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 § 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 1 – 4 and 9 – 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hausrath et al. (DE 4302042) in view of Park (US 7,385,322).
With respect to claim 1, Hausrath et al. teach an electric motor, comprising a shaft (Item 2); a stator (Item 16) comprising stator windings; a rotor (Item 13) surrounding the stator and comprising a back-iron ring (Item 12), permanent magnets (Items 15) arranged on an inner side of the back-iron ring and a carrier (Item 13) connecting the back-iron ring to the shaft; and a housing (Item 4) enclosing the rotor and the stator and having an opening (Item 11) through which the shaft projects; wherein the carrier has several flow guide ribs (Items23) for air circulation in one end face; but fail to disclose wherein the carrier has several circulation openings.
On the other hand, Park teaches a rotor (Fig.2, Item 10) comprising several circulation openings (Fig.2, Items 1) and several flow guide ribs (Fig.2, Items 15) for air circulation in one end face (Col.4, Lines 1 – 14).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Park teachings with the Hausrath et al. design because it would provide access for the cooling fluid to flow between the rotor and the stator, optimizing the cooling performance of the motor.
With respect to claim 2, Park teaches wherein the flow guide ribs each extend in a curved manner from an edge of the end face extending in the circumferential direction to one of the circulation openings (Fig.3) (also see Suda et al. US 2020/0119620).
With respect to claim 3, Park teaches wherein the flow guide ribs are arranged in pairs (Fig.3, Items 15) and flow guide ribs of a pair define a flow channel between them.
With respect to claim 4, Hausrath et al. teach wherein the housing has a first housing part (Items 5 and 18) and a second housing part (Item 4). The Examiner considers that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to arrange an annular seal between the first and second part of the housing because it would provide a fluid-tight connection between them.
With respect to claim 9, the obvious combination of Hausrath et al. and Wang et al. teach wherein a circulation path extends from the circulation openings, which path runs between the housing and the rotor, around an end of the rotor facing away from the end face and between the rotor and the stator to the circulation openings (Hausrath: Figure and Wang et al.: Fig 1).
With respect to claims 10 and 14, The Examiner considers that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to provide a gap with a thickness of less than 5 mm between the flow guide ribs and the inside of the housing facing them or wherein the flow guide ribs have a height of at least 2 mm because it would tune the carrier to provide a desired fluid-flow performance as necessitated by the specific requirements of the particular application without departing from the scope and spirit of the Hausrath et al. and Wang et al. inventions. Furthermore, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
With respect to claims 11 and 12, Park teaches wherein the flow guide ribs (Figs.5 and 6, Items 15) point towards the circulation openings at their inner end in the direction of rotation, and wherein the flow guide ribs run in a radial direction at their outer end (Fig.5).
With respect to claim 13, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide ribs on the outside of the housing because it would act as a heat sink, optimizing the cooling performance of the motor.
Claims 5 – 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hausrath et al. (DE 4302042) in view of Park (US 7,385,322), and further in view of Zhong et al. (CN 216086347).
With respect to claims 5 – 7, Hausrath et al. and Park teach the limitations already discussed in a previous rejection, but fail to disclose wherein the stator surrounds an interior space in which a channel for cooling liquid runs; wherein the first housing part has the opening through which the shaft projects, and the second housing part has an inlet and an outlet for cooling liquid, and wherein the channel for cooling liquid leads along an end of the stator facing away from the end face of the carrier to the interior space surrounded by the stator.
Nevertheless, Zhong et al. teach a motor, wherein a stator (Fig.2, Item 116) surrounds an interior space in which a channel (Fig.2, Item 119) for cooling liquid runs; wherein a first housing part (Fig.2, element not shown covering Item 128) has the opening through which the shaft projects, and the second housing part (Figs.1 and 2, Items 115 and 125) has an inlet and an outlet (Fig.1, Items 120 and 173) for cooling liquid, and wherein the channel for cooling liquid leads along an end of the stator facing away from the end face of the carrier to the interior space surrounded by the stator.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the Zhong et al. configuration with the Hausrath et al. and Park design because it would provide a compact configuration in which the cooling of the stator and rotor are optimized.
With respect to claim 8, The Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known in the art to provide wherein the housing has a pressure equalization opening which is closed with an air-permeable membrane which is impermeable to liquid water because it would regulate the internal pressure of the motor with respect to the atmospheric pressure, in this manner optimizing the performance and working life of the motor.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection relies on a reference that was not applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDGARDO SAN MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2074. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 - 5:00 M - F.
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/Edgardo San Martin/
Edgardo San Martín
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2837
June 11, 2026
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