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 04/25/2025 is 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 § 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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pyeon (US PG Pub 2022/0060067) in view of Jing (CN107046337).
As to independent claim 1, Pyeon teaches rotating electrical machine (1) comprising: a rotor (400) rotatable about a central axis ( C); and a stator (300) located radially outside the rotor (400); wherein the rotor (400) includes: a shaft (500) extending in an axial direction about the central axis ( C); and a rotor core (410) fixed to the shaft (500); a plurality of magnets (420) arranged in a circumferential direction on a radially outer surface of the rotor core (410); and the stator (300) includes a stator core (310) radially opposing the rotor with a gap; the stator core (310) includes a core back portion (311) having an annular shape centered on the central axis ( C), and a plurality of tooth portions (312) arranged along an inner peripheral surface of the core back portion (311); each of the plurality of tooth portions (312) includes a tooth body portion (312a) extending radially inward from an inner peripheral surface of the core back portion (311), and an umbrella portion (312b) protruding to two sides in a circumferential direction at a distal end portion of the tooth body portion (312a) ; and a groove portion (314, 315) extending along the axial direction is provided on a surface facing radially inward of each of the plurality of tooth portions (312) as shown in figures 1-5.
However Pyeon teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except a magnetic portion provided on a radially outer surface of each of the plurality of magnets and including an outer peripheral surface in a curved shape.
Jing teaches a magnetic portion (6) provided on a radially outer surface of each of the plurality of magnets (5) and including an outer peripheral surface in a curved shape as shown in figure 4, for the advantageous benefit of reducing the vibration and noise generated by the 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 Pyeon by using a magnetic portion provided on a radially outer surface of each of the plurality of magnets and including an outer peripheral surface in a curved shape, as taught by Jing, to reduce the vibration and noise generated by the motor.
Claim(s) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pyeon (US PG Pub 2022/0060067) and Jing (CN107046337) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Suzuki (JP2015070663).
As to claim 2/1, Pyeon in view of Jing teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the groove portion is provided on a surface facing radially inward of the tooth body portion.
However Suzuki teaches the groove portion (54, 55) is provided on a surface facing radially inward of the tooth body portion (51) as shown in figures 1-4, for the advantageous benefit reducing cogging torque.
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 Pyeon in view of Jing by using the groove portion is provided on a surface facing radially inward of the tooth body portion, as taught by Suzuki, to reduce a cogging torque.
As to claim 3/2, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the outer peripheral surface of the magnetic portion has an arc shape protruding radially outward when viewed from the axial direction.
However Jing teaches the outer peripheral surface of the magnetic portion (6) has an arc shape protruding radially outward when viewed from the axial direction as shown in figure 4, for the advantageous benefit of reducing the vibration and noise generated by the 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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using the outer peripheral surface of the magnetic portion has an arc shape protruding radially outward when viewed from the axial direction, as taught by Jing, to reduce the vibration and noise generated by the motor.
As to claim 4/3, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the groove portion includes a first groove portion and a second groove portion; and the first groove portion and the second groove portion are arranged at positions symmetrical to each other with a reference line passing through a center of each of the plurality of tooth portions in the circumferential direction and the central axis as an axis of symmetry.
However Suzuki teaches the groove portion includes a first groove portion (54) and a second groove portion (55); and the first groove portion (54) and the second groove portion (55) are arranged at positions symmetrical to each other with a reference line passing through a center of each of the plurality of tooth portions (32) in the circumferential direction and the central axis as an axis of symmetry as shown in figures 3-4, for the advantageous benefit reducing cogging torque.
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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using the groove portion includes a first groove portion and a second groove portion; and the first groove portion and the second groove portion are arranged at positions symmetrical to each other with a reference line passing through a center of each of the plurality of tooth portions in the circumferential direction and the central axis as an axis of symmetry, as taught by Suzuki, to reduce a cogging torque.
As to claim 5/3, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein a dimension of the groove portion in the circumferential direction is 60% or more and 100% or less of a dimension of a gap between the umbrella portions provided to the plurality of tooth portions adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction.
Suzuki teaches a dimension of the groove portion (54, 55) in the circumferential direction is 60% or more and 100% or less of a dimension of a gap (62) between the umbrella portions (52, 53) provided to the plurality of tooth portions (32) adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction as shown in figure 4, for the advantageous benefit reducing cogging torque.
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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using a dimension of the groove portion in the circumferential direction is 60% or more and 100% or less of a dimension of a gap between the umbrella portions provided to the plurality of tooth portions adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction, as taught by Suzuki, to reduce a cogging torque.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pyeon (US PG Pub 2022/0060067), Jing (CN107046337) and Suzuki (JP2015070663) as applied in claim 5 above, and further in view of Woo (KR20180027021).
As to claim 6/5, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the groove portion has a rectangular or substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the axial direction.
However Woo teaches the groove portion (323) has a rectangular or substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the axial direction a shown in figure 3, for the advantageous benefit of reducing a cogging torque.
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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using the groove portion has a rectangular or substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the axial direction, as taught by Woo, to reduce a cogging torque.
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pyeon (US PG Pub 2022/0060067), Jing (CN107046337) and Suzuki (JP2015070663) as applied in claims 2-3 above, and further in view of Tsuji (WO2019/044206).
As to claim 7/5, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the groove portion has a semicircular or substantially semicircular shape when viewed from the axial direction.
However Tsuji teaches the groove portion (12) has a semicircular or substantially semicircular shape when viewed from the axial direction as shown in figures 2-4, for the advantageous benefit of reducing a cogging torque.
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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using the groove portion has a semicircular or substantially semicircular shape when viewed from the axial direction, as taught by Tsuji, to reduce the vibration and noise generated by the motor.
As to claim 8/3, Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein an axial dimension of the stator core is larger than an axial dimension of the rotor core.
However Tsuji teaches an axial dimension of the stator core (2) is larger than an axial dimension of the rotor core (4) as shown in figure 14, for the advantageous benefit of reducing a cogging torque.
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 Pyeon and Jing in view of Suzuki by using an axial dimension of the stator core is larger than an axial dimension of the rotor core, as taught by Tsuji, to reduce the vibration and noise generated by the motor.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7850. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:30-2:30 EST.
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/JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 October 14, 2026
