DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on 2.21.24. In view of this communication, claims 1-4 are now pending in this application.
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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Electric motor with rotor having magnet poles sequentially rotated by 45 degrees.
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naito et al (JP2006320109A English translation), hereinafter Naito in view of Futai et al (JP2020129888A English translation), hereinafter Futai.
Regarding Claim 1, Naito discloses (Figs 1,8) an electric motor (Fig 1) having a rotor (3) with a plurality of magnets (Fig 8, 42-43) arranged on a surface (8 surface) of the rotor, wherein:
when viewed along an axial direction (7) of the rotor,
the plurality of magnets is arranged so that a direction of a magnetic pole of each of the plurality of magnets is rotated by degrees sequentially (42-43) from one (42) to next (43) along a circumferential direction (C) of the rotor; and
a width (W1) of each of the magnets (42) of which the magnet pole direction is inclined by degrees relative to a radial direction (R ) of the rotor is wider (Fig 8) than a width (W2) of each of the magnets (43) of which the magnet pole direction coincides with the circumferential direction (C) or the radial direction. Naito does not explicitly disclose magnet pole direction inclined by 45 degrees.
Futai discloses (Fig 2) magnet pole direction inclined by 45 degrees [Para 0022 discloses “the direction of the radial magnetic poles of the permanent magnet 10 may change in increments of 45°.. “].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Naito with magnet pole direction inclined by 45 degrees as taught by Futai in order to obtain the shape of torque density as required.
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Regarding Claim 2, Naito in view of Futai discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Naito in view of Futai further discloses wherein a ratio (Naito,W1/W2) of the width (W1) of each of the magnets (42) of which the magnet pole direction is inclined by 45 degrees relative to the radial direction (R) to the width (W2) of each of the magnets (43) of which the magnet pole direction coincides with the circumferential direction (C) or the radial direction is greater than 1.0 and less than 4.0 (Fig 8).
Regarding Claim 3, Naito in view of Futai discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Naito in view of Futai further discloses wherein a boundary (Naito,423) between the magnet (42) of which the magnet pole direction is inclined by 45 degrees and the magnet (43) of which the magnet pole direction coincides with the circumferential direction (C) or the radial direction overlaps a straight line (R) extending in the radial direction (R) of the rotor.
Regarding Claim 4, Naito in view of Futai discloses the electric motor of claim 2. Naito in view of Futai further discloses wherein a boundary (Naito,423) between the magnet (42) of which the magnet pole direction is inclined by 45 degrees and the magnet (43) of which the magnet pole direction coincides with the circumferential direction (C) or the radial direction overlaps a straight line (R) extending in the radial direction (R) of the rotor.
Conclusion
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/VISWANATHAN SUBRAMANIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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