DETAILED ACTION
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 responsive to the Applicant's communication filed 21 November 2025. In view of this communication, claims 1-23 are now pending in the application.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 21 November 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant’s arguments, filed 21 November 2025, have been fully considered and are persuasive.
The Applicant’s first argument (pages 8-9 of the Remarks) alleges, regarding the previous grounds of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 of claims 1, 16, and 22, that Oswald does not disclose “the interior compartment comprising a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings” because the coolant flows in a separate compartment around the windings rather than within the same compartment as the windings. Since the claim now clearly defines these features and Oswald does not disclose the coolant within the same compartment so as to contact the windings, this argument is persuasive. However, a newly cited reference, see Suzuki below, does disclose a coolant can with a single interior compartment, said compartment having both the windings and the coolant within. Thus, new grounds of rejection have been made below, in view of Oswald and Suzuki.
The Applicant’s second argument (page 9 of the Remarks) alleges that the previous grounds of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 of the dependent claims are invalid for the same reasons discussed above. This argument is moot in view of the new grounds of rejection below.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Disclosure
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki (JP 2005-110401 A), hereinafter referred to as “Suzuki”.
Regarding claim 22, Suzuki discloses a method for thermal management of an electric machine [linear motor] having a thermal management system [1] (fig. 1-2, 13; ¶ 0020-0021), the method comprising:
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flowing a coolant through an interior compartment [6] of one or more coolant cans [3] that encapsulate one or more windings [2] of the electric machine [linear motor] within the interior compartment [6] of the coolant can [3] such that the coolant contacts the one or more windings [2], the interior compartment [6] of the coolant can [3] being fluidically isolated from other components of the electric machine [linear motor] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023; the molded housing, coolant can [3], serves to “eliminate refrigerant leakage”).
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 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) 1-5, 9-10, 14-17, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald et al. (WO 2013/079715 A2), hereinafter referred to as “Oswald”, in view of Suzuki.
Regarding claim 1, Oswald discloses an electric machine [1] having a thermal management system [14] (fig. 1-4; ¶ 0093), the electric machine [1] comprising:
a stator [2] including a stator core [5] (fig. 1-3; ¶ 0089, 0099-0102);
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a rotor [15] including a rotor core, the rotor [5] being movable with respect to the stator [2] (fig. 1, 4; ¶ 0093, 0109),
wherein one or more windings [4] are included in at least one of the stator [2] or the rotor [15] of the electric machine [1] (fig. 1-2; ¶ 0085-0089, 0093-0096),
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wherein one or more coolant cans [18] encapsulate the one or more windings [4] of the at least one of the stator [2] or the rotor [15] in an interior compartment [ic] of the coolant can [18] (fig. 2; ¶ 0095-0096), the interior compartment [ic] comprising a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings [4], the coolant can [18] having a coolant inlet [19] and a coolant outlet [19] in fluid connection with the interior compartment [ic] (fig. 2; ¶ 0098-0106; coolant flows from one cooling ring [23] in one coolant connection [19], then through the interior of the can and out the other coolant connection and cooling ring), and
wherein the interior compartment [ic] of the one or more coolant cans [18] are fluidically isolated from the stator core and the rotor core (fig. 2; ¶ 0097-0099; the interior compartment is sealed by cover [21]).
Oswald does not disclose the interior compartment comprising defining a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings.
Suzuki discloses an electric machine [linear motor] having a thermal management system [1] comprising one or more windings [2] (fig. 1-2, 13; ¶ 0020-0021), wherein one or more coolant cans [3] encapsulate the one or more windings [2] in an interior compartment [6] of the coolant can [3] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023),
the interior compartment [6] comprising a coolant flow passage [6] through the one or more windings [2] such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings [2], the coolant can [3] having a coolant inlet [4] and a coolant outlet [5] in fluid connection with the interior compartment [6] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023); and
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the interior compartment [6] of the one or more coolant cans [3] is fluidically isolated from other components of the electric machine [linear motor] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023; the molded housing, coolant can [3], serves to “eliminate refrigerant leakage”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the coolant cans of Oswald having a single interior compartment as taught by Suzuki, in order to reduce the cost and complexity of the coolant cans while also improving their strength and eliminating refrigerant leakage (¶ 0018-0019 of Suzuki).
