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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/17/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding independent claim 6, applicant asserts that:
“In light of the above, the Applicant submits that claim 1 as amended is novel in view of the cited art. Claims 6 and 13 are novel for similar reasons. The dependent claims are allowable at least based on their dependency.”
The examiner, however, disagrees.
Claim 6 does not include the limitation, “the filler forms a second channel through which the cooling medium guided from the introduction opening flows in the axial direction, the second channel communicating with the gap provided in the first region”, as disclosed in independent claims 1 and 13. Therefore, applicant’s arguments are moot.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over rejected Down (US 2007/0138878) and in view of Ito (US 2024/0204584).
As to claim 6, Down discloses a rotating electric machine (Para 0016) comprising a rotor and a stator, the stator has a stator coil extending in an axial direction (Fig. 4), an insulating member enclosing the stator coil (Fig. 4), and an annular stator core in which a plurality of slots into which the stator coil enclosed by the insulating member is inserted are formed (Fig. 4; Para 0003), in the stator core, a first channel for introducing a cooling medium into each of the plurality of slots is formed (Fig. 4), and in the insulating member (Fig. 4), an introduction opening for guiding the cooling medium introduced into a slot (Fig. 4), among the plurality of slots, to a space enclosed by the insulating member is provided, wherein the insulating member has, along the axial direction (Fig. 4), a first region where the introduction opening is provided and a pair of second regions provided on both sides of the first region in the axial direction where the introduction opening is not provided (Fig. 4), in the first region, a gap is provided between the insulating member and the stator coil (Fig. 4).
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Down fails to disclose a filler to be applied into the gap is provided.
Ueda, however, discloses a filler to be applied into the gap is provided (Para 0052).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to provide the machine of Down, with a filler to be applied into the gap is provided, as disclosed by Ueda, to prevent the movement of the conductors due to vibration.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, and 7-13 allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
As to claim 1, Down discloses a rotating electric machine comprises a rotor and a stator (Para
0016), wherein the stator has a stator coil extending in an axial direction (Fig. 4), an insulating member
enclosing the stator coil (Fig. 4), and an annular stator core in which a plurality of slots into which the
stator coil enclosed by the insulating member are inserted are formed (Fig. 4; Para 0003), in the stator
core, a channel for introducing a cooling medium into each of the plurality of slots are formed (Fig. 4),
and in the insulating member (Fig. 4), an introduction opening for guiding the cooling medium
introduced into a slot (Fig. 4), among the plurality of slots, to a space enclosed by the insulating member
is provided (Fig. 4), wherein the insulating member has, along the axial direction, a first region where the introduction opening is provided and a second region where the introduction opening is not provided (Fig. 4), in the first region, a gap is provided between the insulating member and the stator coil (Fig. 4).
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Ueda discloses a filler to be applied into the gap is provided.
Down fails to disclose the filler forms a second channel through which the cooling medium guided from the introduction opening flows in the axial direction, the second channel communicating with the gap provided in the first region.
Claims 2-4, and 7-13 are allowed for similar reasons.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
should be directed to ETHAN N VO whose telephone number is (571)270-7593. The examiner can
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor,
Christopher M Koehler can be reached on 571 272 3560. The fax phone number for the organization
where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ETHAN NGUYEN VO/
Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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