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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because
Reference character “4” has been used to designate both “hairpin conductor” and “hairpin connector”
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. 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.
The drawings are objected to because:
Figures 6-8 are blurry with letters too small for clear interpretation making it difficult for the Examiner to read. See 37 CFR 1.84(d) & 37 CFR 1.84(p).
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 disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph 0042, “hairpin windings 4” should be changed to “hairpin windings 3”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 13-24 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13, “Stator for an electric machine” should be changed to “A stator for an electric machine”
Claims 14-24, “Stator according to claim” should be changed to “The stator according to claim”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 21 recites the limitation "the first offset phase slots," “the second offset phase slots,” “the common neutral slots,” “the first offset neutral slots,” and “the second offset neutral slots” in lines 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 22 recites the limitation "the terminal slot" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 13-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leonardi (US 2019/0288574), in view of Kim (US 2021/0175763).
Regarding claim 13, Leonardi discloses stator (22 of Figure 1-2) for an electric machine (20 of Figure 1) comprising:
a stator core (32 of Figure 1-3) having a plurality of slots (34 of Figure 2-3) and a hairpin winding (40 of Figure 2, 5);
wherein the hairpin winding comprises hairpin conductors with two leg portions (122, 124 of Figure 6), the slot pitch of each one of the hairpin conductors being identical (Para. 0020-0021);
wherein the leg portions of the hairpin conductors are received in the slots in at least two radially adjacent layers (Para. 0020-0021),
wherein the hairpin winding defines at least three phase windings (u, v, w of Figure 2; Para. 0025), each phase winding having at least one branch, each branch of each phase winding having a phase terminal formed at one of the end sections for connecting to a phase busbar, and a neutral terminal formed at one of the end sections for connecting to a neutral busbar (Para. 0025-0028),
wherein the phase terminals and the neutral terminals are all arranged at the welding end of the hairpin winding (118, 119 of Figure 5; Para. 0033-0034), in at least one of an outermost layer of the radially adjacent layers and an innermost layer of the radially adjacent layers (see Figures 6-8).
Leonardi does not explicitly disclose wherein the hairpin winding comprises hairpin conductors with two leg portions (122, 124 of Figure 6) connected at a head portion, wherein a slot pitch between the two leg portions is defined by the head portion, the slot pitch of each one of the hairpin conductors being identical (Para. 0020-0021);
the head portions extending out of the stator core at an insertion end and end sections of the leg portions opposite of the head portions extending out of the stator core at a welding end.
Kim discloses wherein the hairpin winding comprises hairpin conductors with two leg portions (120 of Figure 1, 3; Para. 0019) connected at a head portion (110 of Figure 1, 3), wherein a slot pitch between the two leg portions is defined by the head portion, the slot pitch of each one of the hairpin conductors being identical (Para. 0019, 0057);
wherein the leg portions of the hairpin conductors are received in the slots in at least two radially adjacent layers (Para. 0021), the head portions extending out of the stator core at an insertion end and end sections of the leg portions opposite of the head portions extending out of the stator core at a welding end (Para. 0019; see Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing of the claimed invention to have the leg portions of the hairpin windings of Leonardi connected at a head portion, as taught by Leonardi, since it is well known in the art that the head portions serve as a connection portion configured to connect a pair of leg portions [Kim: Para. 0056-0057].
Regarding claim 14, Leonardi discloses wherein a terminal connection range is defined by a sector of a circumference of the stator (22 of Figure 1-2) occupied by the phase terminals and the neutral terminals on the welding end (Para. 0025-0028), and wherein a span of the terminal connection range is minimised.
Regarding claim 15, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) has a plurality of parallel branches (see Figure 2), and wherein at least one pair of the phase terminals of the parallel branches of at least one phase winding extend both from one common phase slot (Para. 0025-0028; 0031).
Regarding claim 16, Leonardi discloses wherein a plurality of pairs of the phase terminals of the parallel branches of the at least one phase winding extend pairwise from a plurality of adjacently arranged common phase slots (Para. 0025-0028; 0031).
Regarding claim 17, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding has a plurality of parallel branches (Para. 0025-0028), and
wherein a first half of the phase terminals of the parallel branches of at least one phase winding extend from the innermost layer of at least one first offset phase slot (see Figure 6), and
wherein a second half of the phase terminals of the at least one phase winding extend from the outermost layer of at least one second offset phase slot (see Figure 6), and
wherein the at least one first offset phase slot is circumferentially offset relative to the at least one second offset phase slot (see Figure 2, 5).
Regarding claim 18, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) has a plurality of parallel branches, and wherein at least one pair of the neutral terminals of the parallel branches of at least one of the phase windings extend both from one common neutral slot (Para. 0025-0028; 0031).
Regarding claim 19, Leonardi discloses wherein a plurality of pairs of the neutral terminals of the parallel branches of the at least one phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) extend pairwise from a plurality of adjacently arranged common neutral slots (Para. 0025-0028; 0031).
Regarding claim 20, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) has a plurality of parallel branches (Para. 0025-0028), and
wherein a first half of the neutral terminals of the parallel branches of at least one phase winding extend from the innermost layer of at least one first offset neutral slot (see Figure 6), and
wherein a second half of the neutral terminals of the at least one phase winding extend from the outermost layer of at least one second offset neutral slot (see Figure 6), and
wherein the at least one first offset neutral slot is circumferentially offset relative to the at least one second offset neutral slot (Para. 0031; see Figure 2, 5).
Regarding claim 21, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) has a plurality of parallel branches (Para. 0025-0028), and
wherein at least one pair of the phase terminals of the parallel branches of at least one phase winding extends from one common phase slot (Para. 0025-0028; 0031), wherein the common phase slots, the first offset phase slots, the second offset phase slots, the common neutral slots, the first offset neutral slots and the second offset neutral slots together define a terminal slot range circumferentially spanning a fraction of the total number of slots (see Figure 2, 5).
Regarding claim 22, Leonardi discloses wherein the terminal slot range spans a continuous range of adjacent slots (Para. 0031; see figure 2), in which at least one phase terminal or at least on neutral terminal is arranged.
Regarding claim 23, Leonardi discloses wherein each phase winding (u, v, w of Figure 2) has a plurality of parallel branches (Para. 0025-0028), at least the phase terminal of a first branch and the neutral terminal of a second branch being arranged in one of the outermost layer and the innermost layer (see Figure 6), wherein the first branch and the second branch are connected on the respective opposite one of the outermost layer and the innermost layer.
Regarding claim 24, Leonardi discloses wherein the phase terminals (Para. 0025-0028) are evenly divided between the outermost layer and the innermost layer (see Figure 2, 5, 6).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tamura (US 2017/0033630), Shiah (US 2020/0067362), Tang (US 2020/0169137), Liang (US 2020/0169149), Dunn (US 2020/0266689), Dunn (US 2020/0287434) disclose a stator for an electric machine comprising hairpin windings and at least three phase windings.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES H REID whose telephone number is (571)272-9248. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-4:45 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tulsidas Patel can be reached at 571-272-2098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Charles Reid Jr./ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834