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 11/06/2023 has been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, Species I, claims 1-8, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17, without traverse in a response on 08/04/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 9, 10, 13, 15 and 18-20 are withdrawn since Claims 9, 10, 13, 15 and 18-20 belong to an unelected Species. Further, Claim 14 is withdrawn since Claim 14 also belongs to an unelected Species.
In this Office Action, Claims 9, 10, 13-15 and 18-20 are withdrawn, and Claims 1-8, 11, 12, 16 and 17 are examined.
Drawing Objections
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the features “wherein: a) the magnetic element comprises N groups of inner cores, the inner cores being arranged side by side, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 2; b) the N lower magnetic core cover plates corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a first structural member, and the N middle magnetic core cover plates corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a second structural member; and c) N upper magnetic core cover plates corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a third structural member” of claim 16, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s), since only N equal to 2 is only shown. If the features are shown they require labeling. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 6-11 are 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 6, the phrase “the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate”, is not well defined, since the phrase lacks antecedent basis.
Regarding Claims 7-11, the claims 7-11, are indefinite since claims 7-11 are directly or indirectly dependent on claim 6.
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, 12, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (hereinafter Liu), Chinese Patent CN113257531A.
Regarding Claim 1, Liu teaches, a magnetic element (Fig. 4), comprising:
a) at least one group of inner cores (10, 20, 30);
b) wherein each group of inner cores comprises a lower magnetic core cover plate (20), a first winding (not labeled, Fig. 4), at least one middle magnetic core cover plate (30), a second winding (not labeled), and an upper magnetic core cover plate (10) that are stacked in sequence;
c) wherein the first winding and the second winding are spaced by the at least one corresponding middle magnetic core cover plate (id.); and
d) wherein materials of the upper magnetic core cover plate, the middle magnetic core cover plate, and the lower magnetic core cover plate comprise a metal magnetic powder core material (“any one of iron powder core, iron-silicon-aluminum magnetic core, iron-nickel magnetic powder core, iron-silicon magnetic core, molybdenum-permalloy magnetic powder core or iron-nickel high flux magnetic core” [0063]). (Liu: Figs. 1-12, machine translation, para. [0060], [0063], [0064], [0066]).
Regarding Claim 2, Liu further teaches, wherein the first winding and the second winding are respectively embedded in correspondingly one of the lower, middle, and upper magnetic core cover plates (id.). (Liu: Figs. 1-12, machine translation, para. [0060], [0063], [0064], [0066]).
Regarding Claim 12, Liu further teaches, wherein the first winding and the second winding are metal wound coils (302). (Liu: Fig. 10, machine translation, para. [0071], [0072]).
Regarding Claim 16, Liu further teaches, wherein:
a) the magnetic element comprises N groups of inner cores (Fig. 10), the inner cores being arranged side by side (id.), wherein N is a positive integer greater than 2;
b) the N lower magnetic core cover plates (20) corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a first structural member (id.), and the N middle magnetic core cover plates (30) corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a second structural member (id.); and
c) N upper magnetic core cover plates (10) corresponding to the N inner cores are integrally formed into a third structural member (id.). (Liu: Figs. 9-12, machine translation, para. [0069], [0071], [0072]).
Regarding Claim 17, Liu further teaches, wherein the magnetic element is a coupling inductor or a transformer (id.). (Liu: Figs. 1-12, machine translation, para. [0060], [0063], [0064], [0066]).
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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, as applied to claim 1, in view of Abe et al. (hereinafter Abe), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0221360.
Regarding Claim 3 and similarly claim 4, Liu is silent on including further comprising an encapsulation layer encapsulating all the inner cores, wherein at least one surface of the encapsulation layer comprises a plurality of openings for exposing head and tail terminals of each of the first windings and the second windings. (Liu: Figs. 1-12, machine translation, para. [0060], [0063], [0064], [0066]).
Liu does not explicitly teach, further comprising an encapsulation layer encapsulating all the inner cores, wherein at least one surface of the encapsulation layer comprises a plurality of openings for exposing head and tail terminals of each of the first windings and the second windings.
However, Abe (Fig. 1) teaches, further comprising an encapsulation layer (400, 600) encapsulating all the inner cores (300), wherein at least one surface of the encapsulation layer comprises a plurality of openings (openings for 234, 244) for exposing head and tail terminals (234, 244) of each of the first windings and the second windings (230, 240). (Abe: Figs. 1 and 2, para. [0023], [0024], [0026], [0056]).
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 magnetic core unit Liu to include the encapsulation layer encapsulating all the inner cores, and at least one surface of the encapsulation layer comprises a plurality of openings of Abe, the motivation being “[a]ccordingly, a coupling coefficient of the first coil and the second coil can be easily adjusted by adjusting a distance between the first coil body and the second coil body” [0010]. (Abe: Figs. 1 and 2, para. [0010]). 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 5, the combination of Liu in view of Abe further teaches, wherein the encapsulation layer comprises a resin material (“resin” [0056]), the motivation being “[a]ccordingly, a coupling coefficient of the first coil and the second coil can be easily adjusted by adjusting a distance between the first coil body and the second coil body” [0010]. (Abe: Figs. 1 and 2, para. [0010], [0056]).
Claims 6-8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, as applied to claim 1, in view of Li et al. (hereinafter Li), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0360844.
Regarding Claim 6, Liu is silent on including wherein the first winding and the second winding are respectively located in the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate, and the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate are respectively embedded in one of the adjacent magnetic core cover plates. (Liu: Figs. 1-12, machine translation, para. [0060], [0063], [0064], [0066]).
Liu does not explicitly teach, wherein the first winding and the second winding are respectively located in the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate, and the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate are respectively embedded in one of the adjacent magnetic core cover plates.
However, Li (Fig. 1) teaches, wherein the first winding and the second winding (1242, 1244) are respectively located in the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate (“the primary winding 1244 and the secondary winding 1242 may be arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB)” [0039]), and the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate are respectively embedded in one of the adjacent magnetic core cover plates (1226). (Li: Figs. 1-4 and 19-21, para. [0039]).
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 first and second windings of Liu to include the first and second windings respectively located in the first winding substrate and the second winding substrate of Li, the motivation being to improve the productivity. Therefore, the limitations of Claim 6 would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 7 and similarly claims 8 and 11, the combination of Liu in view of Li further teaches (Fig. 1), wherein:
a) the magnetic core cover plate (1226) embedded by the first winding substrate or the second winding substrate (1242, 1244) is configured as an E-shaped cover plate, and other adjacent magnetic core cover plate is configured as a flat cover plate (110);
b) the E-shaped cover plate comprises a magnetic core center column (id.), a cross section of the E-shaped cover plate presents a shape of letter E (id.), and one side surface of the E-shaped cover plate comprises two openings (Fig. 1) for exposing the head and tail terminals of the first winding or the second winding (id.), the motivation being to improve the productivity. (Li: Figs. 1-4 and 19-21, para. [0039]).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen (US 20180138801) and Yang et al. (CN110504088A).
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
10/14/2026
