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 .
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant’s arguments, filed on 11/26/2026 with respect to the amendments of claim 1 have been fully considered are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Nakamura et al (JP 2014022602 A)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
2. Claims 1-2, 4, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakamura et al (JP 2014022602 A) (see the English translation attachment).
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura discloses an ignition coil (such as an ignition coil CL shown in figure 1a, 2) comprising:
a primary coil (a primary coil L1);
a secondary coil (a secondary coil L2) formed outside the primary coil (see figure 2a); and
an annular iron core unit (a core unit 50, see figure 2b),
wherein the iron core unit includes:
a central iron core (30, see figure 2b) extending through the primary coil (L1);
an outer iron core (40) extending from one end of the central iron core (30) and passing outside the secondary coil (L2); and
a cover made of an elastomer (a cover ER includes a plurality of portion ERs, see figures 5a, c, 6h),
wherein the outer iron core (40) has a contact surface (such as a contact surface 44, see figure 5b), a part of which contacts the central iron core,
wherein the contact surface includes a central portion (such as a protruded portion of the contact portion 44, see figure 5c) which contacts with the central iron core (30, see figure 2b) and an exposed portion (a flatted portion of the contact surface 44, see figure 5c), in an axial direction of the iron core unit (50), extending outward from the central portion (the protruded portion) and projecting out of the central iron core (30), and
wherein the cover (ER portions) includes a projecting portion (such as ER, see figures 5a. c. 6h) covering the exposed portion (the flatted portion).
Regarding claim 2, Nakamura discloses wherein a thickness of the projecting portion (the ER portion) is 0.5 mm or more (see page 6 of the English translation attachment).
Regarding claim 4, Nakamura discloses wherein the contact surface (44) includes a protrusion or recess (the contact surface 44 includes a protrusion portion, see figure 5b) extending in the axial direction of the iron core unit (30), and a portion of the central iron core (30) that is in contact with the contact surface includes a recess (39, see figure 4) shaped to conform to the protrusion of the contact surface (44) or a protrusion shaped to conform to the recess of the contact surface.
Regarding claim 7, Nakamura discloses wherein a bottom edge of the projecting portion (the protruded portion of the contact surface 44) is below the exposed portion (the flatted portion ) (see figure 2b, 5c).
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 3, 5, 6 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.
Conclusion
4. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANNY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2054. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM-4:30PM.
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, Monica Lewis can be reached at 571-271-1838. 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.
/DANNY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
Prosecution Insights