DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1, 3-8, and 12 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.
Claim 1, line 7 recites the limitation "the inwardly facing tips of the stator teeth and the rotor". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1, line 9 recites the limitation "the motor bore". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3, lines 2-3 recites the limitation "the outer circumferential wall". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4, lines 1-2 recites the limitation "the outer surface of the sleeve". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5, line 2 recites the limitation “the height of the sleeve". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5, line 2 recites the limitation “the axial direction of the motor". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5, line 3 recites the limitation “the height of the stator". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6, line 2 recites the limitation “the radially outer facing surfaces of the sleeve". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6, line 3 recites the limitation “the radially inward facing surfaces". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7, line 2 recites the limitation “the inner sleeve". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 line 2 recites the limitation “it contacts the sleeve”, however, the
limitation “it” is unclear and indefinite as to what “it” refers to.
Claim 9 recites “too far apart”, specifically “too” and “too far” which is indefinite because it is a relative limitation without an objective measure permitting a person of ordinary skill in the art to ascertain when this conditional limitation applies (in other words, in which scenarios the sleeve material may be considered close enough, as opposed to it being “too far apart” relative to the stator material, based on comparable nobility/galvanic characteristics).
Claim 12, line 7 recites the limitation “the current". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12, line 10 recites the limitation “the end of the stem". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12, line 15 recites the limitation “the motor bore". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2 and 9-11 are further rejected under 112(b) as being dependent on the rejected claims above.
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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hauger et al. EP 1659672 A1 (page/line numbering used for foreign references below corresponds to the machine-translation preceding the original patent, as attached to the present Office Action – note page numbers of the translation are marked as TP-1, TP-2, etc.).
Regarding independent claim 1, Hauger et al. discloses [an electric motor used in a steering assembly of a vehicle,] (Fig. 1; Page 4, lines 39-45) [the motor comprising a stator 10 and a rotor 24,] (Fig. 2a; Page 5, lines 4-7) [the stator carrying a plurality of phase windings] (Fig. 2a; Page 5, lines 8-13) and [the rotor carrying a plurality of magnet poles and being connected to a shaft 28;] (Fig. 1-2a; Page 5, lines 4-7) and [in which the stator comprises a yoke 14 having a plurality of teeth 16,] (Fig. 2a-3; Page 4, lines 39-45) [each tooth comprising a stem and a tooth tip that is located at the end of the stem closest to the rotor,] (Fig. 3 and 6; Page 5, lines 8-13) and further comprising [a sleeve 12 of electrically conductive material that is located in what is otherwise an airgap 30 between the inwardly facing tips of the stator teeth and the rotor,] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 2, lines 44-46; Page 4, lines 39-45) and [in which the sleeve comprises an electrically conductive material that provides a flux path that extends axially along the motor bore so that rotation of the rotor generates eddy currents within the sleeve that resist rotor rotation.] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 5, lines 14-21)
Regarding claim 2, Hauger et al. further discloses [the conductive sleeve 12 comprises a solid walled tubular sleeve that is fitted in the airgap between the rotor 24 and the stator 10.] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 4, lines 39-45)
Regarding claim 3, Hauger et al. further discloses [the sleeve 12 has an inner circumferential wall having a uniform radius at all points and the outer circumferential wall also have a constant radius such that the sleeve has a uniform thickness as all points.] (Fig. 5; As shown in Fig. 5, Hauger et al. illustrates wherein the sleeve 12 has an inner circumferential wall having a uniform radius at all points and the outer circumferential wall also have a constant radius such that the sleeve has a uniform thickness as all points.)
Regarding claim 4, Hauger et al. further discloses [the outer surface of the sleeve 12 includes a plurality of ribs 18, each rib extending radially outward into a space between adjacent tips of the stator teeth 16.] (Fig. 5; Page 4, lines 39-45; Page 5, lines 36-40)
Regarding claim 5, Hauger et al. further discloses [the height of the sleeve 12 measured in the axial direction of the motor is substantially the same as the height of the stator 10.] (Fig. 3-4)
Regarding claim 6, Hauger et al. further discloses [the radially outer facing surfaces of the sleeve 12 are an interference fit within the airgap 30 with the radially inward facing surfaces of the tips of the teeth 16.] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 5, lines 4-7)
Regarding claim 7, Hauger et al. further discloses [the inner sleeve comprises a magnetically permeable material.] (Fig. 5; Page 2, lines 39-43)
Regarding claim 10, Hauger et al. further discloses [the sleeve 12 comprises a metal or metal alloy.] (Fig. 5; Page 2, lines 44-46)
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 (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 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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hauger et al. in view of Tong et al. CN 109274240 B (page/line numbering used for foreign references below corresponds to the machine-translation preceding the original patent, as attached to the present Office Action – note page numbers of the translation are marked as TP-1, TP-2, etc.).
