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 09/24/2024 has been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Invention I, claims 1-11, without traverse in a response on 06/09/2026 is acknowledged. In this Office Action, claims 12-20 are withdrawn, and claims 1-11 are examined.
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, 7, 8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamada et al. (hereinafter Yamada), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0154780.
Regarding Claim 1, Yamada teaches, a magnetic component (Fig. 1) comprising:
a core (10);
a winding (1) disposed in the core, a winding end (2) of the winding extending to an outer periphery (10c) of the core;
a lead frame (3) disposed on the outer periphery of the core, at least one hole (37) being formed on the lead frame and corresponding to the winding end; and
a conductive material (41, “electrically-conductive adhesive agent” [0079]), disposed in the at least one hole, the conductive material being in contact with the winding end (id.). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0034], [0036], [0046], [0077], [0078], [0079]).
Regarding Claim 2 and similarly claims 3 and 7, Yamada further teaches, wherein the at least one hole is formed to penetrate or not penetrate through an edge of the lead frame (id.). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0034], [0036], [0046], [0077], [0078], [0079]).
Regarding Claim 8, Yamada further teaches, wherein the lead frame is connected to the winding end of the winding by penetration welding (“welding” [0065]). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0065]).
Regarding Claim 11, Yamada further teaches, wherein the conductive material disposed in the at least one hole is flush with the lead frame (id.). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0034], [0036], [0046], [0077], [0078], [0079]).
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 4-6, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada, as applied to claims 1 and 3, respectively, in view of Yan et al., (hereinafter Yan), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0007453.
Regarding Claim 4, Yamada teaches (Fig. 1), (except where italicized), wherein the outer periphery of the core has a first side (10c), a second side (10b) and a third side (10c), the first side is opposite to the third side (id.), the second side connects the first side and the third side (id.), the recess has a first segment (4) and a second segment (4) formed on the first side and the second side respectively (id.), the winding end (2) of the winding extends to the third side (4, 10c), the lead frame has a first section (first section of 3), a second section (second section of 3) and a third section, the first section and the third section are bent from opposite sides of the second section, the first section (first section of 3) is embedded in the first segment of the recess (4), the second section (second section of 3) is embedded in the second segment (4) of the recess, the at least one hole is formed on the third section, and the third section is disposed on the third side. (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0034], [0036], [0046], [0077], [0078], [0079]).
Yamada does not explicitly teach, and a third section, the first section and the third section are bent from opposite sides of the second section, and
the at least one hole is formed on the third section, and the third section is disposed on the third side.
However, Yan (Fig. 12) teaches, and a third section (bottom of 386, Fig. 12), the first section (top section of 386, Fig. 12) and the third section are bent from opposite sides of the second section (middle section of 386), and
the at least one hole (not shown, Fig. 12) is formed on the third section, and the third section is disposed on the third side (bottom of 420). (Yan: Figs. 1-12, para. [0062], [0066]).
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 coil component of Yamada to include the first, second and third section of the lead frame of Yan, the motivation being “reduced risk of contamination issues and negative effects arising from the molding operations or other manufacturing steps as the magnetic body 404 is formed” [0066]. (Yan: Figs. 1-12, para. [0066]). Therefore, the limitations of Claim 4 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Yamada in view of Yan further teaches, wherein the first segment of the recess and the first section of the lead frame have polygonal shapes corresponding to each other (id.). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0034], [0036], [0046], [0077], [0078], [0079]).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Yamada in view of Yan further teaches, wherein the polygonal shapes are trapezoidal (“terminal clips of other shapes may be formed in the lead fabrication layer with similar effect and advantages” [0068]), the motivation being “terminal clips of other shapes may be formed in the lead fabrication layer with similar effect and advantages” [0068] to meet design needs. (Yan: Figs. 1-12, para. [0068]).
Regarding Claim 9 and similarly claim 10, the combination of Yamada in view of Yan further teaches, wherein the conductive material is a metal with a resistivity less than 15(10E-8Ω*m) at room temperature (“the solder and it is allowed to apply another filling member having electrical conductivity and, for example, it is allowed to fix approximately L-shaped members having shapes corresponding to the opening portions 37 of the terminals 3 in the insides of the opening portions 37 by using an electrically-conductive adhesive agent or the like” [0079], since solder comprising tin is an obvious choice from a finite group of solder choices). (Yamada: Figs. 1-9, para. [0079]).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Meguro et al. (JP2007329411A).
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).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached on 571-272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MALCOLM BARNES/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
8/07/2026
Prosecution Insights