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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 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.
(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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Moriyama et al. (US20080238266, “Moriyama”).
Re claim 1, Moriyama discloses an electric machine having an improved cooling structure, comprising:
a housing comprising a front cover 131, a body 132, and a rear cover 133 coupled to each other to form an accommodation space (figs 1 & 3-4, [0024]);
a rotating shaft 100 rotatably mounted at an axial center of the housing (fig 1, [0020]);
a rotor hub coupled to the rotating shaft (fig 1, [0020], includes 101, 102a-b & 103);
a rotor 120 coupled to the rotor hub 101 to rotate together with the rotating shaft 100 (figs 1-4, [0020] & [0022], includes one of 120-1 or 120-2 or both 120-1 & 120-2) and including a plurality of permanent magnets 122 arranged in a circumferential direction on a disc-shaped surface (figs 1-4, [0022]); and
a stator 110 fixedly mounted inside the housing to be opposite the rotor in an axial direction of the housing (figs 1-4, [0022]) and including a plurality of coils 112 arranged in the circumferential direction (fig 2a, [0030]),
wherein the rotor includes an air hole 123b for allowing airflow between the front and rear sides along the axial direction (figs 2a-4, [0031]).
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 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriyama in view of Yoshida et al. (US20090230694, “Yoshida”).
Re claim 2, Moriyama discloses claim 1 as discussed above and further discloses the rear cover 133 is formed with an air inlet for introduction of cooling air into the housing (fig 4).
Moriyama is silent with respect to the front cover is formed with an air outlet for discharge of the cooling air from the housing.
Yoshida discloses the front cover is formed with an air outlet for discharge of the cooling air from the housing (figs 1-4 & below, [0035], front cover indicated below inherently has air outlets in order to air from 31b to cool engine 2 & appears at least figs 1-2 shows openings in front cover).
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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 front cover of Moriyama so the front cover is formed with an air outlet for discharge of the cooling air from the housing, as disclosed by Yoshida, in order to provide cooling for both the electric machine and the engine, as taught by Yoshida ([0035]).
Re claim 3, Moriyama in view of Yoshida discloses claim 1 as discussed above. Moriyama further discloses the cooling air introduced into the housing flows into a space between the rotor 120 and the stator 110 through the air hole 123b (fig 4),
the cooling air flowing into the space between the rotor 120 and the stator 110 is branched into a stream flowing in the axial direction of the housing and a stream flowing in a radial direction of the rotor (figs 4 & below), and
a plurality of air outlets 132a are formed along the circumferential direction on an outer surface of the body 132 to discharge the cooling air flowing along the radial direction of the rotor (figs 1 & 3-4, [0039]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriyama in view of Yoshida and in further view of Kanayama et al. (US4451749, “Kanayama”).
Re claim 4, Moriyama in view of Yoshida discloses claim 3 as discussed above but is silent with respect to the rotor hub includes:
a cylindrical hub body in the form of a cylinder that is penetrated in an axial direction to allow the rotating shaft to be inserted and coupled; and
a rotor fastening unit protrudingly formed around an outer circumference of the hub body, where the rotor is contact and fastened, and
the rotor fastening unit has a spline shape to avoid interference with the air hole.
Kanayama discloses the rotor hub includes:
a cylindrical hub body 21 in the form of a cylinder that is penetrated in an axial direction to allow the rotating shaft 9 to be inserted and coupled (figs 2, 4 & 8, col 2, lns 40-56); and
a rotor fastening unit 22 protrudingly formed around an outer circumference of the hub body 21, where the rotor is contact and fastened (figs 2 & 8), and
the rotor fastening unit 22 has a spline shape to avoid interference with the air hole 13a, 14a (figs 2 & 5).
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 hub of Moriyama in view of Yoshida to include a cylindrical hub body in the form of a cylinder that is penetrated in an axial direction to allow the rotating shaft to be inserted and coupled; a rotor fastening unit protrudingly formed around an outer circumference of the hub body, where the rotor is contact and fastened, and the rotor fastening unit has a spline shape to avoid interference with the air hole, as disclosed by Kanayama, in order to direct cooling air, as taught by Kanayama (col 2, lns 44-61).
Claims 5- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriyama in view of Yoshida and Kanayama and in further view of Hunter et al. (US20180072120, “Hunter”).
Re claim 5, Moriyama in view of Yoshida and Kanayama discloses claim 4 as discussed above but are silent with respect to the spline shape is a shape in which the rotor fastening unit has protrusions having with a sinusoidal shape repeating at equidistant intervals along the circumferential direction.
Hunter discloses the hub 819 has the spline shape and the spline shape is a shape in which the rotor fastening unit has protrusions having with a sinusoidal shape repeating at equidistant intervals along the circumferential direction (figs 12a-b).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute one known element (flat spline shape as disclosed by Kanayama) for another known equivalent element (sinusoidal shape spline shape as disclosed by Hunter) resulting in the predictable result of forming a hub with a spline shape to direct cooling air.
Re claim 6, Moriyama in view of Yoshida, Kanayama and Hunter disclose claim 5 as discussed above and further disclose the air hole is positioned at a valley formed by a spline curve of the rotor fastening unit (Kanayama discloses air holes 13a & 14a at valley of spline-fig 5; Hunter discloses spline curve-fig 12b).
