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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/30/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1,4,5,6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a1) and 102 (a2) as being unpatentable over Baba (US Patent 6008563 hereinafter “Baba”).
Re-claim 1, Baba discloses a stator (4) for a rotating electric machine (title), comprising: a stator core including a cylindrical yoke (4, see fig.1) and multiple teeth (5a-5f) extending from an inner circumferential surface of the yoke (from 4 toward 2), the stator core including slots (12) each located between adjacent ones of the teeth (5a-5f) in a circumferential direction of the yoke (4); and multiple coils (6) respectively provided around the multiple teeth (52a-52f), each coil (6) being formed by a winding (6) that is wound in a concentrated manner (concentrated around tooth 5a-df) around the corresponding one of the teeth while passing through the corresponding slots (12), wherein each of the teeth includes: a tooth extension (annotated fig.12) extending from the inner circumferential surface of the yoke in a radial direction of the yoke (see fig.12); and two flanges (annotated fig.12) projecting from a distal end of the tooth extension toward opposite sides (annotated fig.12) in the circumferential direction of the yoke (annotated fig.12), the tooth extensions (annotated fig.12) each include tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) that are located on opposite sides of the tooth extension in the circumferential direction (annotated fig.12), the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) defining the slots (12), each of the flanges includes a flange surface (annotated fig.12) that extends from the corresponding one of the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) to a distal end of the flange (end of flange extension shown in fig.12), the flange surfaces defining the slots (12, see annotated fig.12), and an insulating member (9, 9 is an insulator, non-magnetic, resin, etc, Eight Embodiment description of 9) is arranged in each of the slots (12), the insulating member (9) being configured to support the corresponding coils (6) in a state in which each coil (annotated fig.12) is arranged at a radially outer side of a boundary (annotated fig.12) between the corresponding tooth side surface (annotated fig.12) and the corresponding flange surface (annotated fig.12).
Claim 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baba (US Patent 6008563 hereinafter “Baba”).
Re-claim 1, Baba discloses a stator (4) for a rotating electric machine (title), comprising: a stator core including a cylindrical yoke (4, see fig.1) and multiple teeth (5a-5f) extending from an inner circumferential surface of the yoke (from 4 toward 2), the stator core including slots (12) each located between adjacent ones of the teeth (5a-5f) in a circumferential direction of the yoke (4); and multiple coils (6) respectively provided around the multiple teeth (52a-52f), each coil (6) being formed by a winding (6) that is wound in a concentrated manner (concentrated around tooth 5a-df) around the corresponding one of the teeth while passing through the corresponding slots (12), wherein each of the teeth includes: a tooth extension (annotated fig.12) extending from the inner circumferential surface of the yoke in a radial direction of the yoke (see fig.12); and two flanges (annotated fig.12) projecting from a distal end of the tooth extension toward opposite sides (annotated fig.12) in the circumferential direction of the yoke (annotated fig.12), the tooth extensions (annotated fig.12) each include tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) that are located on opposite sides of the tooth extension in the circumferential direction (annotated fig.12), the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) defining the slots (12), each of the flanges includes a flange surface (annotated fig.12) that extends from the corresponding one of the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) to a distal end of the flange (end of flange extension shown in fig.12), the flange surfaces defining the slots (12, see annotated fig.12), and an insulating member (9, 9 is an insulator, non-magnetic, resin, etc, Eight Embodiment description of 9) is arranged in each of the slots (12), the insulating member (9) being configured to support the corresponding coils (6) in a state in which each coil (annotated fig.12) is arranged at a radially outer side of a boundary (annotated fig.12) between the corresponding tooth side surface (annotated fig.12) and the corresponding flange surface (annotated fig.12).
Re-claim 4, baba discloses the stator for the rotating electric machine according to claim 1, wherein each insulating member (9) supports the corresponding coils such that each coil is not located radially inward of the corresponding boundary (annotated fig.12).
