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 07/30/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, and 8-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed (WO 2024027988 A1) in view of Berning (US 20230012130 A1).
Claim 1
Mohamed teaches: A motor (10), the motor (10) comprising:
a rotor (12) configured over a shaft (18);
a stator (14) arranged around the rotor (12) within a housing associated with the motor (10); and
a cooling system (illustrated in Fig. 5) comprising:
a first fluidic passage (72) extending from a first end towards a second end (along axial direction), along a length, of the shaft (18); and
a plurality of orifices (74) configured at positions on a circumference of the shaft (18), wherein the plurality of orifices (74) is fluidically connected to the first fluidic passage (72) via a plurality of second fluidic passages (22),
wherein the motor (10) is configured to enable a refrigerant to flow within the first fluidic passage (72) via the first end of the shaft (18) and further flow out of the shaft (18) towards the stator (14) and/or the rotor (12) through the plurality of orifices (74) via corresponding second fluidic passages (22) from the plurality of second fluidic passages (22).
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Mohamed is silent however to: Motor is for a compressor; the stator arranged around the rotor is within a housing associated with the compressor; the refrigerant is associated with the compressor.
Berning notably teaches a compressor 10 comprising a motor 16, a drive shaft 80, a stator 76, and a rotor 78 housed within the compressor 10. Berning further teaches supplying a cooling working fluid to the motor, wherein the cooling working fluid may comprise refrigerant or oil (para. 0090). Berning explains that refrigerant may be supplied to the motor assembly to dissipate heat generated by the motor and thereby reduce motor temperature (see para. 50, 55-56, 88, and 93-97).
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to employ the shaft based cooling arrangement of Mohamed in the compressor motor of Berning, using the compressor associated refrigerant as the cooling fluid, because Berning expressly identifies refrigerant as a suitable cooling working fluid for cooling the motor of a compressor, while Mohamed teaches a shaft based distribution arrangement for directing refrigerant toward the rotor and/stator. The modification would have been a predictable use of a known cooling arrangement in the compressor motor environment taught by Berning, with the reasonable expectation of reducing heat generated by the motor.
Claim 2/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second fluidic passages (22) extends outwards from the first fluidic passage (72) in a radial direction from the central axis.
Mohamed also does not expressly disclose: the first fluidic passage is non-parallel to a central axis of the shaft.
Berning however, teaches the drive shaft 80 having a concentric bore 104 and an eccentric bore 106 extending from the concentric bore. Berning explains that the eccentric bore 106 may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft 80 or angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft 80 as illustrated in Fig. 3 (see para. 0058).
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to modify the orientation of Mohamed’s first fluidic passage (72) such that the first passage is non-parallel to the central axis of the shaft, as taught by Berning, because Berning demonstrates that an internal passage through a compressor drive shaft may be provided at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Such an orientation would have provided a known alternative configuration for routing fluid through the shaft and communicating the first fluidic passage with fluid passages extending radially outward from the shaft. Furthermore, a person having ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the angular orientation of the internal passage could be selected according to the desired axial and radial locations of the fluid passages communicating with the shaft and components receiving the fluid.
Claim 3/2/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 2, wherein the first fluidic passage (72) is non-parallel (as a result of modification by Berning) to the central axis such that a first end of the first fluidic passage (72) remains at a center of the first end of the shaft (18) and a second end of the first fluidic passage (72) extends at an angle from the central axis towards the second end of the shaft (as Berning’s bore 106 is disposed as seen in Fig. 3 wherein towards end cap 28 the tip of bore 106 is at the center corresponding to concentric bore 104 and towards end cap 26 the other tip of bore 106 is extended at an angle relative to the concentric bore 104).
Claim 8/3/2/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 3, wherein the second end (towards rim 46) of the first fluidic passage (72) is closed (as seen in Mohamed’s Fig. 5).
Claim 4/2/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 2, wherein the first fluidic passage (72) is non-parallel (as a result of modification by Berning) to the central axis such that rotation of the shaft (18) about the central axis during operation of the compressor causes the received refrigerant to flow out of the plurality of orifices (74) via the plurality of second fluidic passages (22).
Claim 9/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the first fluidic passage (72) is greater than a diameter of the plurality of second fluidic passages (22; 72 has large diameter in order to provide better cooling as illustrated in Fig. 5; see also state of the art, para. 3).
