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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 24, 2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the switching device configured to switch a state in which the refrigerant passes along the clearance and a state in which the refrigerant does not pass along the clearance must be shown or the feature canceled from claim 5. No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are further objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “26” has been used to designate both the upper contact port and the lower contact port in .
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 § 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)(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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Krank et al. (DE 102021125659 A1), hereinafter "Krank".
Regarding claim 5, Krank discloses a drive device (electromotive drive unit 100, fig. 1, p. 8, lines 9-11) comprising:
a housing case (machine housing 16 and gear housing 32 described as “firmly connected”, fig. 1, p. 8, lines 21-22);
a rotary electric machine (drive machine 10, fig. 1, p. 8, lines 16-18) provided in the housing case;
a gear (output gear 30, fig. 1, p. 8, lines 21-23) rotatably provided in the housing case;
a refrigerant (“an electrically nonconductive, oil-based coolant”, p. 3, lines 26-32) for cooling the rotary electric machine (“stator end windings can then be cooled with a gear oil of an electric motor drive unit”, p. 3, lines 30-32); and
a switching device (valve 270, fig. 3), wherein
the housing case has a housing chamber that houses the rotary electric machine and the gear (“electric motor drive unit, which has the electric drive machine and an output gear”, p. 3, lines 31-32),
the housing case includes a plate (cooling jacket 400, fig. 4, p. 10, lines 14-15) provided in the housing chamber,
the plate is disposed in the housing chamber (“machine housing 16 has a stator cooling jacket 400”, p. 10, lines 14-15),
a clearance is secured between the plate and an inner surface of the housing case (the clearance established by the cooling jacket 400),
the switching device is configured to switch a state in which the refrigerant passes along the clearance and a state in which the refrigerant does not pass along the clearance (“valve releases the machine cooling path when an operating state is determined that requires cooling of the drive machine”, p. 4, lines 10-13), and
a temperature of the refrigerant in the state in which the refrigerant passes along the clearance is higher than a temperature of the refrigerant in the state in which the refrigerant does not pass along the clearance (the operating state of the valve when releasing the cooling path described as “being present in particular when a limit temperature and/or a limit temperature gradient of the drive machine is exceeded” indicates higher coolant temperature when passing along the clearance, p. 4, lines 10-13).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach or suggest a plate provided in the housing chamber, and a displacement member configured to displace the plate between a position where the plate is in contact with an inner surface of the housing case that defines the housing chamber and a position where a clearance is secured between the plate and the inner surface, in combination with all other limitations recited in claim 1. Claims 2-4 depend on claim 1.
Regarding claim 1, Tanaka (US 2021/0293325 A1), as the closest reference, discloses a drive device (electric unit U, fig. 1, ¶[0026]) comprising:
a housing case (case 1);
a rotary electric machine (electric motor M) provided in the housing case (motor chamber SM of case 1);
a gear (power transmission device PT) rotatably provided in the housing case (gear chamber SG of case 1); and
a refrigerant for cooling the rotary electric machine (“oil is used for lubrication and cooling of each part … in the case 1”, ¶[0042]), wherein
the housing case has a housing chamber that houses the rotary electric machine and the gear (“case 1 is divided into a motor chamber SM and a gear chamber SG”, ¶[0026]),
the housing case includes a plate provided in the housing chamber (“plate-shaped current straightening plate 10 with an end rotatably and axially supported by a shaft 9 in the case 1”, figs. 2-3, ¶[0040]).
Tanaka is silent regarding a displacement member configured to displace the plate between a position where the plate is in contact with an inner surface of the housing case that defines the housing chamber and a position where a clearance is secured between the plate and the inner surface, and the refrigerant passes along the plate while the plate is at the position where the plate is in contact with the inner surface that defines the housing chamber. Although the current straightening plate 10 of Tanaka is displaced between two positions, as shown in fig. 2, such displacement is caused by kinetic energy of flowing oil as described in ¶[0040], and not by a displacement member as recited in the claim.
A number of other references recite features relevant to the claimed invention, however none teach the displacement of the plate in the housing chamber as claimed. Katayama et al. (WO 2023054351 A1) disclose a vehicle drive system including a rotating electric machine and a counter gear mechanism with oil guide passages that are stationary. Sonoda et al. (CN 115250040 A) teach inhibiting local temperature rise in a motor by channeling oil through a plurality of groove portions that are not displaced in any form. Ziskovsky (US 20220209617 A1) recites a coolant jacket molded as a single, unitary piece in sealing engagement against an outer perimeter of the stator. Lastly, Xu et al. (CN 113939980 A) teach a power assembly with a guide structure integrally formed with the shell for guiding the flow direction of the cooling liquid.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional art of record relates to electric drive units having features relevant to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD OMID NEYZARI whose telephone number is (571)272-9530. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8 AM-5 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, Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMAD OMID NEYZARI/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
/JAMES A SHRIVER II/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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