DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on 5.6.24. In view of this communication, claims 1-7,9,12,14-15,20,25,29,32,37,40-41,44-45 are now pending in this application.
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 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 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.
Claims 1-6,25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Dragon (US20240055951A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Dragon discloses (Figs 1-3,5) an electric motor [0007] comprising:
a stator [0006];
a rotor (Fig 1, 10) comprising:
a rotor shaft (12) having a hollow interior (Fig 2) and configured for rotation inside (inherent to structure of rotor in Fig 2) the stator about a rotor axis (A), the rotor shaft having at least one inlet (open ends of hollow shaft 12) into the hollow interior and at least one radial outlet (Ou) from the hollow interior; and
a rotor body (14) and an endring (18 or 20) at an end (Fig 2) of the rotor body along the rotor axis (A) ; and a spacer (21s or 60) forming an internal cavity (Ca or 32) to receive fluid (22) from the hollow interior, the spacer having an outlet (21,32 leading to outside) from the internal cavity.
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Regarding Claim 2, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon further discloses wherein the rotor shaft (12) has multiple radial outlets (Fig 2, Ou) from the hollow interior (Fig 2).
Regarding Claim 3, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 2. Dragon further discloses wherein the multiple radial outlets (Ou) are axisymmetrically (A) distributed (Fig 2) around a circumference of the rotor shaft (12).
Regarding Claim 4, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 3. Dragon further discloses
wherein the multiple radial outlets (Ou) are evenly distributed (Fig 2) around the circumference of the rotor shaft (12).
Regarding Claim 5, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon further discloses wherein the spacer (21s) is an annular element (Fig 2) positioned around the rotor shaft (12), and wherein the internal cavity (Ca) forms an annulus (Fig 2) inside the spacer.
Regarding Claim 6, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 5. Dragon further discloses
wherein the outlet (21) from the internal cavity (Ca) is positioned radially inward (R2) of a radially outermost (R1) portion of the annulus (Ca).
Regarding Claim 25, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon further discloses
further comprising fins (28) on the endring (18).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 7,12, 14-15, 41, 44-45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dragon in view of Roux et al (US20230344311A1), hereinafter Roux.
Regarding Claim 7, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon does not explicitly disclose wherein the endring has a stepped profile that includes concentric steps.
Roux discloses (Fig 1) wherein the endring (10) has a stepped profile (14,12) that includes concentric steps (14,12 have same center line X).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon with stepped profile of endring having concentric steps as taught by Roux in order to have design choice of having feed channels for coolant from rotor inside to outside.
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Regarding Claim 12, Dragon in view of Roux discloses the electric motor of claim 7. Dragon in view of Roux does not disclose further comprising pin fins at some or all of the concentric steps.
Roux further discloses comprising pin fins (Fig 3,18,18) at some (12) or all of the concentric steps.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Roux with pin fins as further taught by Roux in order to have a fine spray mist of coolant leading to better cooling of larger surface area.
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Regarding Claim 14, Dragon in view of Roux discloses the electric motor of claim 12. Dragon in view of Roux does not disclose wherein where in the pins are angularly equally spaced from each other on at least one of the concentric steps.
Roux further discloses where in the pins (Fig 3, 18,18) are angularly equally spaced (they are separated by 180 deg) from each other on at least one (12) of the concentric steps.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Roux with pin fins angularly separated as further taught by Roux in order to have uniform fine spray mist of coolant around the circumference leading to better and uniform cooling of larger surface area.
Regarding Claim 15, Dragon in view of Roux discloses the electric motor of claim 14. Dragon in view of Roux does not disclose wherein a first group of the pin fins are aligned with each other in a first radial direction from the rotor axis, and wherein a second group of the pin fins are aligned with each other in a second radial direction from the rotor axis.
Roux further discloses (Fig 5) wherein a first group (18,20 top )of the pin fins are aligned with each other in a first radial direction(Fig 5 radially up) from the rotor axis (X), and wherein a second group (18,20 bottom) of the pin fins are aligned with each other in a second radial direction (Fig 5 radially down) from the rotor axis (X).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Roux with 2 groups of pin fins at two different radial directions as further taught by Roux in order to have greater uniform fine spray mist of coolant around the circumference leading to better and uniform cooling of larger surface area.
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Regarding Claim 41, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon does not explicitly disclose wherein the radial outlet from the hollow interior is positioned between the end of the rotor body and an opposite end of the rotor body, the electric motor further comprising an axial channel coupled to the radial outlet from the hollow interior, the axial channel positioned between the rotor body and the rotor shaft.