Claim 10/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of orifices (74) comprises a first set of orifices (74) provided along the circumference at the first end of the shaft (18), and a second set of orifices (74) provided along the circumference at the second end of the shaft (18).
Claim 11/10/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 10, wherein the first set of orifices (74) is adjacent to a first end of a stator (14) winding associated with the stator (14), and the second set of orifices (74) is adjacent to a second end of the stator (14) winding.
Claim 12/10/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 10, wherein the first set of orifices (74) is adjacent to a first end of the rotor (12), and the second set of orifices (74) is adjacent to a second end of the rotor (12).
Claim(s) 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Welch (US2010006262A1).
Claim 5/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the motor or the cooling system comprises a nozzle disposed within the housing, and wherein the nozzle comprises: an inlet fluidically connected to a refrigerant line associated with the compressor, to receive at least a portion of the refrigerant flowing through the compressor; and an outlet connected to the inlet of the nozzle, wherein the outlet of the nozzle is at a gap from an opening of the first fluidic passage at the first end of the shaft, such that the nozzle sprays the received refrigerant into the first fluidic passage of the shaft while allowing the shaft (18) to rotate without coming in contact with the nozzle.
Welch relevantly teaches a cooling system for a motor powering compressor in a vapor compression system. Welch discloses a refrigerant fluid supplied from condenser 34 through conduit 108 extending through motor housing 112 and into chamber 114 formed in an end of rotating motor shaft 118. The end of conduit 108 defines nozzle 116, through which the refrigerant is directed into chamber 114. Welch further teaches that their motor shaft 118 rotates about axis 124 while refrigerant is supplied through nozzle 116 into the shaft chamber.
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Welch also relevantly discloses passageways 152 connected to the shaft passage 150. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill In the art before the claimed invention was filed to provide the motor of Mohamed as modified by Berning, with as similar refrigerant supply nozzle arrangement of Welch, because Welch demonstrates a known arrangement for introducing compressor system refrigerant into an internal passage of a rotating motor shaft for motor cooling. Such an arrangement would provide a predictable means for supplying the cooling refrigerant to the shaft-based cooling passages of Mohamed while permitting rotation of the shaft.
Furthermore, as for the gap, the nozzle and shaft are necessarily arranged with a sufficient clearance gap (as seen in Fig. 6B) to permit relative rotation where the nozzle is stationary relative to the housing and the shaft rotates relative thereto. Additionally, to the extent that the particular clearance is not expressly disclosed by Welch, providing a suitable clearance between the nozzle and rotating shaft would have been an obvious dimensional design choice to prevent interference between the stationary nozzle and rotating shaft while maintaining fluid communication therebetween.
Claim 7/5/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning and Welch teaches: The motor (10) of claim 5, wherein the housing of the motor (10) comprises a third fluidic passage (opening 110 and conduit 108) drilled therethrough and fluidically connected to the inlet of the nozzle, to enable the supply of the refrigerant associated with the compressor within the housing (112) or into the nozzle (116) or the shaft (118).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning and Welch in view of Ueda (JP2009019601A) and Bauduin (US2019162313A1).
Claim 6/5/1
The motor (10) of claim 5, but does not expressly disclose: wherein an exterior body at an end of the nozzle has a notch-shaped profile, and wherein the first end of the shaft comprises a recess concurrent to and adapted to receive the notch-shaped end of the nozzle therein to create a labyrinthine seal therebetween, such that the nozzle sprays the received refrigerant into the first fluidic passage of the shaft while allowing the shaft to rotate without coming in contact with the notch-shaped end of the nozzle.
Ueda teaches a turbo compressor having a rotating shaft 13 with a refrigerant passage. Refrigerant extracted from a refrigeration cycle is supplied through a refrigerant introduction path 31 to nozzle 34 and into the refrigerant passage 29 of the rotating shaft. Ueda further teaches that a nozzle 34 rotates with the rotating shaft and that a seal member 35 provides a non-contact labyrinth seal between the rotating nozzle and stationary refrigerant introduction path (see para. 0164-0166, and 0267-0268).
