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 1-6 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 applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the first hole per unit area" in line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 1-2 recite the limitation "the third hole per unit area" in each line 14 thereof. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the second hole per unit area" in line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
On lines 2 and 4 of both claims 3-4, the Applicant recites “at least some”. However, it is unclear to the Examiner as to what number constitutes “some” (i.e. Does “some” mean one or more, or two or more, etc.?), thus rendering the claims vague and indefinite. The Examiner construes that the Applicant intended to mean --at least one--.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 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 Kim et al. US 2018/0122553 discloses in Figs. 1-3 a coil component comprising all the limitations recited therein EXCEPT an area of a first hole per unit area in the first portion is larger than an area of the third hole per unit area in the third portion.
As per claim 2, the closest prior art Kim et al. US 2018/0122553 discloses in Figs. 1-3 a coil component comprising all the limitations recited therein EXCEPT an area of a second hole per unit area in the second portion is larger than an area of the third hole per unit area in the third portion.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAKESH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-0961. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Lindgren-Baltzell can be reached at 571-272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAKESH B PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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