DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-8 of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/922,482, filed on 22 October, 2024, were presented for examination, and are currently pending in the application.
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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because there is a surplus figure on page 4 of the drawings. The extra figure does not have a figure number and is not described in the Brief Description of the Drawings. It seems to be a copy of fig. 2 with the figure number cropped off. The response should include a new set of drawing sheets without the extra drawing, or the appropriate means/language for removing this figure. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-8 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the elastic member” in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There are two elastic members introduced to the claim in line 12, such that reference to them in the singular leaves a reader unsure which one is being discussed.
Claim 2 recites “wherein there are two groups of Hall sensors…” However, the Examiner can only find evidence for two Hall sensors, whereas two groups of Hall sensors would mean that there are at least four sensors in total. The Examiner believes the term “two groups” is a result of the translation from Chinese, and that Applicant’s intention is only to claim two Hall sensors, because although the Examiner can imagine how there might be more Hall sensors like those shown in fig. 1 behind the mounting base and fixing frame, but which are not seen, this simply has not been disclosed in the specification. Because he believes it is just a mis-translation, the Examiner has not made a written-description-requirement rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) – the claim can be examined on the merits using fig. 1. For examination on the merits, the Examiner will use the interpretation that claim 2 requires two Hall sensors, with one Hall sensor on each side of the fixing frame.
Claim 3 recites “two groups of elastic members (34)…” However, the Examiner can only find evidence for two elastic members, whereas two groups of elastic members would mean that there are at least four elastic members in total. Again, the Examiner believes the term “two groups” is a result of the translation from Chinese, and that Applicant’s intention is only to claim two elastic members. Because he believes it is just a mis-translation, the Examiner has not made a written-description-requirement rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) – the claim can be examined on the merits using fig. 1. For examination on the merits, the Examiner will use the interpretation that claim 3 requires two elastic members, with one elastic member on each side of the base member.
Claims 4-6 are rejected as depending from rejected claim 1.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Motohashi 1 (US 5,736,797 A).
With respect to claim 1, Motohashi 1 teaches a magnetic induction yaw motor based on Hall effect, comprising:
a fixing frame [base frame 11], a stator assembly [stator 10] fixedly arranged at a lower end of the fixing frame [11],
a rotor assembly [oscillator 30] transversely swingably arranged in the fixing frame [11] (the top of col. 3 recites, inter alia, “the oscillator 30 is supported by springs 31 to the base frame 11 to be movable in a linear direction relative to the stator…),
a detection unit [sensor 50], and
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a control unit [driver 25 which includes controller 60] electrically connected to the detection unit [50] (see top five lines of col. 4, col. 5, lines 1-32, and the annotated excerpt of fig. 1 attached above), wherein the stator assembly [10] comprises:
a stator body [core 22] and a stator coil [winding 24] wound around the periphery of the stator body [22] (col. 4, lines 1-2 recite “a winding 24 around a core 22…”), wherein the rotor assembly [30] comprises:
a mounting base (the Examiner has labeled the mounting base in the fig. 2 excerpt attached below), a motor shaft [joint 39A] fixedly mounted at an upper end of the mounting base (see col. 4), and a rotor body [permanent magnet 32A] fixedly mounted at a lower end of the mounting base (see fig. 2 excerpt below), wherein elastic members [springs 31] are connected between two sides of the rotor assembly [30] and the fixing frame [11] (referring back to the fig. 1 excerpt above and the top of col. 4), and a reset elastic force is provided by the elastic member [31] when the rotor assembly [30] swings transversely in a reciprocating manner (see col. 4, lines 47-54), wherein the detection unit [50] comprises:
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at least one Hall sensor (see col. 5, lines 10-14 which recite, inter alia, “a Hall effect device may be utilized instead of the sensor winding to give the same sinusoidal output…”), and the Hall sensor [50] is fixedly installed on the fixing frame [11] or the stator body (see fig. 1), wherein the Hall sensor [50] detects the position information of the rotor body [30] in real time (the sine wave of the sinusoidal output represents the position – col. 5 states that the sinusoidal output is representative of the direction of travel but the instantaneous voltage amount, since it is oscillating as a wave, indicates position too) and transmits the position information to the control unit (in col. 5, lines 15-44, the information is passed to the “controller 60” but this controller 60 is part of the driver 25), and wherein the control unit [25/60] processes the data detected by the detection unit [50] and controls the current input to the stator coil (col. 5 recites “a controller 60 is provided to effect feedback control based upon the outputs from the photo-sensor 40 and the coil sensor 50 for varying a time of supplying the electrical current from a power source 61 to the electromagnetic… the controller 60 is…. for feeding the electric current and to alternate the direction of the electric current being fed to the electromagnet 20…”).
