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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-6 and 10-13) in the reply filed on 01/23/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 7-9 are withdrawn. Claims 1-6 and 10-13 are examined herein.
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 and 10-13 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 comprising the following components of R, Nb, B and Fe in line 1-5. Claim 1 also recites the total mass of all components in line 7. It’s unclear whether “the total mass of all components” only include R, Nb, B and Fe or the total weight of the magnet. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 recites the total mass of all components in line 5, 10-11, 16-17, 22-23, 28-29, 34-35, 40-41, 46-47, 52-53, 58-59, 64-65, 70-71, 76-77, 82-83 and 88-89. It’s unclear whether “the total mass of all components” only include Nd, Dy, Tb, Cu, Co, Ti, Nb, B and Fe or the total weight of the magnet. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 recites a magnet prepared by the preparation method of the magnet according to claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, because claim 1 does not recite a preparation method of the magnet. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 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 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 1-5 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN 110517838).
Regarding claims 1-4 and 10, Wang teaches an RTB magnet comprising 24-29 wt% Nd (Nd is a rare earth element) and 3-6 wt.% Dy and/or Tb (Dy and Tb are heavy rare earth elements), 0.3-0.5 wt% Nb, 0.9-1.02 wt% B, the balance being Fe (Abstract; Table 1), which overlaps the recited amount of rare earth elements, Nb, B and Fe in claim 1 and it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select amounts of each element based on the composition ranges disclosed in Wang to make a magnet that meets the recited composition in claim 1. See MPEP 2144.05 I.
Wang discloses an example containing 27.5 wt% Nd (Nd is a rare earth element), 4 wt% Dy (Dy is a heavy rare earth element), 0.3 wt% Nb, 0.95 wt. % B, 0.2 wt.% Cu, 2.5 wt.% Co, 0.15 wt% Ti and 64.2 wt% Fe (Table 1, Example 1), which meets the recited amount of R, Nb and Fe in claims 1-2 and close to the recited amount of B in claims 1 and 4. A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close. Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985). See MPEP 2144.05 I. A mass ratio of Co/ (Ti + Nb) is 5.56, which meets the recited mass ratio of Co to (Nb + Ti) in claims 1 and 3. Thus, the recited limitations in claims 1-4 and 10 are obvious over Wang.
Regarding claims 5 and 11-13, Wang does not explicitly disclose that the magnet contains a Co8Ti1Nb1 phase located in an intergranular triangular region, and a ratio of the area of the Co8Ti1Nb1 phase in the intergranular triangular region to the total area of the intergranular triangular region is 1.1-2.5% as recited in claims 5 and 11-13. However, this limitation is determined by the magnet composition and a method of making the magnet.
Wang discloses a method of making a magnet comprising: melting to form a melt; casting the melt to form an alloy, pulverizing the alloy to make a magnet powder, compacting the magnet powder to make a compact, sintering the compact at 1050-1090 ºC for 4-8 hours, cooling the sintered magnet to 60 ºC by air cooling, aging sintered magnet at 900 ºC followed by aging at 630 ºC ([0050] to [0075]), which meets the processing conditions disclosed in instant Specification (See Page 12-13). In view of the fact that Wang teaches a magnet that meets the recited composition in claim 1 and a method of making the magnet that is substantially the same as the processing conditions disclosed in instant Specification, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect that the magnet disclosed by Wang to meet the recited Co8Ti1Nb1 phase limitation in claims 5 and 11-13. “Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established.” In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). See MPEP 2112.01 I.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Wang does not teach the recited composition in claim 6.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xiaowei Su whose telephone number is (571)272-3239. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00.
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, Keith Hendricks can be reached at 5712721401. 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.
/XIAOWEI SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733