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 1-2, 4-5, 7-8, 10, 13 and 17-18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-2 and 4-5 recites “coolant channel,” “coolant water channel,” and “cooling channel,” which all seems to point to the same structure. Please keep the recitation uniform to prevent confusion.
Claim 7 recites “the bearing cover” and “the bypass,” which lack antecedent basis.
Claim 8, “the bypass,” which lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 10, “the bearing cover” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 13, ll. 2, “a housing” was already recited in ll. 1.
Claim 17, ll. 1, “an electric motor” was already recited in claim 1.
Claim 18, ll. 4-5, “cooling water inlet” is missing a definitive article.
Claim 18 recites “a cooling water inlet (402),” but another “cooling water inlet (602)” was already recited in claim 1. Please change “a cooling water inlet (402)” to a different name to prevent confusion.
The claims recite the wrong type of definitive article (an instead of a) for words not starting with a vowel.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-5 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chamberlin discloses electric motor (20) with a housing (50) with a shaft (32) aligned in the direction of a longitudinal axis (30) and with an inner wall (52) and an outer wall (54) arranged around it, between which at least a section of a coolant channel (62) for a coolant flow runs, and with a rotor (22) arranged in the interior of the housing (50) and a stator (24),
characterised in that ribs (56) aligned in the direction of the longitudinal axis (30) are arranged between the inner wall (52) and the outer wall (54), which form lateral walls of the section of the coolant water channel (62), and at least one rib (56) has an breakthrough (78a) which permits the coolant flow from one side of the at least one rib (56) to another side of the at least one rib (56).
Regarding claim 2/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses the section of the cooling channel (62) extends along adjacent ribs (56) and through the breakthroughs (78a).
Regarding claim 3/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses the at least one rib (62) has the breakthrough (78a) at a front end (100) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (30) and an adjacent rib (62) has an adjacent breakthrough (78a) at a rear end in the direction of the longitudinal axis (30; ¶ [0043] cutouts can be on both axial ends).
Regarding claim 4/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses the section of the cooling channel (62) meanders along a circumferential direction of the housing (50).
Regarding claim 5/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses the housing (50) is closed at an end on the side facing the shaft (32) with a bearing cover (68, 70) on the side facing the shaft (32), through which a coolant inlet (72) and a coolant outlet (74) are guided, which are connected to the section of the coolant channel (62) in a coolant-conducting manner (FIG. 3, 4).
Regarding claim 10/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses an axial shaft bearing (36) in the bearing cover (70) on the side facing the shaft (32; FIG. 3).
Regarding claim 11/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses the bearing cover (68, 70) on the side facing the shaft (32) has eyelets (¶ [0049] fasteners 86 to secure covers to housing 52, 54) on the side facing the shaft (32) radially on the outside (located at the outer radial side) and the bearing cover (68, 70) on the side facing away from the shaft (618) has eyelets (FIG. 5, 6) on the side facing away from the shaft (32) radially on the outside (located at the outer radial side) and the outer wall (54) has tubular loops radially on the outside and retaining means (86) are inserted through the eyelets into open ends of the tubular loops (FIG 5, 6).
Regarding claim 12/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin further discloses windings (48) of the stator (24) are arranged next to the inner wall (52; FIG. 3).
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 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1) in view of Miyama et al. (WO 2013/118703 A1).
Regarding claim 6/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin does not disclose the housing is closed at the end on the side facing away from the shaft by an bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft, which has a coolant inlet into and a coolant outlet out of a bypass.
Miyama discloses the housing (2, 4, 20) is closed at the end on the side facing away from the shaft (39) by an bearing cover (21) on the side facing away from the shaft (39), which has a coolant inlet (28a) into and a coolant outlet (28b) out of a bypass (19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Miyama to disclose the housing is closed at the end on the side facing away from the shaft by an bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft, which has a coolant inlet into and a coolant outlet out of a bypass, for the advantages of reducing coolant pressure loss for a more even cooling of the motor and the inverter.
Regarding claim 7/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin does not disclose a cooling plate, which is arranged on the outside of the housing (2, 4, 20) directly on the bearing cover (21) on the side facing away from the shaft (39), and characterised in that the bypass (19) is formed between the cooling plate (24) and the bearing cover (21) on the side facing away from the shaft (39).
Miyama discloses a cooling plate (24), which is arranged on the outside of the housing directly on the bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft, and characterised in that the bypass is formed between the cooling plate and the bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Miyama to disclose a cooling plate, which is arranged on the outside of the housing directly on the bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft, and characterised in that the bypass is formed between the cooling plate and the bearing cover on the side facing away from the shaft, for the advantages of reducing coolant pressure loss for a more even cooling of the motor and the inverter.
Regarding claim 8/1, Chamberlin was discussed above in claim 1. Chamberlin does not disclose a controller and in that the bypass runs along the controller.
Miyama discloses a controller (51, 52) and in that the bypass (19) runs along the controller (51, 52; FIG. 1, 10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Miyama to disclose a controller and in that the bypass runs along the controller, for the advantages of reducing coolant pressure loss for a more even cooling of the motor and the inverter.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1) in view of Miyama et al. (WO 2013/118703 A1) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Mills et al. (US 2013/0259720 A1).
Regarding claim 9/8, Chamberlin in view of Miyama was discussed above in claim 8. Chamberlin in view of Miyama does not disclose the controller has a circuit board, on the side of which facing the housing MOSFETS are arranged, which bear directly on an outer side of the cooling plate.
