Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/324,609

INDUCTOR

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
May 26, 2023
Examiner
PATEL, RAKESH BHASKARBHAI
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
TDK Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
870 granted / 950 resolved
+23.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+13.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
974
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
38.4%
-1.6% vs TC avg
§102
33.4%
-6.6% vs TC avg
§112
20.0%
-20.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 950 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Notice to Applicant The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. Claims 1-5 are pending. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 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. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the appl icant regards as his invention. Claim s 1-5 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. On line 12 of claim 1, the Applicant states “the soft magnetic alloy film contains one or more selected from Fe and No ”. In the last line of claim 1, the Applicant states “a total amount of Fe, Co, and Ni in the soft magnetic allo y film is 70 at% or more”. However, it is unclear to the Examiner as to how “the second magnetic allow film ” contains in the instance ONE selected from Fe and No when the last limitation recites that BOTH “Fe AND Co” are present within the claimed apparatus (i.e. The last limitation states that the nanogranular magnetic film are made of both Fe and Co, however the previous limitation states that it is possible for one of Fe and Co to exist within the nanogranular magnetic film.). Because of the inconsistency within the claimed limitations, the claim is deemed vague and indefinite. Claims 2-5 have also been rejected under 35 USC 112 by virtue of their dependency to claim 1. Allowable Subject Matter Claim s 1-5 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. As per claim 1, the closest prior art Yoshidome et al. US Patent 11,682,507 discloses in Fig. 1 an inductor 2 comprising all of the limitations recited therein EXCEPT a volume of the first phase and the second phase is 65% or less, a total amount of Fe, Co, and Ni in the soft magnetic alloy film is 70 at% or more. The reference is silent on the volume amounts of the elements therein. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT RAKESH PATEL whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-0961 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 9AM-5PM EST M-F . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Andrea Lindgren-Baltzell can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-5918 . 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. /RAKESH B PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 26, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603408
CAVITY FILTER FOR RADIO FREQUENCY WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12603630
MATCH NETWORK WITH SWITCHABLE VARIABLE CAPACITANCE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597691
MULTI-SECTION DIRECTIONAL COUPLER, A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A MULTI-SECTION DIRECTIONAL COUPLER AND A METHOD FOR OPERATING A MULTI-SECTION DIRECTIONAL COUPLER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12586704
COIL ELEMENT, ANTENNA DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12587157
NOISE REMOVAL FILTER
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+13.4%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 950 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month