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.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 8-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected embodiments, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/13/2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: MOTOR ROTOR WITH MAGNET IN FRAME, MOTOR, POWER ASSEMBLY, AND ELECTRIC APPARATUS.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 13, 15-17, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 111884456 A) in view of Gong et al. (US 2017/0279321 A1, hereinafter Gong).
As to claim 1, Li shows (FIG. 1, 5, 8) A motor rotor, comprising:
a mounting frame 1; and
a magnet 4,5 mounted to the mounting frame 1,
wherein the mounting frame 1 is provided with a limiting wall 8 for resisting a centrifugal movement of the magnet 4,5 in a radial direction (para [0040]; motor para [0051]).
Li does not show the magnet is magnet steel.
Gong shows the magnet is magnet steel (para [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention to modify the magnet of Li to have the magnet is magnet steel as
taught by Gong, for the advantageous benefits of the magnet steel having a high remanent magnetism and a high coercive force as taught by Gong (para [0012]).
As to claim 2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein the mounting frame 1 is provided with a plurality of mounting regions 10,11 distributed in the radial direction, the magnet steel 4,5 being mounted in the plurality of mounting regions 10,11, at least one of the plurality of mounting regions 10,11 being provided with the limiting wall 8.
As to claim 3/2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 2 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein a separator 7 is provided between two mounting regions 10,11 adjacent to each other in the radial direction, a wall surface of the separator 7 facing towards a central axis 2 of the mounting frame 1 being the limiting wall.
As to claim 4/3/2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 3 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein each of the plurality of mounting regions 10,11 adjacent to each other in the radial direction is provided with a magnet steel groove, the magnet steel groove having the limiting wall 8; wherein the separator 7 is provided between two adjacent magnet steel grooves, the wall surface of the separator 7 facing towards the central axis 2 of the mounting frame 1 being the limiting wall of the magnet steel groove located at an inner side of the separator 7 in the radial direction.
As to claim 5/2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 2 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein each of the plurality of mounting regions 10,11 is provided with the limiting wall 8, the limiting walls 7,8 of the plurality of mounting regions 10,11 being distributed at intervals in the radial direction.
As to claim 6/2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 2 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein at least one of the plurality of mounting regions 10,11 are provided with a magnet steel groove, the magnet steel groove having the limiting wall 7,8.
As to claim 7/6/2/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 6 and Li further shows (FIG. 5 as modified) wherein the magnet steel 4,5 has a profile matched with the limiting wall 7,8 of the magnet steel groove.
As to claim 13/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein the magnet steel 4,5 is provided on a surface of the mounting frame 1 in the axial direction, and wherein the mounting frame 1 is provided with the limiting wall 7,8 located at an outer side of the magnet steel 4,5 in the radial direction.
As to claim 15/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein a plurality of magnet steels 4,5 are provided and distributed in sequence along a circumferential direction on the mounting frame 1; and wherein the mounting frame 1 further comprises a plurality of limiting structures 9 distributed in sequence along the circumferential direction, each of the plurality of magnet steels 4,5 being located between two limiting structures 9 of the plurality of limiting structures 9 that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction (para [0040]).
As to claim 16/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein the magnet steel 4,5 is fixedly connected to the mounting frame 1 (by glue para [0065],[0069]).
As to claim 17/16/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 16 and Li further shows (as modified) wherein the magnet steel 4,5 is in an interference fit with the mounting frame; and/or the magnet steel is in an injection-molded connection with the mounting frame; and/or the magnet steel is adhesively fixed to the mounting frame 1 (glue para [0065],[0069]).
As to claim 20/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 and Li further shows (as modified) A motor, comprising the motor rotor according to claim 1 (motor para [0051]).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 111884456 A) in view of Gong et al. (US 2017/0279321 A1, hereinafter Gong) and Moore et al. (US 2018/0138767 A1, hereinafter Moore).
As to claim 14/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 except for the mounting frame is a permeability magnetic material component or a non-permeability magnetic material component.
Moore shows the rotor disk 364 is formed of a laminated magnetic metal to (para [0063]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention to modify the mounting frame 1 of Li in view of Gong to have the mounting frame 1 is a permeability magnetic material component or a non-permeability magnetic material component as taught by Moore, for the advantageous benefit of optimizing the magnetic reluctance path as taught by Moore (para [0063]).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 111884456 A) in view of Gong et al. (US 2017/0279321 A1, hereinafter Gong) and Koeda (US 20210167676 A1).
As to claim 18/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 1 except for a protective component, the magnet steel being exposed to one side or both sides of the mounting frame in an axial direction, the protective component being arranged on a side of the mounting frame to which the magnet steel is exposed.
Koeda shows (FIG. 2, 3) a protective component 91, the magnet 6 being exposed to one side or both sides of the mounting frame 3 in an axial direction, the protective component 91 being arranged on a side of the mounting frame 3 to which the magnet 6 is exposed (para [0020],[0038],[0039]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention to modify the mounting frame 1 of Li in view of Gong to have a protective component 91, the magnet steel 4,5 being exposed to one side or both sides of the mounting frame 1 in an axial direction, the protective component 91 being arranged on a side of the mounting frame 1 to which the magnet steel 4,5 is exposed as taught by Koeda, for the advantageous benefits of suppression of bending and torsional deformation as taught by Koeda (para [0040]).
Claim(s) 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 111884456 A) in view of Gong et al. (US 2017/0279321 A1, hereinafter Gong) and Takezaki et al. (US 2017/0054336 A1, hereinafter Takezaki).
As to claim 21/20/1, Li in view of Gong was discussed above with respect to claim 20 except for a power assembly, comprising the motor according to claim 20.
Takezaki shows a power assembly, comprising a motor (electric vehicle para [0002]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
the claimed invention to modify the motor of Li in view of Gong to have a power assembly, comprising the motor according to claim 20 as taught by Takezaki, for the advantageous benefits of using the motor in a vehicle to provide commuter travel as taught by Takezaki (para [0002]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 19 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not show or suggest the protective component with the positioning groove for a magnet.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT E MATES whose telephone number is (571)270-5293. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 12:00pm to 8pm.
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/ROBERT E MATES/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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