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 11/02/2023 has been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-14, without traverse in a response on 08/04/2026 is acknowledged. In this Office Action, claims 15-20 are withdrawn, and claims 1-14 are examined.
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.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 11, the phrase “the second encapsulation body”, is not well defined, since it lacks antecedent basis.
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, 2, 4-6, 9, 10, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iso et al. (hereinafter Iso), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0115127.
Regarding Claim 1, Iso teaches, an inductor (Fig. 2A), comprising:
a) at least one winding (12), wherein each winding comprises a coil body (22) and at least two lead-out terminals (not labeled, Fig. 1B) being in contact with the coil body;
b) a first encapsulation body (21) configured to at least encapsulate part of the lead-out terminals and part of the coil body, and to expose the lead-out terminals (id.); and
c) wherein the first encapsulation body comprises an insulating main material and magnetic particles (“magnetic particles and a thermosetting resin” [0031]) dispersed in the insulating main material. (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 2, Iso further teaches, wherein part of the coil body is exposed on the upper surface of the first encapsulation body (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 4, Iso further teaches, wherein the lead-out terminals are respectively connected to an input terminal and an output terminal of the coil body (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 5, Iso further teaches, further comprising pins (26) located on the surface of the first encapsulation body and electrically connected to the lead-out terminals (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0038]).
Regarding Claim 6, Iso further teaches, wherein the magnetic particles comprise at least one of carbonyl iron powder, alloy powder, micro-particle crushed ferrite powder (“ferrite” [0031]), and amorphous nanocrystalline powder (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0038]).
Regarding Claim 9, Iso further teaches, further comprising a second encapsulation body (20), covering the first encapsulation body and being used to encapsulate the part of the coil body that is exposed to the outside of the first encapsulation body (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 10, Iso further teaches, wherein the second encapsulation body comprises an insulating main material and magnetic particles dispersed in the main material (“magnetic particles and a thermosetting resin” [0031]), and the material of the second encapsulation body comprises a same magnetic particles as the material of the first encapsulation body (“[t]he element body 10 of the electronic component 100 is a pressurized compact of a composition containing magnetic particles and resin” [0031] comprises both first and second composite magnetic layers 20, 21). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 12, Iso further teaches, wherein a shape of the coil body is configured as square, S-shaped, or spiral (id.). (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Regarding Claim 13, Iso further teaches, wherein the inductor comprises at least two coil bodies arranged side by side (Fig. 4A). (Iso: Fig. 4A, para. [0044]).
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 3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iso, as applied to claim 1, in view of Matsutani, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0262840.
Regarding Claim 3, Iso is silent on including wherein the coil body is fully encapsulated by the first encapsulation body. (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Iso does not explicitly teach, wherein the coil body is fully encapsulated by the first encapsulation body.
However, Matsutani (Fig. 7B) teaches, wherein the coil body (21A, 21B) is fully encapsulated by the first encapsulation body (24). (Matsutani: Figs. 7A and 7B, para. [0028], [0045], [0046]).
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 encapsulation body of the electronic component of Iso to include the coil body fully encapsulated by the first encapsulation body of Matsutani, the motivation being “…burying the coil in the composite magnetic material of the soft magnetic alloying particles and the insulation binding agent, insulation and withstand voltage are in particular maintained between the core and the coil…” [0028]. (Matsutani: Figs. 7A and 7B, para. [0028]). Therefore, the limitations of Claim 3 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Iso in view of Matsutani further teaches, wherein the inductor comprises at least two coil bodies (21A, 21B) stacked in a longitudinal direction (Fig. 7B), the motivation being, “since the DC magnetic fluxes passing through the centers of the neighboring coils are arranged to strengthen each other, this is the positive coupling of the magnetic fluxes” [0043]. (Matsutani: Figs. 5, 6, 7A and 7B, para. [0028], [0043], [0045], [0046]).
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iso, as applied to claim 1, in view of Ishima et al. (hereinafter Ishima), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0065975.
Regarding Claim 7 and similarly claim 8, Iso is silent on including wherein the coil body and the lead-out terminals are formed by using an electroplating process. (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
Iso does not explicitly teach, wherein the coil body and the lead-out terminals are formed by using an electroplating process.
However, Ishima (Fig. 7B) teaches, wherein the coil body (21-24) and the lead-out terminals (21) are formed by using an electroplating process. (Ishima: Figs. 1-3 and 6-11, para. [0082], [0087], [0090], [0095]).
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 forming process for the coil body and the lead-out terminals of Iso to include using an electroplating process of Ishima, the motivation being “…it is possible to omit,…at least a step of forming the conductive layer. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the productivity.” [0015]. (Ishima: Figs. 1-3 and 6-11, para. [0015]). Therefore, the limitations of Claim 7 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iso in view of Ishima, as applied to claim 7, in view of Yamauchi et al. (hereinafter Yamauchi), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0104353.
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Iso in view of Ishima is silent on including wherein the second encapsulation body is made of non-magnetic material. (Iso: Figs. 1A-1C and 2-4, para. [0031], [0032], [0035]).
The combination of Iso in view of Ishima does not explicitly teach, wherein the second encapsulation body is made of non-magnetic material.
However, Yamauchi (Fig. 2B) teaches, wherein the second encapsulation body is made of non-magnetic material (“[t]he main body 20 may not include the magnetic material layers 21 and 22, and may be made by laminating a non-magnetic sintered body such as a non-magnetic ferrite, glass, or alumina, an insulating layer made of a non-magnetic insulating resin that does not contain a magnetic material…” [0206]. (Yamauchi: Figs. 1-8, para. [0206]).
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 encapsulation body of the combination of Iso in view of Ishima to include the second encapsulation body being made of non-magnetic material of Yamauchi, the motivation being “…in the inductor component having such the main body 20, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability due to heat”. [0206]. (Yamauchi: Figs. 1-8, para. [0206]). Therefore, the limitations of Claim 11 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim et al. (US 20170301451), Guo et al. (US 20230215612) and Liao et al. (US 20090231077).
Conclusion
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/MALCOLM BARNES/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
10/07/2026
