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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 15 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 15, the recitation “wherein wherein” is redundant; and in claim 20, the word “and” in the recitation of “forming and an injection molded outer ring” should be removed for comprehension of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7, 8, 10-12, 14-17, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US Patent No.: 10734855) in view of Ishikawa et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2010/0320858 A1).
For claim 1, Yoon et al. disclose the claimed invention comprising: a stator (reference numeral 100, see figure 2); and a rotor (reference numeral 200a, figure 2) configured to electromagnetically interact with the stator (reference numeral 100) to rotate about a rotation axis (see figure 2), wherein the rotor includes: a rotor frame (reference numerals 200a, 200b, figures 2-7) including a bottom surface (see figures 2-7) centered on the rotation axis and a side wall (reference numeral 269a, figure 7) extending from a circumference of the bottom surface to surround the rotor in a circumferential direction of the rotor (see figure 7), a plurality of cores (reference numeral 220, figure 5) on the side wall along the circumferential direction (see figures 3, 4B, 5), a plurality of permanent magnets (reference numeral 240, figure 5) on the side wall along the circumferential direction and between the plurality of cores (see figure 5), respectively. Yoon et al. however do not specifically disclose an outer ring on an outer surface of the side wall extending along the circumferential direction, and spaced apart from the plurality of cores with the side wall therebetween.
Ishikawa et al. disclose an outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20) on an outer surface of the side wall (reference numeral 33, figures 3, 20) extending along the circumferential direction and spaced apart from magnet components (reference numerals 41, 42, see figures 3 and 20), and when applied to the frame of Yoon et al. this would disclose an outer ring on an outer surface of the side wall extending along the circumferential direction, and spaced apart from the plurality of cores with the side wall therebetween.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have an outer ring on the side wall as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the rotor frame of Yoon et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 2, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the rotor frame including a locking member protruding from the outer surface of the side wall and supporting the outer ring, and the outer ring including a locking groove having a shape corresponding to the locking member such that the locking member is inserted therein. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the rotor frame (i.e. frame having side wall 33, see figures 3, 20) including a locking member (reference numeral 35) protruding from the outer surface of the side wall (reference numeral 33, figures 3, 20) and supporting the outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20), and the outer ring (reference numeral 50) including a locking groove (reference numeral 51) having a shape corresponding to the locking member (reference numeral 35) such that the locking member is inserted therein (see figures 3, 20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the locking member and locking groove as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the rotor frame and outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 3, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the rotor frame including a plurality of locking members as the locking member such that the plurality of locking members are spaced apart in the circumferential direction, and the outer ring including a plurality of locking grooves as the locking groove such that the plurality of locking grooves respectively correspond to positions of the plurality of locking members. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the rotor frame (i.e. frame having side wall 33, see figures 3, 20) including a plurality of locking members (reference numeral 35) as the locking member such that the plurality of locking members are spaced apart in the circumferential direction (see figures 3, 20), and the outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20) including a plurality of locking grooves (reference numeral 51) as the locking groove such that the plurality of locking grooves respectively correspond to positions of the plurality of locking members (see figures 3, 20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the plurality of locking members and locking grooves as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the outer ring and rotor frame of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 4, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the locking groove being a hole that penetrates the outer ring from a first side of the outer ring facing the rotor frame to a second side of the outer ring opposite to the first side. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the locking groove (reference numeral 51) being a hole that penetrates the outer ring (reference numeral 50) from a first side of the outer ring facing the rotor frame (i.e. frame having side wall 33, see figures 3, 20) to a second side of the outer ring opposite to the first side (see figures 3, 20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the locking groove be a hole penetrating the outer ring as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 7, Yoon et al. disclose a rotation shaft (reference numeral 80, figure 1) being connected to the rotor frame (reference numeral 200a, see figures 1, 2), and the rotor frame (reference numeral 200a) having a serration (reference numeral 262a) on the bottom surface of the rotor frame coupling the rotor to the rotation shaft (see figures 1, 2, 4A, 4B).