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Motohashi 2 (US 5,632,087 A).
With respect to claim 1, Motohashi teaches a magnetic induction yaw motor based on Hall effect, comprising:
a fixing frame [chassis 41],
a stator assembly [electromagnetic/stator 51] fixedly arranged at a lower end of the fixing frame [41] (see joint annotated excerpt of figs. 1 and 5 attached below, as well as col. 3, lines 23-30),
a rotor assembly [reciprocator 61] transversely swingably arranged in the fixing frame [41] (see col. 3, lines 39-50),
a detection unit [sensor 83], and
a control unit [controller 100] electrically connected to the detection unit [83] (see col. 5, lines 26-44 which recites, in conjunction with fig. 7, “the controller 100 which comprises an averaging circuit 101 receiving the outputs of the two coil sensors 83…”), wherein the stator assembly [51] comprises:
a stator body [core 52] and a stator coil [winding 53] wound around the periphery (labeled by the Examiner in the excerpt of figs. 1 and 5) of the stator body [52], wherein the rotor assembly [61] comprises:
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a mounting base (shaded gray by the Examiner in fig. 5), a motor shaft [joint 64] fixedly mounted at an upper end of the mounting base (see top of col. 4), and a rotor body [combined magnets 54 and 55 and legs 63] fixedly mounted at a lower end of the mounting base, wherein elastic members [coil springs 73 and leaf springs 71] are connected between two sides of the rotor assembly [61] and the fixing frame [41], and a reset elastic force is provided by the elastic members [73/71] when the rotor assembly [61] swings transversely in a reciprocating manner (referring again to the middle of col. 3), wherein the detection unit [83] comprises:
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at least one Hall sensor [83] (see col. 6, lines 44-50 which recite, inter alia, “the coil sensor is utilized to detect a speed of the reciprocator, i.e., the movable cutter, other types of sensor such as a Hall-effect device may be equalized. The Hall-effect device is cooperative with the permanent magnet on the reciprocator to produce a voltage indicative of the speed of the reciprocator…”), and the Hall sensor [83] is fixedly installed on the fixing frame [41] (see col. 5, line 14) or the stator body, wherein the Hall sensor [83] detects the position information [speed and direction] of the rotor body [54/55/63] in real time and transmits the position information to the control unit [100], and wherein the control unit [100] processes the data detected by the detection unit [83] and controls the current input to the stator coil [53] (see fig. 7 and col. 5, lines 26-44).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 118449349 A, provided herein with machine translation) in view of Hu (US 2018/0361601 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Zhang teaches a magnetic induction yaw motor, comprising:
a fixing frame [shell 1],
a stator assembly [combined steel lamination 2 and coil 4] fixedly arranged at a lower end of the fixing frame [1] (see top of page 6 of the translation – it is noted that although the secondary embodiment of figs. 6-7 has a slightly different upper assembly, the stator and frame, which are not detailed in figs. 6-7, are unchanged from the main embodiment of figs. 1-5, such that a person of ordinary skill in the art would know that the lower assembly and rotor-surrounding items from the main embodiment are also in the second embodiment – in other words, in the second embodiment, only the rotor is changed from the main embodiment – the Examiner has borrowed reference numerals from figs. 2-5 for the excerpt of figs. 1 and 7 attached below);
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a rotor assembly [swing seat 9] transversely swingably arranged in the fixing frame [1] (see lines 13-20 of page 6 as well as ¶ 0021 and 0027-0028), wherein the stator assembly [2/4] comprises:
a stator body [2] and a stator coil [4] wound around the periphery of the stator body [2] (fig. 4 shows the stator body with the coil removed, such that the periphery is visible – see also line 6 of page 6), wherein the rotor assembly [9] comprises:
a mounting base [transverse member 901], a motor shaft [10] fixedly mounted at an upper end of the mounting base [901], and a rotor body [combined conducting sheet 7 and left and right magnetic sheets 5 and 6] fixedly mounted at a lower end of the mounting base [901], wherein elastic members [12] are connected between two sides of the rotor assembly [9] (see fig. 2 which, although it is directed to the main embodiment, shows how the elastic members correspond to the rotor assembly – it even shows the fixing frame but the latter is not labeled) and the fixing frame [1], and a reset elastic force is provided by the elastic member [12] when the rotor assembly [9] swings transversely in a reciprocating manner (see ¶ 0027-0028).
