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 . Claims 1-10 are pending.
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 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.
Claims 1-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 20180166950 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a cooling guide (fig. 3) attached to a housing (housing, annotated fig. 1) of a motor to guide a flow direction of cooling oil, the cooling guide comprising:
an attachment portion (attachment portion, annotated figs. 1 and 3) having a predetermined thickness in a radial direction of the motor (the shell has a thickness, see fig. 1), with one end in the radial direction thereof being attached to the housing (see fig. 1; see also “[0068] For example, the supporter 30 is forcefully inserted to an internal wall of the housing 1, the stator core 4 is forcefully inserted to the supporter 30 by supplying heat and fixed to an internal circumference of the supporter 30 by thermally inserted.”), and extending in an arc shape along a circumferential direction of the motor (see the circular shape in fig. 3); and
a partition wall portion (partition wall portion, annotated fig. 3) integrally formed with the attachment portion at another end of the attachment portion in the radial direction (see the one piece unit in figs. 1, 3 and 4), and bringing the cooling oil flowing between the housing and a stator into a collision therewith to guide a spray direction of the cooling oil toward a coil (see the abstract: “A cooling apparatus of a drive motor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a supporter that is disposed in an inner wall of a housing, supports a stator of the drive motor, and forms an oil passage for moving cooling oil. The supporter can be formed as a ring shape. An injector is connected with the oil passage of the supporter and injects the cooling oil in the oil passage into the stator.”), wherein the attachment portion includes an elastic material (implied, see para [0068]).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 1, wherein the partition wall portion protrudes in the radial direction of the stator (see annotated fig. 3), and the partition wall portion comprises a partition wall inclined surface inclined at an end thereof, not perpendicular or parallel to a protruding direction of the partition wall portion (see the inclined portions in the annotated fig. 3; the support piece has a ring shape with inclined surfaces on either radial ends).
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 2, wherein the partition wall inclined surface is formed on a surface facing upward based on the ground in a space where the housing is installed (see the inclined portions in annotated fig. 3; some of the portions are facing upward; see also annotated fig. 4).
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Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 1, wherein the attachment portion includes a grip portion (grip portion, annotated figs. 3 and 4) extending toward an end in an axial direction of the stator at the other end thereof, with one surface of the grip portion being attached to an inner side surface of the stator (see annotated figs. 1 and 4).
Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 4, wherein another surface of the grip portion is inclined (see the two ends of the grip portion in annotated fig. 4), not perpendicular or parallel to the radial direction and the axial direction of the motor.
Regarding claim 6, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 5, wherein the grip portion has a groove (groove, annotated fig. 4) having a predetermined depth in the axial direction of the motor on the other surface thereof (the groove is in the axial direction and has a depth to allow fluid flow, see the fluid flow direction arrow in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 6, wherein the groove has a circular cross section in the radial direction of the motor (implied- 35 in fig. 4 is a connection hole; “[0046] 35 . . . connection hole”).
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 1, wherein at least one engagement hole engaged with the housing is formed through the attachment portion (see holes 31 and 33 in fig. 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20180166950 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses the cooling guide of claim 6, but does not disclose wherein the groove has a polygonal cross section in the radial direction of the motor.
Lee discloses a connection hole (35, fig. 4) for flow of coolant to the nozzles but does not specify the radial cross-section of the hole. However, selecting a hole shape is within the skills of a person having ordinary skills in the art. Furthermore, Applicant has not disclosed any unexpected improvement by selecting a polygonal cross-section.
To provide coolant to the nozzles via the groove 35, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that: the groove has a polygonal cross section in the radial direction of the motor.
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses a motor including the cooling guide of claim 1, the motor comprising:
the housing having a central hole into which the stator is fitted (see fig. 1; “[0004] The drive motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator is disposed in a motor housing, and the rotor is disposed at a predetermined air gap therefrom at the inside of the stator.”), with the cooling guide being coupled to one end thereof (on the right side in annotated fig. 1), wherein the housing includes a guide protruding from another end thereof to have a predetermined length in an axial direction (the cooling guide structure was discussed regarding claim 1), and a surface of the integrated guide facing the stator is inclined (see inclined portions of the cooling guide in annotated figs. 3 and 4), not perpendicular or parallel to the axial direction and the radial direction of the motor.
Lee does not disclose the cooling guide is integrated with the housing. However, integrating separate parts into one unit is within the skills of a person having ordinary skills in the art. By doing so, the number of parts is reduced and manufacturing can be simplified.
To simplify manufacturing, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that: the cooling guide and the housing could be integrated.
Conclusion
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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