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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/11/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by HATTORI - US 20160020680.
Regarding claim 1, HATTORI discloses an inverter 7 that supplies power to a motor of a motor unit (unlabeled; para [0035]), comprising:
a substrate 23 ;
a power semiconductor 21 that is mounted on the substrate 23 (para [0024]);
a bus bar 36 that has a first end mounted on the substrate 23 and a second end on a side opposite to the first end (para [0052]); and
a fixing unit 37 to which a bus bar fixing screw (unlabeled; Fig. 3) that fastens a motor cable (unlabeled; Fig. 3) of the motor unit and the second end is fixed (para [0052]),
wherein the fixing unit 37 is inserted into a through-hole 3A of the motor unit through which the motor cable passes (para [0052]).
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Regarding claim 2, HATTORI discloses the inverter 7 according to claim 1, further comprising a bus bar housing 8 that holds the bus bar 36 and the fixing unit 37 (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, HATTORI discloses the inverter 7 according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar 36 extends from a region 2 overlapping a bearing 6 of the motor unit up to a region outside the bearing 6, when viewed in an axial direction of the motor (Fig. 1).
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Regarding claim 5, HATTORI discloses an electric compressor comprising:
the inverter 7 according to claim 1;
the motor unit; and
a compression portion that is connected to the motor (para [0034]).
Regarding claim 6, HATTORI discloses the electric compressor according to claim 5, wherein the motor unit has a motor housing 3 that accommodates the motor, and
a water-cooling jacket 5 for a motor that cools the motor is provided in the motor housing 3 (i.e. the refrigerant flow path of HATTORI is capable of performing the claimed function via water-cooling and not distinguished from any structure in the claims).
Regarding claim 7, HATTORI discloses the electric compressor according to claim 5, wherein the motor unit has a motor housing 3 that accommodates the motor, and
a water-cooling jacket 5 for a semiconductor that cools the power semiconductor 21 is provided in the motor housing ((i.e. the refrigerant flow path of HATTORI is capable of performing the claimed function via water-cooling and not distinguished from any structure in the claims).
Regarding claim 8, HATTORI discloses the electric compressor according to claim 5, wherein the through-hole 3A extends from the motor up to the inverter 7 (para [0052]; see also Fig. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 9, HATTORI discloses the electric compressor according to claim 5, wherein the power semiconductor 21, the bus bar 36, and the through-hole 3A are arranged in order in one direction, when viewed in an axial direction of the motor (Fig. 1 and 3).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HATTORI in view of MIZUNO.
Regarding claim 4, HATTORI discloses the inverter 7 according to claim 1, wherein the fixing unit 37 is located outside a bearing 6 of the motor unit.
However, HATTORI does not disclose the fixing unit is inside an outer periphery of a stator of the motor, when viewed in an axial direction of the motor (the stator is not shown).
MIZUNO teaches an inverter INV comprising a substrate 84; a power semiconductor 801, 802; a bus bar 886; and a fixing unit 889 inserted into through-hole 845 through which a motor cable 888 passes (para [00140]). The fixing unit 889 is inside an outer periphery of a stator 320 of the motor, when viewed in an axial direction X1-X2 of the motor (Fig. 3A).
It 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 to provide the inverter of HATTORI with the fixing unit is inside an outer periphery of a stator of the motor, when viewed in an axial direction of the motor, similar to MIZUNO.
A person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains would have been motivated to make such modification in order to reduce the overall size of the motor drive device while increasing the size of the capacitor module and reducing the length of the motor cable, as taught by MIZUNO (paras [0100], [0126], and [0140])
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-20100181877-A1 Watanabe discloses an inverter with a power semiconductor [0047], a bus bar 25, and a fixing unit 26 inserted into a through-hole for connection to a motor; US-20110291501-A1 Watanabe discloses an inverter with a power semiconductor [0042], a bus bar 33, and a fixing unit 9 inserted into a through-hole for connection to a motor 3; Japanese patent document JP-5419342-B2 discloses an inverter with a power semiconductor, a bus bar 21, and a fixing unit 14 inserted into a through-hole for connection to a motor.
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/JUSTIN STEFANON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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