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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada et al. (JP 2018207717 A, as cited in IDS filed 03/24/2025) in view of Okuyama et al. (US 2009/0127969 A1).
RE claim 1, Yamada teaches a stator 1 (Figs.1-5) comprising: a stator core 2 having a plurality of teeth 2 each extending in a radial direction; windings 4 wound respectively around the teeth 2 of the stator core 2 in a concentrated winding manner to form coils respectively on the teeth 2; and insulators 3 each of which is interposed between the stator core 2 and a corresponding one of the windings 4 to prevent direct contact between the corresponding winding 4 and the stator core 2, wherein each of the insulators 3 has a tooth covering part 31, 32 (Fig.4) that covers necessary portions of a corresponding one of the teeth 2 of the stator core, the tooth covering part (31, 32) has: a tooth end face covering portion 32 that covers an axial end face of the corresponding tooth in an axial direction of the stator core; a pair of side face covering portions 31 that respectively cover a pair of side surfaces of the corresponding tooth 2; and curved corners 14 each of which is located between the tooth end face covering portion 32 and an adjacent one of the side face covering portions 31 and functions as a contact portion to make contact with the corresponding winding 4 (Figs.5, 6),
Yamada does not teach
each of the curved corners is configured to satisfy:
B/4<R<Bx3/4;and
B/8<H<B/2,
where B is a tooth width in a width direction of the corresponding tooth, R is a radius of curvature of an outer curved surface of the curved corner, and H is a curved height of the curved corner.
Okuyama suggests that various dimensions and curvatures (r1, r2) of the corner of the corner (Figs.3, 7) can be utilized to make higher space factors of the stator winding to improve the output torque characteristic of the rotating machine (¶ 64-69, Figs.3, 7).
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 Yamada by having each of the curved corners is configured to satisfy: B/4<R<Bx3/4; and B/8<H<B/2, where B is a tooth width in a width direction of the corresponding tooth, R is a radius of curvature of an outer curved surface of the curved corner, and H is a curved height of the curved corner, as suggested by Okuyama, for the same reasons as discussed above.
Furthermore, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Claims 2-5 recited various dimensional formula similar to claim 1 and therefore are rejected for similar reasons as claim 1.
RE claim 5/1, Yamada in view of Okuyama has been discussed above. Yamada further teaches for each of the curved corners of the insulators, a main outer curved surface, which is the outer curved surface of the curved corner having the radius of curvature set as above.
Yamada does not teach said outer curve surface of the curved corner is connected with the tooth end face covering portion via an outer curved surface that is formed continuously with the main outer curved surface and has a radius of curvature smaller than that of the main outer curved surface.
Okuyama suggests that various dimensions and curvatures (r1, r2) of the corner of the corner (Figs.3, 7) can be utilized to make higher space factors of the stator winding to improve the output torque characteristic of the rotating machine (¶ 64-69, Figs.3, 7).
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 Yamada by having said outer curve surface of the curved corner is connected with the tooth end face covering portion via an outer curved surface that is formed continuously with the main outer curved surface and has a radius of curvature smaller than that of the main outer curved surface, as taught by Okuyama, for the same reasons as discussed above.
RE claim 6, Yamada teaches a motor (Fig.1) comprising: a stator including a stator core having a plurality of teeth 2 each extending in a radial direction, windings 4 wound respectively around the teeth of the stator core 2 in a concentrated winding manner to form coils 4 respectively on the teeth 2, and insulators 3 each of which is interposed between the stator core and a corresponding one of the windings to prevent direct contact between the corresponding winding 4 and the stator core 2; and a rotor configured to be driven under a rotating magnetic field (see translation ¶ 9), which is generated in the stator by supply of electric power to the stator 2, to rotate, wherein each of the insulators 3 of the stator has a tooth covering part (31, 32) that covers necessary portions of a corresponding one of the teeth 2 of the stator core 2, the tooth covering part has: a tooth end face covering portion 32 that covers an axial end face of the corresponding tooth 2 in an axial direction of the stator core; a pair of side face covering portions 31 that respectively cover a pair of side surfaces of the corresponding tooth 2; and curved corners 14 each of which is located between the tooth end face covering portion and an adjacent one of the side face covering portions and functions as a contact portion to make contact with the corresponding winding 4,
Yamada does not teach
each of the curved corners is configured to satisfy:
B/4<R<Bx3/4;and
B/8<H<B/2,
where B is a tooth width in a width direction of the corresponding tooth, R is a radius of curvature of an outer curved surface of the curved corner, and H is a curved height of the curved corner.
Okuyama suggests that various dimensions and curvatures (r1, r2) of the corner of the corner (Figs.3, 7) can be utilized to make higher space factors of the stator winding to improve the output torque characteristic of the rotating machine (¶ 64-69, Figs.3, 7).
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 Yamada by having each of the curved corners is configured to satisfy: B/4<R<Bx3/4; and B/8<H<B/2, where B is a tooth width in a width direction of the corresponding tooth, R is a radius of curvature of an outer curved surface of the curved corner, and H is a curved height of the curved corner, as suggested by Okuyama, for the same reasons as discussed above.
Furthermore, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)270-5532. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM EST.
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/THOMAS TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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