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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the motor of claims 12 and 13 and the power-assisted bicycle of claim 14 must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. No new matter should be entered.
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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character not mentioned in the description:
300 as seen in FIG. 2.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the claim limitation of “connected to a respective one of rest wiring terminals of the stator other than the wiring terminals connected through the bridge connecting member.” This wording is unclear. It appears that the claim was meant to say “connected to a respective one of the rest of wiring terminals of the stator other than the wiring terminals connected through the bridge connecting member.”
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Japanese Patent No. 2018-133934 to Suzuki (provided by Applicant on 3/5/2025) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0028286 to Houzumi et al. (hereinafter Houzumi ‘286; cited by Applicant on 3/5/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Suzuki teaches a stator assembly comprising:
a stator (FIG. 2, 2) comprising a plurality of individual stator cores (FIG. 3, 13; Paragraph [0028]) and a plurality of individual stator windings (FIG. 3, 16), wherein each of the plurality of individual stator windings is wound around a respective one of the plurality of individual stator cores (Paragraph [0030]), wherein each of the plurality of individual stator windings has two wiring terminals (FIG. 2, 16a); and
a busbar subassembly (FIG. 2, 5) at one of the stator along an axial direction, wherein the busbar subassembly comprises a plurality of stacked bus bars (FIG. 4, 20), wherein each of the plurality of stacked bus bars has a plurality of connecting portions (FIG. 4; 23, 24, 25).
Suzuki does not teach the stator further comprising a bridge connecting member connected to one of the wiring terminals of each of at least two individual stator windings among the plurality of individual stator windings, and each of the plurality of connecting portions in each of the plurality of stacked bus bars being connected to a respective one of the rest of wiring terminals of the stator other than the wiring terminals connected through the bridge connecting member.
However, Houzumi ‘286 teaches a busbar assembly with a bridge connecting member (FIG. 1, 116) connected to one of the wiring terminals (FIG. 1, 117) of each of at least two individual stator windings among the plurality of individual stator windings (Paragraph [0024]), and each of the plurality of connecting portions in each of the plurality of stacked bus bars (FIG. 2, 48) being connected to a respective one of the rest of wiring terminals of the stator other than the wiring terminals connected through the bridge connecting member (Paragraph [0036]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator assembly of Suzuki with the bridge connecting member of Houzumi ‘286 to provide an easier connection between adjacent stator windings in comparison to adding more connections to the busbar assembly itself.
Regarding claim 2, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 1, wherein Houzumi ‘286 further teaches the bridge connecting member being connected to one of the wiring terminals of each of two individual stator windings along the plurality of individual stator windings in adjacent slots that are related to a same phase (FIG. 1, 116; Paragraph [0024]).
Regarding claim 3, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 2, wherein Houzumi ‘286 further teaches the bridge connecting member being provided with a bridge portion (FIG. 1, 116; ends), with two bridge portions each welded to a respective one of both ends of the bridge portion (FIG. 1, 116; ends).
Regarding claim 4, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 3, wherein Houzumi ‘286 further teaches the bridge portion and the two welding portions being integrally formed (FIG. 1, 116; part is singular).
Regarding claim 5, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 1, wherein Suzuki further teaches a cross-section of wire of each of the individual stator windings being waist-circular (FIG. 2, 16a).
Regarding claim 7, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 1, wherein Suzuki further teaches the busbar subassembly comprising an annular support bracket (FIG. 4, 19), and the plurality of stacked bus bars comprising a first bus bar (FIG. 4, 21W1), a second bus bar (FIG. 4, 22U1), and a third bus bar (FIG. 4, 22V2).
Regarding claim 8, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 7, wherein Suzuki further teaches:
the first bus bar comprising a first body portion (see annotated FIG. 4) embedded into the annular support bracket, and the first body portion extending along a circumferential direction of the annular support bracket and defining a first opening (FIG. 4, vacant portion of L3 left of 21W1);
the second bus bar comprising a second body portion (see annotated FIG. 4) embedded into the annular support bracket, and the second body portion extending along the circumferential direction of the annular support bracket and defining a second opening (FIG. 4, vacant portion of L2 below and to the right of 22U1); and
the third bus bar comprising a third body portion (see annotated FIG. 4) and a fourth body portion (see annotated FIG. 4) that are embedded into the annular support bracket and electrically connected to each other, wherein a gap (FIG. 6, 26) is provided in the axial direction of the annular support bracket and at a position where the fourth body portion and the third boy portion meets;
wherein the first body portion and the second body portion are spaced apart along the axial direction of the annular support bracket (see annotated FIG. 4), the first opening and the second opening are staggered along the circumferential direction of the annular support bracket (FIG. 4; L2, L3), the third body portion arranged within the first opening, and the fourth body portion is arranged within the second opening (see annotated FIG. 4).
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Regarding claim 9, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 8.
Suzuki in view of Houzumi does not teach a height of the gap along the axial direction of the annular support bracket being denoted as h, which satisfies: h ≥ 0.3mm.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator assembly of Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 by modifying the height of the gap to satisfy the claimed parameters as a matter of design choice, in this case to provide sufficient space to fit the other bus bar underneath it (see Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984)).
Regarding claim 10, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 8, wherein Suzuki further teaches the third bus bar being further provided with a bending portion (FIG. 6, 26a), and the bending portion is respectively connected to the third body portion and the fourth body portion at both ends of the bending portion (see annotated FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 11, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 8, wherein Suzuki further teaches the first bus bar, the second bus bar, and the third bus bar of the busbar assembly being plastic-coated and fixed by means of an injection molding process, and an insulating layer is formed between adjacent ones of the bus bars (Paragraph [0068]).
Regarding claim 12, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches a motor (Suzuki FIG. 1, 1) comprising the stator assembly according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 13, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the motor according to claim 12, wherein Suzuki further teaches a number of poles of the motor being denoted as 2p, a number of slots is denoted as Z, and Z and 2p satisfy: |Z-2p| = 2 (Paragraph [0076]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 and in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0175570 to Houzumi et al. (hereinafter Houzumi ‘570).
Regarding claim 6, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the stator assembly according to claim 1.
Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 does not teach the busbar subassembly being further provided with a snap-in terminal, and the busbar subassembly being engaged with the stator by means of the snap-in terminal.
However, Houzumi ‘570 teaches a busbar subassembly (FIG. 2, 110) provided with a snap-in terminal (FIG. 2, 112), and the busbar subassembly being engaged with a stator (FIG. 2, 120) by means of the snap-in terminal (Paragraph [0037]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the stator assembly of Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 with the snap-in terminal of Houzumi ‘570 to provide a more easily removable busbar attachment method to the stator during assembly or repair of the stator assembly.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 and in further view of WIPO Publication No. 2019/065119 to Watahiki et al. (hereinafter Watahiki).
Regarding claim 14, Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 teaches the motor according to claim 12.
Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 does not teach a power-assisted bicycle comprising the motor.
However, Watahiki teaches a power-assisted bicycle (FIG. 10, 3000) comprising a motor (FIG. 10, 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the motor of Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286 by integrating it into the power-assisted bicycle of Watahiki for the bicycle of Watahiki to benefit from the features of the motor of Suzuki in view of Houzumi ‘286.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA KIEL MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-9881. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am - 7:00pm ET.
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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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/JOSHUA KIEL M RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834