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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 26-45 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.
Regarding claim 26, Applicant recites “a second part arranged to provide access to a rotating component for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover.” This limitation is indefinite because it is unclear which element of the claim is modified by “for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover.” The claim may be plausibly interpreted in at least the following ways:
A second part arranged to provide access to a rotating component, the access being provided for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover.
A second part arranged to provide access to a rotating component, the rotating component configured for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover.
A second part arranged such that a rotating component itself is provided access to the second part for purposes of connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover.
“[I]f a claim is amenable to two or more plausible claim constructions, the USPTO is justified in requiring the applicant to more precisely define the metes and bounds of the claimed invention by holding the claim unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §112, second paragraph, as indefinite.” Ex Parte Miyazaki, 89 USPQ2d 1207, 1211 (BPAI 2008). Since the claim language may be plausibly and reasonably interpreted under two different constructions, the claim is indefinite. Claims 27-43 depend from claim 26, fail to cure its deficiencies, and are therefore rejected for the same reasons. Claims 44 and 45 recite substantially similar limitations, thus the rejection above applies, mutatis mutandis, to the subject matter of claims 44 and 45.
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.
Claim(s) 26-42, 44, and 45 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0111607 (“Rolson”).
Regarding claim 26, Rolson discloses:
An adaptor arranged to connect a rotating electrical machine to a prime mover (abstract), the adaptor comprising:
a first part (FIG 19, portions including 114 and 121) arranged to surround a fan (para. [0149]); and
a second part (FIG 19, portions including 112 and 122) arranged to provide access (as shown by FIG 19, there is a gap in which someone may access a rotating component on which the fan is mounted through opening 121, thus the second part is “arranged to provide access” in the sense that it permits access) to a rotating component (e.g., a shaft on which fan 40 is mounted) for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover (paras. [0003-05] discuss the use of a shaft connecting an engine and a generator, as well as mounting a fan on said shaft).
Regarding claim 27, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the first part (114, 121) being arranged to connect to the rotating electrical machine (para. [0146]), and the second part is arranged to connect to the prime mover (Id.).
Regarding claim 28, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the first and second parts being adjacent to each other in the axial direction (see FIG 19).
Regarding claim 29, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the first and second parts, in combination, being arranged to provide a physical connection between the machine and the prime mover (para. [0146]).
Regarding claim 30, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the second part being arranged to space the first part axially from the prime mover (see FIG 19; as the second part is located between the first part and the flywheel housing, i.e., “the prime mover,” it may be reasonably interpreted as being arranged to space the first part axially from the prime mover).
Regarding claim 31, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the second part comprising a front member (112) and a plurality of cross members (FIG 18A:116) which connect the front member (112) to the first part (portion including 114, to which cross members 116 are attached as shown by FIG 18A).
Regarding claim 32, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 31 and further discloses an access window (e.g., FIG 18A:120) being defined between two adjacent cross members (116) in a substantially circumferential direction (as shown by FIGS 18A and 18B).
Regarding claim 33, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the first part comprising a plurality of exit paths for airflow from the fan (as shown by FIG 18A, there are two openings on the top portion which may be interpreted as “a plurality of exit paths for airflow from the fan;” additionally, each opening 120 may also be reasonably interpreted as “exit paths” for airflow from the fan).
Regarding claim 34, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses the first part being arranged to provide a steady expansion of airflow cross-section (see, e.g., paras. [0037] and [0173]).
Regarding claim 35, Rolson discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses a middle member (FIG 18B:124) arranged to separate the first part and the second part (as shown in FIGS 18A, 18B), and the first part comprises a rear member (114) and a plurality of vanes (vanes include the unlabeled elements affixed to cross members 116 as well as elements B of the annotated FIG) which connect the middle member to the rear member (elements B of annotated figure 18A, below, connect the middle member 124 to the rear member 114; notably, the claim does not require all vanes be connected between the middle and rear members, just that some portion of the plurality does so).
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Claim 35 may also be rejected under a different embodiment of Rolston (“the alternative embodiment of Rolston”). The alternative embodiment of Rolston discloses, in FIGS 23-24, [claim 26] [a]n adaptor arranged to connect a rotating electrical machine to a prime mover, the adaptor comprising: a first part (portion including rear part 114 and unlabeled openings between middle part 130 and rear part 114 that extend between adjacent cross members 116) arranged to surround a fan (see para. [0154] discussing similar function to other embodiments and, thus, inclusion of the fan) and a second part (112) arranged to provide access to a rotating component for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover (as 112 forms an aperture through which a shaft may pass, it may be reasonably interpreted as being configured to “provide access to a rotating component for connecting” the two elements); [claim 35] wherein the adaptor comprises middle member (130) arranged to separate the first part and the second part (as shown by FIGs 23, 24), and the first part comprises a rear member (114) and a plurality of vanes (116) which connect the middle member (130) to the rear member (114, as shown by FIG 23).
