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 .
This office action is a response to the amendment filed on 5/15/2026.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et al. (JP-2016189657 A) in view of Sakata et al. (JP 2019115188 A1).
Nakano et al. teach a process of making a stator (20) for a rotary electric machine, comprising steps of: an installation step of installing coil pieces (30) for a stator coil in a stator core as shown in Fig. 1 (paragraph [0022]); and a joining step of joining two ends, which are either ends of adjacent coil pieces of the coil pieces or an end of a coil piece of the coil pieces and an end of a busbar, by laser welding (12) after the installation step as shown in Fig. 5 (paragraphs [0023], [0027], [0038]), wherein the joining step includes a setting step of bringing the two ends to be joined into contact with each other such that a first end of the two ends has a first non-contact surface continuous with a first contact surface and a second end of the two ends has a second non-contact surface continuous with a second contact surface as shown in Fig. 6 (a), wherein the first contact surface is in contact with the second contact surface, the first non-contact surface is not in contact with the second end and the second non-contact surface is not in contact with the first end, and wherein the first non-contact surface is positioned such that the first non-contact surface does not overlap the second end and the second non-contact surface is positioned such that the second non-contact surface does not overlap the first end as shown in Fig. 6 (a) (paragraphs [0040]-[0045]).
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However, Nakano et al. fail to teach an image recognition step of detecting, after the setting step, image features related to the first non-contact surface and the second non-contact surface in an image obtained by imaging the two ends, and a determination step of determining, after the image recognition step, a laser radiation position based on the image features related to the first non-contact surface and the second non-contact surface subjected to image recognition. Sakata et al. teach a process of manufacturing a stator for a rotary electric machine, including steps of: an image recognition step of detecting, after the setting step, image features related to non-contact surfaces continuous with contact surfaces of the two ends in an image obtained by imaging the two ends by an imaging unit (102) as shown in Fig. 3, and a determination step of determining, after the image recognition step, a laser radiation position based on the image features related to the non-contact surfaces subjected to image recognition as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 (see also paragraphs [0023]-[0029]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a process of fabricating a stator for a rotary electric machine of Nakano et al. by an image recognition step with a determination step as taught by Sakata et al. in order to provide proper joining between the first coil and the second coil in the stator core.
Re. claim 2: Sakata et al. also teach that the image recognition step includes detecting the image features related to the non-contact surfaces at the two ends by the imaging unit as shown in Fig. 3 (see also paragraphs [0023] and [0026]).
Re. claim 3: Sakata et al. also teach that the determination step includes linearly changing the laser radiation position based on a straight line passing through pixel positions related to the image features in the image or portions near the pixel positions as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 (see also paragraphs [0027]-[0030]).
Re. claims 5 and 8-12: Nakano et al. also teach that the setting step includes positioning the two ends with a jig (41), and the non-contact surfaces face the jig with clearances in a direction perpendicular to the non-contact surfaces as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.
Claims 4, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakano et al. in view of Sakata et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kojima et al. (PGPub 2015/0364891 A1).
Nakano et al., modified by Sakata et al., teach all limitations as set forth above including the image, which is captured by a camera (such as the imaging unit), is positioned so that an optical axis extends along the non-contact surfaces as shown in Fig. 3, but silent the image features include edges having brightness differences in a direction intersecting the non-contact surfaces in the image (as per claims 4, 6 and 7). Kojima et al. teach a process of making an electrical device including an imaging unit captured image features having brightness differences in a surfaces in an image in order to define an irradiation position by a laser to a welding portion (see also paragraph [0171]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a process of fabricating a stator for a rotary electric machine of Nakano et al., modified by Sakata et al., by providing brightness differences in a surfaces in an image as taught by Kojima et al. in order to define an irradiation position by a laser to a welding portion.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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