Roux discloses (Fig 1) wherein the radial outlet (52) from the hollow interior (51) is positioned between (Fig 1) the end of the rotor body and an opposite end of the rotor body, the electric motor further comprising an axial channel (13) coupled to the radial outlet from the hollow interior, the axial channel positioned between the rotor body (3) and the rotor shaft (5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon with axial channel between rotor body and rotor shaft as taught by Roux in order to connect the coolant from inside shaft to both ends of rotor and guide the coolant flow towards stator end windings.
Regarding Claim 44, Dragon in view of Roux discloses the electric motor of claim 41. Dragon in view of Roux further discloses wherein the spacer (Dragon, 21s) is positioned on the rotor shaft (Fig 2, 12) adjacent the endring (18) but does not explicitly disclose wherein the outlet faces toward the rotor body along the rotor axis.
Roux discloses (Figs 1-2) wherein the outlet (12a) faces toward the rotor body (3) along the rotor axis (X).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Roux with outlet facing rotor body as further taught by Roux in order to connect the coolant from inside shaft to both ends of rotor and guide the coolant flow towards stator end windings.
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Regarding Claim 45, Dragon in view of Roux discloses the electric motor of claim 44. Dragon in view of Roux does not explicitly disclose wherein the spacer has an inlet to the internal cavity, the inlet facing toward the rotor body along the rotor axis and being coupled to the axial channel.
Roux further discloses (Fig 1) the spacer (10) has an inlet (14) to the internal cavity (14), the inlet facing toward the rotor body (3) along the rotor axis (X) and being coupled to the axial channel (13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Roux with inlet to internal cavity facing rotor body as further taught by Roux in order to connect the coolant from inside shaft to both ends of rotor and guide the coolant flow towards stator end windings.
Claims 29,32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dragon in view of Tepe et al (US20240116641A1), hereinafter Tepe.
Regarding Claim 29, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 25. Dragon further discloses
the fins (28) but does not disclose it form arcs on the endring.
Tepe discloses (Fig 55B) arcs (5504B) on the endring (5500B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon with arcs on fins as taught by Tepe in order to have more surface area for heat dissipation.
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Regarding Claim 32, Dragon in view of Tepe discloses the electric motor of claim 29. Dragon in view of Tepe does not disclose wherein at least one of the arcs includes arc segments separated by gaps.
Tepe further discloses (Fig 55B) wherein at least one of the arcs (5504B) includes arc segments separated by gaps (Fig 55B, gap between 5504B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon in view of Tepe with arcs separated by gaps as further taught by Tepe in order to have more surface area for heat dissipation.
Claims 9,37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dragon in view of Degner et al (US20190319505A1), hereinafter Degner.
Regarding Claim 9, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon further discloses
wherein the spacer (60) is integrated (Fig 5 discloses welds) into the endring (18), wherein the internal cavity (32) is formed in the endring but does not explicitly disclose wherein the outlet from the internal cavity faces away from the rotor body along the rotor axis.
Degner discloses (Fig 2A) wherein the outlet (32) from the internal cavity(29) faces away from the rotor body (14)along the rotor axis (24 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 formed electric motor of Dragon with outlet from internal cavity pointing away from rotor as taught by Degner in order to guide coolant flow towards other areas such as stator end windings.
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Regarding Claim 37, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon does not explicitly disclose wherein the endring has a stepped profile that includes concentric steps , the electric motor further comprising arcs on the concentric steps.
Degner discloses (Fig 4) wherein the endring (122) has a stepped profile (s1,s2,s3) that includes concentric steps (Fig 4), the electric motor further comprising arcs (138,Ar )on the concentric steps (s2,s3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon with stepped profile having arcs structure of endring as taught by Degner in order to have design choice of flow path and flow disruptors.
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Claim 40 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dragon in view of Pieper et al (EP4312349A1 English translation), hereinafter Pieper.
Regarding Claim 40, Dragon discloses the electric motor of claim 1. Dragon does not explicitly disclose wherein the outlet from the internal cavity is at least partially bounded by the rotor shaft.
Pieper discloses (Figs 1-2) wherein the outlet (Ou) from the internal cavity (15d) is at least partially bounded by the rotor shaft (11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed electric motor of Dragon with outlet from internal cavity partially bounded by shaft as taught by Pieper in order to provide pathway to flow the coolant in an axial direction and thereby cool the rotor.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 20 recites “ The electric motor of claim 12, wherein each of the pin fins straddles adjacent ones of the concentric steps”. Dragon does not disclose pin fins straddling adjacent concentric steps. In Dragon , the end ring 18 has circular plate fins that are separated by gaps. Roux discloses pin fins but do not disclose them straddling concentric steps. Therefore claim 20 is allowable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VISWANATHAN SUBRAMANIAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4814. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher M Koehler can be reached at 5712723560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VISWANATHAN SUBRAMANIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2834