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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed 01/14/2026, with respect to claims 6 and 15 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 112(b) Rejections of claims 6 and 15 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6, 9-13, and 16-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The concept of providing an odd number of layers in a quantity of 7 or 9 is not novel within the art of the claimed invention. Chen has been introduced as teaching this newly added limitation to the amended claims. Please refer to office action below.
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.
Claims 1, 9-13, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US2019027977A1) in view of Chen (CN 114759708 A).
Claim 1
Saito teaches: A motor (200. 202) comprising:
a stator iron core (232); and
a flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), wherein a plurality of stator slots (237) are provided in a circumference of the stator iron core (232);
the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is wound on the stator iron core (232) through the stator slots (237), a part of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is located in the stator slots (237), a part of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is located outside the stator slots (237), and each of the stator slots (237) has n layers of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069);
each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises a first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) and a second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11), wherein a quantity of layers of the first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) in the stator slot (237) is a (4 layers), a quantity of layers of the second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11) in the stator slot (237) is b (2 layers), a+b=n, a≠b, and n (a + b = 6 total layers) is greater than 2; and
in each pole of each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), a stator slot wound with the first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) and a stator slot wound with the second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11) are staggered (y=1, see. Fig. 11) by y1 (5) slots, so that a pitch of the flat wire winding is y=y0−y1, wherein y0 (6, see fig. 11) is a pole pitch of the flat wire winding.
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Saito is silent to teaching: a quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b, a+b=n, alb, and n is 7 or 9.
While Saito discloses a multilayer flat wire winding arrangement (e.g. 6 layers) with unequal distribution between first and second parts (a≠b), Saito doesn’t explicitly limit nto 7 or 9. Chen, however, teaches that flat wire windings may be implemented with odd numbers of layers such as 3, 5,or 7 in order to address electromagnetic performance considerations, including mitigation of skin effect and optimization of winding distribution (Background, para. 1-4). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art during the time of the claimed invention to modify the motor of Saito to configure the number of layers n of the flat wire winding structure to be 7 or 9, as taught by Chen. Additionally it would have been obvious to make this modification as a matter of design choice motivated by the desire to reduce skin effect, improve electromagnetic balance, and optimize efficiency, as explicitly suggested by Chen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in implementing such a modification, as it merely involved selecting a known alternative number of winding layers within a finite set of predictable options recognized in the art.
Claim 9/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 1, wherein the first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) comprises a first conductor layer (one of 233b, see. Fig. 11) located in the stator slot (237), and first conductor layers in every two adjacent layers are connected to form a first coil layer (ex. layer 6, see. Fig. 11); and
the second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11) comprises a second conductor layer (one of 233a, see. Fig. 11) located in the stator slot (237), and second conductor layers in every two adjacent layers are connected to form a second coil layer (ex. layer 4, see. Fig. 11).
Claim 10/9/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 9, wherein each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises at least two first coil layers (a to b, fig. 7), and the first coil layers are connected to each other through a single hairpin wire (J1, para. 0078).
Claim 11/9/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 9, wherein each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises at least two second coil layers (b to c, fig. 7), and the second coil layers are connected to each other through a single hairpin wire (J2, para. 0075).
Claim 12/9/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 9, wherein the first conductor layer (ex. layer 4 to layer 5) is connected to the second conductor layer through a single hairpin wire (J1, para. 0078).
Claim 13/9/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 9, wherein each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises a welding end (welding end connections, para. 0068), and on a side of the welding end, a span (NPJ=6, see. Fig. 7) of the first coil layer, a span (NPJ=6, see. Fig. 7) of the second coil layer, and a span of the hairpin wire between the first coil layer and the second coil layer are equal.
Claim 16/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 1, wherein a range of a quantity y1 (5) of slots of staggering is: 0<y1<y0 (in this case, 0<5<6).
Claim 17/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 1, wherein a quantity of the stator slots (237) of the flat wire winding is Q=mpq (given expression defines definition), wherein p is a quantity of poles of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), m is a quantity of phases of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), and q is a quantity of slots of each pole of each phase.
Claim 18/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 1, wherein the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises a plurality of phases (three phases, para. 0043), and in a same stator slot, an insulator (slot insulating material, para. 0054) is disposed between two adjacent layers (inherently as insulation is in slots) of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) that belongs to different phases.
Claim 19
Saito teaches A vehicle (100) comprising:
Wheels (110);
a transmission component (130); and
a motor (200. 202), wherein Saito teaches: The motor (200. 202) comprises a stator iron core (232) and a flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), wherein a plurality of stator slots (237) are provided in a circumference of the stator iron core (232);
the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is wound on the stator iron core (232) through the stator slots (237), a part of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is located in the stator slots (237), a part of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) is located outside the stator slots (237), and each of the stator slots (237) has n layers of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069);
each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069) comprises a first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) and a second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11), wherein a quantity of layers of the first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) in the stator slot (237) is a, a quantity of layers of the second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11) in the stator slot (237) is b, a+b=n, a≠b, and n (a + b = 6 total layers) is greater than 2; and
in each pole of each phase of the flat wire winding structure (flat rectangular structure over round structure in order to optimize fill factor, para. 0069), a stator slot wound with the first part (windings connected through layers 1-4, see fig. 11) and a stator slot wound with the second part (windings connected through layers 5-6, see fig. 11) are staggered by y1 (y=1, see. Fig. 11) slots, so that a pitch of the flat wire winding is y=y0−y1, wherein y0 (6, see fig. 11) is a pole pitch of the flat wire winding.
