DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Amendment filed on 24 November 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-16 are now pending in the application.
Amendments to the claims 9 and 13 to overcome the informalities are acceptable. Therefore, claim objections have been withdrawn.
Amendments to the claims 9 and 13 to overcome the rejections under U.S.C 112(b) have been fully considered and the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of claims 9-14 has been withdrawn
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 24 November 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on Page 11, second paragraph that “Schmid states that the plugging is shown in Figs. 16 to 21. See, Schmid para. [0351]. Notably, there are no structures of devices that could be said to be "guide elements" depicted in any of these Figs. See, Figs. 16 to 21. Accordingly, nothing in expressly or inherently supports the position that discloses the step of “pushing the first and second wave winding parts of the wave winding with the guide elements so as to plug the wave winding parts into one another," as specified in claim 9.”
Examiner respectfully submits that, from the teachings of Schmid in Figs. 16 to 20 and para. [0362], “It can be readily seen that such a plugging of wave winding wires 24a to 24f can be easily automated. A plugging device of a winding mat manufacturing device not shown in detail only requires a movement device for moving the wave winding wires 24a and 24b towards each other, whereby the sub-sections 98-1a, 98-1b, 98-2a and 98-2b are to be pushed upwards or downwards, for example, by means of corresponding sliding guides or grippers.” and para. [0308], “Each clamping jaw 76a, 76b and each bending jaw 78a, 78b of each of the clamping units 74-1, 74-2, 74-3, 74-4, 74-5 can be moved in the Z-direction by its own actuator 88-1a, 88-1b, 88-2a, 88-2b, 88-3a, 88-3b, 88-4a, 88-4b, 88-5a, 88-5b. Each actuator 88-1a, 88-1b, 88-2a, 88-2b, 88-3a, 88-3b, 88-4a, 88-4b, 88-5a, 88-5b can be individually controlled by a control unit 90.” one of ordinary skill in the art would have known that, moving the clamping jaws 76 and 76b in Z-direction (see X, Y and Z directions in Fig. 7) by actuators 88-1 to 88-5 that push the first and second wave winding parts of the wave winding with the guide elements so as to plug the wave winding parts into one another.
Therefore, Schmid teaches the recited limitation “pushing the first and second wave winding parts of the wave winding with the guide elements so as to plug the wave winding parts into one another” as recited in claim 9.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 16, lines 1-3: “wherein the second wave winding part is guided with the guide elements into a release position only when passing a winding head.” should read:
-- wherein pushing the second wave winding part [[is]] guided with the guide elements into [[a]] the release position only when passing [[a]] the winding head. --
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 9 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schmid (WO 2019166061, one of the documents cited in the IDS, see US 20200412214 for English Translation) in view of Akimoto (US 20110041318).
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Annotated Fig. 12, Schmid.
Regarding claim 9, Schmid teaches, a method of producing a plugged wave winding (winding mats for manufacturing a coil winding of an electric machine, see Abstract) configured to form at least part of a coil winding for a component of an electrical machine (a pair of wave winding wires 24, 24a, 24b…, which wave winding wires can be combined into a winding mat for creating a coil winding 20, para. [0274]) by plugging together a first wave winding part (wave winding wire 24a, Figs. 12 and 16) with a second wave winding part (wave winding wire 24b, Figs. 12 and 16), wherein the first wave winding part is formed by at least one first wave winding wire and the second wave winding part is formed by at least one second wave winding wire (see wave winding wires 24, Fig. 1), wherein the wave winding wires each extend in a longitudinal direction and have straight wire sections (straight wire sections 28, Figs. 1and 6, para. [0274]) extending in a first transverse direction running transverse to the longitudinal direction and roof-shaped winding heads (winding head 30, Fig. 1, each wave winding wire 24 extends in its longitudinal direction…and comprises a series of straight wire sections 28 spaced apart in this longitudinal direction and extending in a transverse direction—Y-direction, with adjacent straight wire sections 28 being connected to each other by a winding head 30, para. [0274]) therebetween such that adjacent straight wire sections are interconnected by a winding head (winding head 30a, 30d, Fig. 1, para, [0277]) bent in a roof shape (see Fig. 1), the method comprising:
