Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/297,855

Internally Cooled Lamination and Lamination Assembly of an Electric Motor Stator, and Method of Making Same

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 10, 2023
Examiner
GONZALEZ QUINONES, JOSE A
Art Unit
2834
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
ABB Schweiz AG
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allow Rate
871 granted / 1148 resolved
+7.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
1182
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
63.0%
+23.0% vs TC avg
§102
30.3%
-9.7% vs TC avg
§112
4.7%
-35.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1148 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 . 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/27/2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-10, filed 02/27/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1,4-9,11-20 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 respectively have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207). 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) 1,4,17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923) in view of Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207). As to independent claim 1, Bushen et al. teaches a lamination (100) for a stator of an electric motor (see title, 200), the lamination (100) comprising: a material sheet (see figures 1 and 2) having a generally circular shape with a center (see figures 1 and 2) and a radial direction, an outer contour (102), and an inner contour (104), the outer and inner contours (102, 104) being generally concentric with the center, wherein the inner contour (104) is defined by an arrangement of a plurality of teeth (106) and a plurality of stator slots (108), each tooth of the plurality of teeth (106) having one stator slot of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a first side of the tooth (see annotated figure 1) and one stator slot of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a second side of the tooth (see annotated figure 1), the inner contour (104) defining a rotor hole (see figure 2) configured to receive a rotor (202) of the electric motor (200), and wherein the material sheet (see figure 1) has a plurality of internal cooling holes (110) plurality of internal cooling holes (110) each having a round shape (see figure 4) arranged around the rotor hole (see figure 2), the plurality of internal cooling holes (45) being disposed radially outward of the inner contour (104) and radially inward of the outer contour (102) internal cooling hole of the plurality of internal cooling holes (110) is identical in shape wherein the plurality of internal cooling holes (110) are disposed closer to the outer contour (102) than to the inner contour (104) and wherein each internal cooling hole (110) is spaced at an even circumferential interval from its adjacent internal cooling holes (110) of the plurality of internal cooling hole (110) wherein the material sheet (see figures 1 and 2) is configured to be stacked with other material sheets (see figures 1 and 2) that are in direct contact with one another to form a laminate, such that the plurality of internal cooling holes (110) of the laminate as shown in figures 1- 2 and 4. PNG media_image1.png 430 616 media_image1.png Greyscale However Bushen et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except plurality of internal cooling holes of the laminate is aligned to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes having a cylindrical shape, wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes of the laminate to form a plurality of linings, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers and the plurality of linings forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation. Schastlivyj teaches plurality of internal cooling holes (see figure 1) of the laminate is aligned to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes (4) having a cylindrical shape and fluidly communicating with two headers (6) disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation as shown in figure 1, for the advantageous benefit of reducing material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core . Hopek teaches wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes (24) to form a plurality of linings and the plurality of linings being made of a metal (see column 3, lines 7-18), for thee advantageous benefit of improving water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. 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 Bushen et al. by using plurality of internal cooling holes of the laminate is aligned to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes having a cylindrical shape, wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes of the laminate to form a plurality of linings, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers and the plurality of linings forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation, as taught by Schastlivyj and Hopek, to reduce material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core and improve water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. As to claim 4/1, Bushen et al. teaches wherein the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) comprises twelve internal cooling holes as shown in figures 1 and 2. As to independent claim 14, Bushen et al. teaches a lamination assembly (100) for an electric motor (200), the lamination assembly (100) comprising: a plurality of laminations (100), each lamination of the plurality of laminations comprising: a material sheet (see figures 1 and 2) having a generally circular shape with a center and a radial direction, an outer contour (102), and an inner contour (104), the outer and inner contours (102, 104) being generally concentric with the center, wherein each inner contour (104) is defined by an arrangement of a plurality of teeth (106) and a plurality of stator slots (108), each tooth of the plurality of teeth (106) having one stator slot of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a first side of the tooth (see annotated figure 1) and one stator slot of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a second side of the tooth (see annotated figure 1), each inner contour (104) defining a rotor hole (see figure 2) configured to receive a rotor (202) of the electric motor (200), wherein each material sheet has a plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) arranged around