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 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 23 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.
Claim 23 recites the limitation "the stator core" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 and 14-22 are allowed.
RE claim 1, as amended, the prior-art does not teach a rotor for an electric motor, comprising: a shaft and a rotor core, the rotor core including an adjacent front surface, a plurality of cavities protruding along a rotor core body, a plurality of magnets, and a resin fixing the plurality of magnets within the rotor core; and a manifold of resin formed on the front surface of the rotor core, the manifold at least partially overlapping at least one cavity of the plurality of cavities; wherein the front surface of the rotor core includes a radially outer clamping region, a radially inner clamping region, and an intermediate region disposed between the outer clamping region and the inner clamping region; wherein the outer clamping region and the inner clamping region of the front surface of the rotor core are free of the manifold; and wherein the manifold is bonded and/or restrained to the intermediate region of the front surface of the rotor core via the resin.
Claims 2-4 and 14-20 are allowable for their dependency on claim 1.
RE claim 21, the prior-art does not teach a rotor for an electric motor, comprising: a shaft;a rotor core including an axial front surface, a plurality of axial cavities, a plurality of magnets, and an overmolded body composed of a resin, the overmolded body fixing the plurality of magnets within the rotor core; and a manifold arranged on the front surface of the rotor core and at least partially overlapping an open end of each cavity of the plurality of cavities, the manifold defined by a portion of the overmolded body; wherein the open end of each cavity of the plurality of cavities includes a respective overlapped region that is covered by the manifold, the respective overlapped region having a cross- sectional area that is at least three times greater than a largest size of a filler within the resin of the overmolded body.
Claim 22 are allowable for their dependency on claim 1.
Claim 23 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
RE claim 23, the prior-art does not teach a rotor for an electric motor, comprising: a shaft; a rotor core including a plurality of laminated sheets, a plurality of axially extending cavities, a plurality of magnets, and an overmolded body composed of a resin, the overmolded body fixing the plurality of magnets within the rotor core; and a manifold arranged at least partially on an axial end of the stator core, the manifold defined by a portion of the overmolded body; wherein the plurality of laminated sheets are arranged to define a plurality of stacks including a first stack and a second stack, the first stack and the second stack disposed coaxially along a central axis of the shaft and skewed around the central axis relative to one another; wherein the plurality of cavities includes a plurality of first cavities disposed in the first stack and a plurality of second cavities disposed in the second stack; wherein the manifold is arranged on a front surface of the first stack and at least partially covers at least one of the plurality of first cavities; and wherein at least one first cavity of the plurality of first cavities is at least partially axially aligned with at least one second cavity of the plurality of second cavities and an overlapping region between the at least one first cavity and the at least one second cavity has a cross-sectional area that is at least three times greater than a largest size of a filler within the resin of the overmolded body.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)270-5532. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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/THOMAS TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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