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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 – 4 and 6 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xie et al. (US 2023/0287975) in view of Watanabe et al. (US 3,963,950); and further in view of Pyrhönen et al. (US 9,712,011).
With respect to claim 1, Xie et al. teach a lubrication cooling system for an electric drive module of an electrified vehicle (Fig.2), the electric drive module including a motor shaft (Fig.2, Item 138) coupled to an electric motor (Fig.2, Item 112) and an associated gearbox (Fig.2, Item 114), the lubrication cooling system comprising a fluid circuit for flow of lubrication and cooling oil (Fig.2, Item 144) including fluid pathways in communication with an electric oil pump (Fig.2, Item 146), an oil cooler (Fig.2, Item 148), a one-way valve (Fig.2, Item 150), a stator cooling subcircuit (Fig.2, Item 164), a rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit (Fig.2, Items 160 and 162), and a sensor system (Fig.2, Items 156) including a sump oil temperature sensor, a motor cooling inlet temperature sensor, and a motor temperature sensor; wherein the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit (Fig.2, Items 160 and 162) includes a motor shaft (Fig.2, Item 138) internal oil circuit extending inside the motor shaft along a longitudinal length of the motor shaft for cooling the rotor and a gearbox (Fig.2, Item 114) of the electric drive module; and a control module (Fig.2, Item EVCU) in communication with at least the one-way valve and configured to selectively open and close the one-way valve to selectively provide lubricant flow to both the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit and the stator cooling subcircuit, and only the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit, respectively (¶ [0019] – [0023]).
However, Xie et al. fail to disclose wherein the stator cooling subcircuit includes an inlet coupled to a first oil ring channel, a plurality of motor end winding channels coupled at a first end to the first oil ring channel and at a second end to a second oil ring channel, and an outlet coupled to the second oil ring channel ; and wherein the plurality of motor end winding channels are placed at a center of a corresponding plurality of stator slots and entirely surrounded by and in direct contact with motor end windings in the stator slots.
On the other hand, Watanabe et al. teach lubrication cooling system comprising stator cooling circuit (Figs.1 and 3) including an inlet (Figs.1 and 3, Item 10) coupled to a first oil ring channel (Fig.3, Item 8) a plurality of motor end winding channels (Fig.3, Items 6) coupled at a first end to the first oil ring channel (Fig.3, Item 8) and at a second end to a second oil ring channel (Fig.3, Item 8), and an outlet (Figs.1 and 3, Item 11) coupled to the second oil ring channel (Fig.3, Item 8).
Pyrhönen et al. teach a stator (Fig.1) for an electric machine wherein a plurality of motor end winding channels (Fig.6b, Item 604) are placed at a center of a corresponding plurality of stator slots (Fig.8) and entirely surrounded by and in direct contact with motor end windings (Fig.6b, Items 605) in the stator slots (Col.5, Line 43 – Col.6, Line 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Watanabe et al. stator cooling circuit and Pyrhönen et al. cooling channels configuration as the Xie et al. stator cooling circuit and windings configuration because it would ensure that both the windings and core are being effectively cooled; additionally, it would improve the cooling of the windings by optimizing the contact surface area of the windings with the cooling channels.
With respect to claim 2, Xie et al. teach wherein the control module (Fig.2, Item EVCU) communicates with the electric oil pump, the sump oil temperature sensor, the motor cooling inlet temperature sensor, and the motor temperature sensor (Fig.2, Items 146 and 156).
With respect to claim 3, Xie et al. teach wherein the control module controls system operational state by controlling an open and close state of the one-way valve; electric drive module system heat dissipation by determining a coolant flow state; and the electric oil pump to meet determined system flow requirements (¶ [0019] – [0023]).
With respect to claim 4, Xie et al. teach further comprising two system modes a power-saving mode where at low and medium system temperatures below a predetermined threshold, the power-saving mode controls the one-way valve to a closed state to shut off cooling of the motor end windings and provides lubrication flow for the rotor and components in the gearbox via the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit; and a high-power mode where at high system temperatures above the predetermined threshold, the high-power mode controls the one-way valve to an open state to the lubrication flow to the gearbox via the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit and the cooling flow of the stator via the stator cooling subcircuit (Fig.2; ¶ [0019] – [0023]).
With respect to claim 6, Watanabe et al. teach wherein the first and second oil ring channels form circumferential ring channels having a radius spaced from a center of the motor shaft and that aligns with a corresponding radial spacing of the center of the plurality of stator slots (Figs.1, 3 and 4).
With respect to claim 7, Watanabe et al. teach wherein the first and second oil ring channels are positioned proximate respective first and second opposed longitudinal ends of the stator motor end windings (Figs.1 and 3).
With respect to claim 8, Xie et al. teach wherein the rotor (Fig.2, Item 136) is directly coupled to the motor shaft (Fig.2, Item 138) and thereby dissipates heat from the rotor by convective lubricant cooling flow in the motor shaft internal oil circuit (Fig.2, Item 160).
The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide the motor shaft internal oil circuit including one inlet and one outlet both at a gearbox mounted side of the motor shaft; and the motor shaft internal oil circuit defines an internal flow path providing the flow of lubrication and cooling oil in i) a first axial direction along the longitudinal length of the motor shaft, and ii) in a second axial direction opposite the first axial direction along the longitudinal length of the motor shaft, and wherein the flow of lubrication and cooling oil in the second axial direction exits the motor shaft at the one outlet and flows into the gearbox because it would improve the heat transfer from the shaft to the cooling fluid by increasing the amount of shaft surface area in contact with the cooling fluid, as disclosed by Steinz et al. (US 11,588,379), Oechslen (US 11,623,508), Krank et al. (DE 10 2021 125 658) or Wünsch (DE 10 2019 215 048).
With respect to claims 9 and 10, Xie et al. teach further comprising the control module being configured to implement a thermal management strategy that determines the system operational state by comparing a sump oil temperature from the sump oil temperature sensor and a motor inlet oil temperature from the motor cooling inlet temperature sensor with predetermined threshold values; or further comprising the control module determining a flow requirement for cooling of the electric drive module via the rotor and gearbox cooling subcircuit and the stator cooling subcircuit including a lubrication flow that meets a minimum flow requirement of the gearbox and a lubrication flow to achieve cooling of the electric motor to maintain a temperature of the electric motor below a predetermined temperature (Fig.2; ¶ [0019] – [0024]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection relies on references that were not applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The attached hereto PTO Form 892 lists prior art made of record that the Examiner considered it pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDGARDO SAN MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2074. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 - 5:00 M - F.
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/Edgardo San Martin/
Edgardo San Martín
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2837
September 25, 2025