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 § 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 11, 12, 14, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McDowall et al. (“McDowall”; US 2005/0212373).
Regarding claim 11: McDowall discloses a sliding cover (100, Fig. 1-6) for a salient-pole rotor (400) of an electric machine, for closing a groove formed between two adjacent salient poles (between 402 and 404, Fig. 5) of the salient-pole rotor, comprising:
a groove closure wedge (100) extending axially and in a circumferential direction (shown in Fig. 5), and configured to close the groove and being supported on pole shoes (506, 508) of the two adjacent salient poles, wherein the groove closure wedge has an internal side facing the groove (towards the center axis) and an external side facing an air gap of the electric machine (towards the radial outside); and
at least one bulkhead (102) disposed on the groove closure wedge (100) and, proceeding from the external side of the groove closure wedge, extends radially (shown Fig. 4) so as to reduce a power loss-increasing axial flow along the sliding cover in the air gap of the electric machine (inherent as the structure is known, this is simply a result).
Regarding claim 12: McDowall discloses a plurality of plate-shaped bulkheads (102) which are disposed so as to be axially spaced apart on the external side of the groove closure wedge (shown best in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14: McDowall discloses the groove closure wedge and the at least one bulkhead are integrally configured (as shown by the integral structure in Fig. 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 18: McDowall discloses a salient-pole rotor for an electric machine (Fig. 5 and 6), comprising:
magnetic field-generating components for forming a rotor magnetic field (paragraph 0002);
a rotor core having salient poles (402, 404) for holding the magnetic field-generating components; and
at least one sliding cover according to claim 11 (see claim 11).
Regarding claim 20: McDowall discloses an electric machine for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a stator (inherent in electric machine structure); and
a salient-pole rotor according to claim 18 (see claim 18), which is mounted so as to be rotatable relative to the stator (inherent to electric machine structure).
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.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McDowall, in view of Continental Automotive GmbH (“Continental”; DE 20 2012 003 120 U1, English translation attached).
Regarding claim 13: McDowall discloses the external side of the groove closure wedge is concave (shown best in Fig. 3), but does not explicitly disclose curved so as to be concave.
However, Continental discloses the external side is curved so as to be concave (11, Fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the groove closure to be curved concave in order to better hold the windings.
Claims 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McDowall, in view of Himmelmann (US 2016/0099621).
Regarding claim 15: McDowall discloses an external periphery of the at least one bulkhead that faces the air gap, but does not explicitly disclose the at least one bulkhead is curved so as to be convex.
However, Himmelmann discloses the at least one bulkhead (55, Fig. 5) is curved so as to be convex (as shown in Fig. 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the bulkhead of McDowall to be convex, as disclosed by Himmelmann, in order to better fit the geometry of the rotor.
Regarding claim 18: McDowall discloses an external periphery of the at least one bulkhead and an external side of the pole shoes (Fig. 5), but does not explicitly disclose the external periphery forms a substantially circular external contour of the salient-pole rotor.
However, Himmelmann discloses the external periphery of the bulkhead (55) forms a substantially circular external contour of the salient-pole rotor (given the convex shape, see Fig. 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the bulkhead of McDowall to be substantially circular, as disclosed by Himmelmann, in order to better fit the geometry of the rotor.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McDowall, in view of Taji et al. (“Taji”; US 5,239,220).
Regarding claim 16: McDowall discloses the at least one bulkhead, but does not explicitly disclose on lateral regions which are mutually opposite in the circumferential direction, has groove-type recesses for partially receiving pole shoe regions of the pole shoes that project in the circumferential direction.
However, Taji discloses on lateral regions (at 26, Fig. 1b) which are mutually opposite in the circumferential direction (shown in Fig. 1a), has groove-type recesses (26) for partially receiving pole shoe regions of the pole shoes that project in the circumferential direction (at 21 and 27).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the lateral regions of McDowall to include the recesses of Taji in order to better mate with the poles.
Regarding claim 17: McDowall discloses the groove closure wedges, but does not explicitly disclose on lateral regions which are mutually opposite in the circumferential direction, have connecting elements for pushing together axially with pole shoe regions of the pole shoes that project in the circumferential direction, and for establishing a form-fitting connection between the sliding cover and the pole shoes.
However, Taji discloses on lateral regions (at 26) which are mutually opposite in the circumferential direction, have connecting elements (26) for pushing together axially with pole shoe regions of the pole shoes that project in the circumferential direction (21, 27), and for establishing a form-fitting connection between the sliding cover and the pole shoes (column 2, lines 60-67).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the lateral regions of McDowall to include the connecting elements of Taji in order to better mate with the poles.
Conclusion
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/SEAN GUGGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834