providing the first wave winding part (wave winding wire 24a, see annotated Fig. 12 above) and first guide elements (first clamping jaw 76a, Figs. 8 and 9) for guiding straight wire sections of the first wave winding part during a plugging operation (first clamping unit 74-1 has a first clamping jaw 76a and a second clamping jaw 76b, which are designed for simultaneously clamping and holding three adjacent straight wire sections 28 of the wave winding wires 24a, 24b to be shaped simultaneously, para. [0306, 0317]),
providing the second wave winding part (wave winding wire 24b, see annotated Fig. 12 above) and second guide elements (second clamping jaw 76b, Figs. 8 and 9) for guiding straight wire sections of the second wave winding part during the plugging operation (see para. [0306, 0317]),
bending portions of at least one of the wave winding parts such that one or more of the winding heads directed towards the other wave winding part for plugging the wave winding parts into one another (see Figs. 16 to 20, the wave winding wires 24, 24a, 24b are fed to the winding head shaping device 70 individually or as a group, in particular as a pair of wave winding wires 24a, 24b, para. [0304], the first and the second wave winding wires 24a, 24b are pushed into each other in the transverse direction as indicated by arrows in FIG. 16…the respective first sub-section 98-1a of the first wave winding wire 24a is pushed over the respective first sub-section 98-1b of the second wave winding wire 24b, para. [0355]), and
pushing the first and second wave winding parts of the wave winding with the guide elements so as to plug the wave winding parts into one another (a first sub-section 98-1a of the first wave winding wire 24a is pushed up and an adjacent second sub-section 98-2a of the first wave winding wire 24a is pushed down. At the second wave winding wire 24b, a first sub-section 98-1b of the first wave winding wire 24a is pushed down and an adjacent second sub-section of the second wave winding wire 24b is pushed up, respectively, para. [0353], each clamping jaw 76a, 76b and each bending jaw 78a, 78b of each of the clamping units 74-1, 74-2, 74-3, 74-4, 74-5 can be moved in the Z-direction by its own actuator 88-1a, 88-1b, 88-2a, 88-2b, 88-3a, 88-3b, 88-4a, 88-4b, 88-5a, 88-5b, para. [0308]),
wherein the first and second guide elements, for passing winding heads during plugging into one another, are moved from a guide position, in which they guide the straight wire sections, to a release position for releasing a path of the winding heads (each clamping jaw 76a, 76b and each bending jaw 78a, 78b of each of the clamping units 74-1, 74-2, 74-3, 74-4, 74-5 can be moved in the Z-direction by its own actuator, para. [0308]).
Schmid does not explicitly teach the winding heads are displaced in a second transverse direction extending transversely to the longitudinal direction and transversely to the first transverse direction. However, Akimoto teaches a method of producing a plugged wave winding for an electrical machine including a first wave winding part and a second wave winding part having straight wire sections 40, and roof-shaped wring heads in Fig. 7, in which, the winding heads are displaced in a second transverse direction extending transversely to the longitudinal direction and transversely to the first transverse direction (see Fig. 8).
From the teachings of Schmid in para. [0306] that, first clamping unit 74-1 has a first clamping jaw 76a and a second clamping jaw 76b, which are designed for simultaneously clamping and holding three adjacent straight wire sections 28 of the wave winding wires 24a, 24b simultaneously, and from para. [0322-0324], moving and releasing the clamping units 74-1 to 74-5 by its own actuator in Z-direction, one of ordinary skill in the art would have thought that moving and releasing the clamping units in Z-direction would enable to move the clamping jaws 76a and 76b from a guide position to a releasing position. Therefore, in view of the teachings of Akimoto in Fig. 8, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method forming the wave winding of Schmid to include the winding heads to displace in a second transverse direction extending transversely to the longitudinal direction and transversely to the first transverse direction as taught by Akimoto so that it enables forming and releasing the wave winding mat after completing the bending operation. Doing so would enable to reduce the cost and size of the apparatus and to realize a high-speed interlacing of the wave winding coils as Akimoto disclosed in para. [0109].
