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 1-20 are pending.
Withdrawal of Prior Non-Final Office Action
The previous Non-Final Rejection Office Action dated 09/04/2025 is hereby withdrawn. This is because the published claims and specification for this application as appeared in US 20250062655 A1 were incorrect. Examiner initially examined that incorrect disclosure set but upon feedback from the applicant and further search and consultations, Examiner agreed with the applicant and decided to withdraw the prior Non-final Office action and examine the correct set of claims and specification.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, without adding any new matter, the following features must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s):
In claims 6 and 19: “the baffle is axially aligned with the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar of the housing.”
In claims 8 and 20: “wherein the outer ring is in an axially-spaced relationship with the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar, and the inner ring is in an axially- spaced relationship with the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar, such that the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar is disposed wholly, axially between the inner and outer rings of the baffle.”
In claim 9: “at least a portion of the inner ring is axially aligned with the opening at the axial end of the rotor shaft.”
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Annotated fig. 2 shown below seems to capture key details of the claimed invention but it has not been adequately labeled and described making it difficult to follow the interrelationship of various key parts of the claimed invention. Applicant has denoted fig. 2 as the “electric drive unit 10” which is clearly in accurate.
It is unclear how fig. 2 is related to fig. 1 or what portion or cross-section of fig. 1 is shown in fig. 2. Examiner has marked many parts or portions in fig. 2 by arrows that need to be identified without adding any new matter. The specification in para [0033] states: “As illustrated in FIG. 2, the baffle 72 is axially aligned with a substantially cylindrical interior surface 26 of the collar 24 of the housing 22.” It’s unclear where the axial axis is and how far the interior surface 26 extends.
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Applicant is encouraged to provide additional drawings or explanations to communicate the inventive concept more clearly as long as the information conveyed is supported by the specification and is consistent with the other drawings. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-5 and 11-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haupt et al., (US 20170361697 A1) in view of Vasilescu et al. (US 20070188028 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Haupt discloses a drive unit for a vehicle (see abstract: “An electric drive for driving a motor vehicle”), comprising:
an electric motor (electric motor, annotated fig. 1) that includes a rotor shaft (rotor shaft, annotated fig. 1) that defines a hollow (hollow, annotated fig. 1) that is accessible via an opening defined at an axial end of the rotor shaft (see opening 63 in fig. 1);
an output shaft (output shaft, annotated fig. 1) that extends into the hollow through the opening (see annotated fig. 1); and
a housing (housing, annotated fig. 1) that houses the electric motor and includes a collar (collar, annotated figs. 1 and 3) having an interior surface that is substantially cylindrical (implied) and that extends circumferentially about the output shaft (see figs. 1 and 3) and
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a passage (passage, annotated fig. 3) that extends substantially outward from the interior surface of the collar, wherein the collar and the passage define a portion of a fluid flow path (fluid flowing into the hollow region to cool the shafts; see the fluid direction arrow in fig. 3).
Haupt does not disclose: the passage extends substantially tangentially outward from the interior surface of the collar.
Vasilescu teaches an optimized cooling conduit for an electric machine for cooling an annular cavity (“[0011] The aim of the invention is to propose means for improving the cooling of the rotary machine by a reduction in the pressure drops in the fluid circuit.”; see also para [0008] and [0009]). The conduit has a first cylindrical portion (C12, fig. 9, below) and a second section (12, fig. 9) wherein the second section connects to the cavity tangentially and interrupts the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar. Vasilescu teaching is applicable because in Haupt’s case, the cooling fluid also flows through an annular cavity.
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For an optimized cooling passage for the electric drive- to maximize cooling by the coolant fluid, 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 drive unit disclosed by Haupt in such a way that: the passage extends substantially tangentially outward from the interior surface of the collar.
Regarding claim 2, Haupt as modified by Vasilescu in claim 1 discloses the drive unit of claim 1, Haupt further discloses wherein the output shaft is configured to rotate about an axis that substantially corresponds with a radial center point of the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar (see the abstract and annotated fig. 1; the two have the same rotation axis).
Regarding claim 3, Haupt as modified by Vasilescu in claim 1 discloses the drive unit of claim 1, wherein the passage includes a first portion (C12, fig. 9) that includes a substantially cylindrical inner surface and a second portion (12, fig. 9) that interrupts the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar.
Regarding claim 4, Haupt as modified by Vasilescu in claim 1 discloses the drive unit of claim 3, wherein the second portion of the passage includes an inner surface with a curvature that is substantially equal to the curvature of the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the first portion of the passage (implied; this is required to create a tangential input).
Regarding claim 5, Haupt as modified by Vasilescu in claim 1 discloses the drive unit of claim 4, wherein the second portion of the passage tapers to an endpoint (see the second portion in fig. 9 that is tapered as it couples into the annular cavity) that borders the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar of the housing (implied to be tangential), and wherein the passage is substantially tangential with the interior surface of the collar at the endpoint of the second portion.
Regarding claim 11, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claim 1, discloses a housing of a drive unit for housing an electric motor, comprising: a collar having an interior surface that is substantially cylindrical and that extends circumferentially about an output shaft of the drive unit; and a passage that extends substantially tangentially outward from the interior surface of the collar, wherein the collar and the passage are configured to define a portion of a fluid flow path of the drive unit (see the discussion regarding claim 1).
Regarding claim 12, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3, discloses the drive unit of claim 11, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 3):
the passage includes a first portion that includes a substantially cylindrical inner surface and a second portion that interrupts the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar.
Regarding claim 13, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3, discloses the drive unit of claim 12, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 4):
the second portion of the passage includes an inner surface with a curvature that is substantially equal to the curvature of the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the first portion of the passage.
Regarding claim 14, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3-4, discloses the drive unit of claim 13, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 5):
the second portion of the passage tapers to an endpoint that borders the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar of the housing, and wherein the passage is substantially tangential with the interior surface of the collar at the endpoint of the second portion.
Regarding claim 15, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3, discloses the drive unit for a vehicle, comprising: an electric motor that includes a rotor shaft that defines a hollow that is accessible via an opening defined at an axial end of the rotor shaft; an output shaft that extends into the hollow through the opening; and a housing that houses the electric motor and includes a collar having an interior surface that is substantially cylindrical and that extends circumferentially about the output shaft and a passage that extends substantially tangentially outward from the interior surface of the collar, the passage having a first portion that includes a substantially cylindrical inner surface and a second portion that interrupts the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar, wherein the collar and the passage define a portion of a fluid flow path.
Regarding claim 16, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3, discloses the drive unit of claim 15, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 2):
the output shaft is configured to rotate about an axis that substantially corresponds with a radial center point of the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar.
Regarding claim 17, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3, discloses drive unit of claim 15, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 4):
the second portion of the passage includes an inner surface with a curvature that is substantially equal to the curvature of the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the first portion of the passage.
Regarding claim 18, Haupt, as modified in view of Vasilescu and discussed regarding claims 1 and 3-4, discloses drive unit of claim 17, wherein (as discussed regarding claim 5):
the second portion of the passage tapers to an endpoint that borders the substantially cylindrical interior surface of the collar of the housing, and wherein the passage is substantially tangential with the interior surface of the collar at the endpoint of the second portion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-10 and 19-20 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.
Conclusion
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834