Re-claim 5, Baba discloses a motor-driven compressor (title), comprising: a rotary shaft (1); a rotating electric machine (inside compressor fig.17) configured to rotate the rotary shaft (1); a housing (17) that accommodates the rotating electric machine (title); and a compression mechanism (18) configured to be driven by rotation of the rotary shaft to compress a fluid (sucked into compressor via 16, refrigerant gas, or such, shown by arrows in fig.17), wherein the rotating electric machine includes a stator (4), the stator includes: a stator (4) for a rotating electric machine (title), comprising: a stator core including a cylindrical yoke (4, see fig.1) and multiple teeth (5a-5f) extending from an inner circumferential surface of the yoke (from 4 toward 2), the stator core including slots (12) each located between adjacent ones of the teeth (5a-5f) in a circumferential direction of the yoke (4); and multiple coils (6) respectively provided around the multiple teeth (52a-52f), each coil (6) being formed by a winding (6) that is wound in a concentrated manner (concentrated around tooth 5a-df) around the corresponding one of the teeth while passing through the corresponding slots (12), wherein each of the teeth includes: a tooth extension (annotated fig.12) extending from the inner circumferential surface of the yoke in a radial direction of the yoke (see fig.12); and two flanges (annotated fig.12) projecting from a distal end of the tooth extension toward opposite sides (annotated fig.12) in the circumferential direction of the yoke (annotated fig.12), the tooth extensions (annotated fig.12) each include tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) that are located on opposite sides of the tooth extension in the circumferential direction (annotated fig.12), the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) defining the slots (12), each of the flanges includes a flange surface (annotated fig.12) that extends from the corresponding one of the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) to a distal end of the flange (end of flange extension shown in fig.12), the flange surfaces defining the slots (12, see annotated fig.12), and an insulating member (9, 9 is an insulator, non-magnetic, resin, etc. Eight Embodiment description of 9) is arranged in each of the slots (12), the insulating member (9) being configured to support the corresponding coils (6) in a state in which each coil (annotated fig.12) is arranged at a radially outer side of a boundary (annotated fig.12) between the corresponding tooth side surface (annotated fig.12) and the corresponding flange surface (annotated fig.12).
Re-claim 4, baba discloses the stator for the rotating electric machine according to claim 1, wherein each insulating member (9) supports the corresponding coils such that each coil is not located radially inward of the corresponding boundary (annotated fig.12).
Re-claim 5, Baba discloses a motor-driven compressor (title), comprising: a rotary shaft (1); a rotating electric machine (inside compressor fig.17) configured to rotate the rotary shaft (1); a housing (17) that accommodates the rotating electric machine (title); and a compression mechanism (18) configured to be driven by rotation of the rotary shaft to compress a fluid (sucked into compressor via 16, refrigerant gas, or such, shown by arrows in fig.17), wherein the rotating electric machine includes a stator (4), the stator includes: a stator (4) for a rotating electric machine (title), comprising: a stator core including a cylindrical yoke (4, see fig.1) and multiple teeth (5a-5f) extending from an inner circumferential surface of the yoke (from 4 toward 2), the stator core including slots (12) each located between adjacent ones of the teeth (5a-5f) in a circumferential direction of the yoke (4); and multiple coils (6) respectively provided around the multiple teeth (52a-52f), each coil (6) being formed by a winding (6) that is wound in a concentrated manner (concentrated around tooth 5a-df) around the corresponding one of the teeth while passing through the corresponding slots (12), wherein each of the teeth includes: a tooth extension (annotated fig.12) extending from the inner circumferential surface of the yoke in a radial direction of the yoke (see fig.12); and two flanges (annotated fig.12) projecting from a distal end of the tooth extension toward opposite sides (annotated fig.12) in the circumferential direction of the yoke (annotated fig.12), the tooth extensions (annotated fig.12) each include tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) that are located on opposite sides of the tooth extension in the circumferential direction (annotated fig.12), the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) defining the slots (12), each of the flanges includes a flange surface (annotated fig.12) that extends from the corresponding one of the tooth side surfaces (annotated fig.12) to a distal end of the flange (end of flange extension shown in fig.12), the flange surfaces defining the slots (12, see annotated fig.12), and an insulating member (9, 9 is an insulator, non-magnetic, resin, etc. Eight Embodiment description of 9) is arranged in each of the slots (12), the insulating member (9) being configured to support the corresponding coils (6) in a state in which each coil (annotated fig.12) is arranged at a radially outer side of a boundary (annotated fig.12) between the corresponding tooth side surface (annotated fig.12) and the corresponding flange surface (annotated fig.12).
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.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baba in view of Lee et al. (US PG Pub 9601961 hereinafter “Lee”).