Saito teaches: The motor (200. 202) is connected to the wheels by using the transmission component (130).
Saito is silent to teaching: a quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b, a+b=n, alb, and n is 7 or 9.
While Saito discloses a multilayer flat wire winding arrangement (e.g. 6 layers) with unequal distribution between first and second parts (a≠b), Saito doesn’t explicitly limit nto 7 or 9. Chen, however, teaches that flat wire windings may be implemented with odd numbers of layers such as 3, 5,or 7 in order to address electromagnetic performance considerations, including mitigation of skin effect and optimization of winding distribution (Background, para. 1-4). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art during the time of the claimed invention to modify the motor of Saito to configure the number of layers n of the flat wire winding structure to be 7 or 9, as taught by Chen. Additionally it would have been obvious to make this modification as a matter of design choice motivated by the desire to reduce skin effect, improve electromagnetic balance, and optimize efficiency, as explicitly suggested by Chen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in implementing such a modification, as it merely involved selecting a known alternative number of winding layers within a finite set of predictable options recognized in the art.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito as modified by Chen in view of Ito (US9923426B2).
Claim 14/2/1
Saito as modified by Chen teaches: The motor (200. 202) according to claim 2, wherein n is an even number, but is silent to: the quantity of layers of the first part in the stator slot is a=(n+1)/2, and the quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b=(n−1)/2; or
the quantity of layers of the first part in the stator slot is a=(n−1)/2, and the quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b=(n+1)/2.
It is known within the art however to optimize the quantity of layers to in a stator such that it satisfies the above limitation. For example, Ito teaches a stator (6) for an electric motor, wherein the quantity of layers on the stator is n=3 as illustrated in Ito’s Fig.3 A.
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Adopting this configuration of n=3 would enable the quantity of layers of Saito’s first part in the stator slot to be a=(n+1)/2=2, and the quantity of layers of Saito’s second part in the stator slot to be b=(n−1)/2=1,; or
the quantity of layers of Saito’s first part in the stator slot to be a=(n−1)/2=1, and the quantity of layers of Saito’s second part in the stator slot to be b=(n+1)/2=2.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art of the claimed invention to modify a stator having an even number of radial slot layers, such as eight (Saito), to instead have a different number of slot layers, such as that taught by Ito, because the number of radial slot layers is a result-effective design variable that is routinely adjusted to optimize electrical, thermal, and manufacturing performance in stator design. A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the number of a lot layers directly affects a stators copper fill factor, heat dissipation, magnetic flux distribution, and ease of winding insertion. Therefore, selecting an odd number of layers would represent a predictable variation motivated by practical design tradeoffs such as simplifying the stator’s construction, reducing manufacturing cost and complexity, while still achieving the same fundamental electromagnetic function.
Claim 20/19
Saito teaches: The vehicle (100) according to claim 19, but is silent to: the quantity of layers of the first part in the stator slot is a=(n+1)/2, and the quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b=(n−1)/2; or
the quantity of layers of the first part in the stator slot is a=(n−1)/2, and the quantity of layers of the second part in the stator slot is b=(n+1)/2.
It is known within the art however to optimize the quantity of layers to in a stator such that it satisfies the above limitation. For example, Ito teaches a stator (6) for an electric motor, wherein the quantity of layers on the stator is n=3 as illustrated in Ito’s Fig.3 A.
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Adopting this configuration of n=3 would enable the quantity of layers of Saito’s first part in the stator slot to be a=(n+1)/2=2, and the quantity of layers of Saito’s second part in the stator slot to be b=(n−1)/2=1,; or
the quantity of layers of Saito’s first part in the stator slot to be a=(n−1)/2=1, and the quantity of layers of Saito’s second part in the stator slot to be b=(n+1)/2=2.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art of the claimed invention to modify a stator having an even number of radial slot layers, such as eight (Saito), to instead have a different number of slot layers, such as that taught by Ito, because the number of radial slot layers is a result-effective design variable that is routinely adjusted to optimize electrical, thermal, and manufacturing performance in stator design. A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the number of a lot layers directly affects a stators copper fill factor, heat dissipation, magnetic flux distribution, and ease of winding insertion. Therefore, selecting an odd number of layers would represent a predictable variation motivated by practical design tradeoffs such as simplifying the stator’s construction, reducing manufacturing cost and complexity, while still achieving the same fundamental electromagnetic function.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 AHMED F SECK whose telephone number is (571)272-4638. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached at (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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/AHMED F SECK/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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