Regarding claim 8, Hauger et al. does not disclose wherein the stator is coated in a lacquer where it contacts the sleeve.
Tong et al. teaches [the stator is coated in a lacquer where it contacts the sleeve.] (Page 5, lines 27-36)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the lacquer coating of Tong et al. with the motor of Hauger et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for electrical insulation between the stator and the sleeve, thus reducing the chances of electrical shorting and corrosion at the interface.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hauger et al. in view of Yamada et al. US 20130313938 A1.
Regarding independent claim 12, Hauger et al. discloses [one or more motors each having a stator 10 and a rotor 24,] (Fig. 1-2a; Page 4, lines 39-45; Page 5, lines 4-7) [the stator carrying a plurality of phase windings] (Fig. 2a; Page 5, lines 8-13) and [the rotor carrying a plurality of magnet poles and being connected to the shaft 28;] (Fig. 1-2a; Page 5, lines 4-7) in which [at least one of the motors comprises a yoke 14 having a plurality of teeth 16,] (Fig. 2a-3; Page 4, lines 39-45) [each tooth comprising a stem and a tooth tip that is located at the end of the stem closest to the rotor,] (Fig. 3 and 6; Page 5, lines 8-13) and further comprising [a sleeve 12 of electrically conductive material that is located in what is otherwise an airgap 30 between the tips of the stator teeth and the rotor,] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 2, lines 44-46; Page 4, lines 39-45) and [in which the sleeve comprises an electrically conductive material that provides a flux path that extends axially along the motor bore so that rotation of the rotor generates eddy currents within the sleeve that resist rotor rotation.] (Fig. 2a-4; Page 5, lines 14-21)
Hauger does not disclose a handwheel actuator assembly of a steer by wire vehicle comprising: a housing; a shaft rotatably mounted with respect to the housing; a control circuit adapted to control the current flowing into or out of the or each motor to cause a net torque to be applied to the shaft during normal operation.
Yamada et al. teaches [a handwheel actuator 1 assembly of a steer by wire vehicle comprising:] (Fig. 1; Paragraph 0078) [a housing 20;] (Fig. 2; Paragraph 0083) [a shaft 22 rotatably mounted with respect to the housing;] (Fig. 2; Paragraph 0084) [a control circuit adapted to control the current flowing into or out of the or each motor to cause a net torque to be applied to the shaft during normal operation.] (Fig. 39; Paragraph 0289-0292; Yamada et al. discloses a control circuit in the form of controller 300, which includes a driving circuit connected to a PWM control circuit for controlling the current supplied to the motor. The controller outputs signals to switching elements within three-phase conduction circuits to regulate the current flowing into the coils. The controller generates a rotating magnetic field that produces a net electromagnetic torque to rotate to rotor (which is connected to the shaft) by selectively energizing the armature coils.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally use the handwheel actuator assembly and motor control circuit of Yamada et al. with the motor of Hauger et al. with a reasonable expectation of success because it would allow for the incorporation of the motor into a known steer-by-wire handwheel actuator and provide controlled steering torque during normal operation while supplying passive resistive torque through eddy-current damping, thus improving steering feel, stability, and operational reliability.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 and 11 are 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 9 contains the limitation in which the sleeve is tin plated or otherwise passivated to prevent galvanic corrosion if the sleeve material is too far apart in the metal nobility order compared to the stator material. The closest prior art, Hauger et al. EP 1659672 A1, discloses a sleeve, but does not disclose wherein the sleeve is tin plated or otherwise passivated to prevent galvanic corrosion if the sleeve material is too far apart in the metal nobility order compared to the stator material.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ionel et al. US 20070252447 A1 – comprises a stator configured to rotate a rotor with a number of magnetic poles includes a yoke that includes a back portion and a first type and first quantity of integral teeth, and a second type and second quantity of insertable teeth coupled to the back portion. At least two coils are wound with a continuous electric wire. Each of the coils is placed around two different integral teeth to define a first winding section. At least two other coils are wound with a continuous electric wire. The other coils are placed around two different insertable teeth to define a second winding section.
Takahashi et al. US 20210384784 A1 – comprises a rotating electrical machine includes a magnetic field-producing unit and an armature. A magnet unit is equipped with a plurality of magnets arranged adjacent each other in a circumferential direction. Each of the magnets is magnetically oriented to have an easy axis of magnetization which is aligned near a d-axis that is defined on a center of the magnetic pole to be more parallel to the d-axis than an easy axis of magnetization near a q-axis that is defined on a boundary between the magnetic poles. An armature winding includes conductive members which face the magnetic field-producing unit and are arranged at a given interval away from each other in the circumferential direction. Each of the magnets has an end surface which faces in the circumferential direction and is placed in direct contact with an end surface of a circumferentially adjacent one of the magnets.
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/Mohamed M Medani/Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/VALENTIN NEACSU, Ph.D./Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
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