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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 16 May 2024 is being considered by the examiner.
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 3 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.
The term “close to” in claim 3 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close to” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. How near does the sensor need to be to the bearing in order to fall within the scope of the claim; is there a necessary geometric relationship between the sensor and the bearing; does the sensor necessarily fall between some other claimed element and the bearing?
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the tubular body" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SHIN (US 20200391547).
Regarding claim 1, SHIN discloses an in-wheel motor of an outer rotor type including a stator (46) and a rotor (42, 44), the in-wheel motor comprising:
a sensor (80) which detects a rotational state of the rotor (42, 44) (see para [0053]); and
an attachable/detachable member (hub part 70 and spoke 20, generally) which is attachable to and detachable from the rotor (42, 44) (see para [0065]) and is provided with the sensor (80) on a surface facing an inner circumferential surface of the stator (46) (see Fig. 3).
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Regarding claim 2, SHIN discloses the in-wheel motor according to claim 1, wherein:
the attachable/detachable member (70, 20) includes:
a tubular body (72) that includes, as an outer circumferential surface, a surface facing the inner circumferential surface of the stator (46); and
a flange which faces an outer surface of the rotor (42, 44) and is provided continuously to the tubular body (72), and
the sensor (80) is provided in a leading-end portion of the tubular body (72) (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, SHIN discloses the in-wheel motor according to claim 1, further comprising:
a shaft (72) which is secured to the stator (46) and is inserted into [a] tubular body (74); and
a bearing (76) provided between an outer circumferential surface of the shaft (72) and an inner circumferential surface of the tubular body (74), wherein
the sensor (80) is provided close to the bearing in an axial direction of the tubular body (74).
Regarding claim 4, SHIN discloses the in-wheel motor according to claim 1, further comprising a friction member (90) which is provided between the rotor (42, 44) and the attachable/detachable member (70, 20) and is secured, together with the attachable/detachable member (70, 20), to the rotor (42, 44)(see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, SHIN discloses the in-wheel motor according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning part (100) that defines a positional relationship between the sensor (80) and a magnet of the rotor (42, 44) such that a phase difference between the sensor (80) and the magnet reaches a set value when the attachable/detachable member (70, 20) is attached to the rotor (42, 44).
Regarding claim 6, SHIN discloses the in-wheel motor according to claim 1, further comprising a bolt (100) that fastens the rotor (42, 44) to the attachable/detachable member (70, 20), wherein the bolt (100) is inserted from an outer side in a wheel assembly width direction into a bolt hole provided in each of the attachable/detachable member (70, 20) and the rotor (42, 44) (see Fig. 3).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20120242198-A1 KASUYA discloses a vehicle motor with a resolver mounted on a tubular body and coplanar to a bearing; US-20160233738-A1 MAKINO discloses an in-wheel motor with a resolver mounted on a tubular body and adjacent a bearing; US-20200198456-A1 KAWAMURA discloses an in-wheel motor with a resolver mounted on a tubular body and contacting a bearing; US-20210221218-A1 LI discloses an in-wheel motor with a resolver mounted on a tubular body and contacting a bearing; US-20210351679-A1 YANG discloses an in-wheel motor with a rotation detection sensor mounted on a tubular body and coplanar to a bearing.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN STEFANON whose telephone number is (703)756-4648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday and alternate Fridays 8AM - 5PM EDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Oluseye 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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/JUSTIN STEFANON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834