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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 02/28/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Binkowski [US 2014/0252902].
Claim 1, Binkowski discloses an electric motor-generator [figures 1i and 1j] comprising: a rotary electrical switch [figures 1i and 1j] that enables paired alternating periods of current flow and no current flow into respective stator field coils [89], such that in a period pair the period of current flow is shorter than the period of no current flow [the gap between current inducing conductors 39 is wider than the width of 39].
Claim 2, Binkowski discloses the motor-generator of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the period of current flow to the period of no current flow is less than 1:1 [figure 1j].
Claim 3, Binkowski discloses the motor-generator of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the period of current flow to the period of no current flow is less than or equal to 4:6 [figure 1j].
Claim 4, Binkowski discloses the motor-generator of claim 1, wherein the rotary switch is a commutator [paragraph 21] with brushes [45/53], and the commutator further comprises a plurality of alternating conducting segment [39] and insulating segment [air gap] pairs, wherein the conducting segment of each pair is narrower than the insulating segment [figure 1j].
Claim 5, Binkowski discloses the motor-generator of claim 4, wherein for a pair of segments a ratio of conducting segment width to insulating segment width is less than or equal to 4:6 [figure 1j].
Claim 6, Binkowski discloses the motor-generator of claim 5, wherein for a pair of segments a ratio of conducting segment width to insulating segment width is less than or equal to 1:2 [figure 1j].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 11/17/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-6 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 Binkowski [US 2014/0252902] figures 1i and 1j as applied above.
Conclusion
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/BERNARD ROJAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837