higher to cure the resin injected into the hole portions after the resin injection step.
Claim 3. The rotor manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein at least part of the resin curing step and at least part of the transmission member insertion step are performed simultaneously. See [0017].
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) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yazaki in view of Kanbe (US2018/0061562A1).
Yazaki further discloses (refer to the embodiment of Figs. 9-12) the claimed invention as follows (limitations not disclosed by Yazaki are crossed out, below):
Claim 4. The rotor manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising:
a heating step of heating the rotor core and the holding jig (see [0024] and [0025]) so that a temperature of the rotor core becomes equal to or higher than a curing start temperature of a resin1
a resin injection step (see [0025]) of injecting a thermosetting resin into hole portions of the rotor core with magnet members placed therein by a resin injection device after the heating step; and
a resin curing step of, after the resin injection step, heating the rotor core (“heated to 190° C” in [0025]) and the holding jig so that the temperature of the rotor core becomes equal to or higher than the insertable temperature that is higher than the curing start temperature, and curing the resin injected into the hole portions.
Claim 5. The rotor manufacturing method according to claim 4, wherein the transmission member insertion step is performed after the resin curing step. See [0026].
Whereas one of ordinary skill in the art understands curing of a thermosetting resin starts at a lower temperature than the temperature needed for complete curing within a reasonable amount of time, Yazaki does not explicitly disclose the resin starts curing below 170 °C.
Kanbe discloses an adhesive epoxy resin with a curing reaction start temperature of around 120 °C. “However a temperature when the curing reaction is finished within a practical curing time of, for example, two hours, is preferably set in a range between 170 and 190° C.” See [0042].
In view of the teachings of Kanbe, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that a thermosetting resin having a curing temperature of 190 °C would have a curing start temperature much lower than the curing temperature, and lower than the 170 °C (insertable temperature). In other words, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the same general behavior of the resin of Yazaki.
Alternatively, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to use the epoxy disclosed by Kanbe as the thermosetting resin of Yazaki, since Kanbe discloses 190 °C as a suitable curing temperature for such a resin, i.e., the same temperature disclosed by Yazaki.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIVIUS R CAZAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8032. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday noon-8:30 pm ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil K Singh can be reached at 571-272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
1 It is readily apparent the resin begins curing at a lower temperature than 190 °C, but Yazaki does not explicitly disclose the resin starts curing below 170 °C.