Re-claim 2, Baba discloses the stator for the rotating electric machine according to claim 1, wherein each of the insulating members (9) includes: a first coil supporting surface (annotated fig.12, one side of 9) that supports one of the two coils (one coil in 12) that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the corresponding slot (12, see fig.12); and a second coil supporting surface (annotated fig.12) that supports the other one of the two coils that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the corresponding slot (annotated fig.12), and the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface (annotated fig.12) each extend from the boundary (annotated fig.12) toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke (annotated fig.12).
Baba fails to teach a distance between the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface decreasing toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke.
However, Lee teaches a distance (see annotated fig.2 from Lee) between the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface decreasing (annotated fig.2) toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke (see annotated fig.2 from Lee).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the insulating member of Baba wherein a distance between the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface decreasing toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke as shown by Lee to provide more sturdy structure to hold the coils, adding more support and support of improved structure (Lee, Abstract).
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Claim 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baba in view of Saito et al. (US PG ub 20090085421 hereinafter “Saito”).
Re-claim 6, Baba as modified discloses the motor-driven compressor according to claim 5 abov.e
Baba fails to explicitly teach further comprising a bearing that rotatably supports the rotary shaft, wherein the housing includes a tubular bearing holding portion that holds the bearing, the coils include coil ends projecting from an end face of the stator core, and the bearing holding portion projects into an inner region surrounded by the coil ends.
However, Saito shows a bearing (7a) that rotatably supports the rotary shaft (6), wherein the housing (1) includes a tubular bearing holding portion (P[0070-0071,7a in recess in housing 1, see fig.3) that holds the bearing (7a), the coils include coil ends (413) projecting from an end face of the stator core (412 ends, see fig.1), and the bearing holding portion (annotated fig.1) projects into an inner region surrounded by the coil ends (annotated fig.1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify motor of Baba a bearing that rotatably supports the rotary shaft, wherein the housing includes a tubular bearing holding portion that holds the bearing, the coils include coil ends projecting from an end face of the stator core, and the bearing holding portion projects into an inner region surrounded by the coil ends as shown by Saito to provide support for the rotor and shaft enhance functioning of the device as motor or generator (Saito, P[0069-0074]).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims 1 and 2.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Re-claim 3 recites “inter alia”: with claims 2 and 1: “1. A stator for a rotating electric machine, comprising: a stator core including a cylindrical yoke and multiple teeth extending from an inner circumferential surface of the yoke, the stator core including slots each located between adjacent ones of the teeth in a circumferential direction of the yoke; and multiple coils respectively provided around the multiple teeth, each coil being formed by a winding that is wound in a concentrated manner around the corresponding one of the teeth while passing through the corresponding slots, wherein each of the teeth includes: a tooth extension extending from the inner circumferential surface of the yoke in a radial direction of the yoke; and two flanges projecting from a distal end of the tooth extension toward opposite sides in the circumferential direction of the yoke, the tooth extensions each include tooth side surfaces that are located on opposite sides of the tooth extension in the circumferential direction, the tooth side surfaces defining the slots, each of the flanges includes a flange surface that extends from the corresponding one of the tooth side surfaces to a distal end of the flange, the flange surfaces defining the slots, and an insulating member is arranged in each of the slots, the insulating member being configured to support the corresponding coils in a state in which each coil is arranged at a radially outer side of a boundary between the corresponding tooth side surface and the corresponding flange surface. 2. The stator for the rotating electric machine according to claim 1, wherein each of the insulating members includes: a first coil supporting surface that supports one of the two coils that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the corresponding slot; and a second coil supporting surface that supports the other one of the two coils that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the corresponding slot, and the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface each extend from the boundary toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke, a distance between the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface decreasing toward the inner circumferential surface of the yoke. 3. The stator for the rotating electric machine according to claim 2, wherein each insulating member includes a radially outer end that connects the first coil supporting surface and the second coil supporting surface to each other in a vicinity of the inner circumferential surface of the yoke, and each slot includes a clearance on a radially outer side of the radially outer end, and the clearance being smaller than an outer diameter of the winding. “
The prior art of record, ip.com search, ai search or any other search fail to teach alone or combined the combination of limitation of claims 1, 2 and 3, specially reciting those clearances and the vicinity and dimensions being smaller in some areas is not taught or suggested by any of the prior art of record and makes the claim allowed when combined as indicated above.
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure in PTO892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAGED M ALMAWRI whose telephone number is (313)446-6565. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher M. Koehler can be reached on 5712723560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MAGED M ALMAWRI/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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