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 March 17, 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 March 17, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on November 10, 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 title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 Yim et al. (EP 3460958 A1, hereafter referred to as Yim) in view of Miyamoto et al. (JP 5957803 B2, hereafter referred to as Miyamoto).
Regarding Claim 1, Yim discloses (see Figures 1-3) a rotary electric machine (1, Page 5, ¶ 5) comprising: an core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6) including a plurality of teeth portions (3a, Page 5, ¶ 6); a coil wire (4, Page 5, ¶ 6) that is wound around the core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6) in such a manner that the coil wire (4, Page 5, ¶ 6) is inserted in a slot (Page 5, ¶ 6: “ the stator coil 4 is wound around each of the teeth 3a such that a current flows therethrough,”) formed between the plurality of teeth portions (3a, Page 5, ¶ 6) in a circumferential direction, and that forms a coil end portion (Annotated Figure 2) on an axially outer side with respect to an axial end surface of the core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6); a first cover member (30A-B, Page 5, ¶ 7) that covers the coil end portion (Annotated Figure 2) from an axially outer side, a radially inner side, and a radially outer side; a second cover member (20, Page 5, ¶ 7) that covers the axial end surface of the core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6); and a refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) between the first cover member (30A-B, Page 5, ¶ 7) and the second cover member (20, Page 5, ¶ 7), wherein the first cover member (30A-B, Page 5, ¶ 7) and the second cover member (20, Page 5, ¶ 7) are coupled to each other via a first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) on a radially outer side of the refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) and a second coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) on a radially inner side of the refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) in a cross-sectional view taken along a plane passing through a central axis of the core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6), and at least one of the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) and the second coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) overlaps the core (3, Page 5, ¶ 6) as viewed in an axial direction.
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Yim does not explicitly disclose that the core is an iron core.
However, Miyamoto, in the same field of technology, does disclose that the core (20, Page 2, ¶ 5) is an iron core (Page 2, ¶ 5: “The stator core 20 is a cylindrical member corresponding to the main body of the stator 14 and is configured by stacking a plurality of electromagnetic steel plates punched into a predetermined shape.”).
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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 rotary electric machine disclosed by Yim such that the core is an iron core, as disclosed by Miyamoto, in order to produce the stator core from an easily workable magnetic material (Page 2, ¶ 5: “The stator core 20 is a cylindrical member corresponding to the main body of the stator 14 and is configured by stacking a plurality of electromagnetic steel plates punched into a predetermined shape.”).
Regarding Claim 2/1, Yim in view of Miyamoto has been discussed above.
Additionally, the drawings of Yim appear to suggest that the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) or the second coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) overlaps the coil end portion (Annotated Figure 2) as viewed in the axial direction (see Figures 2 and 3, coupling portion 35 appears to overlap coil end portion 4 in the axial direction).
Regarding Claim 3/1, Yim in view of Miyamoto has been discussed above.
Additionally, Yim discloses that one of the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) and the second coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) includes a snap fit portion (34-1, Page 7, ¶ 3) in a radial direction and an interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) in the radial direction (Page 7, ¶ 3: “Therefore, when the external bobbin 20B and the front bobbin cover 30A are coupled to each other, the external bobbin 20B is inserted into the case fixing groove 36 between the external flange 34 and the internal flange 35, and the clip protrusion 29 is coupled to the clip groove 34-1. Thus, a clip fixing force as well as the insertion fixing force is formed to further strengthen the fixed state.”), and the other of the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) and the second coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) includes an interference fit portion in the radial direction (Page 6, ¶ 8: “The front bobbin cover 30A and the external bobbin 20B are fixed to each other through insertion connection, and the rear bobbin cover 30B and the external bobbin 20B are also fixed to each other through insertion connection.”).
Regarding Claim 4/1, Yim in view of Miyamoto has been discussed above.
Additionally, Yim discloses (see Figures 1-3 above) that the refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) has an annular shape as viewed in the axial direction, the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) includes an interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) in a radial direction, and the interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) is provided over an entire circumference in the circumferential direction (Page 6, ¶ 8: “The front bobbin cover 30A and the external bobbin 20B are fixed to each other through insertion connection, and the rear bobbin cover 30B and the external bobbin 20B are also fixed to each other through insertion connection.”) (see Figure 1, the features of cover members 30A-B appear to be annular).
Regarding Claim 5/2/1, Yim in view of Miyamoto has been discussed above.
Additionally, Yim discloses (see Figures 1-3 above) that the refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) has an annular shape as viewed in the axial direction, the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) includes an interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) in a radial direction, and the interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) is provided over an entire circumference in the circumferential direction (Page 6, ¶ 8: “The front bobbin cover 30A and the external bobbin 20B are fixed to each other through insertion connection, and the rear bobbin cover 30B and the external bobbin 20B are also fixed to each other through insertion connection.”) (see Figure 1, the features of cover members 30A-B appear to be annular).
Regarding Claim 6/3/1, Yim in view of Miyamoto has been discussed above.
Additionally, Yim discloses (see Figures 1-3 above) that the refrigerant space (39-1/2, Page 6, ¶ 2) has an annular shape as viewed in the axial direction, the first coupled portion (34-36, Page 6, ¶ 9) includes the interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) in the radial direction, and the interference fit portion (36, Page 6, ¶ 9) is provided over an entire circumference in the circumferential direction (Page 6, ¶ 8: “The front bobbin cover 30A and the external bobbin 20B are fixed to each other through insertion connection, and the rear bobbin cover 30B and the external bobbin 20B are also fixed to each other through insertion connection.”) (see Figure 1, the features of cover members 30A-B appear to be annular).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hanumalagutti et al. (US 20170271940 A1) discloses relevant prior art in Figures 5-11.
Conclusion
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/C.F.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/ALEXANDER A SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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