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 1-20 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The following changes need to be made to avoid potential 112 issues therein:
On the last line of claim 8, change “a length” to --the length--.
On the last two lines of claim 15, change each occurrence of “winding” to --at least one of the plurality of windings--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-4, 6-10, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. US 2015/0340338.
As per claims 1-4, 6-10, and 12-14, Lee et al. discloses in Fig. 11 a structure comprising:
as per claim 1, an inductor (e.g. inductor 100) including a plurality of windings coupled together in series about a magnetic core (e.g. core 111), wherein at least one of plurality of windings includes: a first segment in a first wiring layer (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segment annotated as D in a bottom wiring layer) and extending over a width of the magnetic core (e.g. width in an up and down vertical direction in the view of Fig. 11), and a second segment within a second wiring layer (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segment comprising segments annotated as E and F in a top wiring layer) and coupled to the first segment through a vertical interconnect (Annotated Fig. 11 below, via annotated as G), wherein the second segment includes two sub-segments (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segments annotated as E and F) separated by a gap (Annotated Fig. 11 below, gap annotated as H) along a length of the magnetic core (e.g. length in a left to right horizontal direction);
as per claims 2 and 9, wherein an orientation of the first segment and an orientation of the second segment together define a substantial V-shape (Annotated Fig. 11 below; The inductor segments in the top wiring layer are slanted and collectively form a V-shape with the segments in the bottom wiring layer.);
as per claims 3 and 10, wherein the two sub-segments of the second segment are oriented in parallel to each other within the second wiring layer (Annotated Fig. 11 below; The segments annotated as E and F are oriented in parallel to one another in the top wiring layer.);
as per claim 4, wherein a portion of a first segment of another winding of the inductor is within the gap between the two sub-segments of the second segment (Annotated Fig. 11 below; When viewing the inductor in the view shown in the figure below, a segment of another winding within the bottom wiring layer overlaps with (i.e. disposed within) the gap annotated as H.);
as per claims 6 and 12, wherein each of the plurality of windings of the inductor includes the first segment and the second segment having the two sub-segments, and each of the respective vertical interconnects is between the magnetic core and a lengthwise end of the first segment (Annotated Fig. 11 below; Each of the windings of the inductor includes the segments annotated as D-F and the via annotated as G is disposed between the core 111 and a bottom end (i.e. “lengthwise end”) of the segment annotated as D.);
as per claims 7, 13, and 14, wherein each of the plurality of windings of the inductor includes the first segment and the second segment having the two sub-segments, and each winding of the inductor is interleaved with another winding along the length of the magnetic core (Annotated Fig. 11 below; Each of the windings of the inductor includes the segments annotated as D-F and each winding is interleaved with an adjacent winding along the left to right horizontal direction.); and
as per claim 8, a magnetic core (e.g. core 111) having a length within a pair of wiring layers (e.g. top and bottom wiring layers) of a device; and an inductor (e.g. inductor 100) including a plurality of windings coupled together in series about the magnetic core, wherein at least one of plurality of windings includes: a first segment in a first wiring layer (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segment annotated as D in a bottom wiring layer) and extending over a width of the magnetic core (e.g. width in an up and down vertical direction in the view of Fig. 11), and a second segment within a second wiring layer (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segment comprising segments annotated as E and F in a top wiring layer) and coupled to the first segment through a vertical interconnect (Annotated Fig. 11 below, via annotated as G), wherein the second segment includes two sub-segments (Annotated Fig. 11 below, segments annotated as E and F) separated by a gap (Annotated Fig. 11 below, gap annotated as H) along a length of the magnetic core (e.g. length in a left to right horizontal direction).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 11 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.
Claims 15-20 are allowed. As per claim 15, the closest prior art Lee et al. discloses a method comprising all of the limitations recited therein EXCEPT “transmitting a current through the inductor to induce a magnetic flux within the magnetic core to induce a flux density in a first portion of the magnetic core within the second segment of the winding that is less than a flux density in a second portion of the magnetic core within the first segment of the winding”.
Conclusion
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/RAKESH B PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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