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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/02/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5, filed 12/02/2025 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by NAKATA (US 20220282784; previously cited).
Regarding claim 1, NAKATA discloses a vehicle drive motor (para [0003]), comprising:
a casing 6 in which a cylindrical stator coil 26 is fixed to an inner peripheral surface and an oil passage 90 is provided in an upper portion;
an output shaft 46 arranged in the casing 6 and having a rotor 20 fixed to a position facing the stator coil 26;
a bearing 84 that supports the output shaft 46; and
an oil retaining portion 64c that is arranged to face the bearing 84 and stores oil supplied from the oil passage 90 (para [0177]), wherein
the oil retaining portion 64c is a pocket-shaped receptacle 64c configured to retain oil by gravity so as to maintain lubrication of the bearing 84 even when rotation of the output shaft 46 is stopped (para [0176]),
the pocket-shaped receptacle 64c has an upper side 64cp positioned below a lower end of the output shaft 46 and a lower side extending along a lower outer periphery of the bearing 84 as viewed from an axial direction of the output shaft 46 in front view (Fig. 3) and
the pocket-shaped receptacle 64c is formed as a concave structure that collects and holds oil in a stable stored state adjacent to the bearing 84 (para [0176]).
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Regarding claim 2, NAKATA discloses the vehicle drive motor according to claim 1, wherein
the oil retaining portion 64c is a substantially U-shaped receptacle which surrounds an outer periphery of the output shaft 46 and in which an upper end height 64ca is substantially equal to a center height of the output shaft 46 as viewed from the axial direction of the output shaft 46 in front view (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, NAKATA discloses the vehicle drive motor according to claim 1, wherein
the oil retaining portion 64c is a substantially crescent-shaped receptacle which surrounds an outer periphery of the output shaft 46 and in which an upper end height 64ca is substantially equal to a center height of the output shaft 46 as viewed from the axial direction of the output shaft 46 in front view.
Regarding claim 4, NAKATA discloses the vehicle drive motor according to claim 1, wherein
the oil retaining portion 64c is formed integrally with a retainer 64 restricting movement of the bearing 84 in the axial direction (para [0043] and [0046]).
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NAKATA in view of CHRISTENSEN (US 0865083).
Regarding claim 5, NAKATA discloses the vehicle drive motor according to claim 1, wherein
the output shaft 46 is supported by a pair of bearings 84, 85.
However, NAKATA does not disclose the oil retaining portion is provided for each of the bearings.
CHRISTENSEN teaches an electric motor with oil retaining portions 8 provided for each of two bearings 18.
It 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 to provide the motor of NAKATA with the oil retaining portion is provided for each of the bearings, similar to CHRISTENSEN.
A person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains would have been motivated to make such modification in order to control the amount of oil provided to the bearings to protect the armature, as taught by CHRISTENSEN (Col. 1, lines 31-36).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. SHIMIZU US 5312192 discloses bearing lubricating structure with a concave oil retaining portion.
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/JUSTIN STEFANON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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