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 . Claims 1-5 are pending.
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 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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuoka et al. (US 20120194026 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Matsuoka discloses a rotor comprising:
a rotor core (rotor core, annotated fig. 3) including a magnet insertion hole (magnet hole, annotated fig. 3) and a bridge portion (bridge, annotated fig. 3) provided so as to adjoin the magnet insertion hole; and
a permanent magnet (magnet, annotated fig. 3) disposed in the magnet insertion hole, wherein when viewed in an axial direction, a side surface of the magnet insertion hole is provided with
a first straight line (first straight line, drawn short line in annotated fig. 3) that forms the bridge portion (forms a part of the bridge),
a second straight line (second straight line, annotated fig. 3) disposed so as to extend in a direction along a long side of the permanent magnet (see annotated fig. 3),
a first arc-shaped portion (first arc, annotated fig. 3) connected to the first straight line and disposed between the first straight line and the second straight line (see annotated fig. 3),
a second arc-shaped portion (second arc, annotated fig. 3) connected to the second straight line and disposed between the first straight line and the second straight line (see annotated fig. 3), and
an inter-arc straight line portion (inter arc, annotated fig. 3) connected to the first arc-shaped portion and to the second arc-shaped portion (see annotated fig. 3) or an inter-arc curved line portion connected to the first arc-shaped portion and to the second arc-shaped portion and having a smaller curvature than the first arc-shaped portion and the second arc-shaped portion (implied because the inter arc portion has no curvature).
Regarding claim 2, Matsuoka discloses the rotor according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by the first straight line and the second straight line is an acute angle (see annotated fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Matsuoka discloses the rotor according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by the first straight line and the inter-arc straight line portion or a tangent at a connection portion between the inter-arc curved line portion and the first arc-shaped portion and an angle formed by the second straight line and the inter-arc straight line portion or a tangent at a connection portion between the inter-arc curved line portion and the second arc-shaped portion are obtuse angles (the angle between the two lines would be larger than 90 degrees if the two lines are extrapolated in the annotated fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Matsuoka discloses the rotor according to claim 1, wherein the first straight line is provided so as to adjoin a clearance in the magnet insertion hole where the permanent magnet is not disposed (implied, see annotated fig. 3).
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Regarding claim 5, Matsuoka discloses the rotor according to claim 1, wherein the first straight line is provided so as to form the bridge portion (a part of it) located between the magnet insertion holes that are adjacent to each other and disposed in a V-shape (see fig. 6; this is implied because the triangular portions of the magnet holes in the V-shape portions between the magnets have shapes similar to those at the rotor core boundary shown in fig. 3).
Conclusion
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/MASOUD VAZIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