Regarding claim 2, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the interior compartment [ic] of one or more coolant cans [18] is fluidically isolated from the interior compartments [ic] of one or more other coolant cans [18] (fig. 2-3; ¶ 0095-0098 of Oswald; also see fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023 of Suzuki; the molded housing, coolant can [3], serves to “eliminate refrigerant leakage”).
Regarding claim 3, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the one or more windings [4] comprise concentrated windings [4] (fig. 1-2; each coil is wound around a single stator tooth).
Regarding claim 4, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 3, as stated above, wherein the coolant can [18] includes an interior wall extending through the interior compartment [ic] that defines an opening [22] through the coolant can [18] (fig. 2; ¶ 0099), and
wherein the concentrated winding [4] are wound around the interior wall within the interior compartment [ic] (fig. 2; ¶ 0095-0099).
Regarding claim 5, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 4, as stated above, wherein the opening [22] of the coolant can [18] is configured to be received by one or more teeth [5] of a plurality of teeth [5] included on the stator core [5] (fig. 1-3; ¶ 0099-0102).
Regarding claim 9, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 5, as stated above, wherein the one or more concentrated windings [4] are toroidal shaped (fig. 2).
Regarding claim 10, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 9, as stated above, wherein the stator core [5] is comprised of a plurality of stator segments (fig. 1, 4; a plurality of stator cores are disposed circumferentially around the interior of the housing tube [8]),
wherein one or more teeth [5] of the plurality of teeth [5] of the stator core [5] is included on the stator segment [5] (fig. 1, 4; each stator core is comprised of a single stator tooth), and
wherein the opening [22] of the coolant can [18] is received by the one or more teeth [5] of the stator segment [5] (fig. 2-4; ¶ 0099-0102).
Regarding claim 14, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the one or more coolant cans [18] has a plurality of outlets [19] fig. 2-4; there are multiple cans, each with one inlet and one outlet), and
wherein at least one of the plurality of outlets [19] are directed to a working volume [23] of the electric machine [1] including the stator [2] and the rotor [15] (fig. 2; ¶ 0098-0106; coolant flows from one cooling ring [23] in one coolant connection [19], then through the interior of the can [18] and out the other coolant connection [19] and cooling ring [23]).
Regarding claim 15, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 1, as stated above, wherein an electrical component [20] of the electric machine [1] is disposed within the interior compartment [ic] with the one or more windings [14] in the coolant can [18] (fig. 2; ¶ 0099, 0103-0106; power connection elements [20] connect to each coil within the coolant cans).
Regarding claim 16, Oswald discloses an electric machine [1] having a thermal management system [14] (fig. 1-4; ¶ 0093), the electric machine [1] comprising:
a stator [2] including a stator core [5] (fig. 1-3; ¶ 0089, 0099-0102);
a rotor [15] including a rotor core, the rotor [5] being movable with respect to the stator [2] (fig. 1, 4; ¶ 0093, 0109),
a coolant pump [12] (fig. 1; ¶ 0091-0093); and
a controller [13] in electrical connection with the coolant pump [12], the controller [13] being configured to control the coolant pump [12] (fig. 1; ¶ 0091-0093),
wherein one or more windings [4] are included in at least one of the stator [2] or the rotor [15] of the electric machine [1] (fig. 1-2; ¶ 0085-0089, 0093-0096),
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wherein one or more coolant cans [18] encapsulate one or more of the windings [4] disposed on the at least one of the stator [2] or the rotor [15] in an interior compartment [ic] of the coolant can [18] (fig. 2; ¶ 0095-0096), the interior compartment [ic] comprising a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings [4], the coolant can [18] having a coolant inlet [19] and a coolant outlet [19] in fluid connection with the interior compartment [ic] (fig. 2; ¶ 0098-0106; coolant flows from one cooling ring [23] in one coolant connection [19], then through the interior of the can and out the other coolant connection and cooling ring), and
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wherein the coolant pump [12] is in fluid communication with one or more coolant inlets [19] of the one or more coolant cans [18] (fig. 1; ¶ 0091-0093).