Zhang does not teach wherein the yaw motor based on Hall effect, a detection unit, and a control unit electrically connected to the detection unit, wherein the detection unit comprises: at least one Hall sensor, and the Hall sensor is fixedly installed on the fixing frame or the stator body, wherein the Hall sensor detects the position information of the rotor body in real time and transmits the position information to the control unit, and wherein the control unit processes the data detected by the detection unit and controls the current input to the stator coil.
Hu discloses a magnetic induction yaw motor, for hair clippers, based on Hall effect, comprising a fixing frame, a stator assembly [110/120/200] having a stator body [110/120] with a stator coil [200] wrapped around its periphery, a mounting base [420], and a motor shaft [430] mounted on the upper end of the mounting base. There are elastic elements [810] between two sides of the rotor assembly and the fixing frame. In other words, Hu is analogous art.
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Hu teaches wherein the yaw motor is based on Hall effect (see ¶ 0077 which recites “the detecting element 820 can be a Hall element…”), and Hu further teaches a detection unit [detecting element 820], and a control unit [control circuit 300] electrically connected to the detection unit [820] (see ¶ 0075 which ends “the detecting element 820 is connected to the control circuit 300…”),
wherein the detection unit [820] comprises:
at least one Hall sensor [820] (see ¶ 0077 which recites “the detecting element 820 can be a Hall element…”), and the Hall sensor [820] is fixedly installed on the fixing frame (¶ 0075 recites “a detecting element 820…. may be provided…. and on the moving track….” – although the fixing frame is not discussed, clearly everything in fig. 9 is on/in the frame) or the stator body, wherein the Hall sensor [820] detects the position information of the rotor body in real time (¶ 0072 recites “a detecting element 820 for detecting the in-position state…”).
Hall omits explicitly reciting that the Hall sensor transmits the position information to the control unit, and wherein the control unit processes the data detected by the detection unit and controls the current input to the stator coil – however, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that this would be the relationship between the sensor and control unit, because this is how sensors and control units operate when connected together, almost without exception.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the motor of Zhang, while incorporating a detection unit comprising a Hall sensor and a control unit connected to the Hall sensor, as taught by Hu, in order to use the rotor assembly’s position as an input to control the voltage to the stator winding, as is well known in the art. Attached PTO Form 892 contains more references that disclose this feature, but one of ordinary skill in the hair clipper or motor arts does not need to have this explained, and would readily and easily modify Zhang’s motor with Hu’s sensor-feedback arrangement, because without said arrangement, the winding coil would switch polarity uncontrolledly or not at all – this problem is one long solved in the reciprocating motor arts. The use of a Hall sensor is a variation of the well-known scheme, and Hu serves as evidence that it is known to be used in this exact scenario.
