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 11 and 24 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11, ¶ 7, ll. 3-4, “the inflow opening,” Examiner suggests amending to “the dedicated inflow opening” to differentiate between the two inflow openings of “inflow region” and “return flow region.”
Claim 24, “the stator” lacks antecedent basis.
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.
Claim 25 is 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.
Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must clearly redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition so as to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to so redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term “traction machine” in claim 25 is used by the claim to mean “a type of motor vehicle,” while the accepted meaning is “a therapeutic device to decompress the spine.” The term is indefinite because the specification does not clearly redefine the term.
For examination purposes, the traction machine will be construed as a type of motor vehicle.
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.
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.
Claims 11-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2023/0077647 A1; hereinafter Chen ‘647) in view of Chen et al. (US 11,611,253 B2; hereinafter Chen ‘253) and Umemoto et al. (US 2015/0018219 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Chen ‘647 discloses a rotor (100) for an electric machine (motor), the rotor (100) comprising:
a core (12);
a rotor shaft (11) surrounded by the core (12) and having a coolant guide (113);
a rotor winding (13), which forms respective winding heads at axially opposite end faces of the core (12; FIG. 9); and
a first winding head supporting structure (14, 16) having a cavity structure formed therein, through which the coolant can flow in order to cool the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16), and a second winding head supporting structure (15, 17), which are arranged on the end faces of the core (12) in order to provide radial support for the winding heads (FIG. 9);
wherein the cavity structure has an inflow region (124) including an inflow opening, into which the coolant guide (113) of the rotor shaft (11) opens, and having an outflow opening (to channel 123).
Chen ‘647 does not disclose the core is a laminated core;
the cavity structure having a return flow region, which is separate from the inflow region and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening;
a feed line for the coolant leads in an axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region; and
a first cut-out, into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure, thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure.
Chen ‘253 discloses the core is a laminated core (105).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 to disclose the core is a laminated core, as evidenced by Chen ‘253, the use of a laminated rotor core is conventional in the art.
Umemoto discloses the cavity structure having a return flow region (see annotation below), which is separate from the inflow region (54, 58) and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening (FIG. 5);
a feed line (see annotation below) for the coolant leads in an axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region (54, 58) to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line (see annotation below) for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region (FIG. 5); and
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a first cut-out (the return region is embedded in the coil box in FIG. 1), into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction (the return region extends in the circumferential direction, indicating that the cut-out in the coil box would also extend circumferentially) is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (when combined with Chen, the second winding head of Chen would have a cut-out to accommodate the return region), thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Umemoto to disclose the cavity structure having an outflow opening and a return flow region, which is separate from the inflow region and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening; a feed line for the coolant leads in an axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region; and a first cut-out, into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure, thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure, for the advantages of easier and more accurate manufacturing (¶ [0128]).
Regarding claim 12/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 further discloses the feed line and the return line (126) pass through the rotor yoke of the rotor (12; FIG. 7).
Regarding claim 13/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 further discloses the feed line and the return line (126; as modified by Umemoto the only inlet and outlet are formed by the cooling channels) for the coolant form the only inflows and outflows of the cut-out formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17).
Regarding claim 14/12, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 12. Chen ‘647 further discloses the feed line and the return line (126; as modified by Umemoto the only inlet and outlet are formed by the cooling channels) for the coolant form the only inflows and outflows of the cut-out formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17).
Regarding claim 15/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 further discloses the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16) is of multi-part construction and has an inner part (16) resting flat against the end face of the laminated core (12) and an outer part (14), which rests flat against an outer end face of the inner part (16), the end face facing away from the laminated core (12), wherein the cavity structure is delimited both by the inner part (16) and by the outer part (14; FIG. 9).
Regarding claim 16/12, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 12. Chen ‘647 further discloses the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16) is of multi-part construction and has an inner part (16) resting flat against the end face of the laminated core (12) and an outer part (14), which rests flat against an outer end face of the inner part (16), the end face facing away from the laminated core (12), wherein the cavity structure is delimited both by the inner part (16) and by the outer part (14; FIG. 9).
Regarding claim 17/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 further discloses the cut-out formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17) is delimited axially on the inside by a sealing body (17) resting against the end face of the laminated core (12), and axially on the outside by a part (15) of the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17).
Regarding claim 18/12, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 12. Chen ‘647 further discloses the cut-out formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17) is delimited axially on the inside by a sealing body (17) resting against the end face of the laminated core (12), and axially on the outside by a part (15) of the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17).
Regarding claim 19/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Umemoto further discloses the rotor (100) has a plurality of rotor poles (20) arranged in a manner distributed in the circumferential direction and, at least for each pair of rotor poles (20), the first winding head supporting structure has an inflow region and a return flow region (each rotor pole has one inflow region and return flow region), and the second winding head supporting structure has a second cut-out (as disclosed by Chen ’647, each rotor pole has a cut-out), wherein the second cut-outs extend in the circumferential direction at least or at least substantially over the entire extent of a pole shaft of at least one rotor pole (as see in FIG. 1, the cut-out would cover more than half of the rotor pole).
