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 12/30/2022 has been considered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 18 are objected to for the typo “wherein the first and third extension portions include first and third lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and the second and fourth extension portions include second and fourth lead-out portions extending from the second surface...”. Examiner interprets the phrases to mean “wherein the first and [fourth] extension portions include first and [fourth] lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and the second and [third] extension portions include second and [third] lead-out portions extending from the second surface...” Further, the typo does not appear to be supported by the drawings.
Drawing Objections
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 limitation “wherein the first and third extension portions include first and third lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and the second and fourth extension portions include second and fourth lead-out portions extending from the second surface” of claim 1 and similarly claim 18 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 § 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 14, 17, 19 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hou et al., (hereinafter Hou), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0211767, in view of Arai, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0037083.
Regarding Claim 14, Hou teaches (except where italicized), a coil component (Fig. 3A) comprising:
a body (310) including first and second surfaces perpendicular to a first direction (left to right, Fig. 3A) while opposing each other, and third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces and perpendicular to a second direction (front right to rear left, Fig. 3A) while opposing each other;
a first coil portion (306) disposed in the body, and including a first winding portion (314) and first and second extension portions (316A, 316B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the first winding portion;
a second coil portion (308) disposed in the body, and including a second winding portion (318) disposed and third and fourth extension portions (320A, 320B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the second winding portion, the first and second winding portions disposed in the second direction;
first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions; and
third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions,
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes have a band shape. (Hou: Figs. 2-4, para. [0034], [0035], [0056]).
Hou does not explicitly teach, first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions; and
third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions,
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes have a band shape.
However, Arai teaches (Fig. 11), first and second external electrodes (21A, 22A) disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions (227A1, 227A2); and
third and fourth external electrodes (21B, 22B) disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions (227B1, 227B2),
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes (21A, 21B, 22A, 22B) have a band shape. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0124], [0125], [0127]).
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 external electrodes connection to the extension portions of Hou to include the external electrodes disposed on the body and connected to the extension portions of Arai, the motivation being that the “inductor array 1 may be mounted on the mounting substrate 2 by soldering the external electrodes 21A, 21B, 22A, 22B and the corresponding lands 3” [0084]. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0084]). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 14 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 17, Hou teaches (except where italicized), a coil component (Fig. 3A) comprising:
a body including first and second surfaces opposing each other in a first direction (left to right, Fig. 3A), and third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces and opposing each other in a second direction (front right to rear left, Fig. 3A);
a first coil portion (306) disposed in the body, and including a first winding portion (314) and first and second extension portions (316A, 316B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the first winding portion;
a second coil portion (308) disposed in the body, and including a second winding portion (318) disposed and third and fourth extension portions (320A, 320B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the second winding portion, the first and second winding portions disposed in the second direction;
first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions; and
third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions,
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes are disposed at least on one of the first and second surfaces and are spaced apart from each other in the second direction. (Hou: Figs. 2-4, para. [0034], [0035], [0056]).
Hou does not explicitly teach, first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions; and
third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions,
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes are disposed at least on one of the first and second surfaces and are spaced apart from each other in the second direction.
However, Arai teaches (Fig. 11), first and second external electrodes (21A, 22A) disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions (227A1, 227A2); and
third and fourth external electrodes (21B, 22B) disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions (227B1, 227B2),
wherein the first to fourth external electrodes (21A, 21B, 22A, 22B) are disposed at least on one of the first and second surfaces and are spaced apart from each other in the second direction. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0124], [0125], [0127]).
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 external electrodes connection to the extension portions of Hou to include the external electrodes disposed on the body, connected to the extension portions and spaced apart from each other in the second direction of Arai, the motivation being that the “inductor array 1 may be mounted on the mounting substrate 2 by soldering the external electrodes 21A, 21B, 22A, 22B and the corresponding lands 3” [0084]. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0084]). Therefore, the limitation of Claim 17 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Hou in view of Arai further teaches, wherein the first to fourth external electrodes (21A, 21B, 22A, 22B) extend between the first surface and the second surface, the motivation being that the “inductor array 1 may be mounted on the mounting substrate 2 by soldering the external electrodes 21A, 21B, 22A, 22B and the corresponding lands 3” [0084]. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0084]).