With respect to claim 2/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 1, Hu further teaches wherein there are two groups of Hall sensors [802] {two Hall sensors – see rejection of claim 2 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) above}, and wherein two Hall sensors [802] are symmetrically arranged (around the horizontal “line of symmetry” drawn and labeled in the new annotated fig. 9 excerpt attached below) on two sides of the fixing frame or the stator body for detecting the position of the rotor body 420 in real time.
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With respect to claim 3/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 1, Zhang further teaches wherein the lower portion of the motor shaft [10] is provided with a base portion [902], wherein there are two groups of elastic members [12] {two elastic members – see rejection of claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) above} that are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the base portion [902] (see also fig. 2), and wherein the other side of the elastic members [12] relative to the base portion [902] is connected to the fixing frame [1].
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With respect to claim 4/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 1, Zhang further teaches wherein a track strip [guide rod 8] for supporting and guiding the rotor assembly [9] is arranged in the fixing frame [1] (see ¶ 0029-0030 and the joint annotated excerpt of figs. 7 and 6 attached below), wherein the track strip [8] is transversely arranged, and wherein the mounting base [901] or the motor shaft is provided with a guide groove (under it, defined by and between elements 7) for interacting with the track strip [8] (see ¶ 0021 which recites “the two magnetic conductive sheets 7 are driven to move, as the guide rod 8 is arranged between the two magnetic conductive sheets 7, the guide rod 8 forms the guide limit of the motion…”).
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With respect to claim 5/2/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 2, Zhang further teaches wherein a track strip [guide rod 8] for supporting and guiding the rotor assembly [9] is arranged in the fixing frame [1] (see ¶ 0029-0030 – still referring to the joint annotated excerpt of figs. 7 and 6 attached above), wherein the track strip [8] is transversely arranged, and wherein the mounting base [901] or the motor shaft is provided with a guide groove (under it, defined by and between elements 7) for interacting with the track strip [8] (see ¶ 0021 which recites “the two magnetic conductive sheets 7 are driven to move, as the guide rod 8 is arranged between the two magnetic conductive sheets 7, the guide rod 8 forms the guide limit of the motion…”).
With respect to claim 6/3/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 3, Zhang further teaches wherein a track strip [guide rod 8] for supporting and guiding the rotor assembly [9] is arranged in the fixing frame [1] (see ¶ 0029-0030 – still referring to the joint annotated excerpt of figs. 7 and 6 attached above), wherein the track strip [8] is transversely arranged, and wherein the mounting base [901] or the motor shaft is provided with a guide groove (under it, defined by and between elements 7) for interacting with the track strip [8] (see ¶ 0021 which recites “the two magnetic conductive sheets 7 are driven to move, as the guide rod 8 is arranged between the two magnetic conductive sheets 7, the guide rod 8 forms the guide limit of the motion…”).
With respect to claim 7/4/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 4, Zhang further teaches wherein the lower end of the mounting base [901] is provided with at least one rotor body [7/5/6] (see rejection of claim 1 above, the rotor body has already been introduced in claim 1), the rotor body [7/5/6] is transversely suspended at the upper end of the stator body [2], and the rotor body [7/5/6] is capable of swinging in a reciprocating manner under the action of the stator assembly [2/4] (see second half of ¶ 0021).
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With respect to claim 8/5/2/1, Zhang in view of Hu teaches the motor of claim 5, Zhang further teaches wherein the rotor body [7/5/6] is a permanent magnet (¶ 0021 calls 5 a “left magnetic sheet” and 6 a “right magnetic sheet” – 7 is described as a magnetically conductive sheet and thus it is a yoke, which only functions if used in combination with permanent magnets, such that at least one body in the assembly is a permanent magnet – machine translations from Chinese often call permanent magnets “magnetic steels” or “magnetic sheets” in the motor arts).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fig. 3 of US 2025/0266743 A1 teaches the track-strip/guide-groove assembly for this type of motor (hair clipper).
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Figs. 1-2 of WO 2010035728 A1 also teaches a strip-groove arrangement for this type of motor.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL K SCHLAK whose telephone number is (703)756-1685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (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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/Daniel K Schlak/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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