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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/13/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin (US 20200391547A1) in view of Iino (JP2008109773A).
Claim 1
Shin teaches: An in-wheel motor (1) of an outer rotor type including a stator (46) and a rotor (44), the in-wheel motor (1) comprising:
a sensor (80) which detects a rotational state of the rotor (see para. 0054);
an attachable/detachable member (72) which is attachable to and detachable from the rotor (44) and is provided with the sensor (80) on a surface facing an inner circumferential surface of the stator (46);
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Shin does not expressly disclose: a positioning part that defines a positional relationship between the sensor and a magnet of the rotor such that a phase difference between the sensor and the magnet reaches a set value when the attachable/detachable member is attached to the rotor.
Iino conversely discloses a structure for phase alignment between a sensor magnet and a rotor magnet (122) and rotor magnet (108). In particular, Iino discloses in paragraphs 0008-0009 providing a notch (106a) on an output shaft as a reference mark, and providing protrusion (121a) on a support member that engages with the notch. Iino also discloses in these paragraphs magnetizing the sensor magnet and rotor magnet with reference to engagement structures, and ensuring that, when assembled, the polarities of the sensor magnet and rotor magnet coincide.
Thus, Iino teaches a mechanical engagement structure (notch and protrusion) that defines a positional relationship between the sensor magnet and the rotor magnet so that a predetermined phase relationship is achieved upon assembly. The engagement structure constitutes a positioning part that defines the relative phase between the sensor and rotor magnet during attachment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to modify Shin’s attachable/detachable member to include the positioning structure taught by Iino. More specifically, a it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA during the time of the claimed invention to modify an in-wheel motor structure to comprise a positioning part that defines a positional relationship between the sensor and a magnet of the rotor such that a phase difference between the sensor and the magnet reaches a set value when the attachable/detachable member is attached to the rotor.
It would be advantageous for Shin’s system to comprise of a positioning structure similar to that of Iino’s as precise phase alignment between the rotor magnet and sensor is inherently critical to correctly position the sensor in order to accurately detect rotor rotational stats. Furthermore, Iino recognizes that dimensional and assembly errors can cause phase differences and teaches a mechanical engagement structure to define the phase relationship upon assembly (para. 0008-0009).
Claim 2/1
Shin as modified by Iino teaches: The in-wheel motor (1) according to claim 1, wherein:
the positioning part includes:
a fitted part (notch 106a; Iino) provided in each of the rotor (44) and the attachable/detachable member (72); and a fitting member (protrusion 121; Iino) which is attachable to and detachable from the rotor (44) and the attachable/detachable member (72) and is fitted into the fitted part (notch 106a; Iino).
Claim 3/1
Shin as modified by Iino teaches: The in-wheel motor (1) according to claim 1, wherein
the positioning part includes:
a fitted part (notch 106a; Iino) provided in one of the rotor (44) and the attachable/detachable member (72); and a fitting part which is provided on a side of another one of the rotor (44) and the attachable/detachable member (72) and is fitted into the fitted part (notch 106a; Iino), the other one of the rotor (44) and the attachable/detachable member (72) not being the rotor (44) or the attachable/detachable member (72) in which the fitted part (notch 106a; Iino) is formed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED F SECK whose telephone number is (571)272-4638. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm.
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/AHMED F SECK/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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