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 .
Claims 1-20 are currently pending. Claims 1-16, 19 are allowed. Claim 20 is objected to. Claims 17-18 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pg. 6-7 of the response, filed May 21, 2026, with respect to the objections of Claims 1-16, rejection of Claim 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), and rejections of Claims 7, 12, 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive in light of amendments. The objections of Claims 1-16, rejection of Claim 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), and rejections of Claims 7, 12, 13 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 09, 2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 20, Line 1 recites “aa”. This is believed to be a typographical error.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claims 17-18 are 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.
Regarding Claim 17, Lines 5-6 recite “the induction heatable element”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since it has not been previously recited. It is unclear what element the claim refers to, if it is the susceptor or requiring both a susceptor and a separate element.
Claim 18 is subsequently rejected for its dependency upon a previously rejected claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 and 19 are allowed.
Claims 17-18, as far as they are definite and understood, would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claim 20 is objected to.
Claim 1 remains allowable for the same reasons set forth on Pg. 7-9 of the Non-Final Rejection filed February 19, 2026.
Regarding Claim 19, the claim is of similar scope to previously presented Claim 1. Claim 19 recites a “movable coil” compared to “at least one movable member” that includes a movable coil. Thus, Claim 19 is considered allowable for the same reasons as Claim 1.
Claims 2-18 and 20 subsequently depend upon Claims 1 and 19, respectively.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELTON K WONG whose telephone number is (408)918-7626. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00AM - 5:00PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Court Heinle can be reached at (571)270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELTON K WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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