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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/31/2025, 11/25/2025 and 03/10/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bando et al. [US 2022/0337128].
Claim 1, Bando et al. discloses a drive device to be provided to a flight vehicle and to be driven by electric power to cause a propeller of the flight vehicle to rotate [paragraph 0016], the drive device comprising: a motor [1] configured to be supplied with electric power; an accommodating housing [10] including a motor outer peripheral wall provided to an outer peripheral side of the motor and accommodating the motor; a cooling device [90] configured to cool an inside of the accommodating housing with a refrigerant [R] which flows through a motor outer peripheral passage [94/95] provided to the motor outer peripheral wall; and a heat dissipating portion [70] configured to dissipate heat of the refrigerant, wherein the accommodating housing [10] and the heat dissipating portion [70] are aligned with the propeller [not shown attached to propeller attachment portion 27] along an axis of the propeller [figure 2].
Claim 2, Bando et al. discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating portion [70] is provided to an outer peripheral side of the accommodating housing [10] and is aligned with the propeller along the axis [figure 2].
Claim 3, Bando et al. discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating portion [70] includes a plurality of refrigerant fins [71] provided to an outer peripheral side of the motor outer peripheral passage [94/95; figures 1 and 2; paragraphs 0089 and 0090] and aligned with the motor outer peripheral passage to dissipate heat of the refrigerant at the motor outer peripheral wall [figure 2].
Claim 6, Bando et al. discloses the drive device according to claim 1, further comprising: an internal passage [94/95] provided to allow the refrigerant [R] to flow inside the accommodating housing [10].
Claim 7, Bando et al. discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device includes a refrigerant pump [60] accommodated in the accommodating housing and configured to cause the refrigerant to flow through the motor outer peripheral passage [paragraph 0100].
Claim 8, Bando et al. discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the motor outer peripheral passage [94/95] is built in the motor outer peripheral wall [10, holes 11c and 11d].
Claims 1, 2, 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fukazu [US 2023/0192310].
Claim 1, Fukazu discloses a drive device to be provided to a flight vehicle and to be driven by electric power to cause a propeller [30] of the flight vehicle to rotate, the drive device comprising: a motor [44] configured to be supplied with electric power; an accommodating housing [58] including a motor outer peripheral wall provided to an outer peripheral side of the motor and accommodating the motor; a cooling device [46] configured to cool an inside of the accommodating housing with a refrigerant [coolant] which flows through a motor outer peripheral passage [74] provided to the motor outer peripheral wall; and a heat dissipating portion [72] configured to dissipate heat of the refrigerant, wherein the accommodating housing [58] and the heat dissipating portion [72] are aligned with the propeller [32] along an axis of the propeller [figure 3].
Claim 2, Fukazu discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating portion [72] is provided to an outer peripheral side of the accommodating housing [58] and is aligned with the propeller along the axis [figure 3].
Claim 7, Fukazu discloses the drive device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device includes a refrigerant pump [112] accommodated in the accommodating housing and configured to cause the refrigerant to flow through the motor outer peripheral passage [paragraph 0100].
Claim 15, Fukazu discloses the drive device according to claim 1, further comprising: a blower fan [56] configured to blow air [W] to cause a gas to hit the heat dissipating portion [46].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5 and 9-14 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bernard Rojas whose telephone number is (571)272-1998. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. thru Fri. 7:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki S Ismail can be reached at (571) 272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BERNARD ROJAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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