Mills discloses the controller (22) has a circuit board (FIG. 1), on the side of which facing the housing MOSFETS are arranged (¶ [0036]), which bear directly on an outer side of the cooling plate (132).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Miyama, further in view of Mills to disclose the controller has a circuit board, on the side of which facing the housing MOSFETS are arranged, which bear directly on an outer side of the cooling plate, as MOSFETs can get extremely hot, and circuit board carrying the MOSFETs cooled directly by a heat sink would increase the efficiency of the MOSFETs.
Claims 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1) in view of Kim et al. (WO 2016/195148 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Chamberlin discloses method of manufacturing a housing (50) for an electric motor (20), in that sections of a housing (50) have an inner wall (52) and an outer wall (54), between which ribs (56) aligned in the direction of the longitudinal axis (30) are arranged, and at least one of the ribs (56) is shortened by at least one breakthrough (78a) at an end leading or trailing in the direction of the longitudinal axis (30; FIG. 12).
Chamberlin does not disclose sections of a housing length are cut to length from an continuous moulded part in the direction of a longitudinal axis.
Kim discloses sections of a housing (210) length are cut to length from an continuous moulded part (250, 280) in the direction of a longitudinal axis (extrusion molding requires the molded material to be cut to desired length).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Kim to disclose sections of a housing length are cut to length from an continuous moulded part in the direction of a longitudinal axis, for the advantages of lowered manufacturing costs compared to other molding methods.
Regarding claim 14/13, Chamberlin in view of Kim was discussed above in claim 13. Chamberlin further discloses the at least one rib (56) at the leading end (100) is shortened by the at least one breakthrough (78a) and an adjacent rib (56) at the trailing end (102) is shortened by an adjacent breakthrough (78a; ¶ [0043] cutouts can be on both axial ends).
Regarding claim 15/13, Chamberlin in view of Kim was discussed above in claim 13. Kim further discloses tubular loops (282) are arranged on the outside of the outer wall (280), aligned in the direction of the longitudinal axis (FIG. 6), and internal threads (230) are inserted into open ends (284) of the tubular loops (282) after the sections have been cut to length (FIG. 2; extrusion molding requires cutting of the molded material).
Regarding claim 16/13, Chamberlin in view of Kim was discussed above in claim 13. Kim further discloses the continuous moulded part (250, 280) is produced in an extrusion process (see annotated excerpt above).
Claims 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1) in view of Kim et al. (WO 2016/195148 A1) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Daigle et al. (US 2018/0154780 A1).
Regarding claim 17/13, Chamberlin in view of Kim was discussed above in claim 13. Chamberlin further discloses a vehicle (¶ [0028], [0046]) with an electric motor (20) according to claim 1, with a supercharger with a turbine (¶ [0028]), which is driven by the shaft (32) driven by the electric motor (20).
Chamberlin does not disclose a water sports device with an electric motor, with a water jet drive.
Daigle discloses a water sports device (¶ [0018] marine vessel) with an electric motor (216A, 216B), with a water jet drive (¶ [0022] water jet marine propulsion systems).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Kim, further in view of Daigle to disclose a water sports device with an electric motor, with a water jet drive, as disclosed in Daigle ¶ [0018] the use of electric motors in a water sports device from a choice of vehicles (marine vessels, rail vehicles, off-highway vehicles, automobiles, semi-trailer trucks, on-road transportation vehicles) is common within the art.
Regarding claim 19/17, Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle was discussed above in claim 17. Daigle further discloses the electric motor (216A, 216B) is connected to a battery (227) in a current-conducting manner (FIG. 2).
Claims 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chamberlin et al. (US 2014/0354089 A1) in view of Kim et al. (WO 2016/195148 A1) and Daigle et al. (US 2018/0154780 A1) as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (CN 205675195 U).
Regarding claim 18/17, Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle was discussed above in claim 17. Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle does not disclose the water jet drive comprises a jet drive with a jet tube and a cooling water inlet for a portion of the water flowing through the jet tube is provided on the jet tube for the water jet of the jet drive, which cooling water inlet is connected to the cooling water inlet of the electric motor in a water-conducting manner.
Chen discloses the water jet drive (FIG.7) comprises a jet drive (52) with a jet tube (521) and a cooling water inlet (61) for a portion of the water flowing through the jet tube (521) is provided on the jet tube (521) for the water jet of the jet drive (52), which cooling water inlet (61) is connected to the cooling water inlet of the electric motor (51) in a water-conducting manner (FIG. 7, 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle, further in view of Chen to disclose the water jet drive comprises a jet drive with a jet tube and a cooling water inlet for a portion of the water flowing through the jet tube is provided on the jet tube for the water jet of the jet drive, which cooling water inlet is connected to the cooling water inlet of the electric motor in a water-conducting manner, for the advantages of increasing efficiency and service life of the motor.
Regarding claim 20/17, Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle was discussed above in claim 17. Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle does not disclose the water sports device is an electrically powered surfboard.
Chen discloses the water sports device is an electrically powered surfboard (FIG. 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to have modified Chamberlin in view of Kim and Daigle further in view of Chen to disclose the water sports device is an electrically powered surfboard, for the advantages of providing a surfboard that is convenient to carry and capable of being driven by power for increased enjoyment (background of technology).
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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/MINKI CHANG/ Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834