Oswald does not disclose the interior compartment comprising defining a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings.
Suzuki discloses an electric machine [linear motor] having a thermal management system [1] comprising one or more windings [2] (fig. 1-2, 13; ¶ 0020-0021), wherein one or more coolant cans [3] encapsulate the one or more windings [2] in an interior compartment [6] of the coolant can [3] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023),
the interior compartment [6] comprising a coolant flow passage [6] through the one or more windings [2] such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings [2], the coolant can [3] having a coolant inlet [4] and a coolant outlet [5] in fluid connection with the interior compartment [6] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023); and
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the interior compartment [6] of the one or more coolant cans [3] is fluidically isolated from other components of the electric machine [linear motor] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023; the molded housing, coolant can [3], serves to “eliminate refrigerant leakage”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the coolant cans of Oswald having a single interior compartment as taught by Suzuki, in order to reduce the cost and complexity of the coolant cans while also improving their strength and eliminating refrigerant leakage (¶ 0018-0019 of Suzuki).
Regarding claim 17, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 16, as stated above, wherein a sensor is disposed within the interior compartment [ic] of the one or more coolant cans [18] with the one or more windings [4] (not shown; ¶ 0077; the sensor, located in the “return of the cooling circuit”, is implied to be located at the outlet of the interior compartment, as this return location would provide the most accurate temperature reading of the winding), the sensor being in electrical connection with the controller [13], such that the controller [13] receives outputs from the sensor (¶ 0077).
Regarding claim 22, Oswald discloses a method for thermal management of an electric machine [1] having a thermal management system [14] (fig. 1-4; ¶ 0093), the method comprising:
flowing a coolant through an interior compartment [ic] of one or more coolant cans [18] that encapsulate one or more windings [4] of the electric machine [1] within the interior compartment [ic] of the coolant can [18] (fig. 2; ¶ 0095-0096), the interior compartment [ic] of the coolant can [18] being fluidically isolated from other components of the electric machine [1] (fig. 2; ¶ 0098-0106; coolant flows from one cooling ring [23] in one coolant connection [19], then through the interior of the can and out the other coolant connection and cooling ring).
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Oswald does not disclose the interior compartment comprising defining a coolant flow passage through the one or more windings such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings.
Suzuki discloses an electric machine [linear motor] having a thermal management system [1] comprising one or more windings [2] (fig. 1-2, 13; ¶ 0020-0021), wherein one or more coolant cans [3] encapsulate the one or more windings [2] in an interior compartment [6] of the coolant can [3] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023),
the interior compartment [6] comprising a coolant flow passage [6] through the one or more windings [2] such that a flow of coolant contacts the one or more windings [2], the coolant can [3] having a coolant inlet [4] and a coolant outlet [5] in fluid connection with the interior compartment [6] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023); and
the interior compartment [6] of the one or more coolant cans [3] is fluidically isolated from other components of the electric machine [linear motor] (fig. 1-2; 13; ¶ 0022-0023; the molded housing, coolant can [3], serves to “eliminate refrigerant leakage”).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the coolant cans of Oswald having a single interior compartment as taught by Suzuki, in order to reduce the cost and complexity of the coolant cans while also improving their strength and eliminating refrigerant leakage (¶ 0018-0019 of Suzuki).
Regarding claim 23, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the method of claim 22, as stated above, further comprising:
detecting a temperature of the one or more windings [14] encapsulated within the one or more coolant cans [18] (not shown; ¶ 0077; the sensor, located in the “return of the cooling circuit”, is implied to be located at the outlet of the interior compartment, as this return location would provide the most accurate temperature reading of the winding);
determining that the detected temperature is above a threshold value (¶ 0077; the coolant flow is adjusted based on the measured return temperature); and
in response to determining that the detected temperature is above the threshold value, flowing additional coolant through the interior compartment of the one or more coolant cans [18] (¶ 0077; the coolant flow is adjusted based on the measured return temperature).