Regarding Claim 22, the combination of Hou in view of Arai further teaches, wherein the first coil portion and the second coil portion are substantially perpendicular to the one of the first and second surfaces. (Hou: Figs. 2-4, para. [0034], [0035], [0056]).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jung et al. (KR 102236100 B1), Jung et al. (KR 102217291 B1) and Nishikawa et al. (JP 2017147321 A).
Reason for Allowance
Claims 1-13, are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 1 recites, inter alia, “…a coil component comprising: a body including first and second surfaces perpendicular to a first direction while opposing each other, and third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces and perpendicular to a second direction while opposing each other; a first coil portion disposed in the body, and including a first winding portion and first and second extension portions respectively connected to one end and the other end of the first winding portion; a second coil portion disposed in the body, and including a second winding portion and third and fourth extension portions respectively connected to one end and the other end of the second winding portion, the first and second winding portions disposed in the second direction; first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions; and third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions, wherein the first and [fourth] extension portions include first and [fourth] lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and the second and [third] extension portions include second and [third] lead-out portions extending from the second surface, respectively, wherein the first and second lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction, and the third and fourth lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction".. (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 2020/0211767 (Hou et al.) discloses (except where italicized) inter alia, a coil component (Fig. 3A) comprising:
a body (310) including first and second surfaces perpendicular to a first direction (left to right, Fig. 3A) while opposing each other, and third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces and perpendicular to a second direction (front right to rear left, Fig. 3A) while opposing each other;
a first coil portion (306) disposed in the body, and including a first winding portion (314) and first and second extension portions (316A, 316B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the first winding portion;
a second coil portion (308) disposed in the body, and including a second winding portion (318) and third and fourth extension portions (320A, 320B) respectively connected to one end and the other end of the second winding portion, the first and second winding portions disposed in the second direction;
first and second external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the first and second extension portions (316A, 316B); and
third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body and respectively connected to the third and fourth extension portions (320A, 320B),
wherein the first and [fourth] extension portions include first and [fourth] lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and
the second and [third] extension portions include second and [third] lead-out portions extending from the second surface, respectively,
wherein the first and second lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction, and
the third and fourth lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction. (Hou: Figs. 3A-3C, 4A-4I, para. [0029], [0030. (Park: Figs. 1-6, para. [0023], [0024], [0037], [0045]).
Hou doesn’t disclose, at least, first, second, third and fourth external electrodes disposed on the body, and
wherein the first and [fourth] extension portions include first and [fourth] lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and
the second and [third] extension portions include second and [third] lead-out portions extending from the second surface, respectively,
wherein the first and second lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction, and
the third and fourth lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction.
Also, US 2022/0037083 (Arai et al.) discloses (except where italicized) inter alia, a coil component (Fig. 11) comprising:
first, second, third and fourth external electrodes (21A, 21B, 22A, 22B) disposed on the body, and
wherein the first and third extension portions include first and third lead-out portions extending from the first surface, respectively, and
the second and fourth extension portions include second and fourth lead-out portions extending from the second surface, respectively. (Arai: Figs. 11-13 and 29, para. [0124], [0125], [0127]).
Arai doesn’t disclose, at least, wherein the first and second lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction, and
the third and fourth lead-out portions are shifted from each other in the second direction.
Claims 2-13, are allowed because each claim is directly or indirectly dependent of independent Claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, 16, 18, 20 and 21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if any of claims 15, 18 and 20 are rewritten in independent form including all of the limitation of the base claims and any intervening claims.
Claim 15 recites, inter alia, “…wherein the first to fourth external electrodes are sequentially arranged in the second direction”. (Emphasis added).
Claim 18 recites, inter alia, “…wherein the first and third extension portions include first and third lead- out portions extending from the first surface to be connected to the first and third external electrodes, respectively, and the second and fourth extension portions include second and fourth lead-out portions extending from the second surface to be connected to the second and fourth external electrodes, respectively”. (Emphasis added).
Claim 20 recites, inter alia, “…wherein the first to fourth external electrodes are sequentially arranged in the second direction”. (Emphasis added).
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
2/15/2026