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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/31/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/31/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3, 5, 8, and 10-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Interpretation
The Examiner notes that the claim language, “wherein when the outer coil and the inner coil are used simultaneously, the stator is configured as a single stator,” and, “wherein when the outer coil and in the inner coil are used independently, the stator is configured a plurality of stators” are considered “contingent limitations” (See MPEP 2111.04) and are not required by the claims as it is not required for the stator to be used simultaneously or independently as claimed, and the claims only require the structure of having, “a plurality of rotors and a plurality of stators that are sequentially arranged in pairs to rotate the contra-rotating propulsion unit.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 8, and 10-11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1,
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the stator" in line 16, 18, and 20. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The Examiner respectfully notes that there already exists “a plurality of stators” (see lines 7-8) and therefore is insufficient antecedent for “the stator” and renders the claim unclear as it cannot be determined by a person of ordinary skill to which stator the claim is referring.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the bearing" in 24. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-3, 5, 8, and 10 are rejected based on their dependencies.
Regarding claim 11,
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the stator" in line 18, 20, and 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The Examiner respectfully notes that there already exists “a plurality of stators” (see line 10) and therefore is insufficient antecedent for “the stator” and renders the claim unclear as it cannot be determined by a person of ordinary skill to which stator the claim is referring.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the bearing" in 26. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-3, 5, 8, 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0031892 A1) in view of Wishart (US PGPUB 2010/0236849 A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Lin et al. discloses a hull-directed (12) propulsion system of a contra-rotating propulsion unit (Fig. 3), comprising:
a contra-rotating propulsion unit (14) including a front propeller (16) and a rear propeller (18);
a dual rotor (26, 30) electric motor configured to generate rotational directions of the front propeller and the rear propeller (Fig. 3), respectively; and
a dual shaft (see annotated Fig. 3 above; the shafts connected to the propellers 16 and 18) connecting the contra-rotating propulsion unit and the dual-rotor electric motor (Fig. 3),
wherein the dual-rotor electric motor is configured such that a plurality of rotors (26, 30) and a plurality of stators (20, 43; the Examiner notes that the "modulator" is fixed via 42 and therefore should be considered a stator, "However, the modulator 34 is fixed 42 on at least the inboard side to prevent the modulator 34 from rotating. Likewise, it is understood that the stator 20 is also fixed and does not rotate." 1) are sequentially arranged in pairs (Fig. 3) to rotate the contra-rotating propulsion unit, the plurality of rotors being configured to operate through induced power (15), and
wherein the rotor includes an outer rotor (26) disposed on an outer side of the dual-rotor electric motor (Fig. 3) configured to rotate in one direction ("As described above, it may be preferable for the first and second propellers 16, 18 to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed" 18); and an inner rotor (30) configured to rotate in another direction opposite to the one direction, and
wherein the dual shaft includes an outer shaft (see annotated Fig. 3 above) and an inner shaft (see annotated Fig. 3 above) that rotate in opposite directions ("As described above, it may be preferable for the first and second propellers 16, 18 to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed" ¶18), respectively, the outer shaft being connected to the outer rotor (26), and the inner shaft being connected to the inner rotor (30),
wherein the stator includes an outer coil (¶15) configured to control the outer rotor, and
wherein the plurality of stators are configured such that the outer coil (stator, 20) and the inner coil (modulator, 43) are arranged to be spaced apart from each other (Fig. 3 shows that the stator and the modulator are spaced apart from each other to reduce magnetic interference there between, “It may also be preferable for a modulator 34 to be located between the first and second rotors 26, 30 to modulate the second magnetic field.” [0019]), and wherein the bearings (44, 46; Fig. 3) are disposed between the plurality of stators and the plurality of rotors to rotatably support the outer rotor and the inner rotor, respectively.
However, Lin et al. does not disclose, “an inner coil configured to control the inner rotor.”
Lin et al. discloses in ¶19 that "The modulator 34 may include a series of magnetic segments 36 (e.g., a soft magnetic material), line bars, spaced around the rotor 26, 30 with adjacent magnetic segments 36 being separated from each other by non-magnetic segments 38."