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald and Suzuki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Egashira et al. (US 2021/0184532 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Egashira”.
Regarding claim 7, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the winding [4] is a concentrated winding disposed in the stator [2] (fig. 1-2; each coil is wound around a single stator tooth),
wherein the stator [2] includes a coolant can frame [23] that defines two or more coolant cans [18] having their inlets and outlets [19] in fluid communication with each other (fig. 3-4; ¶ 0100-0107),
wherein the stator core [5] includes a plurality of teeth [5], the stator core [5] being disposed on the coolant can frame [23] such that a tooth [5] of the stator core [5] is disposed between the two or more coolant cans [18] (fig. 1-3; ¶ 0099-0102; the stator core is comprised of multiple circumferentially arranged teeth within each coolant can, the axial ends of the coolant cans being secured by the frames), and
wherein the winding [14] is disposed within the two or more coolant cans [18] having inlets and outlets [19] in fluid communication with each other (fig. 1-2; ¶ 0085-0089, 0093-0096).
Oswald does not disclose the winding being a distributed winding.
Egashira discloses an electric machine comprising a stator [1] including a stator core [9] and a winding [10] (fig. 1; ¶ 0022), wherein said winding [10] is a distributed winding (fig. 1-2; each coil extends around multiple teeth, rather than a single one).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the stator winding of Oswald as a distributed winding as taught by Egashira, in order to smoothly distribute the rotating fields thereby reducing noise as compared with a concentrated winding (¶ 0002 of Egashira).
Regarding claim 8, Oswald, in view of Suzuki and Egashira, discloses the electric machine of claim 7, as stated above, wherein the coolant can frame [23] includes a first endcap [23a] disposed at a first axial end of the stator [2] and a second endcap [23b], opposite the first endcap [23a] (fig. 3-4; ¶ 0100-0107),
wherein the first endcap [23a] defines an interior compartment having an inlet [26a] and the second endcap [23b] defines an interior compartment having an outlet [26b] (fig. 3-4; ¶ 0107),
wherein the inlets [19] of the two or more coolant cans [18] having inlets [18] in fluid communication with each other are in fluid communication with the interior compartment of the first endcap [23a] (fig. 3-4; ¶ 0100-0107; fluid flows in one direction, forced by pump [12], through the cooling circuit), and
wherein the outlets [19] of the two or more coolant cans [18] having outlets [19] in fluid communication with each other are in fluid communication with the interior compartment of the second endcap [23b] (fig. 3-4; ¶ 0100-0107; fluid flows in one direction, forced by pump [12], through the cooling circuit).
Claim(s) 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald and Suzuki as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Besser et al. (WO 2017/048788 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Besser”.
Regarding claim 18, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 17, as stated above, wherein the controller [13] is configured to adjust an output of the coolant pump [12] (fig. 1; ¶ 0091-0093).
Oswald does not disclose that the controller [13] includes a processor, a storage, and a memory, the processor being configured to process inputs received from the sensor that are stored in the storage and predetermined threshold values stored in the memory.
Besser discloses an electric machine [12] comprising a controller [20] (fig. 5-6; page 3, lines 17-24, page 9, lines 22-29), wherein the controller [20] includes a processor [62], a storage [64], and a memory [65], the processor [62] being configured to process inputs received from a sensor [60T] that are stored in the storage [64] and predetermined threshold values stored in the memory [65] (fig. 5-6; page 9, line 22 to page 11, line 22).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the controller of Oswald including a processor, storage, memory, and sensors as taught by Besser, in order to provide useful information regarding motor status thereby detecting wear before the onset of failure so that appropriate maintenance can be performed before said failure actually occurs (page 5, line 29 to page 6, line 3 of Besser).
