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 Objections
Claims 9 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claim 9: The last line recites “the housing”, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears this claim should depend on claim 2, and was examined as such.
Regarding claim 10: The last line recites “the housing”, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears this claim should depend on claim 2, and was examined as such.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-3, 7, 9, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Teofili (US 2020/0144894).
Regarding claim 1: Teofili discloses an electric machine (100, Fig. 2) comprising:
a stator (120) comprising a stator core (122) and a plurality of stator slots (via teeth 123, paragraph 0036) extending along a longitudinal axis of the stator (Fig. 2);
a rotor (110) assembly comprising a rotor configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis; and
a coolant system comprising:
a stator cooling path (127) configured to provide a first coolant fluid (149) in direct contact with the stator and to flow around the stator core and through the stator slots (paragraph 0037); and
a coolant circuit (141, 145, 146) configured to provide a second coolant fluid (148) to at least one rotatable component (110) of the electric machine;
wherein the coolant circuit and the stator cooling path are fluidically isolated from one another and are arranged such that heat is exchanged (paragraph 0037) between the first coolant fluid and the second coolant fluid at the stator (126).
Regarding claim 2: Teofili discloses the stator is comprised in a housing (124) and the stator cooling path is configured to provide the first coolant fluid between the stator and the housing (paragraph 0037).
Regarding claim 3: Teofili discloses the stator cooling path comprises a channel (127) configured to provide the first coolant fluid between the stator and the housing.
Regarding claim 7: Teofili discloses the channel of the stator cooling path is a first channel (at 149) and the coolant circuit comprises a second channel (at 148), the second channel being at least partly disposed within the first channel (as they branch off from one another, they are disposed together).
Regarding claim 9: Teofili discloses the coolant circuit is configured to provide the second coolant fluid between the housing and the stator (shown by arrows between 124 and 111 in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 11: Teofili discloses an aircraft engine assembly comprising the electric machine according to claim 1 (paragraph 0032).
Regarding claim 12: Teofili discloses an aircraft comprising the aircraft engine assembly according to claim 11 (paragraph 0032).
Regarding claim 13: Teofili discloses the channel of the stator cooling path is a first channel (at 149) and the coolant circuit comprises a second channel (at 148), the second channel being at least partly disposed adjacent the first channel (as they branch off from one another, they are adjacent).
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.
Claims 4-6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teofili, in view of Weber et al. (“Weber”; US 2019/0123612).
Regarding claim 4: Teofili discloses the channel, but does not explicitly disclose the channel is at least partly defined by at least one recess in the housing.
However, Weber discloses the channel is at least partly defined by at least one recess in the housing (paragraph 0019).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the channel and housing of Teofili to have at least one recess, as disclosed by Weber, in order to allow the channels to be manufactured easily and economically (paragraph 0019).
Regarding claim 5: Teofili modified by Weber disclose the channel, Weber further discloses the channel is at least partly defined by the stator (paragraph 0019).
Regarding claim 6: Teofili discloses the channel is helical with respect to the longitudinal axis (as 149 is along the longitudinal axis).
Regarding claim 10: Teofili discloses the stator cooling path, but does not explicitly disclose the stator cooling path comprises a plurality of longitudinal recesses defined in the housing.
However, Weber discloses the stator cooling path comprises a plurality of longitudinal recesses defined in the housing (paragraph 0019, shown by arrow 18 in Fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the channel and housing of Teofili to have at least one recess, as disclosed by Weber, in order to allow the channels to be manufactured easily and economically (paragraph 0019).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
The prior art of record, alone or in combination does not explicitly teach, suggest, or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan the electric machine of claim 8, specifically comprising:
the second channel comprises a helical duct received by the first channel, in the context of the other components in the claim.
Claim 14 is allowable for reciting a similar limitation.
Conclusion
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/SEAN GUGGER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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