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 . This Office Action is responsive to the Applicant' s communication filed January 30, 2025. In view of this communication, claims 1-6 are now pending in the application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 30, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it exceeds 150 words in length. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (CN 1111411 A, hereafter referred to as Chen) in view of Anghel et al. (US 11081924 B2, hereafter referred to as Anghel).
Regarding Claim 1, Chen discloses (see Figure 1) a stator structure (Page 2, ¶ 1: “iron core”), comprising: a stator core (Page 2, ¶ 1: “iron core”), stator windings (4, Page 2, ¶ 1) and an avoidance layer (1, Page 2, ¶ 1), the stator core (Page 2, ¶ 1: “iron core”) has an inner cylinder cavity, a plurality of iron core slots (Page 2, ¶ 1: “slot”) arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction on an end face of the stator core (Page 2, ¶ 1), and the iron core slot (Page 2, ¶ 1) is communicated with the inner cylinder cavity via a slot opening (Annotated Figure 1); the stator windings (4, Page 2, ¶ 1) have a plurality of layers of flat wire conductor (4, Page 2, ¶ 1) wound in the iron core slots (Page 2, ¶ 1); the avoidance layer (1, Page 2, ¶ 1) is located between the slot opening (Annotated Figure 1) and a first layer of flat wire conductor (4, Page 2, ¶ 1) in a radial direction of the stator core (Page 2, ¶ 1), wherein the avoidance layer (1, Page 2, ¶ 1) is composed of two trapezoidal blocks (Page 2, ¶ 1: “the expanding teeth 1 of the basic shape is a right-angled trapezoid”) as a separate structure (Page 1, ¶ 4: “the slot wedge like common slot inserted in the iron core along the direction of socket opening”), and the two trapezoidal blocks (Page 2, ¶ 1: “the expanding teeth 1 of the basic shape is a right-angled trapezoid”) are fixed on the stator core on two sides (Page 2, ¶ 1) of a radial channel between the slot opening (Annotated Figure 1) and a first layer of the flat wire conductor (4, Page 2, ¶ 1).
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Chen does not explicitly disclose that the structure is a stator structure.
However, Anghel, in the same field of technology, does disclose (see Figure 3A) that the structure is a stator structure (30, C3L12).
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It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the structure disclosed by Chen such that the structure is a stator structure, as disclosed by Anghel, in order to reduce magnetic flux distortions in the stator (C1L27-31: “However, these open slots create a non-uniform air-gap 13 (i.e., air space between rotor 14 and stator 10) which results in a distorted magnetic flux, causing additional undesired losses in the electric machine.”).
Regarding Claim 2/1, Chen in view of Anghel has been discussed above.
Additionally, Chen discloses (see Figure 1) that the avoidance layer (Page 2, ¶ 1: “expanding teeth 1 made of block or laminated ferromagnetic material”) is made of a material same as the stator core (Page 2, ¶ 1: “iron core”).
Regarding Claim 3/1, Chen in view of Anghel has been discussed above.
Chen does not explicitly disclose that the avoidance layer has a size of 1˜6 mm in the radial direction of the stator core.
However, Anghel, in the same field of technology, teaches (see Figures 3A-B) that the size of the avoidance layer is a result effective variable (C1L46-50: “In one aspect of the present invention, a retention component for retaining a coil in a slot of a stator for a generator having a rotor comprises a first segment and a second segment, both of which are configured to be inserted into the slot;”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the stator structure disclosed by Chen in view of Anghel such that the avoidance layer has a size of 1˜6 mm in the radial direction of the stator core, as taught by Anghel, in order to construct the device using understood variable specifications and designs in the art to best meet user needs based on known design possibilities, and to reduce magnetic flux distortions in the stator (C1L27-31: “However, these open slots create a non-uniform air-gap 13 (i.e., air space between rotor 14 and stator 10) which results in a distorted magnetic flux, causing additional undesired losses in the electric machine.”).
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Regarding Claim 4/1, Chen in view of Anghel has been discussed above.
Additionally, Chen discloses a flat wire motor (Page 1, ¶ 4: “The invention can be a new series of open motor and corresponding wedge,”) comprising the stator structure according to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 5/2/1, Chen in view of Anghel has been discussed above.
Additionally, Chen discloses a flat wire motor (Page 1, ¶ 4: “The invention can be a new series of open motor and corresponding wedge,”) comprising the stator structure according to claim 2.
Regarding Claim 6/3/1, Chen in view of Anghel has been discussed above.
Additionally, Chen discloses a flat wire motor (Page 1, ¶ 4: “The invention can be a new series of open motor and corresponding wedge,”) comprising the stator structure according to claim 3.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hellmund et al. (US 1024572 A) discloses relevant prior art in Figures 2 and 4-6.
Ilg et al. (US 1375699 A) discloses relevant prior art in Figure 1.
Myers et al. (US 2201699 A) discloses relevant prior art in Figures 1-6.
Fisher et al. (US 2386673 A) discloses relevant prior art in Figures 1-2, and 4.
Richter et al. (US 4427910 A) discloses relevant prior art in Figures 1-2.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLIE FRANK MANN whose telephone number is (703)756-1275. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:30PM PST.
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/C.F.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/ALEXANDER A SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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