For claim 8, Yoon et al. disclose the plurality of cores (reference numeral 220, figure 4B) being disposed such that a centroid of the plurality of cores is spaced apart from a centroid of the serration (reference numeral 262a) in a direction along an axial direction of the rotation shaft (i.e. the cores 220 are axially positioned away from the serration 262a as shown in figure 4B which would result in the centroid of the cores being spaced apart from the centroid of the serration), but Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. however do not specifically disclose the outer ring being disposed such that a centroid of the outer ring is spaced apart from the centroid of the plurality of cores in the direction along the axial direction of the rotation shaft. Ishikawa et al. already disclose the outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20), and when combined with Yoon et al. teaching the size and shape of the core components (reference numerals 220, 220a, 220b) being adjusted (see figures 10A, 10B, 12, 14, 15A-15P) this would disclose the outer ring being disposed such that a centroid of the outer ring is spaced apart from the centroid of the plurality of cores in the direction along the axial direction of the rotation shaft. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the outer ring of Ishikawa et al. combined with the cores being adjusted as disclosed by Yoon et al. so that the centroid of the outer ring is spaced apart from the centroid of the plurality of cores in the direction along the axial direction of the rotation shaft in Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing the performance of the device.
For claim 10, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for a bonding member between the outer ring and the rotor frame to support the outer ring. Ishikawa et al. further disclose a projection (reference numeral 35) which can be considered a bonding member between the outer ring (reference numeral 50) and the rotor frame (i.e. frame having side wall 33, see figures 3, 20) to support the outer ring (see figures 3, 20), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the bonding member as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the outer ring and rotor frame of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 11, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the outer ring being spaced apart from the plurality of cores and the plurality of permanent magnets with the side wall therebetween. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the outer ring (reference numeral 50) being spaced apart from magnet and core components (reference numerals 41, 42, 43) by a wall (reference numeral 33, see figures 20, 21(a)), which when applied to the rotor frame of Yoon et al. would disclose the outer ring being spaced apart from the plurality of cores and the plurality of permanent magnets with the side wall therebetween. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the outer ring spaced apart from the cores and magnets as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the outer ring and side wall of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 12, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the outer ring being spaced apart at a distance that is substantially between 1 millimeter (mm) and 2 mm from at least a portion of the plurality of cores. Having a particular distance between the outer ring and the cores would merely involve adjusting the thickness of the wall component which is a known skill as exhibited by Ishikawa et al. (see figure 8, reference numerals 33, 37), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adjust the thickness of the wall portion as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. in order to have a particular distance between the outer ring and the cores of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 14, Yoon et al. disclose the rotor being configured to rotate, as the plurality of cores (reference numeral 220) and the plurality of permanent magnets (reference numeral 240) are disposed in an outward direction opposite to the rotation shaft from the stator (reference numeral 100, see figures 2, 3), wherein the rotor frame (reference numeral 200a, figures 2, 3) is an injection molded single body (see the Abstract).
For claim 15, Yoon et al. disclose the rotor frame (reference numeral 200a, figures 2, 3) being an injection molded single body (see the Abstract).
For claim 16, Yoon et al. disclose the claimed invention including a main body (see figure 1) in which a tub (reference numeral 20) is provided; a drum (reference numeral 30) rotatably disposed inside the tub (reference numeral 20, see figure 1); and a motor assembly including a stator (reference numeral 100, see figure 2), a rotor (reference numeral 200a, figure 2) configured to electromagnetically interact with the stator (reference numeral 100) to rotate about a rotation axis (see figure 2), and a shaft (reference numeral 80) connected to the drum (reference numeral 30) to rotate the drum about the rotation axis (see figure 1), wherein the rotor include: a rotor frame (reference numerals 200a, 200b, figures 2-7) including a bottom surface (see figures 2-7) centered on the rotation axis and a side wall (reference numeral 269a, figure 7) extending from a circumference of the bottom surface to circumferentially surround the rotor in a direction of the rotation axis (see figure 7); a serration (reference numeral 262a, see figures 4A, 4B) formed on the bottom surface of the rotor frame and provided for coupling the shaft (see figures 2, 4A, 4B); a plurality of cores (reference numeral 220, figure 5) disposed on the side wall along the circumferential direction (see figures 3, 4B, 5); a plurality of permanent magnets (reference numeral 240, figure 5) disposed on the side wall along the circumferential direction and disposed between the plurality of cores (see figure 5), respectively. Yoon et al. however do not specifically disclose an outer ring disposed on an outer surface of the side wall that is opposite to a center of the rotor frame, along the circumferential direction, and wherein the outer ring is disposed such that a centroid of the outer ring is spaced apart from a centroid of the plurality of cores in the direction of the rotation axis.
