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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 03/19/2025 and 08/07/2025 have been considered.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 11-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if any of claims 9 and 11 are rewritten in independent form including all of the limitation of the base claims and any intervening claims.
Claim 9 recites, inter alia, “…wherein the second surface of the magnetic body is a side surface of the magnetic body, and the extending portion has a spiral structure surrounding the second surface”. (Emphasis added).
Claim 11 recites, inter alia, “…further comprising an inverting circuit configured to output a second input signal to the third electrode, wherein a phase of the second input signal is opposite to a phase of a first input signal applied to the first electrode”. (Emphasis added).
Reason for Allowance
Claims 19 and 20, are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 19 recites, inter alia, “…an electronic device comprising: an inductor including a radiation pattern disposed on a surface of a magnetic body; a printed circuit board on which the inductor is disposed; and an inverting circuit disposed on the printed circuit board, configured to invert a phase of an input signal applied to the inductor to generate an inverted input signal, and configured to supply the inverted input signal to the radiation pattern of the inductor. (Emphasis added).
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitation, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitation.
US 2018/0238936 (Park et al.) discloses (except where italicized) inter alia, an electronic device comprising:
an inductor (41, 42) including a radiation pattern (60) disposed on a surface (top) of a magnetic body (50);
a printed circuit board (1100) on which the inductor is disposed; and
an inverting circuit disposed on the printed circuit board, configured to invert a phase of an input signal applied to the inductor to generate an inverted input signal, and configured to supply the inverted input signal to the radiation pattern of the inductor. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0021]-[0025], [0048]).
Park doesn’t disclose, at least, an inverting circuit disposed on the printed circuit board, configured to invert a phase of an input signal applied to the inductor to generate an inverted input signal, and configured to supply the inverted input signal to the radiation pattern of the inductor.
Claim 20, is allowed because claim 20 is directly or indirectly dependent of independent Claim 19.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., (hereinafter Park), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2018/0238936, in view of Yoo et al., (hereinafter Yoo), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0375535.
Regarding Claim 1, Park teaches (except where italicized), an inductor (Fig. 2A) comprising:
a magnetic body (50);
a coil (41, 42) located in the magnetic body;
a first electrode (81) located on a first portion (left portion, Fig. 2A) of the magnetic body, and electrically connected to one end of the coil;
a second electrode (82) located on a second portion (right portion, Fig. 2A) of the magnetic body, and electrically connected to another end of the coil;
a radiation pattern (60) located on a first surface (top) of the magnetic body; and
a third electrode located on a third portion of the magnetic body, and electrically connected to the radiation pattern. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0021]-[0025]).
Park does not explicitly teach, a third electrode located on a third portion of the magnetic body, and electrically connected to the radiation pattern.
However, Yoo teaches, a third electrode (430) located on a third portion (mid body, Fig. 1) of the magnetic body (100), and electrically connected to the radiation pattern (300, 310). (Yoo: Figs. 1-4, para. [0039]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the inductor of Park to include the third electrode located on a third portion of the magnetic body, and electrically connected to the pattern portion of Yoo, the motivation being that “the high frequency noise transmitted to the pattern portion 310 may be transmitted to the third external electrode 430” [0060]. (Yoo: Figs. 1-4, para. [0060]). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 1 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the magnetic body has a cylindrical shape or a prismatic shape. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0021]-[0025]).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the magnetic body includes powder of a metal alloy having soft magnetic properties (“one or more selected from the group consisting of Fe, Si, Cr, Al, and Ni. For example, the metal magnetic powder may be a Fe—Si—B—Cr based amorphous metal” [0024] comprises a metal alloy having soft magnetic properties). (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0024]).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the magnetic body is formed so that the coil and the radiation pattern are integrated by a poly binder including magnetic powder and a resin (“the metal magnetic powders may have a particle size of 0.1 to 30 μm, and may be included in a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, polyimide, or the like” [0024]). (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0024]).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the radiation pattern has a circular (60) or quadrangular spiral structure. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0021]).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the radiation pattern has an area smaller than a cross-sectional area of an outer side surface of the magnetic body. (Park: Fig. 2B, para. [0034]).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the radiation pattern is coated on an upper portion of a paste (65) applied to an outer side of the magnetic body. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0034]).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the first surface of the magnetic body is an upper surface (105) of the magnetic body, and is electrically connected to the third electrode (430) through an extending portion disposed along a second surface (103) of the magnetic body, the motivation being that “the high frequency noise transmitted to the pattern portion 310 may be transmitted to the third external electrode 430” [0060]. (Yoo: Figs. 1-4, para. [0039], [0042]).
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Park in view of Yoo further teaches, wherein the first electrode (Park: 81), the second electrode (Park: 82), and the third electrode (Yoo: 430) are located on a same plane, the motivation being that “the high frequency noise transmitted to the pattern portion 310 may be transmitted to the third external electrode 430” [0060]. (Park: Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, para. [0021]-[0025]), (Yoo: Figs. 1-4, para. [0039], [0042]).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tonn et al. (US 20090008994), Kawase (JP 2007286012 A) and Aldhaher (US 20210281122)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MALCOLM BARNES whose telephone number is (408)918-7512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00 pm (PST).
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/MALCOLM BARNES/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
12/27/2025