Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/291,945

ELECTRIC GENERATOR, COIL ELEMENT, MOTOR, AND AIRCRAFT

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 18, 2025
Priority
Jul 30, 2021 — JP 2021-125032 +1 more
Examiner
GONZALEZ QUINONES, JOSE A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
899 granted / 1183 resolved
+16.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
49 currently pending
Career history
1201
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
67.0%
+27.0% vs TC avg
§102
27.1%
-12.9% vs TC avg
§112
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1183 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/25/2024, 05/14/2025 and 09/30/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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) 1,3-5 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada (JP2014220948) in view of Ozaki (WO2012114901). As to independent claim 1, Yamada teaches an electric generator comprising generator, comprising: a coil element including element, including: a magnetic core (20) that causes a magnetic flux change in an axial direction, and two or more windings (26) that are each helically wound around the magnetic core in such a manner that each of the two or more windings (26) is adjcent to the other winding in the axial direction of the magnetic core (20) as shown in figures 1-9, see paragraph [0013-0060]. However Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding. Ozaki teaches independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding (see paragraphs [0038-0040], for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to claim 3/1, Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the coil element includes two or more switch mechanisms that are provided to two or more windings and are capable of switching between a connected state and a disconnected state with/from an external circuit. However Ozaki teaches the coil element includes two or more switch mechanisms that are provided to two or more windings and are capable of switching between a connected state and a disconnected state with/from an external circuit (see paragraphs [0038-0040]), for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using the coil element includes two or more switch mechanisms that are provided to two or more windings and are capable of switching between a connected state and a disconnected state with/from an external circuit, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to claim 4/3, Yamada teaches wherein the coil element includes a plurality of coil elements corresponding to a plurality of phases as shown in figures 1-9 and (see paragraph s [0013-0060], However Yamada in view of Ozaki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the switch mechanisms are capable of switching between the connected state and the disconnected state for each portion of the two or more windings, each portion corresponding to each phase. Ozaki teaches the switch mechanisms are capable of switching between the connected state and the disconnected state for each portion of the two or more windings, each portion corresponding to each phase (see paragraph s [0038-0060]), for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada in view of Ozaki by using the switch mechanisms are capable of switching between the connected state and the disconnected state for each portion of the two or more windings, each portion corresponding to each phase, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to claim 5/3, Yamada in view of Ozaki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein in a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, the switch mechanism switches the connected state of at least one winding to the disconnected state. Ozaki teaches a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, the switch mechanism switches the connected state of at least one winding to the disconnected state (see paragraphs [0038-0040]), for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada in view of Ozaki by using a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, the switch mechanism switches the connected state of at least one winding to the disconnected state, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to independent claim 16, Yamada teaches coil element, comprising: a magnetic core that causes a magnetic flux change in an axial direction; and two or more windings (26) that are each helically wound around the magnetic core (tooth portion 20) in such a manner that each of the two or more windings (26) is adjacent to the other winding in the axial direction of the magnetic core (20) as shown in figures 1-9 and see paragraphs [0013-0060]. However Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding. Ozaki teaches independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding (see paragraphs [0038-0040], for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to independent claim 17, Yamada teaches a motor comprising motor comprising: a magnetic core that causes a magnetic flux change in an axial direction; and two or more windings (26) that are each helically wound around the magnetic core (tooth portion 20) in such a manner that each of the two or more windings (26) is adjacent to the other winding in the axial direction of the magnetic core (20) as shown in figures 1-9 and see paragraphs [0013-0060]. However Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding. Ozaki teaches independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding (see paragraphs [0038-0040], for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding, as taught by Ozaki, to provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. Claim(s) 6-7, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada (JP2014220948) and Ozaki (WO2012114901) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Cullen (WO2005011078). As to claim 6/1, Yamada in view of Ozaki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, current to cancel a magnetic flux change caused in the magnetic core is supplied to at least one winding. However Cullen teaches a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, current to cancel a magnetic flux change caused in the magnetic core is supplied to at least one winding (see paragraph [0016]), for the advantageous benefit of preventing dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada in view of Ozaki by using a case where a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings is detected, current to cancel a magnetic flux change caused in the magnetic core is supplied to at least one winding, as taught by Cullen, to prevent dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. As to claim 7/1, Yamada in view of Ozaki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except further comprising a detector that detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings. However Cullen teaches a detector that detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings (see paragraph [0016]), for the advantageous benefit of preventing dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada in view of Ozaki by using a detector that detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit between windings, as taught by Cullen, to prevent dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. As to claims 14/7 and 15/7, Yamada, Ozaki in view of Cullen teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the detector detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit during electricity generation by the electric generator. However Collen teaches the detector detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit during electricity generation by the electric generator (see paragraph [0016]), for the advantageous benefit of preventing dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada, Ozaki in view of Collen by using the detector detects a sign of a short-circuit or a short-circuit during electricity generation by the electric generator, as taught by Cullen, to prevent dangerous overheating and degradation of the machine, during electric short circuit condition reliably by simple process. Claim(s) 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada (JP2014220948) in view of Ozaki (WO2012114901) and LIU (US PG Pub 2019/0047704). As to independent claim 18, Yamada teaches an electric generator comprising generator, comprising: a coil element including element, including: a magnetic core (20) that causes a magnetic flux change in an axial direction, and two or more windings (26) that are each helically wound around the magnetic core in such a manner that each of the two or more windings (26) is adjcent to the other winding in the axial direction of the magnetic core (20) as shown in figures 1-9, see paragraph [0013-0060]. However Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except an aircraft and independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding. LIU teaches an aircraft as shown in figure 7-12, for the advantageous benefit of improving an energy density of an electric supply apparatus. Ozaki teaches independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding (see paragraphs [0038-0040], for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using an aircraft and independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding, as taught by LIU and Ozaki, to improve an energy density of an electric supply apparatus and provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. As to independent claim 19, Yamada teaches an electric generator comprising generator, comprising: a coil element including element, including: a magnetic core (20) that causes a magnetic flux change in an axial direction, and two or more windings (26) that are each helically wound around the magnetic core in such a manner that each of the two or more windings (26) is adjcent to the other winding in the axial direction of the magnetic core (20) as shown in figures 1-9, see paragraph [0013-0060]. However Yamada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except an aircraft and independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding. LIU teaches an aircraft as shown in figure 7-12, for the advantageous benefit of improving an energy density of an electric supply apparatus. Ozaki teaches independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding (see paragraphs [0038-0040], for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada by using an aircraft and independent windings each capable of being electrically separated from the other winding, as taught by LIU and Ozaki, to improve an energy density of an electric supply apparatus and provide an electric vehicle that can avoid vehicle traveling problems by means of early detection of short circuit abnormalities of a motor coil. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 8-13 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. Note: Claim 2 depends claim 1, claim 8 depends claim 7, claims 9, 12-13 depends claim 8, claims 10-11 depends claim 9. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7850. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:30-2:30 EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, OLUSEYE IWARERE can be reached at (571)270-5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 September 19, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 18, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 5m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1183 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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