Wishart teaches, in the field of brushless counter-rotating DC/AC motor that equivalent electromagnets may take the place of permanent magnets (¶55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to replace the permanent magnets of the modulator (or inner stator) of Lin et al. with an electromagnet (which includes coils) as taught by Wishart; as they have an art recognized equivalence for the same purpose (See MPEP 2144.06) and one of ordinary skill would appreciate that, "It is stressed that in this exemplary device the permanent magnets (or equivalent electromagnets) are associated with the stator or outer rotational member and the field winding are on the armature or inner rotational member, but the permanent magnets may be positioned on the armature and the field winds on the stator or, as stated, electromagnets may substitute for the permanent magnets in either location. ¶55"
The Examiner notes that combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of structures of the above claim, and are not required to teach the contingent limitations, “when the outer coil and the inner coil are used simultaneously, the stator is configured as a single stator, and wherein when the outer coil and the inner coil are used independently, the stator is configured as a plurality of stators,”
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of claim 1 as above, wherein the contra-rotating propulsion unit is connected to the dual shaft located a stern (Fig. 1) of a hull (12) and is disposed outside the stern (Fig. 1; ¶12-¶13).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of claim 2 as above, wherein the contra-rotating propulsion unit is configured such that front propeller and the rear propeller are disposed on the dual shaft and rotate in opposite directions (¶18, Fig. 3), respectively.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of claim 1 as above, wherein the rotor includes a permanent magnet or a rotor core in the outer rotor and the inner rotor (¶18).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of claim 1 as above,
wherein the dual shaft is connected to an end of the dual-rotor electric motor (Fig. 3),
wherein the one side of the dual shaft is configured to rotate in one direction (16), and
wherein another side of the dual shaft is configured to rotate in another direction opposite to the one direction (18).
Regarding claim 10 the combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of claim 1 as above, wherein the dual shaft includes a bearing (46, 44) disposed at one side where the rotor shaft meets the hull (Fig. 1, the propellers abut the hull, and therefore everything to the left of the propellers in Fig. 3 should be considered to be meeting or in the hull), the bearing configured to support the outer shaft and the inner shaft (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 11, Lin et al. discloses a method of manufacturing a hull-directed (12, Fig. 1) propulsion system (14) of a contra-rotating propulsion unit (Fig. 3), comprising:
(a) disposing a dual-rotor electric motor (14) inside a hull (12, Fig. 1, Fig. 3), the dual-rotor electric motor being configured to generate respective rotation direction (18) of a front propeller (16) and a rear propeller (17) of the contra-rotating propulsion unit (Fig. 3);
(b) disposing a dual shaft (Fig. 1, Fig. 3) inside the hull, the dual shaft being connected to an end of the dual-rotor electric motor (Fig. 3); and
(c) connecting the contra-rotating propulsion unit to an end of the dual shaft and disposing the contra-rotating propulsion unit outside the stern (Fig. 1) of the hull, wherein in step (a), a plurality of rotors (26, 30) and a plurality of stators (20, 34) are sequentially arranged in pairs, the plurality of rotors being configured to rotate through induced power (15) and
wherein the rotor includes an outer rotor (26) disposed on an outer side of the dual-rotor electric motor (Fig. 3) configured to rotate in one direction ("As described above, it may be preferable for the first and second propellers 16, 18 to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed" 18); and an inner rotor (30) configured to rotate in another direction opposite to the one direction, and wherein the dual shaft includes an outer shaft (see annotated Fig. 3 above) and an inner shaft (see annotated Fig. 3 above) that rotate in opposite directions ("As described above, it may be preferable for the first and second propellers 16, 18 to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed" 18), respectively, the outer shaft being connected to the outer rotor (26), and the inner shaft being connected to the inner rotor (30),
wherein the stator includes an outer coil (¶15) configured to control the outer rotor, and
wherein the plurality of stators are configured such that the outer coil (stator, 20) and the inner coil (modulator, 43) are arranged to be spaced apart from each other (Fig. 3 shows that the stator and the modulator are spaced apart from each other to reduce magnetic interference there between, “It may also be preferable for a modulator 34 to be located between the first and second rotors 26, 30 to modulate the second magnetic field.” [0019]), and wherein the bearings (44, 46; Fig. 3) are disposed between the plurality of stators and the plurality of rotors to rotatably support the outer rotor and the inner rotor, respectively.
However, Lin et al. does not disclose, “an inner coil configured to control the inner rotor.”
Lin et al. discloses in ¶19 that "The modulator 34 may include a series of magnetic segments 36 (e.g., a soft magnetic material), line bars, spaced around the rotor 26, 30 with adjacent magnetic segments 36 being separated from each other by non-magnetic segments 38."
Wishart teaches, in the field of brushless counter-rotating DC/AC motor that equivalent electromagnets may take the place of permanent magnets (¶55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to replace the permanent magnets of the modulator (or inner stator) of Lin et al. with an electromagnet (which includes coils) as taught by Wishart; as they have an art recognized equivalence for the same purpose (See MPEP 2144.06) and one of ordinary skill would appreciate that, "It is stressed that in this exemplary device the permanent magnets (or equivalent electromagnets) are associated with the stator or outer rotational member and the field winding are on the armature or inner rotational member, but the permanent magnets may be positioned on the armature and the field winds on the stator or, as stated, electromagnets may substitute for the permanent magnets in either location. ¶55"
The Examiner notes that combination of Lin et al. and Wishart teach all of structures of the above claim, and are not required to teach the contingent limitations, “when the outer coil and the inner coil are used simultaneously, the stator is configured as a single stator, and wherein when the outer coil and the inner coil are used independently, the stator is configured as a plurality of stators,”
Conclusion
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/RYAN C CLARK/Examiner, Art Unit 3745