CTNF 18/859,174 CTNF 76762 DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-10 of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/859,174, filed on 23 October, 2024, were presented for examination, and are currently pending in the application. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 23 October, 2024, was filed before the mailing date of this Office Action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: In line 1 of each claim, the word “a” should be inserted between “for” and “rotary” such that the relevant preambles read “a terminal module for a rotary electric machine…” Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. 07-34-01 Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Lines 6-7 of claim 6 recite “on an opposite side to the extension portion” but a reader cannot determine what the opposite side is of . For examination on the merits the Examiner will interpret the limitation as reciting “on an opposite side of the intermediate portion to the extension portion…” Lines 7-8 of claim 8 recite “on an inner side…” but a reader cannot determine what the inner side is of . For examination on the merits the Examiner will interpret the limitation very broadly because he simply cannot tell what the inner side is a side of. Claims 7 and 9-10 are rejected for depending from rejected claim 6. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Hashimoto (US 2015/0381002 A1) . With respect to claim 1, Hashimoto teaches a terminal module [combined busbars 10, annular holder 30, common terminal block 40, and auxiliary holder 60X] for a rotary electric machine [motor] (see title) that electrically connects a stator [S] constituting a rotary electric machine to a terminal block [power supply side terminal] {see abstract and ¶ 0038 which recites “connection plate 21 to be connected to a mating power supply side terminal (not shown)…”}, comprising: PNG media_image1.png 540 655 media_image1.png Greyscale a plurality of busbars [power feeding terminals 20, including 20U, 20V, and 20W] each integrally formed of a metal plate material (¶ 0035 recites that “the busbar main body 11 of the busbar 10 is annularly formed…. by bending a metal strip material…” – it is clear from fig. 1 that the busbars are integrally formed with the busbar main body 11 and therefore also made of metal); and a holding member [holder 30 including auxiliary holder 60X which includes pressing plates 67] formed of an electrically insulating resin (see abstract which recites “an annular holder 30 made of synthetic resin…. and auxiliary holders 60, 60X made of synthetic resin…”), covering the plurality of busbars (see fig. 12), and interposed between the plurality of busbars (see the flange, labeled by the Examiner in the joint excerpt of figs. 11 and 12, attached below), and, PNG media_image2.png 444 901 media_image2.png Greyscale wherein, when an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the rotary electric machine are respectively defined as a first direction and a second direction (the first direction and second direction have been drawn and labeled in the fig. 11 excerpt by the Examiner), the plurality of busbars [20] include a first busbar [A or 20V], a second busbar [B or 20U], and a third busbar [C or 20W] disposed in alignment with each other in the second direction (the labels A, B, and C were added by the Examiner) and each having: a first end portion to be electrically connected to the terminal block (see the blown-up snapshots of figs. 1 and 11 below, wherein the Examiner has labeled the two ends and all the claimed portions of the busbars); a second end portion to be electrically connected to a coil of the stator; an elongated extension portion located between the first end portion and the second end portion and extending in the first direction; and PNG media_image3.png 318 751 media_image3.png Greyscale an intermediate portion located between the extension portion and the second end portion and covered by the holding member [30/60X/67] (see fig. 12 above), and the extension portion is configured to be capable of reducing vibration transmitted toward the terminal block from the stator (it has a rubber ring [23] on it which is compressed in a corresponding groove in the holding member during assembly – see ¶ 0066). With respect to claim 2/1, Hashimoto teaches the module of claim 1, and further teaches a coupling member (labeled in the new excerpt of fig. 12 attached below, and including passage groove 77 – see ¶ 0055) formed of an electrically insulating resin (it is part of the portion 60X which has already been shown to be made of resin, above) and integrally covering the extension portion of each of the first busbar [A/20V], the second busbar [B/20U], and the third busbar [C/20W] (see element 77 in fig. 11). PNG media_image4.png 395 430 media_image4.png Greyscale With respect to claim 6/1, Hashimoto teaches the module of claim 1, and further teaches wherein the intermediate portion of each of the first busbar [A/20V], the second busbar [B/20U], and the third busbar [C/20W] has: an elongated main body portion (see new joint snapshots from figs. 1 and 11 below, wherein the Examiner has labeled the claimed portions) extending in the second direction; and PNG media_image5.png 351 644 media_image5.png Greyscale a leg portion formed to bend from the main body portion and extend in the first direction on an opposite side to the extension portion {see rejection of claim 6 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) above} and coupled to the second end portion . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3-5 are 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. With respect to claim 3, and all claims depending therefrom, the prior art of record does not teach or reasonably suggest a terminal module for rotary electric machine that electrically connects a stator constituting a rotary electric machine to a terminal block, comprising: a plurality of busbars each integrally formed of a metal plate material; and a holding member formed of an electrically insulating resin, covering the plurality of busbars, and interposed between the plurality of busbars, wherein, when an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the rotary electric machine are respectively defined as a first direction and a second direction, the plurality of busbars include a first busbar, a second busbar, and a third busbar disposed in alignment with each other in the second direction and each having: a first end portion to be electrically connected to the terminal block; a second end portion to be electrically connected to a coil of the stator; an elongated extension portion located between the first end portion and the second end portion and extending in the first direction; and an intermediate portion located between the extension portion and the second end portion and covered by the holding member, and the extension portion is configured to be capable of reducing vibration transmitted toward the terminal block from the stator; and a coupling member formed of an electrically insulating resin and integrally covering the extension portion of each of the first busbar, the second busbar, and the third busbar; wherein the coupling member has a plurality of holes that the extension portions respectively pass through in the first direction , and the coupling member and the extension portion of at least one of the first busbar, the second busbar, and the third busbar include a restricting part that restricts movement of the coupling member in the first direction relative to the extension portion by an engaging relationship. Hashimoto teaches claims 1 and 2 and part of claim 3 (its coupling member does include a restricting part), but