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 § 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.
Claims 1, 7 – 8, and 14 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wolf et al. (WO 2023110769 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Wolf et al. discloses a wound field rotor (1) (Wolf et al. Fig. 1), comprising:
a shaft (3) defining a longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 1);
a plurality of laminations (forming cylindrical laminated stack 2) mounted to an outer surface of the shaft (Wolf et al. Fig. 2) and including rotor teeth (laminated stack projections 4) defining an axial channel along the longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
a plurality of field windings (rotor windings 9) disposed in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
and a field separator (pole separator 10) disposed in the axial channel to secure the plurality of field windings in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 2),
the field separator including a post (see below in annotated Wolf et al. Fig. 1) at an axial end of the field separator (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
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the post having a passage (cooling channel 13) therethrough to allow a fluid to flow out of the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 1) and into a side channel at an end of the rotor (Wolf et al. Para [0045] first sentence discloses an outlet can be formed within the end cap 15 of the rotor 1).
Regarding Claim 7, Wolf et al. discloses the wound field rotor of claim 1, wherein the post further comprising a first post at a first axially end of the field separator and a second post at a second axially end of the field separator (see above in annotated Wolf et al. Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 8, Wolf et al. discloses an electrical machine (22) (Wolf et al. Fig. 5), comprising:
a stator (24) (Wolf et al. Fig. 5);
a rotor (1) (Wolf et al. Fig. 1) rotatable within the stator (Wolf et al. Para [0027] last sentence),
the rotor (Wolf et al. Fig. 1) comprising:
a shaft (2) defining a longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 1);
a plurality of laminations (forming cylindrical laminated stack 2) mounted to an outer surface of the shaft (Wolf et al. Fig. 2) and including rotor teeth (laminated stack projections 4) defining an axial channel extending along the longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
a plurality of field windings (rotor windings 9) disposed in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
and a field separator (pole separator 10) disposed in the axial channel to secure the plurality of field windings in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
the field separator including a post (see above in annotated Wolf et al. Fig. 1) at an axial end of the field separator (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
the post having a passage (cooling channel 13) therethrough to allow a fluid to flow out of the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 1) and into a side channel at an end of the rotor (Wolf et al. Para [0045] first sentence discloses an outlet can be formed within the end cap 15 of the rotor 1).
Regarding Claim 14, Wolf et al. discloses the electrical machine of claim 8, wherein the post further comprises a first post at a first axial end of the field separator and a second post at a second axial end of the field separator (see above in annotated Wolf et al. Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 15, Wolf et al. discloses a method of operating an electrical machine (22) (Wolf et al. Fig. 5), comprising:
flowing a coolant (Wolf et al. Para [0023] first sentence) through a rotor (1) of the electric machine (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
the rotor including (Wolf et al. Fig. 1):
a shaft (2) defining a longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 1);
a plurality of laminations (forming cylindrical laminated stack 2) mounted to an outer surface of the shaft (Wolf et al. Fig. 2) and including rotor teeth (laminated stack projections 4) defining an axial channel extending along the longitudinal axis (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
a plurality of field windings (rotor windings 9) disposed in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 2);
and a field separator (pole separator 10) disposed in the axial channel to secure the plurality of field windings in the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
the field separator including a post (see above in annotated Wolf et al. Fig. 1) at an axial end of the field separator (Wolf et al. Fig. 1),
the post having a passage (cooling channel 13) therethrough to allow the coolant to flow out of the axial channel (Wolf et al. Fig. 1) and into a side channel at an end of the rotor.
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:
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.
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 4, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolf et al. in view of Yang et al. (US20210336510A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Wolf et al. discloses the wound field rotor of claim 1.
Wolf et al. does not disclose:
wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor.
Yang et al. discloses:
wherein the side channel (outlet 46) extends circumferentially (Yang et al. Fig. 3) around a rotor shaft (central shaft 18) of the rotor (20) (Yang et al. Fig. 4).
Wolf et al. and Yang et al. disclose side channels therefore, Yang et al. constitutes as prior art. Yang et al. discloses a pair of rotor end rings having a plurality of outlets extending circumferentially around a rotor shaft. It would be obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor of Yang et al. for the purpose of allowing the coolant to be more evenly spread around the face of the rotor, providing better cooling.
Regarding Claim 11, Wolf et al. discloses the electrical machine of claim 8.
Wolf et al. does not disclose:
wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor.
Yang et al. discloses:
wherein the side channel (outlet 46) extends circumferentially (Yang et al. Fig. 3) around a rotor shaft (central shaft 18) of the rotor (20) (Yang et al. Fig. 4).
Wolf et al. and Yang et al. disclose side channels therefore, Yang et al. constitutes as prior art. Yang et al. discloses a pair of rotor end rings having a plurality of outlets extending circumferentially around a rotor shaft. It would be obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor of Yang et al. for the purpose of allowing the coolant to be more evenly spread around the face of the rotor, providing better cooling.
Regarding Claim 18, Wolf et al. discloses the method of claim 15.
Wolf et al. does not disclose:
wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor.
Yang et al. discloses:
wherein the side channel (outlet 46) extends circumferentially (Yang et al. Fig. 3) around a rotor shaft (central shaft 18) of the rotor (20) (Yang et al. Fig. 4).
Wolf et al. and Yang et al. disclose side channels therefore, Yang et al. constitutes as prior art. Yang et al. discloses a pair of rotor end rings having a plurality of outlets extending circumferentially around a rotor shaft. It would be obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the side channel extends circumferentially around a rotor shaft of the rotor of Yang et al. for the purpose of allowing the coolant to be more evenly spread around the face of the rotor, providing better cooling.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 – 3, 5 – 6, 9 – 10, 12 – 13, 16 – 17, and 19 – 20 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.
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art discloses various wound field rotors having field separators with cooling passages therethrough. However, the structure in combination with previously recited features, having wherein the axially extending passage intersects the at least one circumferentially extending passage in a body of the post is not disclosed/suggested in the prior art. Thus, the invention recited above is neither anticipated nor rendered obvious by the prior art.
Regarding Claims 3 and 6, they are allowable because of their dependency on allowable claim 2.
Regarding Claim 5, the prior art discloses various wound field rotors having balancing rings to correct unbalance of mass within the rotor. However, the structure in combination with previously recited features, the balance ring having a lip extending axially over a radially outer surface of the post is not disclosed/suggested in the prior art. Thus, the invention recited above is neither anticipated nor rendered obvious by the prior art.
Regarding Claim 9, it has the same allowable subject matter as presented above in allowable claim 2 therefore, claim 9 is allowable.
Regarding Claims 10 and 13, they are allowable because of their dependency on allowable claim 9.
Regarding Claim 12, it has the same allowable subject matter as presented above in allowable claim 5 therefore, claim 12 is allowable.
Regarding Claim 16, it has the same allowable subject matter as presented above in allowable claim 2 therefore, claim 16 is allowable.
Regarding Claims 17 and 20, they are allowable because of their dependency on allowable claim 16.
Regarding Claim 19, it has the similar allowable subject matter as presented above in allowable claim 5 therefore, claim 19 is allowable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE L PERKINS whose telephone number is (703)756-4629. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am- 17:00pm.
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/THEODORE L PERKINS/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TERRANCE L KENERLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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