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 . Claims 1-15 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, pages 6-8, filed 01/30/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-15 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Tang et al. (US 20230015125 A1). As will be shown below, the added new limitations to claim 1 are obvious in view of Tang.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gorges et al. (DE 102021202838 A1) in view of Tang et al. (US 20230015125 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Gorges discloses an electrical machine (fig. 1), comprising a housing (12, fig. 1) enclosing a rotor (32, fig. 1) and a stator (30, fig. 1), wherein said stator comprises a stator core (implied) and end turns (end turns, annotated fig. 1) extending axially beyond the stator core (see annotated fig. 1), wherein the electrical machine further comprises:
a first cooling system (first cooling, annotated fig. 1) providing a flow of oil to the end turns of the stator (fig. 1), and
a second cooling system (cooling jacket, annotated fig. 1) having an axial end section overlapping the axial position of the end turns of the stator (see annotated fig. 1), wherein
the axial end section of the second cooling system is provided with one or more cooling fins (cooling fins, annotated fig. 1).
Gorges does not disclose: the second cooling system is configured to remove excess heat from the cooling oil by allowing the cooling oil to flow across one or more cooling fins of the second cooling system.
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Tang teaches having cooling fins (fins, annotated fig. 3, above) in the inner side of the stator housing to remove excess heat from the cooling oil by allowing the cooling oil to flow across one or more cooling fins of the second cooling system (para [0004]: “A portion of the heat generated from electrical components that may not be submerged in the refrigerant, e.g., end turns of stator conductors, may be removed by condensed refrigerant guided to drip onto exposed portions of motor end turns by radial cooling fins inside the motor housing. In this way, rotary mechanical systems described herein may have increased heat transfer to the liquid cooling system, permitting higher power density in the electric machine and lower operating temperature.”).
To permit higher power density in the electric machine and lower operating temperature, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the second cooling system by adding additional inner housing fins as taught by Tang. This would enable the second cooling system to remove excess heat from the cooling oil by allowing the cooling oil to flow across one or more cooling fins of the second cooling system.
Regarding claim 2, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 1, wherein the first cooling system comprises at least one oil outlet (oil outlet, annotated fig. 1) for guiding a flow of oil to the end turns of the stator.
Regarding claim 3, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 1, wherein the second cooling system comprises a water jacket (water jacket, annotated fig. 1; see also “In the illustrated embodiment, a cooling water jacket 56 is integrated into the jacket wall 24 of the engine compartment 14” in Machine Translation copy).
Regarding claim 4, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 2, wherein the at least one oil outlet of the first cooling system is arranged radially inwards of said end turns of the stator (see relative locations of the oil outlets and end turns in annotated fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 4, wherein the second cooling system is arranged radially outwards of the end turns of the stator (see cooling jacket in annotated fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 4, wherein the second cooling system forms part of the housing (see cooling jacket in annotated fig. 1).
Regarding claim 7, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 4, wherein the one or more cooling fins project radially inwards from the housing (see cooling fins in annotated fig. 3, Tang).
Regarding claim 8, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 2, but does not disclose: wherein the at least one oil outlet of the first cooling system is arranged radially outwards of said end turns of the stator.
The electrical machine disclosed by Gorges has an inner rotor and an outer stator. However, a person having ordinary skills in the art knows that a radial electric machine can have either an inner rotor or an outer rotor. To create an electric machine version of Gorges design with an external outer rotor, the relative positioning of the first and second cooling system would automatically change while all features of each cooling system would stay the same. Specifically, the first cooling system would be in the outer rotor and the second cooling system would be in the inner stator.
To create an electric machine having an outer rotor that includes the corresponding cooling systems, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that: the at least one oil outlet of the first cooling system is arranged radially outwards of said end turns of the stator.
Regarding claim 9, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 and further modified in claim 8 discloses the electrical machine of claim 8, wherein the second cooling system is arranged radially inwards of the end turns of the stator (outer rotor and inner stator).
Regarding claim 10, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 and further modified in claim 8 discloses the electrical machine of claim 8 discloses the electrical machine of claim 8, wherein the second cooling system forms part of the rotor (outer rotor and inner stator).
Regarding claim 11, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 and further modified in claim 8 discloses the electrical machine of claim 8 discloses the electrical machine of claim 8, wherein the one or more cooling fins project radially outwards from the rotor (outer rotor and inner stator).
Regarding claim 12, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 1, wherein the one or more cooling fins extend axially, circumferentially, or in any combination thereof (see cooling fins in annotated fig. 1 in Gorges and fig. 3 in Tang).
Regarding claim 13, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses the electrical machine of claim 1, wherein
the first cooling system comprises at least one oil outlet for guiding a flow of oil to the end turns of the stator, wherein the second cooling system comprises a water jacket, wherein the one or more cooling fins extend axially, circumferentially, or in any combination thereof (these limitations were already discussed regarding claims 2-3 and 12), and wherein either
the at least one oil outlet of the first cooling system is arranged radially inwards of said end turns of the stator, the second cooling system is arranged radially outwards of the end turns of the stator, the second cooling system forms part of the housing, and the one or more cooling fins project radially inwards from the housing (these limitations were already discussed regarding claims 1, 4-5 and 7), or
the at least one oil outlet of the first cooling system is arranged radially outwards of said end turns of the stator, the second cooling system is arranged radially inwards of the end turns of the stator, the second cooling system forms part of the rotor, and the one or more cooling fins project radially outwards from the rotor (these limitations were discussed regarding claims 8-11).
Regarding claim 14, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses a vehicle comprising the electrical machine according to claim 1 (see the tile: “Drive Arrangement For A Motor Vehicle”, and the abstract).
Regarding claim 15, Gorges as modified by Tang in claim 1 discloses a method for cooling an electrical machine, comprising:
operating a first cooling system (first cooling, annotated fig. 1) to provide a flow of cooling oil to end turns of a stator of the electrical machine,
operating a second cooling system (cooling jacket, annotated fig. 1) to cool the cooling oil after interacting with the end turns of the stator (see annotated fig. 1), and
removing excess heat from the cooling oil by allowing the cooling oil to flow across one or more cooling fins (cooling fins, annotated fig. 1) of the second cooling system (implied).
Conclusion
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.
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834