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 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katakura et al. (US5877918, “Katakura”) in view of Ishizuka (US6172439, “Ishizuka”).
Re claim 1, Katakura discloses a motor comprising:
a rotor (fig 1, col 3, lns 20-29 & 48-55, includes 2,3 & 4);
a stator 6, 7 opposing the rotor (fig 1), wherein
the rotor includes a magnet 4, a yoke 3 in contact with the magnet 4 (fig 1, col 3, lns 48-50), and a holder 2 holding the magnet and the yoke (fig 1, col 3, lns 51-62),
the yoke 3 includes a first projecting part projecting in an axial direction of the rotor (figs 1 & below),
the first projecting part is engaged with the holder 2 along the axial direction (figs 1 & below),
an inner peripheral surface of the yoke 3 is opposed to an outer peripheral surface of the holder 3 at an end part of an outermost peripheral part 2a of the holder 2 via a first gap E in a radial direction (figs 1 & below, col 3, ln 63 to col 4, ln 5).
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Katakura discloses claim 1 except for the yoke includes a first end part defined at one end in a circumferential direction and a second end part defined at another end in the circumferential direction.
Ishizuka discloses the yoke 8 includes a first end part 83 defined at one end in a circumferential direction and a second end part 84 defined at another end in the circumferential direction (figs 1-2b, col 4, lns 20-34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the yoke of Katakura to include a first end part defined at one end in a circumferential direction and a second end part defined at another end in the circumferential direction, as demonstrated by Ishizuka, in order to prevent imbalanced caused by thermal expansion, as taught by Ishizuka (col 5, lns 1-21).
Re claim 2, Katakura in view of Ishizuka disclose claim 1 as discussed above and further disclose a second gap 85 is defined between the first end part and the second end part (Ishizuka, figs 2a & 3).
Re claim 3, Katakura in view of Ishizuka disclose claim 2 as discussed above but are silent with respect to the yoke includes a cutout part obtained by cutting the yoke at an angular position corresponding to an angular position of the second gap around an axial line of the rotor.
Ishizuka discloses in another embodiment the yoke 8b includes a cutout part obtained 85 by cutting the yoke at an angular position corresponding to an angular position of the second gap 85 around an axial line of the rotor (fig 8, col 8, lns 17-22).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the yoke of Katakura in view of Ishizuka to include a cutout part obtained by cutting the yoke at an angular position corresponding to an angular position of the second gap around an axial line of the rotor, as disclosed by Ishizuka in another embodiment, in order to prevent imbalanced caused by thermal expansion, as taught by Ishizuka (col 5, lns 1-21 & col 9, lns 9-12).
Re claim 4, Katakura in view of Ishizuka disclose claim 2 as discussed above and further disclose the magnet includes a plurality of magnetic poles and a change region 96 (Ishizuka, fig 3, col 4, lns 61-64),
in the change region 96, one magnetic pole of the plurality of magnetic poles changes to another magnetic pole of the plurality of magnetic poles (Ishizuka, fig 3, col 4, lns 61-64), and the second gap 85 is opposed to the change region in the radial direction (Ishizuka, fig 3, col 4, lns 61-64).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katakura in view of Ishizuka and in further view of Ueda (US20010048259, “Ueda”).
Re claim 6, Katakura in view of Ishizuka disclose claim 1 as discussed above but are silent with respect to the first end part includes a second projecting part projecting in the circumferential direction, and the second end part includes a recessed part engaged with the second projecting part.
Ueda discloses the yoke 7 comprises the first end part includes a second projecting part 8 projecting in the circumferential direction (figs 1 & 3), and the second end part includes a recessed part 9 engaged with the second projecting part 8 (figs 1 & 3, [0021]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the yoke of Katakura in view of Ishizuka so the first end part includes a second projecting part projecting in the circumferential direction, and the second end part includes a recessed part engaged with the second projecting part, as disclosed by Ueda, in order to form the yoke without requiring precise manufacturing control, as taught by Ueda ([0030])..
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5715. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:30-5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Seye Iwarere can be reached on (571)270-5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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