Bauduin further teaches a contactless labyrinth seal between a rotating member and a stationary member, wherein the rotating member includes circumferential ridges and recesses and the stationary member includes complementary recesses and ridges. The respective ridges are partially received within corresponding recesses to define a labyrinth leak path. The rotating and stationary members are separated by a radial gap such that the rotating member rotates without contact or friction (see para. 0120-0123, and 0136-0153).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to employ the complementary ridge/recess labyrinth configuration of Bauduin at the interface between the nozzle and shaft of Ueda, as applied to the compressor motor of Mohamed as modified by Berning and Welch, because both references address sealing an interface between relatively rotating components while maintaining clearance therebetween. The modification would have provided a labyrinth flow path while maintaining the necessary clearance for rotation and thereby reducing contact and friction between the nozzle and shaft.
Claim(s) 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Choi (US2022376587A1).
Claim 13/10/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 10, but does not expressly disclose: wherein a diameter of the first set of orifices provided at the first end of the shaft is greater than a diameter of the second set of orifices provided at the second end of the shaft.
Choi notably teaches a motor 1 having a hollow rotor shaft 100 through which cooling fluid is supplied, with first cooling holes 113 provided at one axial end of the rotor core and second cooling holes 114 provided at an opposite axial end. Choi teaches that the diameter of the first cooling holes 113 may be larger than the diameter of the second cooling holes 114.
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to modify Mohamed’s first and second sets of orifices according to the teaching of Choi, such that the diameter of the first set of orifices is greater than the diameter of the second set of orifices, in order to obtain a desired distribution of cooling fluid between the respective regions of the motor.
Claim 14/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose: wherein a diameter of the plurality of second fluidic passages at the first end of the shaft is greater than a diameter of the plurality of second fluidic passages at the second end of the shaft.
Choi notably teaches a motor 1 having a hollow rotor shaft 100 through which cooling fluid is supplied, with first cooling holes 113 provided at one axial end of the rotor core and second cooling holes 114 provided at an opposite axial end. Choi teaches that the diameter of the first cooling holes 113 may be larger than the diameter of the second cooling holes 114.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to modify Mohamed’s first and second sets of orifices according to the teaching of Choi, such that the diameter of the second set of orifices is greater than the diameter of the first set of orifices, in order to obtain a desired distribution of cooling fluid between the respective regions of the motor.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Vanhee (US 20230402900 A1).
Claim 15/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of orifices (74) comprises: one or more pairs of first orifices (74) provided along the circumference at the first end of the shaft (18); and one or more pairs of second orifices (74) provided along the circumference at the second end of the shaft (18) but doesn’t expressly disclose: wherein first orifices associated with each of the one or more pairs of first orifices are opposite to each other; and wherein second orifices associated with each of the one or more pairs of second orifices are opposite to each other.
Vanhee relevantly teaches an electric motor cooling arrangement having a rotor shaft 302 with an interior channel 303 and a plurality of radial nozzles 322 circumferentially arranged about the shaft. The radial nozzles are fluidly coupled to an internal channel and direct lubricant radially outward toward the motor components and oppositely arranged as illustrated in Fig. 4. Vanhee further teaches plural first am second nozzle arrangements for directing lubricant toward different motor components.
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to modify Mohamed’s circumferentially arranged orifices 74 such that the first orifices are provided as opposing pairs and the second orifices are provided as opposing pairs, as taught and illustrated by Vanhee, to provide a balanced circumferential distribution of cooling fluid about the shaft and toward opposing regions of the motor.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Ledieu (WO2022167747A1).
Claim 16/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the plurality of orifices comprises: a first set of orifices provided along the circumference at the first end of the shaft (18) at one or more of: 0-degree angle, 45-degree angle, 90-degree angle, 135-degree angle, 180-degree angle, 225-degree angle, 270-degree angle, and 315-degree angle from a reference plane extending along a center of the shaft (18); and
a second set of orifices provided along the circumference at the second end of the shaft at one or more of: 0-degree angle, 45-degree angle, 90-degree angle, 135-degree angle, 180-degree angle, 225-degree angle, 270-degree angle, and 315-degree angle from the reference plane.
Ledieu relevantly teaches an electric motor having a shaft 2 with an internal cooling fluid channel 3 and plural holes 5 in fluid communication with the internal channel. Ledieu teaches holes at both a front end and a rear end of the shaft, with four holes at each end being substantially radial and angularly spaced from one another by 90 degrees (see description, para. 24).