Regarding claim 19, Oswald, in view of Besser, discloses the electric machine of claim 18, as stated above, wherein the sensor is configured to detect a temperature of coolant flowing through the one or more coolant cans [18] encapsulating the one or more windings [4] disposed on at least one of the stator [2] and the rotor [15] (not shown; ¶ 0077; the sensor, located in the “return of the cooling circuit”, is implied to be located at the outlet of the interior compartment, as this return location would provide the most accurate temperature reading of the winding), and
Oswald/Besser further discloses that the predetermined threshold values stored in the memory [65] of the controller [20] (fig. 5-6; page 9, line 22 to page 11, line 22) are configured such that, under steady-state continuous operating conditions, the temperature of the coolant flowing through the one or more coolant cans encapsulating the one or more windings disposed on at least one of the stator and the rotor is at least 5 degrees Celsius less than a temperature of the stator core or rotor core disposed thereon (the limitations following the phrase “configured such that” recite only an intended use and do not imply any additional structural or functional limitations and, as such, the predetermined threshold values of Besser are capable of being used in such a way).
Claim(s) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald, Suzuki, and Besser as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Leiber (US 2021/0044160 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Leiber”.
Regarding claim 20, Oswald, in view of Suzuki and Besser, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 19, as stated above, wherein the predetermined threshold values stored in the memory [65] of the controller [20] (fig. 5-6; page 9, line 22 to page 11, line 22) are configured such that, under steady-state continuous operating conditions, the temperature of the coolant flowing through the one or more coolant cans encapsulating the one or more windings disposed on the stator is at least 5 degrees Celsius less than an average temperature of the laminations of the stator core disposed thereon (the limitations following the phrase “configured such that” recite only an intended use and do not imply any additional structural or functional limitations and, as such, the predetermined threshold values of Besser are capable of being used in such a way).
Oswald, in view of Besser, does not disclose that the stator core [5] is comprised of a plurality of laminations.
Leiber discloses an electric machine comprising a stator [S] with a stator core [1b] (fig. 1; ¶ 0063), wherein the stator core [1b] is comprised of a plurality of laminations (¶ 0005; the rotor and stator are made from laminating silicon steel plates).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the stator core of Oswald from a plurality of laminations as taught by Leiber, in order to reduce eddy currents thereby reducing iron losses (¶ 0005 of Leiber).
Regarding claim 21, Oswald, in view of Suzuki, Besser, and Leiber, discloses the electric machine [1] of claim 19, as stated above, wherein the predetermined threshold values stored in the memory [65] of the controller [20] (fig. 5-6; page 9, line 22 to page 11, line 22) are configured such that, under steady-state continuous operating conditions, the temperature of the coolant flowing through the one or more coolant cans encapsulating the one or more windings disposed on the rotor is at least 5 degrees Celsius less than an average temperature of the laminations of the rotor core disposed thereon (the limitations following the phrase “configured such that” recite only an intended use and do not imply any additional structural or functional limitations and, as such, the predetermined threshold values of Besser are capable of being used in such a way).
Oswald, in view of Besser, does not disclose that the rotor core is comprised of a plurality of laminations.
Leiber discloses an electric machine comprising a rotor with a rotor core [14] (fig. 5; ¶ 0063, 0075), wherein the rotor core [14] is comprised of a plurality of laminations (¶ 0005; the rotor and stator are made from laminating silicon steel plates).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the rotor core of Oswald from a plurality of laminations as taught by Leiber, in order to reduce eddy currents thereby reducing iron losses (¶ 0005 of Leiber).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 6 and 11-13 is/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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, and all claims dependent thereon, the prior art does not disclose, inter alia, the electric machine of claim 4, wherein the opening of the coolant can is configured to be received by one or more poles of the rotor core.
While the prior art discloses the electric machine having coolant cans associated with the stator, it does not disclose any similar structure associated with the rotating component of the electric machine. The differences in the structure, particularly in providing electrical current and coolant to rotating components through one or more types of converters, would require significant additional structure which has not been found to be disclosed in the prior art. As such, the coolant cans being located on the rotor is neither anticipated nor rendered obvious by the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Citation of Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Prior art:
Zook (US 2013/0088102 A1) discloses an electrical machine with a distributed winding on the stator (¶ 0038).
Wakita (US 2006/0145548 A1) discloses an electrical machine comprising a laminated stator with a plurality of coolant cans encapsulating the stator windings.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael Andrews whose telephone number is (571)270-7554. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 8:30am-3:00pm.
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/Michael Andrews/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834