DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-17 of U.S. Application No. 19/063,872 filed on 02/26/2025 are presented for examination.
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 submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/26/2025,and 07/14/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
(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, 6, 8-11, 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Takada et al. (US 2021/0218307; Hereinafter, “Takada”).
Regarding claim 1: Takada discloses a rotary electric machine to be driven by supply of electric power (motor 2), the rotary electric machine comprising: a rotor (20, and 30) configured to rotate about a rotation axis (A); and a stator (40) including a coil portion in which a plate-shaped coil wire is wound to be stacked, wherein the coil portion (fig. 5A, 5B) includes a conductor-arranged portion (annotated fig. 5B below) in which a conductor of the coil wire (424) is divided into a plurality of parts (at least two parts in fig. 5B), and the conductor-arranged portion includes a plurality of arranged conductors (425) arranged in a direction (circumferential and/or radial) orthogonal to a winding direction (parallel to axis A) of the coil wire,
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a coating portion (424b) that spans the plurality of arranged conductors (424) and coats the arranged conductors together (fig. 6B), and an interposed portion (annotated fig. 6B above) that is inside the coating portion (since it is between the conductors), provided between two of the arranged conductors adjacent to each other, and separating the arranged conductors from each other (fig. 6B).
Regarding claim 2/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the plurality of arranged conductors include, as the two of the arranged conductors (425) adjacent to each other, width-direction (right and left direction in fig. 6B) arranged conductors arranged in a width direction of the coil wire (fig. 6B).
Regarding claim 3/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the coil portion (the coil formed by 424) includes a radial extension portion, in which the coil wire (424) extends in a radial direction of the rotation axis (A), and a circumferential extension portion, in which the coil wire extends in a circumferential direction of the rotation axis, and the conductor-arranged portion is provided in at least the radial extension portion out of the radial extension portion and the circumferential extension portion (annotated and cropped fig. 5B below).
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Regarding claim 6/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the coil portion (made of wire 424) includes a plurality of coil annular portions (fig. 3) formed by the coil wire, each extending in an annular shape in the winding direction (A), and arranged in a stack direction (the axial direction), in which the coil wire is stacked (424), the plurality of coil annular portions include a conductor-arranged annular portion (42a) including the conductor-arranged portion, and at least an outer annular portion (the outer axial side of the coil), which is on an outermost side in the stack direction among the plurality of coil annular portions (made of wire 424), is the conductor-arranged annular portion (fig. 5A).
Regarding claim 8/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the interposed portion is a gap (filled with insulator 424b) between the two of the arranged conductors (425) adjacent to each other (fig. 6B).
Regarding claim 9/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 and further discloses the interposed portion is an insulation portion (424b filling the gap between the two wires 425) having an electrical insulation property and provided between the two of the arranged conductors adjacent to each other (fig. 6B).
Regarding claim 10: Takada discloses a rotary electric machine to be driven by supply of electric power (motor 2), the rotary electric machine comprising: a rotor (20, 30) configured to rotate about a rotation axis (A); and a stator (40) including a coil portion (armature 42 made of wire 424) in which a plate-shaped coil wire (424) is wound to be stacked, wherein the coil portion includes:
a first occupancy portion including a conductor of a lump (424a) in which a proportion of the conductor in a cross-section of the coil wire is a first conductor ratio (annotated fig. 6B below), and a second occupancy portion including a conductor of a lump (424a), adjacent to the first occupancy portion in a winding direction of the coil wire (424), and in which the proportion is a second conductor ratio, and the first conductor ratio is smaller than the second conductor ratio (annotated fig. 6B below).
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Regarding claim 11/10: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 10 and further discloses the first conductor ratio (1/3 of the conductor width) is smaller than the second conductor ratio by setting a volume density of the conductor (1/3 of the conductor 424a) in the first occupancy portion to be smaller than a volume density of the conductor in the second occupancy portion (2/3 of the conductor 424a).
Regarding claim 15/10: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 10 and further discloses in the coil portion (made of wire 424), the coil wire is wound to be stacked in an axial direction of the rotation axis (A), and the stator (40) is adjacent to the rotor (20, 30) along the rotation axis (fig. 3).
Regarding claim 16/10: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 10 and further discloses the rotor (20, 30) includes a first rotor (20) and a second rotor (30), which is adjacent to the first rotor in an axial direction (fig. 3) of the rotation axis (A), and the coil portion (of armature 42) is provided between the first rotor and the second rotor (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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takada in view of Bucklew (US 2896102; Hereinafter, “Bucklew”).
Regarding claim 5/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 but does not disclose that the plurality of arranged conductors include, as the two of the arranged conductors adjacent to each other, two intersecting conductors intersecting with each other.
Bucklew teaches forming the plurality of arranged conductors (fig. 6-10) include, as the two of the arranged conductors (1-3) adjacent to each other, two intersecting conductors intersecting with each other (1-3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have formed the coil portion of Takada with the plurality of arranged conductors include, as the two of the arranged conductors adjacent to each other, two intersecting conductors intersecting with each other as disclosed by Bucklew to reduce losses and heat.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takada in view of Schuler et al. (US 2018/0198338; Hereinafter, “Schuler”).
Regarding claim 5/1: Takada discloses the limitations of claim 1 but does not disclose that the rotary electric machine is provided in a flight vehicle and configured to drive the flight vehicle to fly.
Schuler teaches utilizing a rotary electric machine to provide in a flight vehicle and configured to drive the flight vehicle to fly (para[0129]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have utilized the motor of Takada to provide in a flight vehicle and configured to drive the flight vehicle to fly as disclosed by Schuler to take advantage of its reliability and power efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4/3/1, 7/6/1, 12-13/10, 14/1, 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 AHMED ELNAKIB whose telephone number is (571)270-0638. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00AM-4:00PM.
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/AHMED ELNAKIB/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2834
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