DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 10-14, 16-18 and 36-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. [US 2010/0259353 A1] in view of Stephan et al. [DE 102020110850 A1].
Regarding claims 1, 3-5, 10-11 and 13-14, Saito et al. discloses an electronic component [figure 13c] comprising:
- a core [42c] defining an axis, wherein the core is elongate and substantially cylindrical;
- a conductor [41] at least partially wound about the core, wherein the conductor is a flat wire and helically wound about the core along the axis of the core and forming a plurality of turns about the core [figure 13c] and wherein a first end of the conductor is the first terminal and a second end of the conductor is the second terminal for mounting to the board surface;
- a mounting surface [figure 13c] defining a plane and configured to engage a board surface, the axis of the core extending substantially parallel to the plane;
- a first terminal [41a] and a second terminal [41a] of the conductor extending along the plane of the mounting surface to be mounted to the board surface; and
- a magnetic and/or non-magnetic material [7] forming an encapsulating body about at least a portion of the core and the conductor, wherein the mounting surface is formed by the outer body, the first/second terminals.
Saito et al. further discloses an end face of the first terminal and an end face of the second terminal extended to opposing sides of an outer body encapsulating at least a portion of the core and the conductor [41a of figure 13c and similar to 1a of figure 6], wherein the body encapsulated over at least a portion of the core, the conductor, the first/second terminals of the conductor being exposed through the outer body [figures 6 and 13c].
Saito et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for the specific end faces of the terminals arrangement relative to the outer body.
Stephan et al. discloses an electronic component [figures 4-6] comprising:
- a coil conductor [1] having ends forming terminals [11];
- a magnetic core [not shown] in the coil conductor; and
- an outer body [9] covering the coil conductor, the magnetic core and the terminals, wherein end face of the terminals exposed to opposing sides of the outer body [figure 6].
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the exposed end faces of the terminals from Stephan et al. in Saito et al. for the purpose of facilitating multiple mounting/connecting options.
Regarding claim 6, the specific use of round conductor would have been an obvious design consideration based on the intended applications and/or environments uses.
Regarding claim 12, Saito et al. discloses the conductor is a flat wire having a cross section with opposing sides spaced apart by opposing edges, wherein each side of the cross section represents a side-face of the flat wire, and each edge of the cross section represents an edge-face, and wherein the plurality of turns are wound edge-face to edge-face [figures 13c].
Regarding claims 16-17, Saito et al. further discloses a first terminal [8] and a second terminal [8], the first terminal including a first conductive plate extending along a first end of the conductor, the second terminal including a second conductive plate extending along a second end of the conductor [figures 6-7], wherein a portion of the first conductive plate and a portion of the second conductive plate extend transversely to the axis of the core and the portion of the first conductive plate and the portion of the second conductive plate extend on a same side of the core [figures 6-7].
Regarding claim 18, the specific arrangement of the conductive plates would have been an obvious design consideration for the purpose of improving mounting and/or external connections.
Regarding claims 36-38, Saito discloses an electronic component [figure 13c] comprising:
- a core [42c] defining an axis;
- a conductor [41] at least partially wound about the core to from a conductor winding, the conductor having a first terminal end [41a] and a second terminal end [41a], the first terminal end being at a first end of the conductor winding, the second terminal end being at a second end of the conductor winding [figure 13c], the core having a first half about the axis a second half about the axis, and the first terminal end and the second terminal end being along the second half of the core [figure 13c], wherein the first terminal end and the second terminal end reside in a same plane with the same plane is substantially parallel to the axis; and
- an encapsulated body [7] formed of a magnetic and/or non-magnetic material encapsulated over at least a portion of the core, the conductor wherein at least a portion of the first/second terminals being exposed through the encapsulated body to be mounted to a surface [figure 6 and 13c].
Saito et al. further discloses the first/second terminals having end faces,
Saito et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for the specific end faces of the terminals arrangement relative to the outer body.
Stephan et al. discloses an electronic component [figures 4-6] comprising:
- a coil conductor [1] having ends forming terminals [11];
- a magnetic core [not shown] in the coil conductor; and
- an outer body [9] covering the coil conductor, the magnetic core and the terminals, wherein end face of the terminals exposed to opposing sides of the outer body [figure 6].
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the exposed end faces of the terminals from Stephan et al. in Saito et al. for the purpose of facilitating multiple mounting/connecting options.
Regarding claim 39, Saito et al. further discloses the first terminal end includes a first planar mounting surface and the second terminal end includes a second planar mounting surface extending along the same plane [figure 13c].
Regarding claim 40, Stephan et al. discloses a magnetic component including a magnetic core and a coil structure [7] disposed inside the magnetic core, wherein the coil structure having helically wound flat conductor having terminal ends [11] with at least a portion [10] of the terminal end extends tangentially from the conductor winding toward a planar mounting surface [figures 4-5].
Regarding claims 41-42, Saito et al. further discloses a first terminal [8, 18] and a second terminal [8, 18], wherein at least a portion of the first terminal end forms or connects to the first terminal and at least a portion of the second terminal end forms or connects to the second terminal, and a magnetic and/or non-magnetic material [7, 17] forming an encapsulating body about at least a portion of the conductor, the encapsulating body forming at least a portion of a planar mounting surface along which the first terminal end and the second terminal end extend.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. in view of Stephan et al. as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Inoue et al.
Saito et al. in view of Stephan et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for an end of the core is exposed through the encapsulating body.
Inoue et al. discloses an electronic device [figure 4], comprising:
- a core [4];
- a coil conductor [2] wound about the core; and
- an encapsulating body [1] formed of magnetic and/or non-magnetic material, wherein an end of the core exposed through the encapsulating body [figure 4].
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the end portion of the core exposed through the encapsulated body of Saito et al., as modified, as suggested by Inoue et al. for the purpose of facilitating the desired magnetic flux/field characteristics.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-6, 10-18 and 36-42 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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/TUYEN T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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