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 .
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) 1-3, 5, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kubota (US 20240317090).
1. Kubota teaches:
A brushless electric motor M for a motor vehicle (title), the motor comprising:
a stator 11 that has at least two electrical coils (see fig 2 for at least 4 coils), which are distributed to multiple phases α1-β2; and
an electronic system/power supply/charging circuit 2, which has a DC circuit/first circuit 6 with two electrical poles (fig 3), between which a plurality of bridge branches are connected (upper arms AH1 & AH2 and lower arms AL1 & AL2, fig 3), two bridge branches in each case forming one bridge pair (fig 3), and each phase being connected in each case between one of the bridge branches of one of the bridge pairs (fig 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
354
685
media_image1.png
Greyscale
2. Kubota teaches:
The brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the electrical coils of each phase are formed from a common enameled wire (examiner note: The examiner is taking official notice to the limitation of a common enameled wire, because it is well known for the coils of the stator to have the same insulation/enamel coating).
3. Kubota teaches:
The brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein the electrical coils are formed by single tooth winding (abstract and figs 2 & 3).
5. Kubota teaches:
The brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein each bridge branch has a series circuit made up of two MOSFETs (AH1 & AL1), which is run in each case against one of the electrical poles on an end side (figs 2 & 3), and wherein a contact point/midpoint P1 is formed between the two MOSFETs (figs 2 & 3), against which the phase assigned in each case is run on the end side (figs 2 & 3).
7. Kubota teaches:
A motor scooter (Kubota teaches a charging/drive system for an electric vehicle which motor scooters are contained in this class of vehicle) comprising a main drive 2 that comprises a brushless electric motor M according to claim 1.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Kubota (US 12149194) (hereibafter “Kubota1”).
4. Kubota has been discussed above, re claim 1; but does not teach that the number of phases is equal to 6, the number of electrical coils is equal to 12, and the number of bridge branches being equal to 12.
However, Kubota teaches that the motor has a two phase configuration with two coils per phase (totaling 8 coils, fig 15) and 8 bridge branches (fig 15).
Kubota1 teaches a motor having a three phase configuration which when implementing the motor configuration of Kubota, the limitations of the number of phase, coils, and bridge branches would be satisfied (for 3-phase configuration, see fig 9). When implementing a 3 phase motor configuration of Khbota1 onto the motor configuration of Kubota, the power and control of the motor would be increased which improves the motors versatility and reliability.
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the invention being effectively filed to modify it such that the number of phases is equal to 6, the number of electrical coils is equal to 12, and the number of bridge branches being equal to 12, as taught by Kubota1 so as to improve the motor’s versatility and reliability.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubota in view of Anwar et al. (US 20060002054).
6. Kubota teaches:
The brushless electric motor according to claim 1, wherein the stator is hollow cylindrically (fig 2); but does not explicitly teach that an end face is covered by a printed circuit board of the electronic system, with the aid of which the bridge circuits are provided. The examiner note: this feature is well known in the art and Anwar et al. is being provided to prove just that.
Anwar et al. teach that an end face (the end face of the stator is implied as the board 88 has to be connected to the stator, figs 1-5) is covered by a printed circuit board 88 of the electronic system 80, with the aid of which the bridge circuits 34 are provided. This would make for a more compact system as the PCB is axially adjacent to the stator.
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the invention of Kubota being effectively filed to modify it such that an end face is covered by a printed circuit board of the electronic system, with the aid of which the bridge circuits are provided, as taught by Anwar et al. so as to make the motor mor compact.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRANCE L KENERLY whose telephone number is (571)270-7851. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Koehler can be reached at 5712723560. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TERRANCE L KENERLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