Ishikawa et al. disclose an outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20) on an outer surface of the side wall (reference numeral 33, figures 3, 20) that is opposite to a center of the rotor frame (see figures 3, 20). Yoon et al. already disclose the size and shape of the core components (reference numerals 220, 220a, 220b) being adjusted (see figures 10A, 10B, 12, 14, 15A-15P), which would adjust the centroid of the cores, and when the outer ring of Ishikawa et al. is applied to the rotor frame of Yoon et al. with the cores this would disclose the outer ring being disposed such that a centroid of the outer ring is spaced apart from a centroid of the plurality of cores in the direction of the rotation axis.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have an outer ring on the side wall as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the rotor frame of Yoon et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 17, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the rotor frame including a locking member protruding from the outer surface to support the outer ring, and the outer ring including a locking groove having a shape corresponding to the locking member to allow the locking member to be inserted therein. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the rotor frame (i.e. frame having side wall 33, see figures 3, 20) including a locking member (reference numeral 35) protruding from the outer surface to support the outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20), and the outer ring (reference numeral 50) including a locking groove (reference numeral 51) having a shape corresponding to the locking member (reference numeral 35) to allow the locking member to be inserted therein (see figures 3, 20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the locking member and locking groove as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the rotor frame and outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 19, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the plurality of cores being disposed on the side wall such that a centroid of the plurality of cores is disposed between a centroid of the outer ring and a centroid of the serration based on the first direction. Ishikawa et al. already disclose the outer ring (reference numeral 50, figures 3, 20), and when combined with Yoon et al. teaching the size and shape of the core components (reference numerals 220, 220a, 220b) being adjusted (see figures 10A, 10B, 12, 14, 15A-15P) this would disclose the plurality of cores being disposed on the side wall such that a centroid of the plurality of cores is disposed between a centroid of the outer ring and a centroid of the serration based on the first direction. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the outer ring of Ishikawa et al. combined with the adjusting of the core components as disclosed by Yoon et al. so that the plurality of cores is disposed on the side wall such that a centroid of the plurality of cores is disposed between a centroid of the outer ring and a centroid of the serration based on the first direction of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing the performance of the device.
For claim 20, Yoon et al. disclose the claimed invention comprising: arranging a plurality of permanent magnets (reference numeral 240, figure 5) and a plurality of cores (reference numeral 220, figure 5) inside a cavity of a mold (i.e. molding unit 260a, see figure 3, and see also column 9, lines 1-3); and injecting a material into the cavity to form a rotor frame having a side wall (see column 10, lines 3-10, and figures 3-5), wherein the rotor frame (reference numeral 200a) is a rotor frame of a rotor that is electromagnetically interactable with a stator (reference numeral 100) to rotate about a rotation axis (see figures 2, 3). Yoon et al. however do not specifically disclose forming and an injection molded outer ring having a locking groove; arranging the outer ring having the locking groove inside the cavity and spaced apart from the plurality of cores; and having the side wall between the plurality of cores and the outer ring and a locking member on the side wall and configured to be inserted into the locking groove.
Ishikawa et al. disclose an outer ring (reference numeral 50) having a locking groove (reference numeral 51, figures 3, 20), the outer ring (reference numeral 50) spaced apart from the plurality of magnet core components (reference numerals 41, 42, figures 3, 20); and a side wall (reference numeral 33) between the magnet core components (reference numerals 41, 42) and the outer ring (reference numeral 50) and a locking member (reference numeral 35) on the side wall and configured to be inserted into the locking groove (see figures 3, 20); which when combined with the injection molded rotor frame of Yoon et al. would disclose forming and an injection molded outer ring having a locking groove; arranging the outer ring having the locking groove inside the cavity and spaced apart from the plurality of cores; and having the side wall between the plurality of cores and the outer ring and a locking member on the side wall and configured to be inserted into the locking groove.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the outer ring with locking groove along with the side wall and locking member as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. for the injection molded rotor frame of Yoon et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
Claim(s) 5, 6, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. as applied to claims 1 and 16 above, and further in view of Lee (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2012/0043833 A1).
