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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 and 16-20 are allowed.
The application would be placed in condition for allowance if rejected claim 15 is cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-14 and 16-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 15 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.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/18/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claim 15 is 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.
In claim 15, the claim limitation “the pair of windings” lacks proper antecedent basis.
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sullivan (US2017/0221625A1) in view of Wilburn (previously-cited US3633273A).
Sullivan discloses the claimed invention as follows (limitations not disclosed are crossed out):
A transformer (300, Figs. 3-6) for a resonant DC/DC converter or a resonant solid-state-transformer cell (this is the intended use of the transformer, and does not limit the structure; however, see “resonant converter application” in [0067]), said transformer comprising:
p) a core (308), having an air gap (326);
q) at least a first coil (332) windings surrounding at least a section (314) of the core, with said section extending through the central opening of the first coil.
Claim 15 is a product-by-process claim. Product-by-process claims are not limited by the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. See MPEP 2113. Claim 1 implies the following structure:
A coil comprising:
a coiled foil strip stack having a first ending and a second ending, comprising a plurality M>1 of conductive foil strips each having a first ending and a second ending, wherein an electrically insulating layer is provided between any two adjacent conductive foil strips;
the first endings of all conductive foil strips of the foil strip stack electrically interconnected to a same first terminal;
for each of the conductive foil strips of the foil strip stack, a separate connector provided at the second ending of the foil strip.
However, the language of claim 1 is open-ended, i.e., additional steps can be performed, other than those listed, such as joining together the two connectors. Therefore, the language “a first coil produced according to claim 1” also covers coils in which the conductive foil strips have their second endings connected together, instead of having separate connectors.
Wilburn discloses a coil for a transformer, comprising:
a coiled foil strip stack having a first ending and a second ending, comprising a plurality M>1 of conductive foil strips (12 and 14 in Fig. 1; col. 3, lns. 20-48) each having a first ending and a second ending, wherein an electrically insulating layer (see col. 3, ln. 69 to col. 4, ln. 8) is provided between any two adjacent conductive foil strips;
the first endings of all conductive foil strips of the foil strip stack electrically interconnected to a same first terminal (16, Fig. 1; col. 3, lns. 61-68);
for each of the conductive foil strips of the foil strip stack, a connector (the portion of each conductive foil strip to which the power lead mentioned in col. 4, lns. 8-10 is to be connected; alternatively: the connection between each of the conductive foil strips and the power lead) provided at the second ending of the foil strip.
Wilburn provides the two conductive strips, connected at their ends to reduce eddy current losses (col. 1, lns. 64-76) and further transposes the strips to reduce losses due to circulating currents (col. 2, lns. 9-35).
In view of the teachings of Wilburn, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to modify the foil winding 332 of Sullivan so the foil is replaced with two thinner foil strips, transposed as taught by Wilburn to reduce circulating current losses, and connected at the start end and at the finish end, to reduce eddy current losses compared to a thicker, single foil winding.
Conclusion
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/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729