Regarding claim 20/12, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 12. Umemoto further discloses the rotor (100) has a plurality of rotor poles (20) arranged in a manner distributed in the circumferential direction and, at least for each pair of rotor poles (20), the first winding head supporting structure has an inflow region and a return flow region (each rotor pole has one inflow region and return flow region), and the second winding head supporting structure has a second cut-out (as disclosed by Chen ’647, each rotor pole has a cut-out), wherein the second cut-outs extend in the circumferential direction at least or at least substantially over the entire extent of a pole shaft of at least one rotor pole (as see in FIG. 1, the cut-out would cover more than half of the rotor pole).
Regarding claim 21/11, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 discloses the outflow opening or a further outflow of the return flow region is open radially to the outside (the coolant outlet is created by a gap between the end plate 15 and the rotor core 12 on the radial outside), such that when the rotor (100) rotates around the axial direction, the coolant, after having flowed into the return flow region from the return line, emerges from the first winding head supporting structure through the radially outwardly open outflow opening or the radially outwardly open further outflow under the action of centrifugal force (Chen ‘647 as modified by Umemoto would have the return flow region between the end plate 14 and the rotor core 12).
Regarding claim 22/12, Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 12. Chen ‘647 discloses the outflow opening or a further outflow of the return flow region is open radially to the outside (the coolant outlet is created by a gap between the end plate 15 and the rotor core 12 on the radial outside), such that when the rotor (100) rotates around the axial direction, the coolant, after having flowed into the return flow region from the return line, emerges from the first winding head supporting structure through the radially outwardly open outflow opening or the radially outwardly open further outflow under the action of centrifugal force (Chen ‘647 as modified by Umemoto would have the return flow region between the end plate 14 and the rotor core 12).
Regarding claim 24/11, Chen’647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 11. Chen ‘647 further discloses the rotor (100) is spaced apart from the stator (200) by an air gap and is mounted so as to be rotatable relative to the stator (200) about a central axis of rotation (FIG. 18).
Regarding claim 25/24, Chen’647 in view of Chen ‘253 and Umemoto was discussed above in claim 24. Chen ‘647 further discloses wherein the electric machine is a traction machine ((¶ [0227])
Regarding claim 23, Chen ‘647 discloses a method for manufacturing a rotor (100) for an electric machine (motor), the rotor (100) including a core (12); a rotor shaft (11) surrounded by the core (12) and having a coolant guide (113); a rotor winding (13), which forms respective winding heads (FIG. 9) at axially opposite end faces of the core (12); and a first winding head supporting structure (14, 16) having a cavity structure formed therein, through which the coolant can flow in order to cool the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16), and a second winding head supporting structure (15, 17), which are arranged on the end faces of the core (12) in order to provide radial support for the winding heads; wherein the cavity structure has an inflow region (124) including an inflow opening, into which the coolant guide (113) of the rotor shaft (11) opens, and having an outflow opening (to channel 123);
arranging the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16) and the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17) on the end faces of the core (12), wherein, in each case successively or as preassembled multi-part winding head supporting structures, an inner part (16, 17) and an outer part (14, 15), which together form the cavity structure of the first winding head supporting structure (14, 16), are arranged on one end face, and a sealing body (162, 172) and the second winding head supporting structure (15, 17), which together form the cut-out, are arranged on the other end face (FIG. 9);
winding the core (12) with the rotor winding (13); and
fitting the rotor shaft (11) into a central shaft receiving space of the core (12; FIG. 8).
Chen ‘647 does not disclose the core is a laminate core;
the cavity structure having a return flow region, which is separate from the inflow region and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening; a feed line for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region; and a cut-out, into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure, thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure, the method comprising:
arranging a plurality of electrical steel sheets to form the laminated core;
introducing the feed and return lines into corresponding axial receptacles of the laminated core.
Chen ‘253 discloses the core is a laminated core (105),
arranging a plurality of electrical steel sheets (105) to form the laminated core (105).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chen ‘647 in view of Chen ‘253 to disclose the core is a laminated core, arranging a plurality of electrical steel sheets to form the laminated core, as evidenced by Chen ‘253, the use of a laminated rotor core is conventional in the art.
Umemoto discloses the cavity structure having a return flow region (see annotation below), which is separate from the inflow region (54, 58) and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening (FIG. 5);
a feed line (see annotation below) for the coolant leads in an axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region (54, 58) to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line (see annotation below) for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region (FIG. 5); and
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a cut-out (the return region is embedded in the coil box in FIG. 1), into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction (the return region extends in the circumferential direction, indicating that the cut-out in the coil box would also extend circumferentially) is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure (when combined with Chen, the second winding head of Chen would have a cut-out to accommodate the return region), thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure,
introducing the feed and return lines into corresponding axial receptacles (23) of the core (FIG. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Umemoto to disclose the cavity structure having an outflow opening and a return flow region, which is separate from the inflow region and has a dedicated inflow opening and a dedicated outflow opening; a feed line for the coolant leads in an axial direction from the outflow opening of the inflow region to the second winding head supporting structure, and a return line for the coolant leads in the axial direction from the second winding head supporting structure to the inflow opening of the return flow region; and a first cut-out, into which the feed line opens and from which the return line starts and which is elongate in the circumferential direction is formed in or on the second winding head supporting structure, thus enabling the coolant to flow through the cut-out in the circumferential direction from the feed line to the return line in order to cool the second winding head supporting structure, introducing the feed and return lines into corresponding axial receptacles of the core, for the advantages of easier and more accurate manufacturing (¶ [0128]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MINKI CHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0521. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270-5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MINKI CHANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834