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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/21/26 has been entered.
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 (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 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, 2, and 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2020/0204044 A1).
For claim 1, Lee et al. disclose the claimed invention comprising: a rotation shaft (reference numeral 215) extending in a length direction (see figure 1); a rotor (reference numeral 210) including a first magnet portion (i.e. reference numeral 220a, see figure 19), a second magnet portion (i.e. reference numeral 220b, see figure 19), and a first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a, 220b, see figure 19), the first magnet portion including at least one cylindrical first magnet (reference numeral 231) and being coupled to the rotation shaft (see figure 19), the second magnet portion including at least one cylindrical second magnet (reference numeral 231) and being coupled to the rotation shaft (reference numeral 215) while being spaced apart from the first magnet portion by a predetermined distance in the length direction (see figure 19), and the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a, 220b, see figure 19) being disposed between the first magnet portion (i.e. reference numeral 220a, see figure 19) and the second magnet portion (i.e. reference numeral 220b, see figure 19); a stator (reference numeral 170) including a case (reference numeral 120) and a coil (reference numeral 190) wound in a space inside the case (see figure 1), wherein a second groove portion (reference numeral 380) is disposed in at least a portion of the case (see figure 1), a discharge hole (reference numeral 270) is disposed in a lower portion of the case (see figure 1), and the rotor and a part of the rotation shaft (reference numeral 215) are rotatably accommodated in the space (see figure 1); and a cooling pipe (reference numeral 278) injecting cooling oil into the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) such that the cooling oil is introduced into the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a, 220b, see figure 19), wherein the cooling oil introduced into the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a, 220b, see figure 19) by being injected to the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) is scattered inside the stator by a centrifugal force caused by rotation of the rotor to cool the rotor and the stator (see figures 1, 24), and is discharged to an outside of the stator through the discharge hole (reference numeral 270, see figures 1, 24), wherein a cooling plate (reference numeral 420, see figure 18) having a ring shape surrounding an outer circumferential surface of the rotation shaft (reference numeral 215) is disposed in the first groove portion (see figures 1, 18), wherein the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) is formed such that an inside and an outside of the case communicate (i.e. the inside of case 120 communicates with the outside of case 120 through paths 278b and 270 formed within case 120, see figures 1, 24).
For claim 2, Lee et al. disclose the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) being configured in the case (reference numeral 120) such that an imaginary line segment extending from the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) toward the rotation shaft (reference numeral 215) in a direction perpendicular to the length direction passes through the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a, 220b, see figure 19, and the second groove portion radially facing the first groove portion as shown in figure 1).
For claim 4, Lee et al. disclose a thickness of the cooling plate (reference numeral 420, see figure 18) in the length direction being the same as a width of the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a and 220b) in the length direction (see figure 18).
For claim 5, Lee et al. disclose the diameter of the cooling plate being set such that contact with the at least one cylindrical first magnet (i.e. component 220a, figure 18) and the at least one cylindrical second magnet (i.e. component 220b, figure 18) is prevented (i.e. the cooling plate 420 prevents contact between the components 220a and 220b, figure 18).
For claim 6, Lee et al. disclose a length of the first magnet portion (i.e. component 220a) in the length direction being the same as a length of the second magnet portion (i.e. component 220b) in the length direction (see figure 18).
For claim 7, Lee et al. disclose an injection hole (reference numeral 388) through which the cooling oil is injected into the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) being disposed in the cooling pipe (reference numeral 278, see figure 24), and the injection hole (reference numeral 388) being disposed such that the cooling oil injected into the second groove portion (reference numeral 380) is introduced into the first groove portion (i.e. separation between components 220a and 220b, figure 23) while being prevented from coming into contact with the coil (reference numeral 190) wound in the stator (see figure 24).
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jung et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2020/0328657 A1).
For claim 8, Lee et al. disclose the cooling plate (reference numeral 420) having a diameter in the direction perpendicular to the length direction (see figure 18), but Lee et al. however do not disclose the diameter of the cooling plate being less than a diameter of the first magnet portion or the second magnet portion. Jung et al. disclose magnets (reference numeral 32, see figures 2, 5) having portions with a diameter being greater than the diameter of the cooling plate (reference numeral 6, see figure 5), therefore teaching the diameter of the cooling plate being less than a diameter of the first magnet portion or the second magnet portion. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the diameter of the cooling plate be less than the diameter of the first and second magnet portion as disclosed by Jung et al. for the cooling plate of Lee et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating effective cooling function within the device.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nakamura (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2018/0048216 A1).
For claim 9, Lee et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the first groove portion and the second groove portion communicating each other such that the cooling oil injected from the cooling pipe to the second groove portion is directly introduced into the first groove portion. Nakamura discloses coolant flowing from a second groove portion (i.e. path 4g within stator core 4a, see figure 1) to the rotor (reference numeral 3, figure 1, and also see paragraph [0048]), which when applied to Lee et al.’s second groove portion in the stator with the first groove portion in the rotor this would disclose the first groove portion and the second groove portion communicating each other such that the cooling oil injected from the cooling pipe to the second groove portion is directly introduced into the first groove portion. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the coolant from the second groove portion supplied to the rotor as disclosed by Nakamura so that the coolant is directly introduced into the first groove portion for Lee et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for facilitating effective cooling function within the device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/21/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to applicant’s assertion that Lee et al. fails to disclose the second groove portion being formed “such that an inside and an outside of the case communicate”, this was not found persuasive since Lee et al. disclose paths 278b and 270 that allows an inside and an outside of the case to communicate as illustrated in figures 1 and 24.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX W MOK whose telephone number is (571)272-9084. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4pm.
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/ALEX W MOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834