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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/2/26 has been entered.
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 instant claims contain the transitional phrase “comprising”. Per MPEP 2111.03 ‘The transitional term “comprising”, which is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps'. This open-ended definition has been taken into consideration in the following rejections.
Claims 17, 18, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2008/0149882 A1 to Terazono et al. (hereinafter Terazono).
Regarding claims 17, 18 and 22, Terazono discloses a crystalline structure comprising a main crystal phase (55 to 95 vol%) of hexagonal Ba ferrite (para [0049]) selected from a group that includes Ba2M2Fe12O22 crystal, where M is at least one of Co, Cu and Zn (para [0020]) and a secondary phase (5-45 vol%) of a perovskite type crystal (para [0049]) selected from a group that includes BaTiO3 (para [0026]). This polycrystalline material comprising a main phase of Ba2M2Fe12O22 ferrite crystal and a secondary phase of BaTiO3 crystal overlaps Ba3M2TiFe12O25 and therefore overlaps instantly claimed formula:
Me'3Me2TiFe12O25
wherein Me' is at least one of Ba2+ or Sr2+ and Me is at least one of Co2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, or Zn2+. See MPEP 2144.05(I), which states that ‘In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists’.
As the main phase (up to 95 vol%) is crystalline structure ferrite (hexagonal Ba ferrite, para [0049]), the crystalline structure is expected to be crystalline structure ferrite, absent evidence to the contrary.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-8 filed 3/2/26, with respect to Terazono and the layered structure, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The reference does not teach or suggest the stacked/layered structure as set forth in the newly amended claims.
Therefore, the 103 rejection of claims 1-8 and 10-16 as obvious over Terazono has been withdrawn.
The 103 rejection of claim 9 as obvious over Terazono in view of Martinazzo has also been withdrawn.
The 103 rejection of claims 19 and 20 as obvious over Terazono is moot because the claims have been canceled.
Applicant's arguments filed 3/2/26, regarding claims 17 and 18, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Terazono does not teach or suggest a hexagonal or crystallite structure ferrite having the instantly claimed formula Me'₃Me₂TiFe₁₂O₂₅ but rather teaches a solid solution of BaTiO3 and Ba2M2Fe12O22. However, the solid solution of Terazono is Ba3M2TiFe12O25. This formula is a ferrite comprising a main phase that is a ferrite Ba2M2Fe12O22 and a secondary/minor perovskite phase (para [0063]). Both are crystalline (para [0049]).
Therefore, the 103 rejection of claims 17 and 18 as obvious over Terazono stands.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The newly amended claims recite a particular structure comprising a Me'TiO₃ layer between two Me'MeFe₆O₁₁ layers. The closest prior art, Terazono, does not teach or suggest such a layered structure.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim 21 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art, Terazono, teaches a crystalline ferrite with an additional phase but does not teach a hexagonal ferrite crystalline structure as set forth in the new claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. “Epitaxial growth of Zn2 Y ferrites” by Kim et al. (recites Ba2.9Zn2.8Fe12O25 as a nonstoichiometric Y ferrite, page 3113), recited in the IDS filed 2/24/23 and Wikipedia, Hexagonal ferrites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_ferrite).
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/L.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/Matthew E. Hoban/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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