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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in FIG. 1 it appears that the reference character “321 (321)” appears to have been meant to be “321 (322).”
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-7 and 9-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 2-7 and 9-13 the word “Claim” should not be capitalized.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by WIPO Publication No. 2018/101183 to Ogawa et al. (hereinafter Ogawa; provided by Applicant on 12/15/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Ogawa teaches a rotor (FIG. 1, 2) for a rotary electric machine (FIG. 1, 14), the rotor comprising:
a core (FIG. 1, 9a) including a shaft center (FIG. 1, 3) and a magnet hole (FIG. 1, 11); and
a magnet material portion (FIG. 2; 140, 150) formed by injecting an injection molding material containing a magnetic powder into the magnet hole (Paragraph [0025]-[0028]; [0045]), wherein
the magnet material portion includes
a magnet body (FIG. 2, 140) inside the magnet hole, and
a material end (FIG. 2, 150) outside the magnet hole, and
the material end encloses the magnet hole (Paragraph [0041]-[0042]) and is separated into a plurality of portions in a circumferential direction as viewed in an axial direction (FIG. 3, 150).
Regarding claim 2, Ogawa teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the magnet material portion is disposed so as to form a plurality of magnetic poles along the circumferential direction (FIG. 3, 150; FIG. 5A, 5B), and the material end is separated between the magnet poles adjacent in the circumferential direction (Paragraph [0042]).
Regarding claim 3, Ogawa teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 2, wherein the material end is separated one by one for each of the magnetic poles (FIG. 3, 110b), and one island of the material end separated encloses a whole of the magnet hole of the magnetic pole corresponding as viewed in the axial direction (FIG. 3, 150; FIG. 4, 130a).
Regarding claim 8, Ogawa teaches a method of manufacturing a rotor (FIG. 1, 2) for a rotary electric machine (FIG. 1, 14), the method comprising:
preparing a core (FIG. 1, 9a) having a shaft center (FIG. 1, 3) and a magnet hole (FIG. 1, 11);
forming a closed space (FIG. 4, 130b) that communicates with an inside of the magnet hole of the core (FIG. 4, 130a) on one side in an axial direction of the core; and
filling a material for injection molding into the magnet hole of the core through the closed space, the material containing a magnetic powder (Paragraph [0025]-[0028]; [0045]), wherein
the closed space encloses the magnet hole (Paragraph [0041]-[0042]) and is separated into a plurality of portions in a circumferential direction as viewed in the axial direction (FIG. 4; 110b, 130b).
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 4-6 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogawa in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0238033 to Okuyama et al. (hereinafter Okuyama; cited by Applicant on 12/15/2025).
Regarding claim 4, Ogawa teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 1.
Ogawa does not teach one gate mark formed by injection molding existing for each one island of the material end separated.
However, Okuyama teaches a gate mark (FIG. 2, 41) formed by injection molding existing for each material end of a bonded magnet (FIG. 2, 40).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rotor of Ogawa with the teachings of Okuyama to provide a gate mark as it is a result of the injection molding process (Paragraph [0058]).
Regarding claim 5, Ogawa teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 2.
Ogawa does not teach one or more gate marks formed by injection molding being positioned for each one island of the material end separated, and the one or more gate marks being located at or near a centroid of the each one island as viewed in the axial direction.
However, Okuyama teaches a gate mark (FIG. 2, 41) formed by injection molding being positioned for each one material end of a bonded magnet separated, and the gate mark being located at or near a centroid of the each one material end of a bonded magnet as viewed in the axial direction.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rotor of Ogawa with the teachings of Okuyama to provide a gate mark near the centroid of each island as it is a result of the injection molding process (Paragraph [0058]) and injecting material near a centroid of each island would be more efficient in filling the material.
Regarding claim 6, Ogawa in view of Okuyama teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 4, wherein Ogawa further teaches the island having a formed in which a width in a radial direction increases at a substantially central portion in the circumferential direction as viewed in the axial direction (FIG. 3, 150).
Regarding claim 10, Ogawa teaches the method of manufacturing a rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 8.
Ogawa does not teach the filling of the material for injection molding including positioning one gate for injection molding for each one space portion of the closed space separated.
However, Okuyama teaches positioning one gate (FIG. 1, 32) for injection molding for each one space portion of the closed space separated.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ogawa with the teachings of Okuyama to provide one gate for each closed space to better direct the material and fill the closed space.
Regarding claim 11, Ogawa in view of Okuyama teaches the method of manufacturing a rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 10, wherein Okuyama further teaches the gate for injection molding being positioned at or near a centroid of the space portion corresponding as viewed in the axial direction (FIG. 1, 32).
Regarding claim 12, Ogawa in view of Okuyama teaches the method of manufacturing a rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 10, wherein Ogawa further teaches the space portion having a formed in which a width in a radial direction increases at a substantially center portion in the circumferential direction as viewed in the axial direction (FIG. 4, 130b).
Claims 7 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogawa in view of Japanese Patent No. 5900836 to Asano et al. (hereinafter Asano; provided by Applicant on 6/4/2026).
Regarding claim 7, Ogawa teaches the rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 1.
Ogawa does not teach a length of the material end in the axial direction being larger than a width of the magnet hole in a direction intersecting a magnetic path of the core.
However, Asano teaches a bonded magnet material end (FIG. 5, 41) having a length possibly larger than a width of the magnet hole in a direction intersecting a magnetic path of the core (Paragraph [0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rotor of Ogawa with the teachings of Asano to have the axial length of the material end being larger than a width of the magnet hole in order to further secure the axial end of the magnet to the core.
Regarding claim 13, Ogawa teaches the method of manufacturing a rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 8.
Ogawa does not teach a length of the closed space in the axial direction being larger than a width of the magnet hole in a direction intersecting a magnetic path of the core.
However, Asano teaches a bonded magnet material end (FIG. 5, 41) having a length possibly larger than a width of the magnet hole in a direction intersecting a magnetic path of the core (Paragraph [0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ogawa with the teachings of Asano to have the axial length of the closed space being larger than a width of the magnet hole in order to further secure the axial end of the magnet to the core.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogawa in view of Japanese Patent No. 2002-315279 to Matsuoka et al. (hereinafter Matsuoka; provided by Applicant on 12/15/2025).
Regarding claim 9, Ogawa teaches the method of manufacturing a rotor for a rotary electric machine according to claim 8, wherein the closed space is separated between the magnetic poles adjacent in the circumferential direction (FIG. 4; 130b, 110b).
Ogawa does not teach the filling of the material for injection molding being performed in a state in which an orientation magnetic field in which a plurality of magnetic poles is formed along a circumferential direction is formed.
However, Matsuoka teaches filling of a material for injection molding being performed in a state in which an orientation magnetic field in which a plurality of magnetic poles is formed along a circumferential direction being formed (FIG. 3, 10; Paragraph [0031]-[0032]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Ogawa with the teachings of Matsuoka to provide an orientation magnetic field during injection molding to properly form a magnetic field inside the filling (Paragraph [0032]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2025/022580 teaches a resin material end to a bonded magnet.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA KIEL MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-9881. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am - 7:00pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tulsidas Patel can be reached at (571) 272-2098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSHUA KIEL M RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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