Regarding claim 12, Schmid in view of Akimoto teaches the recited limitations with respect to claim 9. Schmid further teaches, the method according to claim 9, further comprising that each straight wire section, or at least each half-wave with two adjacent straight wire sections and a winding head in between, is guided by at least one guide element at each time of the plugging operation (see clamping jaws 76a and 76b in Fig. 9, para. [0306]).
Regarding claim 13, Schmid in view of Akimoto teaches the recited limitations with respect to claim 9. Schmid further teaches, the method according to claim 9, further comprising at least one of the following steps: providing one or more individual wires or partial mats as the first wave winding part and the second wave winding part so that the first and second wave winding parts lie next to each other in the first transverse direction and are aligned with their longitudinal directions relative to each other; raising or lowering a first portion or a first half of the winding heads of the first wave winding part; optionally lowering or raising or holding in position a second portion or a second half of the winding heads of the first wave winding part; pushing the second wave winding part in the first transverse direction into the first wave winding part (see Fig. 16, instant application claim 13 recites “at least one of the following steps”. Schmid teaches pushing the second wave winding part in the first transverse direction into the first wave winding part in Fig. 16, Therefore, Schmid teaches the recited limitation); releasing the respective bent portion of the first wave winding part so that the respective bent portion moves back again towards an initial position or moving the respective bent portion of the first wave winding part back towards an initial position; holding the first wave winding part and guiding the movement of the second wave winding part with the guide elements; guiding the wave winding part to be guided with several rows of pins movable in a direction of which at least one direction component runs along the center axis of the pin (see para. [0307-0308]).
Regarding claim 14, Schmid in view of Akimoto teaches the recited limitations with respect to claim 9. Schmid further teaches, the method according to claim 9, further comprising aligning at least one of the wave winding parts or the plugged wave winding by moving at least some of the guide elements in the first transverse direction (see annotated Figs. 16 to 18 below).
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Annotated Figs. 16 to 18, Schmid.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11 and 16 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for indicating allowable subject matter:
Claim 10 would be allowable for disclosing method of producing a plugged wave winding configured to form at least part of a coil winding for a component of an electrical machine, further comprising at least one of: guiding a movement of at least one of the wave winding parts during the plugging into one another with primary guide elements extending from one side into the wave winding part to be guided, and secondary guide elements extending from the other side into the wave winding part to be guided, wherein the primary and secondary guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided, or guiding the movement of at least one of the wave winding parts during the plugging into one another with the first and second guide elements as primary guide elements and additionally with secondary guide elements, the primary and secondary guide elements being transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided.
Claim 11 would be allowable for disclosing guiding a movement of at least one of the wave winding parts during the plugging into one another with front guide elements located closer to the other wave winding part and rear guide elements located further away from the other wave winding part, wherein the front and rear guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation.
Claim 16 would be allowable for disclosing a method of producing a plugged wave winding, wherein the second wave winding part is guided with the guide elements into a release position only when passing a winding head.
Though, prior art Schmid teaches a first wave winding part 24a and a first guide element 76a, and a second wave winding part 24b and a second guide element 76b, Schmid does not teach the primary and secondary guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided, or guiding the movement of at least one of the wave winding parts during the plugging into one another with the first and second guide elements as primary guide elements and additionally with secondary guide elements, the primary and secondary guide elements being transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided; or the front and rear guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation.
Though, prior art Akimoto teaches a method of producing a plugged wave winding for an electrical machine including displacing the winding heads in transverse direction, Akimoto does not teach the primary and secondary guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided, or guiding the movement of at least one of the wave winding parts during the plugging into one another with the first and second guide elements as primary guide elements and additionally with secondary guide elements, the primary and secondary guide elements being transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation so that guiding is permanently provided; the front and rear guide elements are transferred into the release position at different times of the plugging operation.
Therefore, claims 10-11 and 16 would be allowable.
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.”
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 JOSE K. ABRAHAM whose telephone number is (571)270-1087. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, THOMAS J. HONG can be reached at (571) 272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSE K ABRAHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 3729 /THOMAS J HONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3729