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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species I and claims 1-5 in the reply filed on 12/02/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 6-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group and or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claim 5 is further withdrawn because the limitations of claim 5 is directed to Species II. In this Office action, claims 1-4 are fully examined, and claims 5-12 are withdrawn.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/29/2022, 10/04/2023 and 07/22/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 101A, 101B, etc. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 111A, 111B, etc. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the second region of the conductor is arranged so that one of the sides of the conductor with length X forms part of an inner radial surface of the helical conductor” as recited in claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi et al. (JP 2012-079951).
With respect to claim 1, Kobayashi et al., hereinafter referred to as “Kobayashi,” teaches an inductor (FIGs. 6 and 7) comprising:
a helical conductor 6 encircling a central longitudinal axis (dotted line, annotated FIG. 6);
a core 7 having a core magnetic reluctance (magnetic core has inherent reluctance), the core comprising:
a first core portion 7a;
a second core portion 7b; and,
a gap G disposed between the first core portion and the second core portion and enclosed by the helical conductor, wherein the gap is configured to provide a gap magnetic reluctance wherein the gap magnetic reluctance is greater than the core magnetic reluctance;
wherein the helical conductor has:
a first region 62 of the conductor which encloses part 72a and or 72b of the core, wherein the first region comprises a first pitch (spacing between adjacent turns); and,
a second region 6b (annotated FIG. 6) of the conductor which encloses the gap wherein the second region comprises a second pitch (spacing between turns of second region), wherein the second pitch is greater than the first pitch (spacing around region 6b, middle region, is more than spacing around region 62);
wherein, in use, the second region of the conductor is configured to reduce a magnitude of interaction between the second region of the conductor and the electromagnetic field generated around the gap (paras. [0011], [0016], [0018], and [0024]).
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With respect to claim 2, Kobayashi teaches the inductor of claim 1, wherein:
the gap has a gap length (length of gap G in horizontal direction), wherein the gap length is the shortest distance through the gap between the first core portion and the second core portion; and,
the second pitch is greater than or equal to the gap length (para. [0028]).
With respect to claim 3, Kobayashi teaches the inductor of claim 1, wherein:
the conductor has a rectangular cross-section comprising two sides with length X (length in radial direction) and two sides with length Y (length in axial direction), wherein length X is greater than length Y (para. [0012]) (para. [0012]).
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 factual inquiries 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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Honna et al. (U.S. PG. Pub. No. 2014/0104025 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Kobayashi teaches the inductor of claim 3. Kobayashi does not expressly teach
the second region of the conductor is arranged so that one of the sides of the conductor with length X forms part of an inner radial surface of the helical conductor.
Honna et al., hereinafter referred to as “Honna,” teaches an inductor 10 (FIG. 2), wherein:
the second region 1B of the conductor 1 is arranged so that one of the sides of the conductor with length X (dimension with longer length) forms part of an inner radial surface of the helical conductor (para. [0109]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have the length X as part of an inner radial surface as taught by Honna to the inductor of Kobayashi to improve ease of forming first regions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A list of pertinent prior art is attached in form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANGTIN LIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5729. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 0800-1700.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki S. Ismail can be reached at 571-272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANG TIN BIK LIAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837