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 .
DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This is in response to the preliminary amendment and papers filed 12/26/2024 for Application No. 18/879,049. By the amendment, newly claims 6-10 are pending and claims 1-5 are canceled.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs’) received on 12/26/2024 and 11/07/2025 have been 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.
Claims 6-10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Butcher (WO 2020/0207722 A1, machine translation attached).
Regarding claim 6, Butcher discloses a vehicle (fig. 4; Abstract) comprising:
a first unit on which a rotary electric machine (i.e., electric motor 2.1) is mounted;
a second unit on which an inverter (i.e., inverter 12.1) is mounted;
an electric wire (i.e., electric cables/lines 11.1) that electrically connects the first unit and the second unit; and
a vehicle wheel (See annotated Figure 4 below, “VW”) that is dynamically connected downstream of the first unit (2.1) via an axle (Annotated Figure 4, “A1”),
wherein the electric wire (11.1) is supported by the axle (A1), and the electric wire (11.1) has a portion (Annotated Figure 4, “RP”) routed along the axle (“A1”).
Regarding claim 7, Butcher discloses the vehicle according to claim 6, further comprising:
a rod (9) that extends in a direction intersecting the axle (fig. 4; also shown in fig. 2), wherein the electric wire (11.1) has a portion routed along the rod (9).
Regarding claim 8, Butcher discloses the vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the electric wire (11.1) has a portion (para. [0044]; fig. 4) passing through the interior of the rod (9).
Regarding claim 9, Butcher discloses the vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the electric wire (11.1) has a bent portion (Annotated fig. 4, “BP”) that is bent between the portion routed along the axle (“A1”) and the portion (“RP”) routed along the rod (9; Annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 10, Butcher discloses the vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the bent portion (“BP”) is bent in a direction away from the vehicle wheel (i.e., towards the electric machine 2.1 and front vehicle direction away from vehicle wheel VW; See annotated Fig. 4 below).
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Annotated Figure 4
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanahashi et al. (US 2012/0223574 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Tanahashi discloses a vehicle (figs. 1-5) comprising:
a first unit on which a rotary electric machine (10) is mounted;
a second unit on which an inverter (17) is mounted;
an electric wire (i.e., includes high voltage cable 18) that electrically connects the first unit and the second unit; and
a vehicle wheel (5L/5R) that is dynamically connected downstream of the first unit (10) via an axle (i.e., electric machine 10 is attached to axle 16 which is connected to the vehicle wheel 5),
wherein the electric wire (18) is supported by the axle (fig. 3), and the electric wire (18) has a portion routed along the axle (shown in fig. 3, not labeled).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Murata et al. (US 2023/0311792 A1) discloses an undercarriage wiring module 40 includes a suspension arm member 32 and a wiring member 50 connecting an inverter 18 and in-wheel motor 28 and routed along a support member 60 through an upper and lower support parts 62,64, See Figure 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tinh T Dang whose telephone number is (571)270-1776. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ernesto Suarez can be reached at Mon-Friday from 8AM-4:30PM at (571) 270-5565. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TINH T DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655 August 6, 2026