Regarding claim 36, the alternative embodiment of Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 35 and further discloses the middle member being ring shaped (as shown by FIG 23, middle member 130 forms a ring around an axis extending through the center of 114 and 112).
Regarding claim 37, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 35 and further discloses the vanes being wedge-shaped (see FIG 18A) and at an angle with respect to the radial direction (as shown).
Regarding claim 38, the alternative embodiment of Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 35 and further discloses the front part comprising a front member (112) and a plurality of cross members (116) which connect the front member to the middle member (front member 112 is connected to rear member 114, and rear member 114 is connected to the middle member 124 via vanes B of the annotated FIG, above; thus, front member 112 is indirectly connected to the middle member via the cross members 116, rear member 114, and vanes B), and the number of vanes is greater than the number of cross members (as element A of the annotated FIG is not considered to be a cross member, there are more vanes than cross members).
Regarding claim 39, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 35 and further discloses the vanes having an axial width that is substantially the same as a width of the fan (see annotated FIG 18A above in context of FIG 19, where vanes B of the annotated FIG span openings 121, and the fan is substantially the same axial width as openings 121).
Regarding claim 40, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 35 and further discloses the fan comprising a backplate (FIG 19, right-most side of fan 40) and the middle member is substantially aligned with the backplate in the axial direction (as shown by FIG 19).
Regarding claim 41, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses another alternative embodiment (FIGS 25, 26; paras. [0156-157]) wherein the second part further includes an adaptor ring 136 which is affixed to front part 112. As the embodiment of FIGS 25 and 26 is applicable to “the adaptor,” it may be reasonably understood as being applicable to any of the adaptor embodiments disclosed by Rolston.
Thus, Rolston may be reinterpreted in yet another manner (“the second alternative embodiment of Rolston”), as follows: [claim 26] an adaptor (FIGS 18A, 18B, 19, 25, 26) arranged to connect a rotating electrical machine to a prime mover, the adaptor comprising: a first part (FIG 19, portions including 114 and 121) arranged to surround a fan (para. [0149]); and a second part (FIG 25, adaptor 136 which is affixed to front part 112) arranged to provide access to a rotating component for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover (as adaptor 136 and front part 112 form apertures through which a shaft may pass, they may be reasonably interpreted as being configured to “provide access to a rotating component for connecting” the two elements); [claim 41] wherein the second part (adaptor 136) is removably connected to the first part (as shown by FIG 26, adaptor 136 may be removed from front part 112, and thus also be removed from connection with the first part).
Regarding claim 42, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses at least one section being removable to improve access to the rotating component for connecting the rotating electrical machine to the prime mover (para. [0150] states that “angled wall 122 is closed…[but] air holes could be provided in the angled wall if desired” and, thus, Rolston discloses that sections of Rolston may be removed to improve access to the rotating component; is the sections may be removed, they may also be made removable, thus Examiner finds that para. [0150] contemplates an embodiment of Rolston where “at least one section” is “removable to improve access to the rotating component” as recited by the instant claim).
Regarding claims 44 and 45, Applicant merely recites a rotating electrical machine (claim 44) and a method of assembly (claim 45) relating to the adaptor of claim 26. Rolston discloses the adaptor of claim 26 and, furthermore, discloses a rotating electrical machine (which inherently includes a rotor, a stator, and a stator frame), a fan connected to the electrical machine, and how the elements are assembled. As such, Examiner finds that the rejection of claim 26 applies, mutatis mutandis, to the subject matter of claims 44 and 45.
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(s) 43 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rolston in view of alternative embodiments of Rolston and/or common knowledge in the art.
Regarding claim 43, Rolston discloses the limitations as set forth in claim 26 and further discloses an alternative embodiment (FIG 12) wherein covers (66, 68) are provided for each opening of the adaptor, and wherein at least some covers further comprise a vane (74). Rolston states that these removable covers “can be modified to suit different ingress protection ratings,” thereby implying that the covers are included to provide ingress protection. Thus, Examiner finds that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (prior to the effective filing date) to modify the embodiment of Rolston rejected in claim 26 above by further providing covers as disclosed in the embodiment of FIG 12 for the purposes of providing or otherwise increasing ingress protection for the adaptor as contemplated by paragraph [0132] of Rolston.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS K QUIGLEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4050. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST.
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/THOMAS K QUIGLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834