DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicants election without traverse of the invention of Group V, Claim 14, in the reply filed on September 24, 2025 is acknowledged.
As a result of the election, applicants canceled Claims 2 through 11, 15 and 16.
Claims 1 and 12 through 14 are pending for examination.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --Method of Manufacturing a Wound Inductor Apparatus--.
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the use of implied phrases, e.g. “The invention comprises…”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Effective Filing Date
In reviewing applicants parent applications, for the features recited in Claim 1, it appears that support for these features can be found back to application serial no. 13/107,828. Therefore, the effective filing date for the claimed invention is May 13, 2011.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities.
In Claim 14, the phrase of “cross-section section” (line 2) should be changed to –cross-section--.
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.
Claims 1 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 5,430,613 to Hastings et al (hereinafter “Hastings”).
Claim 1: Hastings discloses a method comprising the steps of:
forming an inductor (e.g. Figs. 1 or 3), where the forming further comprising the steps of:
providing an inductor core (e.g. 22); and
fastening either 20 sections (e.g. 26, 16, in Fig. 1), or 40 sections (e.g. 26, 16, in Figs. 3 and 4), each together to form a winding (e.g. col. 3, lines 15-20), the winding comprising a wound shape about the inductor core.
Claim 13: Hastings discloses the method of Claim 1, fu3rther comprising the step of:
positioning the 20 or 40 sections of the winding with a winding guide (e.g. lead frame 38, col. 5, lines 38-46).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hastings.
Hastings discloses the claimed manufacturing method as relied upon above in Claim 1, further including that the wound shape has a first width (w1, see annotated Figure 2 of Hastings below) of a first perpendicular cross-section of the winding at a first radial distance from a center of the inductor, and a second width (w2) of a second perpendicular cross-section of the winding at a second radial distance from a center of the inductor, where the second width is greater than the first width (e.g. w2 > w1).
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Based on these above conditions in Hastings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have achieved a second width at least 15% greater than the first width, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). See MPEP § 2144.05.II.A
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hastings in view of U.S. Patent 5,615,571 to Courant (hereinafter “Courant”).
Hastings discloses the claimed manufacturing method as relied upon above in Claim 1, further including aligning a wedge shaped cross-section of the 20 or 40 sections (in Fig. 2) with an outer edge of a winding guide (e.g. lead frame 38) prior to fastening. Hastings does not teach that the outer edge of the winding guide is wedge shaped.
Courant teaches a winding guide (in Fig. 1) to align and position conductor sections (e.g. 4, in Fig. 3). Courant uses a winding guide that includes a wedge shaped outer edge (e.g. 22) to align a wedge shaped cross-section of the conductor section (e.g. 4) with a core (e.g. 16, col. 4, lines 40-60). The guide allows the aligning or positioning of the conductor sections having various shaped configurations (e.g. col. 1, line 65 to col. 2, line 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Hastings by using a wedge shaped outer edge of a winding guide, as taught by Courant, to accurately align and position the wedge shaped cross-section of the winding sections having various shaped configurations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2007-180344, discloses a method a winding (e.g. Fig. 7) having eleven sections (e.g. 104, see SOLUTION).
b) Non-Patent Literature IEEE Publication to Ahn et al, entitled "A fully integrated planar toroidal inductor with a micromachined nickel-iron magnetic bar”, discloses an inductor with a winding having four sections (e.g. Fig. 1, see entire document).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to A. DEXTER TUGBANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4570. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JESSICA HAN can be reached at (571) 272-2078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/ Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896