the rotor hole (see figure 2), the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) being disposed radially outward of the respective inner contour (104) and radially inward of the respective outer contour (102), wherein each lamination of the plurality of laminations (100) is in direct contact with at least one other lamination of the plurality of laminations (100) such that the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) of each lamination are aligned so as to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes (see figure 2) in the lamination assembly, wherein each internal cooling hole (110, 214) of the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) is identical in shape, and wherein the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) are disposed closer to the outer contour (102) than to the inner contour (104) and wherein each internal cooling hole (110, 214) is spaced at an even circumferential interval from its adjacent internal cooling holes (110, 214) of the plurality of internal cooling hole (110, 214) as shown in figures 1 and 2. However Bushen et al. teaches the claimed limitation as dicssed above except a plurality of linings disposed in the plurality of cooling tubes, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the lamination assembly in fluid communication with the plurality of linings, the headers forning an inlet and an outlet that are fluidly connected through the plurality of linings to form a closed liquid cooling circuit that operates to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the lamination assembly during operation. Hopek teaches wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes (24) to form a plurality of linings and the plurality of linings being made of a metal (see column 3, lines 7-18), for thee advantageous benefit of improving water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. Schastlivyj teaches fluidly communicating with two headers (6) disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation as shown in figure 1, for the advantageous benefit of reducing material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core. 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 Bushen et al. by using plurality of internal cooling holes of the laminate is aligned to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes having a cylindrical shape, wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes of the laminate to form a plurality of linings, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers and the plurality of linings forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation, as taught by Schastlivyj and Hopek, to reduce material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core and improve water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. As to claim 17/14, Bushen et al. teaches wherein an extent of the lamination assembly (see figure 2) in an axial direction is greater than an extent of the lamination assembly (see figure 2), from a center of the lamination assembly (see figure 2), in the radial direction as shown in figure 2. As to independent claim 18, Bushen et al. teaches a method of making a lamination assembly (100) for a stator of an electric motor (200), the method comprising: forming a plurality of laminations (100), each lamination of the plurality of laminations (100) comprising a material sheet ( see figures 1 and 2) having a generally circular shape with a center and a radial direction, an outer contour (102), and an inner contour (104), the outer and inner contours (102, 104) being generally concentric with the center, each inner contour being defined by an arrangement of a plurality of teeth (106) and a plurality of stator slots (108), each tooth of the plurality of teeth (104) having one stator slot (108) of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a first side of the tooth (see annotated figure 1) and one stator slot (108) of the plurality of stator slots (108) to a second side of the tooth , (see annotated figure 1) the inner contour (104) defining a rotor hole (see figure 2) configured to receive a rotor (202) of the electric motor (200), each material sheet having a plurality of internal cooling holes (100, 214) arranged around the rotor hole (see figure 2), the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) of each material sheet being disposed radially outward of the inner contour (104) and radially inward of the outer contour (102); and stacking the plurality of laminations such that each lamination is in direct contact with at least one adjacent lamination and the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) of each material sheet are aligned with one another so as to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes (see figure 2) in the lamination assembly, wherein each internal cooling hole (110, 214) of the plurality of internal cooling holes is identical in shape, and wherein the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) are disposed closer to the outer contour (102) than to the inner contour (104) and wherein each internal cooling hole (110, 214) is spaced at an even circumferential interval from its adjacent internal cooling holes (110, 214) of the plurality of internal cooling hole (110, 214) as shown in figures 1 and 2. However Bushen et al. teaches inserting a plurality of linings in the plurality of internal cooling tubes, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the stacked plurality of laminations and being in fluid communication with the plurality of linings, the headers forming an inlet and an outlet that are fluidly connected through the plurality of linings to form a closed liquid cooling circuit that operates to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the lamination assembly during operation. Hopek teaches wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes (24) to form a plurality of linings and the plurality of linings being made of a metal (see column 3, lines 7-18), for thee advantageous benefit of improving water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. Schastlivyj teaches fluidly communicating with two headers (6) disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation as shown in figure 1, for the advantageous benefit of reducing material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core. 