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 10/28/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Merkle (US 4701653 A) in view of Heatshield Products (see attached NPL in 892).
Claim 1
Merkle teaches: An eddy current brake (2) comprising a stator assembly (83) and a rotor assembly (18) able to pivot relative to the stator assembly (83) about a rotation axis (through shaft 16), the stator assembly (83) including an annular support (inner yoke, see Fig. 13) comprising at least one pole body (60, 80) and at least one pole shoe (comprised at end of 35),
PNG
media_image1.png
454
524
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Merkle does not explicitly teach however: wherein the stator assembly includes a stainless-steel protective heat shield fastened to said at least one pole shoe.
Heatshield Products teaches the use of stainless-steel heat shields mechanically fastened to components exposed to elevated temperatures in order to reduce heat transfer and protect adjacent structures from thermal degradation.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the stator assembly of Merkle by fastening a stainless-steel heat shield to the pole shoe in recognition of Heatshield Products’ thermal management structure to be mounted to or associated with the pole shoe region. Such a modification would have predictably reduced heat transfer from the pole show to adjacent stator components, improved thermal protection of the stator assembly, and enhanced durability and reliability during operation.
Claim 6/1
Merkle as modified by Heatshield Products: The eddy current brake (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular support (inner yoke, see Fig. 13) is made of laminated iron (see para. 2).
Claim 7/1
Merkle as modified by Heatshield Products: The eddy current brake (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular support (inner yoke, see Fig. 13) is made of sintered material (iron, see para. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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.
Claim 2/1
Claim 2 is objected to.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Merkle as modified by Heatshield Products teaches: The eddy current brake (2) as claimed in claim 1;
The prior art fails to teach or fairly suggest, alone or in obvious combination, inter alia:
wherein said protective shield comprises a bottom wall and at least two side walls that are parallel to each other, said at least one pole shoe comprising at least two opposite side faces, and wherein the two side walls of the protective shield are mounted slidingly against the two opposite side faces of the at least one pole shoe.
Claims 3-5 stand objected to over all prior art based on their virtue of depending on claim 2.
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.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED F SECK whose telephone number is (571)272-4638. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached at (571) 272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AHMED F SECK/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights