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 .
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, the “a third shaft” as recited in claim 3 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
The limitation “a third shaft disposed to extend in the radial direction of the stator core, wherein: the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft are all the same in shape; and the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft are arranged in order of the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft in the circumferential direction of the stator core” as recited in claim 3 does not sufficiently described in the specification. Clarification 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuba (JP-2021125987 A).
Matsuba teaches a clamp device comprising: a first shaft (31, Fig. 5B) disposed so as to extend in a radial direction of the stator core (10, Fig. 1); and a second shaft (32, Fig. 5B) adjacent to the first shaft in a circumferential direction of the stator core and disposed to extend in the radial direction of the stator core, wherein: the first shaft and the second shaft are the same in shape as shown in Fig. 8B; the first shaft and the second shaft are each provided with a groove extending in the circumferential direction of the stator core on a stator core side surface as shown in Fig. 5B; the groove is defined by a first side wall, a second side wall, and an end wall connecting the first side wall and the second side wall, the first side wall being located radially inward of the stator core than the second side wall as shown in Fig. 5B; the first side wall and the second side wall are closer to each other as the first side wall and the second side wall are closer to the end wall as shown in Fig. 5B; the first shaft and the second shaft are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the stator core so as to restrict positions of the first end portion and the second end portion in the circumferential direction of the stator core with the first end portion and the second end portion sandwiched between the first shaft and the second shaft, in a state in which the first end portion and the second end portion are sandwiched between the first shaft and the second shaft, by moving the clamp device to be close to the stator core (Fig. 5B and 8B) so as to press the first segment coil (21A, Fig. 8B) against the first shaft and so as to press the second segment coil (21B, Fig. 8B) against the second shaft, the first side wall of the first shaft presses the first curved portion (41A, Fig. 7A) radially outward of the stator core and the second side wall of the second shaft presses the second curved portion (41a, Fig. 8A) radially inward of the stator core, and with the first end portion and the second end portion being in contact with each other, the first segment coil and the second segment coil are clamped as shown in Figs. 8A and 8B (see also Abstract).
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Re. claim 2: The groove in each of the first shaft and the second shaft is one of a plurality of grooves in each of the first shaft and the second shaft as shown in Fig. 5B; and the first shaft and the second shaft are each provided with the grooves extending in the circumferential direction of the stator core on the stator core side surface, and the grooves are aligned in the radial direction of the stator core as shown in Fig. 5B.
Re. claim 3: A third shaft (not shown) disposed to extend in the radial direction of the stator core, wherein: the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft are, inherently, all the same in shape; and the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft are, inherently, arranged in order of the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft in the circumferential direction of the stator core as shown in Figs. 1 and 4-8.
Re. claim 4: The first shaft and the second shaft are two shafts adjacent to each other, of a plurality of shafts that are spaced in the circumferential direction of the stator core as shown in Figs 1 and 5, and each of which is disposed so as to extend in the radial direction of the stator core; and the shafts are all the same in shape as shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8.
Re. claim 5: Matsuba also teaches a process of making for a stator that includes two segment coils that are each covered with an insulating coating film and disposed in a stator core using a clamp device as set forth above in claim 1 as set forth above, comprising steps of a positioning step in which the first shaft and the second shaft restrict positions of the first end portion and the second end portion in the circumferential direction of the stator core with the first end portion and the second end portion sandwiched between the first shaft and the second shaft, by moving the clamp device to be close to the stator core so as to press the first segment coil against the first shaft and so as to press the second segment coil against the second shaft, the first side wall of the first shaft presses the first curved portion radially outward of the stator core and the second side wall of the second shaft presses the second curved portion radially inward of the stator core, and with the first end portion and the second end portion being in contact with each other, the first segment coil and the second segment coil are clamped as shown in Figs. 5-8; and a welding step in which a first stripped portion and a second stripped portion are coupled through laser welding with the first end portion and the second end portion facing each other, the first stripped portion being a portion from which the coating film is stripped off at the first end portion, and the second stripped portion being a portion from which the coating film is stripped off at the second end portion as shown in Figs. 5-8 (see also claim 1 and abstract).
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. NAKANO et al. (JP-2016189657 A), and Masugi et al. (US PAT. 12,640,632) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a method for manufacturing a stator that includes two segment coils that are each covered with an insulating coating film and disposed in a stator core using a clamp device.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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