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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1 – 12 are newly introduced prior to examination.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 – 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the limitation “electric water pump with a direct terminal,” and later recites the limitation “a direct terminal interposed inside the stator,” this limitation should be recited as “[[a]] the direct terminal interposed inside the stator.” It is further noted that “a direct terminal” is again recited by claim 9.
Dependent claims not specifically objected to are interpreted as being objected to for depending from an objected claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 – 6, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 8,035,263, "Kienzler."
Regarding Claim 1: Kienzler discloses an electric water pump (Kienzler is directed towards the arrangement of an electric motor which is usable with an electric water pump; Figures 1 – 19) with a direct terminal, comprising: a stator (60, 11 – 15, 50) including a rotor accommodating portion (At least the hollow central portion of the stator as shown in at least Figure 17) configured to accommodate a rotor (52) and a plurality of coils (At least 11 – 15) arranged in a circumferential direction around a rotational shaft of the rotor (As shown in at least Figure 17); and a terminal (40) coupled to a side of the stator and electrically connected to the plurality of coils (As shown in at least Figures 5, 10, and 12), wherein the terminal includes a direct terminal (34, V1, W1, U'1, V'1, 36, and 32) interposed inside the stator in direct contact with the plurality of coils (As shown in at least Figure 12; Cl. 4, ln. 66, “portions of wire 30 that were hooked into hooks 34, V1, W1, U'1, V'1, 36, and 32 are welded in such a way that these hooks are bent together and simultaneously heated by means of a welding clamp”).
Regarding Claim 2: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 1; Kienzler further discloses wherein the terminal includes a conductor (140, 142, 144) coupled to a side of the stator in a direction of the rotational shaft (As shown in at least Figures 10 and 18) and formed in a circumferential direction (As shown in at least Figures 10 and 18; The arcuate shape of the conductors is broadly interpreted as being formed in the circumferential direction), and the direct terminal extends from the conductor and bends toward the stator to be interposed (As shown in at least Figures 5, 18, and 21).
Regarding Claim 3: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 2; Kienzler further discloses wherein the stator includes a terminal accommodating portion in which a coil terminal (35), which is a portion of the coil, is exposed and the direct terminal is interposed (As shown in at least Figures 12, 19, and 21; Void space internal to the stator is shown such that the coil terminal is shown arranged within the direct terminal in a manner equivalent to that of Figure 3 of the instant invention).
Regarding Claim 4: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 3; Kienzler further discloses wherein the direct terminal is formed in the direction of the rotational shaft of the stator and is interposed in the terminal accommodating portion in the same direction (As shown in at least Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 18; The direct terminal is shown comprising element which extend in the axial direction of the motor such that the direct terminals are broadly interpreted as formed in the direction of the rotation shaft).
Regarding Claim 5: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 4; Kienzler further discloses wherein the direct terminal includes a first contact portion and a second contact portion that form a V-shaped groove at a location of contact with the coil terminal (As shown in at least Figure 12; Each direct terminal is shown forming a V-shaped groove in which the coil terminal 35 is arranged, the V-shaped groove is broadly interepted as comprising each leg of the direct terminal extending in the axial direction and generally indicated as elements 36 and W’ on the right hand side of Figure 12).
Regarding Claim 6: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 5; Kienzler further discloses wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion further include a backlash that is an empty space formed on a opposite side of a portion, which is in contact with the coil terminal, when the direct terminal is completely fitted in the terminal accommodating portion (As shown in at least Figure 12; Void space is shown on the opposite side of each of the first contact portion and second contact portion, as described in the aforesaid rejection of claim 5, wherein the void space is broadly interpreted as forming a backlash which provides for a non-contact area on the opposite side of each respective contact portion).
Regarding Claim 9: Kienzler discloses the electric water pump of claim 4; Kienzler further discloses wherein the coil terminal and the terminal accommodating portion are positioned outside a wound portion of the coil around the rotational shaft of the stator (As shown in at least Figures 12 and 18; The coil terminal and terminal accommodating connection are shown formed outside of the main wound portions of the stator), and the terminal forms a direct terminal corresponding to each coil terminal by being formed in the circumferential direction of the stator (As further described in at least Cl. 4, ln. 66, “portions of wire 30 that were hooked into hooks 34, V1, W1, U'1, V'1, 36, and 32 are welded in such a way that these hooks are bent together and simultaneously heated by means of a welding clamp”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 8, and 10 – 12 are 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.
Claims 7, 8, and 10 – 12, recite additional limitations which significantly narrow the scope of the preceding claims such that no reference or combination of references have been identified which would have rendered each of the limitations of the recited claims as being obvious over Kienzler without first using the instant claims as a roadmap constituting impermissible hindsight to arrive at the claimed combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2012/0027629 – Fuel pump comprising terminals and direct terminals
US 2011/0068647 – Rotary electric machine comprising terminals and direct terminals
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN DOYLE whose telephone number is (571)270-5821. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 0900 - 1700.
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/BENJAMIN DOYLE/Examiner, Art Unit 3746 2026.09.03
/MARK A LAURENZI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3746 9/4/2026
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