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 Bushen et al. by using plurality of internal cooling holes of the laminate is aligned to form a plurality of internal cooling tubes having a cylindrical shape, wherein a lining is adapted to be insertable into each of the internal cooling tubes of the laminate to form a plurality of linings, the plurality of linings being made of a metal and fluidly communicating with two headers disposed at either end of the laminate, the two headers and the plurality of linings forming a liquid cooling circuit that operates under pressure in a closed fashion to circulate a liquid coolant to cool the laminate during operation, as taught by Schastlivyj and Hopek, to reduce material consumption, increase reliability and load-carrying capacity of turbogenerators by reducing the maximum heating of the outermost packages of the stator core and improve water-cooled cooling pads for the stator core of a dynamoelectric machine and methods of fabricating the cooling pads. Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923), Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Evon et al. (US PG Pub 2006/0284511). As to claim 5/1, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the outer contour comprises a plurality of fins, each fin of the plurality of fins extending at least partially outward in the radial direction with respect to the rotor hole. However Evon et al. teaches the outer contour comprises a plurality of fins (21), each fin of the plurality of fins (21) extending at least partially outward in the radial direction with respect to the rotor hole (62) as shown in figure 4, for the advantageous benefit of improving techniques for cooling electrical machines, such as motors and generators. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by using the outer contour comprises a plurality of fins, each fin of the plurality of fins extending at least partially outward in the radial direction with respect to the rotor hole, as taught by Evon et al., to improve techniques for cooling electrical machines, such as motors and generators. Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923), Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,573,207) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Leonardi et al. (US PG Pub 2023/0107498). As to claim 6/1, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the material sheet has a plurality of through-holes disposed radially outward with respect to the plurality of internal cooling holes. Leonardi et al. teaches wherein the material sheet has a plurality of through-holes (115) disposed radially outward with respect to the plurality of internal cooling holes (114) as shown in figure 3, for the advantageous benefit of providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by using plurality of through-holes disposed radially outward with respect to the plurality of internal cooling holes, as taught by Leonardi et al., to providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As to claim 7/6, Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Leonardi et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the plurality of through-holes is smaller in number than the plurality of internal cooling holes. However Leonardi et al. teaches wherein the plurality of through-holes (115) is smaller in number than the plurality of internal cooling holes (114) as shown in figure 3 for the advantageous benefit of providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. 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 Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Leonardi et al. by using the plurality of through-holes is smaller in number than the plurality of internal cooling holes, as taught by Leonardi et al., to providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As to claim 8/6, Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Leonardi et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the lamination is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed through-holes of the plurality of through-holes. However Leonardi et al. teaches wherein the lamination (see figure 3) is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed through-holes of the plurality of through-holes (115) as shown in figure 3 for the advantageous benefit of providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. 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 Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Leonardi et al. by using the lamination is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed through-holes of the plurality of through-holes, as taught by Leonardi et al., to providing cooling to the stator and the rotor of electric machine without the need for a separate cooling circuit for the rotor and stator and attributes can include, but are not limited to, strength, durability, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923), Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Kanuff (US PG Pub 2009/0026858). As to claim 9/1, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the material sheet comprises at least one pair of retainers disposed on the outer contour, each at least one pair of retainers being configured to hold a cover therebetween. However Knauff teaches the material sheet (4) comprises at least one pair of retainers (11) disposed on the outer contour, each at least one pair of retainers (11) being configured to hold a cover (10) therebetween as shown in figure 4, for the advantageous benefit of ensuring that heat is transferred well between the laminated core and the cooling liquid. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by using the material sheet comprises at least one pair of retainers disposed on the outer contour, each at least one pair of retainers being configured to hold a cover therebetween, as taught by Knauff, to ensuring that heat is transferred well between the laminated core and the cooling liquid. Claim(s) 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923), Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Martin et al. (US PG Pub 2023/0034953). As to claim 11/1, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the outer contour comprises a plurality of beveled edges. However Martin et al. teaches wherein the outer contour comprises a plurality of beveled edges (see figure 3) as shown in figure 3, for the advantageous benefit of reducing costs while allowing manufacturers to continue to offer a robust set of products are needed. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by using the outer contour comprises a plurality of beveled edges, as taught by Martin et al., to reduce costs while allowing manufacturers to continue to offer a robust set of products are needed. As to claim 12/11, Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Martin et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the lamination is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed beveled edges of the plurality of beveled edges. However Martin et a. teaches the lamination (300) is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed beveled edges (see figure 3) of the plurality of beveled edges (see figure 3) as shown in figure 3, for the advantageous benefit of reducing costs while allowing manufacturers to continue to offer a robust set of products are needed. 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 Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Martin et al. by using the lamination is symmetric with respect to two diametrically opposed beveled edges of the plurality of beveled edges, as taught by Martin et al., to reduce costs while allowing manufacturers to continue to offer a robust set of products are needed. As to claim 13/1, Bushen et al. teaches wherein each internal cooling hole (110, 214) of the plurality of internal cooling holes (110, 214) is at a same distance in the radial direction with respect to the center as shown in figures 1 and 2. Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923), Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207) as applied in claim 14 above, and further in view of Gerster (DE102005034486). As to claim 16/14, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the plurality of laminations comprises at least 650 laminations. However Gerster teaches the plurality of laminations comprises at least 650 laminations (see paragraph [0043]) for the advantageous benefit of achieving high dimensional accuracy and minimum tolerance. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by using the plurality of laminations comprises at least 650 laminations, as taught by Gerster, to achieve high dimensional accuracy and minimum tolerance. Claim(s) 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushen et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0111923) Schastlivyj (SU1417111) and Hopek (5,473,207) as applied in claim 14 above, and further in view of Le Besnerais et al. (US PG Pub 2012/0112572). As to claim 19/18, Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except further comprising: positioning a first end plate on a first end of the lamination assembly; positioning a second end plate on a second end of the lamination assembly, the second end being opposite the first end in an axial direction. However Le Besnerais et al. positioning a first end plate (102) on a first end of the lamination assembly (101, see paragraph [0015]); positioning a second end plate (302) on a second end of the lamination assembly (101, see paragraph [0015]), the second end being opposite the first end in an axial direction as shown in figure 3, for the advantageous benefit of improving thermal heat transfer between the guide channels and the wall portions of the manifold segment. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek by positioning a first end plate on a first end of the lamination assembly; positioning a second end plate on a second end of the lamination assembly, the second end being opposite the first end in an axial direction, as taught by Le Besnerais et al., to improve thermal heat transfer between the guide channels and the wall portions of the manifold segment. As to claim 20/19, Bushen et al., Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Le Besnerais et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except further comprising: securing a first header to the first end plate and the lamination assembly; and securing a second header to the second end plate and the lamination assembly, wherein the first and second headers each comprise a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, each fluid inlet and fluid outlet being fluidically connected to the plurality of internal cooling tubes. However Le Besnerais et al. teaches securing a first header (103) to the first end plate (102) and the lamination assembly(101, see paragraph [0015]) ; and securing a second header (303) to the second end plate (302) and the lamination assembly (101, see paragraph [0015]), wherein the first and second headers (102 and 302) each comprise a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet (see figure 5), each fluid inlet and fluid outlet being fluidically connected to the plurality of internal cooling tubes (1106) as shown in figures 1 and 3, for the advantageous benefit of improving thermal heat transfer between the guide channels and the wall portions of the manifold segment. 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 Bushen et al. in view of Schastlivyj and Hopek in view of Le Besnerais et al. by securing a first header to the first end plate and the lamination assembly; and securing a second header to the second end plate and the lamination assembly, wherein the first and second headers each comprise a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, each fluid inlet and fluid outlet being fluidically connected to the plurality of internal cooling tubes, as taught by Le Besnerais et al., to improve thermal heat transfer between the guide channels and the wall portions of the manifold segment. 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 on (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 March 20, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 10, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 14, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Apr 02, 2025
Response Filed
May 05, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Jun 18, 2025
Interview Requested
Jun 27, 2025
Interview Requested
Jul 03, 2025
Examiner Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 12, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 23, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 01, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Oct 27, 2025
Response Filed
Nov 25, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Jan 30, 2026
Interview Requested
Feb 27, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 09, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
76%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+12.4%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1148 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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