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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kamiya et al. (JP 2005337355).
[Claim 1] Kamiya et al. teach:
An in-wheel motor 50 of an outer-rotor type (fig 2), the in-wheel motor comprising:
a stator 53 that includes a coil 56; and
a rotor 51 that includes a magnet 52 and rotates around a motor axis RC1 with respect to the stator, the magnet facing the coil (fig 2), wherein:
the rotor further includes:
a rotor case 51a that holds the magnet; and
a brake disc 61 that is connected to an inner end part of the rotor case (see ref numeral S1, fig 2) in a wheel assembly 31 width direction and rotates together with the rotor case (since it is a brake disc, MPEP 2112), and the rotor case and the brake disc are connected to each other via a heat capacity member 66 (see fig 5).
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470
381
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[Claim 2] Kamiya et al. teach:
The in-wheel motor according to claim 1, wherein the heat capacity member is a drive plate 66 that rotates integrally with the rotor case and the brake disc (figs above).
[Claim 4] Kamiya et al. teach:
The in-wheel motor according to claim 1, wherein the heat capacity member includes a heat radiation structure (evidenced by the arrows, figs above).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamiya et al. in view of Hasuda et al. (JP 2015083440).
[Claim 3] Kamiya et al. has been discussed above, re claim 2; but does not explicitly teach that the stator further includes: a spindle shaft that forms the motor axis; and a stator body that is disposed on an outer side of the spindle shaft in a radial direction, and the drive plate is pivotally supported by the stator body.
Hasuda et al. teach that the stator 81 further includes: a spindle shaft 21 that forms the motor axis Z; and a stator body 51 that is disposed on an outer side of the spindle shaft in a radial direction (fig 1 below) allows for positions sensors 82/83 and bearings 110 to improve the service life of the in-wheel motor. Since Matsuda et al. discloses that the drive plate is between the brake disc and stator, it would be intuitive when applying Hasuda et al. to have thew drive plate pivotally supported by the stator body.
As a result, it would have been obvious to a person havening ordinary skill in the art prior to the invention of Matsuda et al. being effectively filed to modify it such that the stator further includes: a spindle shaft that forms the motor axis; and a stator body that is disposed on an outer side of the spindle shaft in a radial direction, and the drive plate is pivotally supported by the stator body, as taught by Hasuda et al. so as to improve the service life of the in-wheel motor.
Conclusion
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/TERRANCE L KENERLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834