CTNF 18/348,069 CTNF 89385 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Elections/Restrictions Applicant’s election of Group I (Claims 1-12) in the reply filed on 04/27/2026 is acknowledged. However, since applicant did not distinctly indicate whether election is with or without traverse and did not point out any supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.03(a) and 818.03(c)). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kudo (US 20170200554 A1) . Regarding Claim 1: Kudo teaches that an electronic component comprising: a first insulating layer ( 31, Fig. 3; para 0078-0086 ) having a main surface ( La, Drawing: 1); a circuit pattern ( 21, Fig. 3 ) embedded in the first insulating layer and extending along a plane parallel to the main surface; and a second insulating layer ( 22 ) laminated on the main surface, wherein a section ( 51, Drawing: 1 ) of the first insulating layer orthogonal to the main surface is an inverted trapezoid in which a length ( L1, Drawing: 1 ) of a lower side opposite to the main surface is shorter ( i.e. L1<L2; construed from Drawing: 1) than a length ( L2 ) of an upper side on the main surface side. Regarding Claim 2: As applied to claim 1, Kudo teaches that a section ( 52, Drawing: 1 ) of the second insulating layer along the section of the first insulating layer is an inverted trapezoid in which a length ( L12 ) of a lower side on the first insulating layer side is shorter than construed from Drawing: 1) a length ( L22 ) of an upper side opposite to the first insulating layer side. Regarding Claim 7, 8: As applied to claim 1 and 2, Kudo teaches that wherein the circuit pattern configures a coil (see para 0085). PNG media_image1.png 305 630 media_image1.png Greyscale Drawing: 1, an annotated version of Fig. 3 Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kudo in view of Imada (US 20190311842 A1) . Regarding Claim 3: As applied to claim 1, Kudo teaches the first insulating layer except the inverted trapezoid defined by the section o f the first insulating layer includes two opposing sides connected to end portions of the upper side and end portions of the lower side, and the two opposing sides define a curved line or {a polygonal line recessed toward an inside of the first insulating layer}. However, Imada teaches that the inverted trapezoid defined by the section of the first insulating layer (not labeled i.e . upper left side element 9a in Fig. 2 ) includes two opposing sides (i.e. upper surface of element 9a in Fig. 2 ) connected to end portions of the upper side (not labeled i.e . upper right side element 9a in Fig. 2 ) and end portions of the lower side, and the two opposing sides define a curved line (construed from Fig. 2). 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 inverted trapezoid defined by the section of the first insulating layer includes two opposing sides connected to end portions of the upper side and end portions of the lower side, and the two opposing sides define a curved line to provides a coil component in which a coil portion is embedded in an element assembly containing a resin material and which has advantages in size reduction (see para 0005). Regarding Claim 9: As applied to claim 3, the modified Kudo teaches that wherein the circuit pattern configures a coil (see para 0085) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kudo in view of Hamada (US 20160379750 A1) . Regarding Claim 4: As applied to claim 1, Kudo teaches the first insulating layer includes insulating walls (i.e. left and right side of insulating layer in Drawing: 1) sandwiching the circuit pattern along a direction (i.e. horizontal direction in Drawing: 1) of the lower side of the inverted trapezoid defined by the section of the first insulating layer. Kudo does not teach a section of the insulating wall in the section of the first insulating layer has a reverse tapered shape in which a width of the insulating wall decreases along a direction from the upper side toward the lower side. However, Hamada teaches that a section of the insulating wall ( not labeled; i.e. insulating layer 31 between the elements 21 in Fig. 4) in the section of the first insulating layer has a reverse tapered shape in which a width ( i.e. width of layer 31 between element 21 in Fig. 4) of the insulating wall decreases (construed from Fig. 4) along a direction ( i.e. vertical direction in Fig. 4 ) from the upper side toward the lower side. 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 a section of the insulating wall in the section of the first insulating layer has a reverse tapered shape in which a width of the insulating wall decreases along a direction from the upper side toward the lower side to provide a coil component capable of increasing the cross-sectional area of the inner magnetic path and acquiring a higher inductance value (see para 0005). Regarding Claim 10: As applied to claim 3, the modified Kudo teaches that wherein the circuit pattern configures a coil (see Kudo’s para 0085) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 5-6 and 11-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 5 recites , a ratio of a second distance to a first distance is from 1.1 to less than 1.5, and the second distance is from 5 μm to 20 μm, a first side is defined one of two opposing sides connected to an end portion of the upper side and an end portion of the lower side of the inverted trapezoid defined by the section of the first insulating layer, the first distance being measured along the upper side from a portion of the circuit pattern closest to the first side to an upper end of the first side, and the second distance being measured along the lower side from a portion of the circuit pattern closest to the first side to a lower end of the first side. Claim 6 recites, a third insulating layer laminated on an uppermost layer above the second insulating layer, wherein a section of the third insulating layer along the section of the first insulating layer is a rectangle in which a length of an upper side of the third insulating layer which is opposite to the second insulating layer is the same as a length of a lower side of the third insulating layer on the second insulating layer side, or the section of the third insulating layer is a trapezoid in which the length of the upper side thereof is shorter than the length of the lower side thereof. The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitations . 13-03 Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” , Conclusion 07-96 AIA 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 892 . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kazi Hossain whose telephone number is 571-272-8182. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EST). 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 https:/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. /KAZI HOSSAIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/348,069 Page 2 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/348,069 Page 4 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/348,069 Page 5 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/348,069 Page 6 Art Unit: 2837
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