DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office action on the merits of Application No. 18/905,539. Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 10/15/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The term “substantially” in claims 9-10 and 18 is interpreted in accordance to MPEP 2173.05(b)(III)(E).
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.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Helosvuori (US Patent 7245197, cited on the IDS).
Regarding claim 18, Helosvuori discloses a triangular alternating current choke (Fig. 2 and column 2. Fig. 2 shows triangle shape with rounded edges. Common mode would blocks AC or DC noise, as such is open enough to be a AC choke) comprising: a first portion (e.g. 10a); a second portion (e.g. 10b) connected to the first portion and forming a first substantially sixty-degree angle (Fig. 2 shows substantially 60 degree angle); and a third portion (e.g. 10c) connected to the first portion and forming a second substantially sixty-degree angle (Fig. 2 shows substantially 60 degree angle) and connected to the second portion and forming a third substantially sixty-degree angle (Fig. 2 shows substantially 60 degree angle), wherein the triangular AC choke defines an opening (opening in coil 20) through which a first phase connection, a second phase connection, and a third phase connection pass (three connections are channels 31, the channels are in three geometrics phases of the choke).
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Helosvuori (US Patent 7245197) in view of Gaulke (US Patent Publication 20210159718).
Regarding claim 20, Helosvuori discloses the triangular AC choke of claim 18, wherein the triangular AC choke is formed.
Helosvuori does not disclose the triangular AC choke is formed using a nanocrystalline material.
Gaulke discloses the AC choke is formed using a nanocrystalline material (paragraphs [0035]-[0036]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Helosvuori to incorporate the AC choke is formed using a nanocrystalline material of Gaulke with a reasonable expectation of success to have the recognized advantage of high permeability and low cores loss to filter EMI.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17 are allowed.
Claim 19 is 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious a vehicle comprising: the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection providing an electrical connection between the power PCB/module and the windings of the stator and being arranged in a triangular configuration to provide the AC electrical power to the windings of the stator; and a triangular AC choke surrounding the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection in the triangular configuration, in combination with the other elements required by the claim.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious the traction motor comprising: he first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection providing an electrical connection between the power PCB/module and the windings of the stator and being arranged in a triangular configuration to provide the AC electrical power to the windings of the stator; and a triangular alternating current (AC) choke surrounding the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection in the triangular configuration, wherein a cross section of the triangular AC choke through which the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection in the triangular configuration pass through the triangular AC choke is defined by a substantially equilateral triangle, in combination with the other elements required by the claim.
Helosvuori (US Patent 7245197) discloses a triangular alternating current choke (Fig. 2 and column 2. Fig. 2 shows triangle shape with rounded edges), but does not disclose the details like the capacitor of the motor. Vrankovic (US Patent Publication 202100191697) discloses an AC choke (132), PCB (e.g. Fig. 17), motor (10), capacitor (e.g. 124), but does not disclose an electrical connection between the power PCB/module and the windings of the stator and being arranged in a triangular configuration to provide the AC electrical power to the windings of the stator. It would not have been obvious to have modified Helosvuori and Vrankovic an electrical connection between the power PCB/module and the windings of the stator and being arranged in a triangular configuration to provide the AC electrical power to the windings of the stator without destroying or fairly suggesting the arrangement.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 19, the prior art does not disclose or render obvious the triangular AC choke wherein the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection connect a direct current capacitor of a traction motor to windings of a stator of the traction motor, in combination with the other elements required by claim 18.
The closest prior art, Helosvuori (US Patent 7245197), discloses the three phase connections, but as these are channels for cooling it would not have been obvious to modify these to connect to a direct current capacitor or the stator windings.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Vrankovic discloses the choke (e.g. 132) wherein the first phase connection, the second phase connection, and the third phase connection (Fig. 1) connect a direct current capacitor (e.g. 55) of a traction motor (10) to windings of a stator of the traction motor (e.g. paragraph [0006]).
Yilun Luo (US Patent Publication 20240266924) discloses a triangular current choke with inventors in the instant application.
Buerger (US Patent Publication 20150091401) discloses choke (56), PCB (54), and capacitor (58).
Sevakivi (US Patent Publication 20130320896) discloses a choke (1) with triangle cross-section (paragraph [0017]).
Kuhnen (US Patent Publication 20120161561) discloses choke (35), PCB (11), but does not disclose an electrical connection between the power PCB/module and the windings of the stator and being arranged in a triangular configuration to provide the AC electrical power to the windings of the stator.
Sodo (US Patent Publication 20080094159) discloses a triangular choke (Fig. 6a).
Santo (US Patent Publication 20080122303) discloses a choke (183, 184), stator (181), and capacitor (182).
Xu (US Patent Publication 20120106210) discloses a triangular choke (Fig. 2a).
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/LORI WU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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