For claim 5, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the rotor frame including a seating groove that is bent from the outer surface of the side wall toward a center of the rotor frame and in which the outer ring is seated. Having a seating groove formed on the outer surface of the side wall is a known skill in the art as exhibited by Lee (reference numeral 220, see figure 3), and when combined with the outer ring and rotor frame of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. this would disclose the rotor frame including a seating groove that is bent from the outer surface of the side wall toward a center of the rotor frame and in which the outer ring is seated. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the seating groove as disclosed by Lee for the outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 6, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. and Lee disclose the claimed invention except for the outer ring including a first surface facing the rotor frame, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface, and the seating groove including a first bent area bent from the outer surface of the side wall and facing the third surface of the outer ring, and a second bent area bent from the first bent area and facing the first surface of the outer ring. Ishikawa et al. further disclose the outer ring (reference numeral 50) including a first surface facing the rotor frame (i.e. first surface being a radially inner surface of outer ring 50, see figures 3, 20), a second surface opposite the first surface (i.e. second surface being a radially outer surface of outer ring 50, see figures 3, 20), and a third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface (i.e. third surface being a surface connecting the radially inner surface and the radially outer surface of outer ring 50, see figures 3, 20), and Lee discloses the seating groove including a first bent area bent from the outer surface of the side wall (i.e. a first bent area being a surface of groove 220 extending in a radial direction, see figure 3) and a second bent area bent from the first bent area (i.e. second bent area being a surface of groove 220 extending in the axial direction, see figure 3), and when combined with the rotor frame and outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. and Lee this would disclose the seating groove including a first bent area bent from the outer surface of the side wall and facing the third surface of the outer ring, and a second bent area bent from the first bent area and facing the first surface of the outer ring. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the surfaces of the outer ring as disclosed by Ishikawa et al. and the first and second bent areas of Lee for the seating groove and outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. and Lee for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
For claim 18, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the rotor frame including a seating groove bent from the outer surface toward the center of the rotor frame to receive therein the outer ring. Having a seating groove formed on the outer surface of the rotor frame is a known skill in the art as exhibited by Lee (reference numeral 220, see figure 3), and when combined with the outer ring and rotor frame of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. this would disclose the rotor frame including a seating groove bent from the outer surface toward the center of the rotor frame to receive therein the outer ring. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the seating groove as disclosed by Lee for the outer ring of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for securing the components within the device.
Claim(s) 9 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No.: US 2020/0169133 A1).
For claim 9, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the outer ring having a height in the direction along the axial direction of the rotation shaft that is smaller than a height of the plurality of cores in the direction along the axial direction of the rotation shaft. Having a smaller height for the outer ring in relation to the cores would merely involve having a particular height for the cores which is a known skill as exhibited by Kim et al. (see paragraphs [0070-0071]), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a particular height for the cores as disclosed by Kim et al. so that the outer ring has a smaller height than the plurality of cores of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing the performance of the device.
For claim 13, Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the side wall including a plurality of first insertion grooves formed therein and a plurality of second insertion grooves respectively between the plurality of first insertion grooves, the plurality of cores being formed in the plurality of first insertion grooves, and the plurality of permanent magnets being formed in the plurality of second insertion grooves. Forming a plurality of first and second insertion grooves is a known skill as exhibited by Kim et al. (i.e. recesses formed in the rotor frame shown in figure 2, see reference numerals 121k and recesses in which cores 123 are disposed), which when applied to the frame, magnets, and cores of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. would disclose the side wall including a plurality of first insertion grooves formed therein and a plurality of second insertion grooves respectively between the plurality of first insertion grooves, the plurality of cores being formed in the plurality of first insertion grooves, and the plurality of permanent magnets being formed in the plurality of second insertion grooves. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the first and second insertion grooves as disclosed by Kim et al. for the cores and magnets of Yoon et al. in view of Ishikawa et al. for predictably providing desirable configuration for optimizing the performance of the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references disclose embodiments of rotor frame configurations: US 11355979 B2 (Kim; Jaeho et al.), US 11349360 B2 (Kim; Jaeho et al.), US 11258321 B2 (Kim; Jaeho et al.), US 10326325 B2 (Lee; Jangwon et al.), US 20200169130 A1 (KIM; Jaeho et al.), US 20200169132 A1 (KIM; Jaeho et al.), US 20200007004 A1 (KIM; Kiman et al.), US 20170070107 A1 (LEE; Jangwon et al.), US 20160156233 A1 (Yoon; Keun Young et al.).
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/ALEX W MOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834