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 .
This is the First Office Action on the merits of Application No. 18/937703, filed on 11/05/2024. Claims 1-20 are still pending in the application.
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(s) 1-4, 8-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2011/121184 to Huppunen et al (henceforth referred to as Huppunen).
Regarding claims 1-4, 8-19, Huppunen discloses an elevator motor (i.e. Fig. 7, ref. 14), comprising: a stator (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 4) with stator windings (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 6); and
a rotor (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 2) comprising permanent magnets (i.e. Fig. 5, ref. 3a, 3b),
wherein the permanent magnets and stator windings are arranged in an axial flux arrangement (i.e. Fig. 5), the rotor is being connected to a traction sheave (i.e. Fig. 6, ref. 17) for driving hoisting ropes (i.e. not referenced but hoisting ropes shown in Fig. 7) of an elevator (i.e. Fig. 7),
wherein the permanent magnets are arranged on a carrier of the rotor in a ring like arrangement to form a magnet ring (i.e. Fig. 2 and Page 11, lines 1-2: “permanent magnets 3a, 3b of the rotor… are fitted into a fixing matrix… The thickness of the permanent magnets…”) with slots (i.e. spacing between all the raised magnets, ref. 3a, 3b) in between and wherein a slot width differs between at least some of two successive slots in the magnet ring (i.e. See Mark up of Fig. 2, spacing distances A and B are varied).
Wherein the slot differs between each of two successive lots of the magnet ring (i.e. See Mark up of Fig. 2, the spacing between 3a and 3b along ref. 12 are varied).
Wherein the magnet ring comprising first slots (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, “A”) with a first slot width (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, dotted width between the magnets 3a and 3b, labeled at “A”) and second slots (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, “B”) with a second slot width (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, dotted width between the magnets 3a and 3b, labeled at “B”), and wherein the first slot width differs from the second slot width.
Wherein the magnet ring comprises first slots (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, “A”) with a first slot width (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, dotted width between the magnets 3a and 3b, labeled at “A”) and second slots (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, “B”) with a second slot width (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, dotted width between the magnets 3a and 3b, labeled at “B”), and wherein the first slot width differs from the second slot width, wherein in the succession of slots in the magnet ring, every slot with an even slot number (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, ref. “A” and every alternating slot can be counted as even when counting sequentially when counting starts at “B”) is a first slot and every slot with an odd slot number (i.e. Mark up of Fig. 2, ref. “B” and every alternating slot can be counted as odd when counting sequentially when counting starts at “B”) is a second slot.
Wherein the permanent magnets are embedded within the carrier (i.e. Fig. 2 and Page 11, lines 1-2: “permanent magnets 3a, 3b of the rotor… are fitted into a fixing matrix”).
Wherein the carrier forms a template with holes or recesses for the permanent magnets to be inserted therein (i.e. Page 6, lines 21-24: “permanent magnets can… also be fixed e.g. by embedding them… into recesses to be machined for this purpose”).
Wherein the carrier consists of glass fiber laminate or aluminum (i.e. Page 6, lines 16-20: “a fixing matrix, which in order to reduce eddy currents is made from…. glass fiber composite…”).
Wherein the permanent magnets are V-shaped in the plane of the magnet ring (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 3a and 3b are arrows with V-shape). Wherein the permanent magnets and the windings are arranged in the same distance from the motor shaft (i.e. Fig. 5 shows ref. 2 and 4 are integral and Fig. 6 shows them installed at the same location on ref. 15).
Wherein the stator has a concentrated fractional slot winding with a minimum of 0.1 slots per pole and phase and a maximum of 0.5 slots per pole and phase (i.e. Page 10, lines 28-30: “0.4 is obtained as the slots per pole and phase… In a preferred embodiment… the slots per pole and phase is 0.3”).
Wherein the hoisting ropes are configured to move an elevator car (i.e. Fig. 7, ref. 18) along an elevator hoistway in an elevator shaft (i.e. Fig. 7).
Wherein a motor drive for the control of the elevator motor is located in the elevator shaft (i.e. “power supply to the hoisting machine 1 of the elevator occurs with a frequency converter (not shown in figure) connected between the electricity network and the hoisting machine 14… The frequency converter and the hoisting machine 14 of the elevator are disposed in the elevator hoistway”).
Wherein the hoisting ropes are configured to move an elevator car (i.e. Fig. 7, ref. 18) and optionally also a counterweight (i.e. Fig. 7, ref. 20).
Wherein the elevator motor (i.e. Fig. 7, ref. 14) is located in the elevator shaft (i.e. Fig. 7).
Wherein the car and/or the counterweight are suspended on the hoisting ropes in a 2:1 suspension ratio (i.e. Fig. 7 shows the roping is an underslung rope with a ratio of 2:1 pullies).
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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(s) 5 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2011/121184 to Huppunen et al.
Regarding claims 5 and 20, Huppunen does not specifically teach the first slot width is between 1.5mm and 3mm. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have a slot width between 1.5mm and 3mm to keep the hoisting machine small for use in very small hoistways such as in residential locations since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art and there would have been reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2011/121184 to Huppunen et al in view of EP 0734112 to Aulanko et al (henceforth referred to as Aulanko).
Regarding claim 7, Huppunen does not specifically teach magnets are gluded or screw fixed to the carrier. However, these methods of fixing magnets to rotors are known in the art. For example, Aulanko teaches an elevator motor (i.e. Title) comprising a rotor (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 6) with permanent magnets (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 14) attached to a carrier (i.e. Fig. 2, ref. 16) in a ring-like arrangement (i.e. Fig. 2) wherein the permanent magnets are fixed to the fame by gluing or, alternatively, by screws (i.e. Column 2, lines 30-39: “the magnets are placed in the frames 16 and fixed to the surface 21 of the rotor e.g. by gluing… it is also possible to use e.g. screws to fix the damper wiring”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use glue as taught in Aulanko to fix the magnets as taught in Huppunen to avoid costly machining recesses into the frame to embed the magnets and there would have been reasonable expectation of success.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
JP 2004-15880 to Yamamoto et al teaches an elevator motor with a rotor comprising permanent magnets and slots;
US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0128815 to Kim et al teaches a motor with a rotor comprising permanent magnets and slots.
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/DIEM M TRAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3654