DETAILED ACTION
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
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) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Takahashi et al., US PGPub 2020/0271194.
PNG
media_image1.png
488
724
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 1, Takahashi et al. discloses an electric traction system (1) having an electric machine (10), a transmission (30) and a common cooling lubricant circuit (see fig 6), wherein an oil sump (70) and at least one oil reservoir (80) are installed, and the oil reservoir (80) can be filled both by means of an electric oil pump (51 which is driven by electric drive 10 (see [0038], lines 17-19) and by means of oil spray (94) from components (31) of the transmission (30), wherein the oil reservoir (80) acts as a pressure tank or high tank (gravity driven flow via 84), and wherein the oil pump (51) is connected directly to cooling/lubricating oil points (93) under pressure, and the at least one outlet (84) of the oil reservoir is connected to further cooling/lubricating oil points (17), wherein the further cooling/lubricating oil points (17) are pressurized with the geodetic pressure of the oil reservoir (80).
Regarding claim 2, Takahashi et al. discloses the electric traction system according to claim 1, wherein the oil reservoir (80) consists of individual chambers (81,82) that are separated from one another by partitions of different height (83).
8. The method for operating an electric traction system according to The method for operating an electric traction system according to wherein a slight preload pressure is set in the oil reservoir in accordance with the oil pump rotational speed and the oil temperature.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 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:
Claims 3-6 are patentable over the prior art of record because the teachings of the references taken as a whole do not show or render obvious the combination set forth in claim 3, including every structural element recited in the claims, especially, the configuration wherein a single valve is installed at an inlet of the oil reservoir.
More specifically, Takahashi et al. is considered the closest prior art of record. Takahashi et al. discloses the electric drive system of claim 1, however does not disclose that both the spray lubricant (94) and driven lubricant (from 96), which together fill the oil reservoir (80) connect with a single valve, which serves as the single entry point to the reservoir (80). This feature is considered novel.
None of the references of the prior art teach or suggest the elements of the lubrication system as advanced above and such do not provide the necessary motivation, absent applicant's specification, for modifying the system in the manner required by the claims.
Claims 7-8 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:
Claims 7-8 are patentable over the prior art of record because the teachings of the references taken as a whole do not show or render obvious the combination set forth in claim 7, including every method step and associated structural element recited in the claims, especially, the configuration of the method for operating an electric traction system having an electric machine, a transmission and a common cooling lubricant circuit according to claim 1, wherein, in operating states in which active cooling of the electric machine is advantageous or required for thermal reasons, the active cooling and lubricating circuit is maintained by means of the electrically operated oil pump, and in operating states in which active operation of the electric oil pump is not required or is not imperatively required for thermal reasons, and in the event of a failure of the electric oil pump, a passive cooling/lubricating circuit is automatically activated.
More specifically, Takahashi et al. is considered the closest prior art of record. Takahashi et al. discloses a method for operating an electric traction system having an electric machine, a transmission and a common cooling lubricant circuit according to claim 1, however does not switching between active and passive lubrication mechanisms depending on the system operating state. This feature is considered novel.
None of the references of the prior art teach or suggest the elements of the lubrication method as advanced above and such do not provide the necessary motivation, absent applicant's specification, for modifying the method in the manner required by the claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A RIEGELMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7956. The examiner can normally be reached 8-6 EST Monday - Friday.
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, Michael Mansen can be reached at (571) 272-6608. 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.
MICHAEL A. RIEGELMAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3654
/MICHAEL A RIEGELMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654