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 election of species filed on 7/6/2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species C, claims 1-4, 8, 10, 12-16 and 19, in the reply filed on 7/6/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that there are 4 different species identified as to the removing step, and while they relate to different methods for removing the material, and different aspects of the resulting structure, these methods and resulting structures are submitted to be sufficiently closely related as to be considered together. This is not found persuasive because these separate species would require a separate search each, and some of the disclosed limitations are incompatible with each other, and these separate species are not obvious variants of each other based on the current record.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 5-7, 9, 11, 17, 18, 20 and 21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 7/6/2026.
Claim Objections
Claims 13, 15 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. claim 13: The phase “interact with coils on the plurality of teeth” as recited in lines 2-3 appears to be --interact with the coils on the plurality of teeth--.
Re. claim 15: The phase “comprise lamination grade steel” as recited in line 2 appears to be --comprise a lamination grade steel--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 14-16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda et al. (PGPub 2002/0140312 A1).
Ikeda et al. teach a process of making a motor, comprising the steps of:
applying coils (181, Fig. 15, paragraph [0049]) to at least one of a plurality of teeth (81-88, Fig. 15) that extend radially outwardly from an inner ring (17, Fig. 15, paragraph [0036]); mounting an outer ring (150, Fig. 16, paragraph [0051]) to radially outer ends of the plurality of teeth; and removing segments of the inner ring as shown in Fig. 17 (paragraph [0052]).
Re. claim 2: The motor is a brushless DC motor (paragraph [0005]).
Re. claim 3: The outer ring is mounted to the outer ends of the plurality of teeth with an interlocking mechanical structure as shown in Fig. 16.
Re. claim 4: The interlocking mechanical structure comprises a dovetail structure on one of the outer ring and the plurality of teeth, and a mating groove on the other of the outer ring and the plurality of teeth as shown in Fig. 16.
Re. claim 14: The mounting step includes sliding one of the outer ring and the plurality of teeth axially along an axis of the motor relative to the other of the outer ring and the plurality of teeth to engage the radially outer ends of the plurality of teeth with the outer ring as shown in Fig. 16.
Re. claim 15: The inner ring and the outer ring comprise lamination grade steel as shown in Figs. 7 and 13 (paragraph [0039]).
Re. claim 16: The lamination grade steel is selected from the group consisting of silicon steel (paragraph [0039]).
Re. claim 19: The plurality of teeth comprises 8 teeth.
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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sears et al. (PGPub 2009/0324435 A1).
Ikeda et al. teach all limitations as set forth above, but silent how to perform the removing process. Sears et al. teach a process of making a stator assembly including forming a stator core by a plurality of laminations that are sacked and fixed to one another follow by cutting (or removing) using a laser to form the plurality teeth (42) as shown in Fig. 18 (paragraph [0094]). 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 motor of Ikeda et al. by removing the segment using a laser as taught by Sears et al. in order to produce a desired shape of the plurality of teeth of the stator.
Claims 10, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hauger et al. (PGPub 2006/0108890 A1).
Ikeda et al. teach all limitations as set forth above, but silent how to apply the coils to the teeth. Hauger et al. teach a process of making a stator assembly including a process of applying pre-wound coils onto a plurality of teeth by sliding (paragraph [0037]) in order to apply the coils on the plurality of teeth efficiently. 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 motor of Ikeda et al. by sliding pre-wound coils on to the plurality of teeth as taught by Hauger et al. in order to apply the coils on the plurality of teeth efficiently.
Re. claim 12: Ikeda et al., modified by Hauger et al., also teach that the removing process of Ikeda et al. produces a final stator structure wherein the outer ring defines a back iron, with the plurality of teeth extending radially inwardly to T structures at radially inward ends as shown in Fig. 1, wherein the T structures are defined by remnants of the inner ring after the removing process, and Hauger et al., also teach that the final stator structure is positioned around a rotor (24, Fig. 4, paragraph [0036]).
Re. claim 13: Hauger et al., also teach that the rotor comprises a plurality of magnets that interact with coils on the plurality of teeth (paragraph [0036]).
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Satake (PGPub 2009/0157066 A1), Hopkins et al. (US PAT8,310,126), and Forbes et al. (US PAT. 5,918,360) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a method for making a motor.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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