there is no evidence that the groove [77] is three grooves, one for each busbar, such that there are “holes” (plural). The Examiner can find no view in the drawings that would allow any guess to be made as to whether or not it is simply one continuous slit running along the whole coupling member. ¶ 0055 recites “a narrow passage groove 77 into which the connection plate 21 of the power feeding terminal 20 is inserted is formed on a ceiling surface of the insertion groove 76…” which hints at the “groove” being continuous, and not three separate “holes”. There are other holes [73] but the busbars don’t “pass through” them “in the first direction”. Thus there is no evidence of holes, as claimed, and no motivation to modify the groove to be multiple holes. The other prior art cited in PTO Form 892 teaches many references with holding members having three holes for three bus bars, but because Hashimoto is using this structure to make a sealing arrangement , and the other references that come close to teaching the claimed invention are directed to mitigating vibrations or other purposes, there would be no motivation to combine the multi-hole feature of the other references with Hashimoto except hindsight reasoning. 07-43-02 AIA Claim s 7-10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. With respect to claim 7, and all claims depending therefrom, the prior art of record does not teach or reasonably suggest a terminal module for rotary electric machine that electrically connects a stator constituting a rotary electric machine to a terminal block, comprising: a plurality of busbars each integrally formed of a metal plate material; and a holding member formed of an electrically insulating resin, covering the plurality of busbars, and interposed between the plurality of busbars, wherein, when an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the rotary electric machine are respectively defined as a first direction and a second direction, the plurality of busbars include a first busbar, a second busbar, and a third busbar disposed in alignment with each other in the second direction and each having: a first end portion to be electrically connected to the terminal block; a second end portion to be electrically connected to a coil of the stator; an elongated extension portion located between the first end portion and the second end portion and extending in the first direction; and an intermediate portion located between the extension portion and the second end portion and covered by the holding member, and the extension portion is configured to be capable of reducing vibration transmitted toward the terminal block from the stator; and wherein the holding member has: a first holding part covering the first busbar and the second busbar and interposed between the first busbar and the second busbar; and a second holding part covering the holding part and the third busbar. Hashimoto comes nowhere near teaching the underlined features. Kashiwada (US 2023/0034343 A1, discussed briefly below in the Conclusion), for instance in figs. 2 and 7, does appear to teach these limitations, but it would not be obvious, in fact it would probably be impossible, to merge this feature of Kashiwada with Hashimoto’s device. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP 2014128095 A teaches the device and it is not just for sealing the bus bars and/or motor, but for protecting the components from each other. The main difference between it and claims 1 and 2 (and other claims) is that its elongated extension portion extends in the second direction (axial direction according to claim 1) of the machine and not in the first direction, as required by the claim . It is noted that the coupling member [60] is explicitly recited as being made of resin, and the Examiner believes it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the holding member [65] of resin. PNG media_image6.png 342 685 media_image6.png Greyscale The Examiner believes that it would be borderline obvious to use this teaching to modify a stator whose busbar elongated extension portions extend in the first direction, but does not believe that there is evidence to make a prima facie case, as the reference does not provide sufficient evidence as to whether this would be suggestable, what advantage it would have (its vibrational modes would be in a different direction anyway), and how it would be specifically, physically achieved. Applicant is advised to review the reference before amending claim 1, particularly if they intend to remove the clause in claim 1 that establishes the directional framework. This directional framework kept a handful of references from being used (references that are actually suppressing vibrations) by the Examiner to reject claims 1-2 as well as other claims. US 2020/0052540 A1 teaches a closely related device and it is not just for sealing the bus bars and/or motor, but for suppressing vibrations from the stator . The main difference between it and claims 1-4 is that a) it omits the holding member and b) its elongated extension portion extends in the second direction (axial direction according to claim 1) of the machine and not in the first direction, as required by the claim. It is noted that the coupling member [60] is explicitly recited as being made of resin, and the Examiner believes it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to make the holding member [65] of resin. PNG media_image7.png 431 860 media_image7.png Greyscale The Examiner believes that it would be borderline obvious to use this teaching to modify a stator whose busbar elongated extension portions extend in the first direction, but does not believe that there is evidence to make a prima facie case, as the reference does not provide sufficient evidence as to whether this would be suggestable, what advantage it would have (its vibrational modes would be in a different direction anyway), and how it would be specifically, physically achieved. Applicant is advised to review the reference before amending claim 1, particularly if they intend to remove the clause in claim 1 that establishes the directional framework, for the reasons put forth above in discussing the previous reference. US 2017/0104281 A1 teaches the claimed directions and the coupling member but does not teach a holding member. PNG media_image8.png 424 356 media_image8.png Greyscale Figs. 2 and 3 of US 2018/0040392 A1 appear to have all of the limitations of claim 1, except the holding member is three holding members [91] and they are not explicitly taught as being made of resin (although element 60/61 is). PNG media_image9.png 314 1060 media_image9.png Greyscale US 2023/0034343 A1 was discussed in the Reasons for Indication of Allowability above, as it appears to teach multiple holding parts of the holding member, as required by claim 7. PNG media_image10.png 358 859 media_image10.png Greyscale Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL K SCHLAK whose telephone number is (703)756-1685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270 - 5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Daniel K Schlak/Examiner, Art Unit 2834 /OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 2 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 3 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 4 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 5 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 6 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 7 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 8 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 9 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 18/859,174 Page 10 Art Unit: 2834
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