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to modify the circumferential arrangement of Mohamed’s orifices according to the teaching of Ledieu such that the first set of orifices and the second set of orifices are positioned at predetermined angular locations about the respective ends of the shaft, including positions corresponding to 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees relative to a reference plane extending along the shaft.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Snell (US2021332854).
Claim 17/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, wherein the compressor is associated with a vapor compression system (512), but does not expressly disclose: the compressor is a screw compressor.
Snell relevantly teaches a chiller assembly 100 including compressor 102, motor 104, condenser 106, and evaporator 108, wherein refrigerant is circulated through the chiller assembly in a “vapor compression cycle” (see para. 14). Snell further teaches that compressor 102 receives refrigerant vapor from evaporator 108 through suction line 112 and expressly identifies a “screw compressor” as one suitable type of compressor (see para. 15). Snell also teaches motor 104 directly driving compressor 102 (see para. 17).
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the claimed invention to employ the compressor configuration of Snell, including a screw compressor in a vapor compression cycle, in the compressor motor arrangement of Mohamed as modified by Berning because doing so would have merely involved selecting a known type of compressor for use in a known vapor compression refrigeration system, while retaining its refrigerant cooled motor arrangement.
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Schreiber (US2014363311A1).
Claim 18/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the housing of the motor comprises a drain area configured to receive and collect the refrigerant drained from the stator and/or the rotor.
Schreiber relevantly teaches a compressor motor having a motor housing containing a stator 162 and rotor 166, wherein liquid refrigerant is supplied to the stator for cooling and subsequently supplied toward the rotor. Schreiber further teaches that a portion of the liquid refrigerant flows by gravity to a liquid drain 170 associated with the motor. The liquid drain 170 is fluidly connected to an evaporator 128 such that liquid refrigerant exiting the motor is collected and returned to the refrigeration system.
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It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to provide the motor housing of Mohamed as modified by Berning with a drain area as taught by Schreiber to receive and collect refrigerant discharged from the stator and/or rotor, thereby providing a controlled path for removing excess liquid refrigerant from the motor and returning the refrigerant to the refrigeration circuit.
Claim 19/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning teaches: The motor (10) of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the motor is configured to enable supply of the refrigerant drained from the stator and/or the rotor into a liquid drain line associated with the compressor.
Schreiber relevantly teaches a compressor motor 152 having a stator 162 and rotor 166 cooled by refrigerant. Schreiber further teaches that excess liquid refrigerant associated with cooling the stator and rotor flows to a liquid drain 170 associated with the motor. The liquid drain 170 is connected to a liquid line through which the condensed refrigerant is returned to evaporator 128. Schreiber therefore teaches supplying refrigerant drained from the stator and/or rotor into a liquid drain line associated with the compressor/refrigeration system.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to incorporate a liquid drain arrangement similar to Schreiber into the motor cooling arrangement of Mohamed as modified by Berning to provide a controlled path for removing excess liquid refrigerant from the motor and returning the refrigerant to the refrigeration cycle.
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohamed as modified by Berning in view of Schreiber in view of Welch.
Claim 20/19/1
Mohamed as modified by Berning and Schreiber teaches: The motor (10) of claim 19, wherein the liquid drain line (170; Schreiber) is further connected to an evaporator (128 Schrieber) being fluidically connected to the compressor (119; Schreiber) in a refrigerant line, but does not expressly disclose: wherein the nozzle is fluidically connected to a liquid injection line connected to a condenser being fluidically connected to the compressor in the refrigerant line.
Welch relevantly teaches supplying refrigerant from a refrigeration system to a compressor motor through a conduit and nozzle, with the nozzle directing refrigerant into a rotating shaft. Welch therefore provides the claimed nozzle/refrigerant injection arrangement.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the claimed invention was filed to employ a liquid refrigerant supply arrangement of Welch with the refrigerant from the high pressure condenser side to the motor through the nozzle while returning excess liquid refrigerant from the motor through the liquid drain line to the evaporator.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED F SECK whose telephone number is (571)272-4638. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached at (571) 272-3560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AHMED F SECK/ Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/CHRISTOPHER M KOEHLER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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