Re claim 7, Moriyama in view of Yoshida, Kanayama and Hunter disclose claim 6 as discussed above and further disclose the rotor further includes a fastening hole for coupling to the rotor fastening unit (Hunter, figs 11a & 12b), and
the air hole and the fastening hole are alternately formed along the circumferential direction of the rotor (since Kanayama discloses air holes 13a & 14 formed alternatively w/ spline shape of 22-fig 5; & Hunter discloses fastening holes in protrusions of sinusoidal shaped spline).
Claims 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriyama in view of Kim et al. (KR20180073768, “Kim”, using machine translation).
Re claim 8, Moriyama discloses claim 1 as discussed above and further discloses the rotor 120 includes:
a disc-shaped carrier 121 in which a through-hole is formed at a center to allow the rotating shaft 100 to pass through (figs 1-24) and including a mounting space along the circumferential direction formed to mount the plurality of permanent magnets 122 (figs 1 & 3);
the plurality of permanent magnets 122 being arranged along the circumferential direction at regular intervals on a surface of the carrier 121 facing the stator 110 (figs 1 & 3).
Moriyama discloses claim 8 except for:
a fixing pin disposed between each pair of adjacent permanent magnets to fix the permanent magnets to the carrier; and
wherein a draft angle is applied to contact surfaces where the permanent magnet and the fixing pin are in contact to form the contact surfaces between the permanent magnet and the fixing pin as inclined surfaces, and the side surface of the permanent magnet is pressingly supported by the inclined contact surface of the fixing pin to prevent detachment.
Kim discloses a fixing pin 170 disposed between each pair of adjacent permanent magnets 130 to fix the permanent magnets to the carrier 110 (figs 9b-c, 10b & 11b, [0039-0040] & [0042-0047]); and
wherein a draft angle is applied to contact surfaces 135, 175 where the permanent magnet 130 and the fixing pin 170 are in contact to form the contact surfaces between the permanent magnet and the fixing pin as inclined surfaces (figs 9b & 11b), and the side surface of the permanent magnet is pressingly supported by the inclined contact surface of the fixing pin to prevent detachment (figs 9b, [0046-0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to rotor of Moriyama to include a fixing pin disposed between each pair of adjacent permanent magnets to fix the permanent magnets to the carrier; and a draft angle is applied to contact surfaces where the permanent magnet and the fixing pin are in contact to form the contact surfaces between the permanent magnet and the fixing pin as inclined surfaces, and the side surface of the permanent magnet is pressingly supported by the inclined contact surface of the fixing pin to prevent detachment, as disclosed by Kim, in order to prevent the permanent magnet from detaching from the carrier in the perpendicular and horizontal directions, as taught by Kim ([0047]) .
Re claim 9, Moriyama in view of Kim discloses claim 8 as discussed above. Moriyama further discloses each pair of permanent magnets 122 disposed opposite each other across the stator 110 has opposite polarities (figs 1-2a & 3, inherent since 122 of 120-1 & 120-2 axially facing each other has one magnet w/ N pole facing 110 & the other magnet w/ S pole facing 110 in order to form magnetic flux through stator coil in one direction-see fig below).
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Re claim 10, Moriyama in view of Kim discloses claim 8 as discussed above and further discloses the fixing pin 170 is formed with a fastening hole penetrating in a thickness direction and is fixed to the carrier 110 by fastening a bolt or a screw 171 through the fastening hole (Kim, figs 9b-c & 11b, [0046]).
Re claim 11, Moriyama in view of Kim discloses claim 8 as discussed above and further discloses the mounting space is provided in a form as a groove formed with a step difference from the surface of the carrier 110, corresponding to a space where the permanent magnet 130 and the fixing pin 170 are arranged (Kim, figs 9c & 10b, [0043], groove formed by 150).
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriyama in view of Kim and in further view of Tiegna et al. (US20190036402, “Tiegna”).
Re claims 12 and 13, Moriyama in view of Kim discloses claim 11 as discussed above but is silent with respect to:
the fixing pin is disposed in the mounting space to have a predetermined clearance at both ends along a longitudinal direction; and
a length of the fixing pin along a direction outward from the center of the rotor is shorter than a length of the permanent magnet.
Tiegna discloses the fixing pin 3a is disposed in the mounting space to have a predetermined clearance at both ends along a longitudinal direction (figs 1a, 2a & 3a);
a length of the fixing pin 3a along a direction outward from the center of the rotor is shorter than a length of the permanent magnet 2 a (figs 1a, 2a & 3a).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute one known element (fixing pin with similar length as magnet as disclosed by Kim) for another known equivalent element (fixing pin with shorter length than magnet as disclosed by Tiegna) resulting in the predictable result of fixing the permanent magnet to the carrier.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kanayama et al. (US4451749), Enjoji (US20160344265, figs 1, 13, hub portion of 58 connected to shaft), Schiller (US6720688, figs 1-5, hub 36, teaches housing can have opening for cooling air-col 8, lns 59-65), Wakabayashi (JP2022024534 from IDS, figs 1-5), Pavlovich (US5892307, hub portion of 4 & 6 connected to shaft) and Butterfield (US20080042515, figs 1-3, hub 54, air hole 86) all read on at least claim 1.
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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