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 statements (IDS) submitted on 03/03/2025 and 03/10/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 11-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smrtnik (US PG Pub 2019/0325901).
As to independent claim 1, Smrtnik teaches a motor for a turntable see paragraph [0001]), comprising: a stator (see figure 8,9) comprising a plurality of conductive coils (25, 25a, 25b), the plurality of conductive coils (25, 25a, 25b) comprising a plurality of coil windings (see figure 8, see paragraph [0063]); and a rotor (10) comprising a plurality of permanent magnets (2) , wherein: the stator (see figure 8,9) and the rotor (10) are substantially concentrically arranged about a central axis of the motor (see figure 8), the plurality of conductive coils (25, 25a, 25b) are arranged with their central axes substantially radial with respect to the central axis of the motor (see figure 8), and there is a gap of at least 3mm (see paragraph [0015], a gap between an upper surface of the housing and a lower surface of the turntable is in a range from 1 to 200 mm, preferably 30 to 50 mm]) between the rotor (2) and a face of each of the coil winding (see figure 8, see paragraph [0063]) that is proximate the rotor (1) as shown in figures 7-9.
As to claim 2/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the stator (see figures 8-9) is radially exterior to the rotor (1) as shown in figures 1, 7-10.
As to claim 3/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the gap is between an upper surface of each of the permanent magnet (2) and a face of each of the coil winding (see figure 8, see paragraph [0063]) that is proximate the rotor (1) as shown in figures 1, 7-10.
As to claim 4/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the gap is greater than or equal to 3mm and less than or equal to 30mm (see paragraph [0015], a gap between an upper surface of the housing and a lower surface of the turntable is in a range from 1 to 200 mm, preferably 30 to 50 mm]).
As to claim 6/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the rotor (1) comprises a substantially circular support with a diameter of approximately 280mm for the plurality of permanent magnets (2) (see claim 3).
As to claim 11/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the motor is a direct drive motor as shown in figure 8.
As to claim 12/1, Smrtnik teaches wherein the gap is an air gap as shown in figures 1 and 8.
As to claim 13/1, Smrtnik teaches comprising a motor as shown in figures 1 and 8.
As to claim 14/1, Smrtnik teaches manufacturing a motor as shown in figures 1 and 8.
As to claim 15/1, Smrtnik teaches using a motor as shown in figures 1 and 8.
As to claim 16/13, Smrtnik teaches manufacturing a turntable as shown in figures 1 and 8.
As to claim 17/13, Smrtnik teaches using a turntable as shown in figures 1 and 8.
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smrtnik (US PG Pub2019/0325901) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Kobayashi et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0106232).
As to claim 7/1, Smrtnik teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the plurality of conductive coils have a substantially rectangular profile.
However Kobayashi et al. teaches the plurality of conductive coils (8) have a substantially rectangular profile (12) as shown in figure 12, providing output density of the brushless motor is improved and the size and cost of the motor is reduced since the space factor in the coil is improved without reducing the flexibility of the rectangular wire.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Smrtnik by using the plurality of conductive coils have a substantially rectangular profile, as taught by Kobayashi et al., to provide output density of the brushless motor is improved and the size and cost of the motor is reduced since the space factor in the coil is improved without reducing the flexibility of the rectangular wire.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smrtnik (US PG Pub2019/0325901) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Tenhunen (US PG Pub 2007/0241634).
As to claim 10/1, Smrtnik teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the stator and the rotor are mounted on a chassis with a diameter of approximately 380mm.
However Tenhunen teaches the stator and the rotor are mounted on a chassis with a diameter of approximately 380mm (see paragraph [0061]), for the advantageous benefit of reducing harmonics caused by stator winding and stator slotting, thus minimizing adverse effects of harmonics on operation of motor.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Smrtnik by using the stator and the rotor are mounted on a chassis with a diameter of approximately 380mm, as taught by Tenhunen, to reduce harmonics caused by stator winding and stator slotting, thus minimizing adverse effects of harmonics on operation of motor.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5,8-9 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. Note claims 5 depends claim 1 , claim 8 depends claim 1 and claim 9 depends claim 8.
Conclusion
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/JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 September 18, 2026
