Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/478,929

HIGHLY SCALABLE MULTI-LAYER BURIED-VIA-FREE OPTIMIZED WOVEN COPPER TRACE DESIGN FOR HIGH-POWER EV WIRELESS CHARGING

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Sep 29, 2023
Examiner
PELTON, NATHANIEL R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
560 granted / 746 resolved
+15.1% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
769
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
86.5%
+46.5% vs TC avg
§102
6.3%
-33.7% vs TC avg
§112
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 746 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
CTNF 18/478,929 CTNF 87747 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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) submitted on 09/29/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim 7 is 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. With respect to claim 7, it appears the sentence is incomplete and missing the final word such as “layer”. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-8, 11-14, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Jung et al. [US 2011/0140653] . With respect to claims 1, 11, and 19 , Jung discloses an electrical coil [ Fig. 5 ] comprising: at least one substrate [ i.e. PCB comprise substrate with conductive traces ]; a plurality of conductor layers [ par. 0078 ], the conductor layers including a plurality of trace segments [ i.e. the cores comprise conductive traces to form the coil ]; a plurality of interlayer connectors electrically interconnecting the plurality of trace segments of different conductor layers to define one or more traces that wind around the at least one substrate [ par. 0078; i.e. multi-layer ], each one or more traces having a density based on spacing between each trace segment of the plurality of trace segments and a coil formed of the one or more traces wound into a plurality of loops, wherein the density of the one or more traces is varied across the plurality of loops of the coil [ Fig. 5; i.e. the density of the traces/coils is more dense in the overlapping regions and therefore varies; also note the method of fabricating the coil is implicit since all the structure is present ]. With respect to claims 2 and 13 , Jung further discloses wherein a first density of the one or more traces at a first location on the coil is larger than a second density of the one or more traces at a second location on the coil, wherein the first location is closer to a center of the coil than the second location [ see fig. 5, the density is greater at the center with 331 ]. With respect to claim 3 , Jung further discloses wherein the density of the one or more traces is larger at higher current locations of the coil than lower current locations of the coil [ i.e. more coils equals higher current output ]. With respect to claims 4 and 14 , Jung further discloses wherein the density of the one or more traces is based on a spacing between the plurality of interlayer connectors [ Fig. 5; i.e. when the spacing between the coils 331 and 332 and/or 321 is less, the coils are stacked in a denser position ]. With respect to claim 5 , Jung further discloses wherein the density of the one or more traces is based on a number of conductor layers comprised in the plurality of conductor layers [ Fig. 5; i.e. there are more layers in the center position due to the stack coils ]. With respect to claims 6 and 17 , Jung further discloses wherein at least one trace segment of the plurality of trace segments of a given conductor layer extends in a single linear direction and parallel to the other trace segments of the given conductor layer [ Fig. 5; i.e. 331 is linear and parallel to the position of 332 and 321 ]. With respect to claim 7 , Jung further discloses wherein the at least one substrate comprises at least one insulating layers, wherein the plurality of interlayer connectors are disposed on an outer perimeter of the at least one insulating [ PCBs includes substrates with insulating layers in order to prevent short-circuiting of the traces, note the traces are all throughout the substrate including at the outer perimeter ]. With respect to claim 8 , Jung further discloses wherein the at least one substrate comprises a plurality of substrates [ par. 0030 i.e. can be a multiple layer structure ], wherein a number of substrates is one less than a number of conductor layers [ see Fig. 2; since the substrates is between traces there is 1 less substrate in every multiple layer structure ]. With respect to claim 12 , Jung further discloses wherein the electrical coil is part of at least one of a transmitter pad and a receiver pad [ Fig. 5 ]. With respect to claim 18 , Jung further discloses a common trace pattern that is repeated [ Fig. 5, i.e. all coils are the same design ]. With respect to claim 20 , Jung further discloses varying the gap width across a plurality of loops of the coil [ Fig. 5 depicts the gap with at the overlapped coils being less than the non-overlapped coils ] . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9-10 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung et al. [US 2011/0140653] as applied above, and further in view of Hassan-Ali et al. [US 2017/0011837] . With respect to claims 9-10 and 15-16 , Jung fails to disclose vias, however such a component is well-known in PCB construction. For example, Hassan-Ali relates to PCBs for wireless power and teaches wherein the plurality of interlayer connectors are through vias, wherein the through vias a filled with a conductive material [ par. 0048, 0054, 0063 ]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Jung to utilize via in the multi-layered PCB for the benefit of transferring power between the layers while utilizing a more compact sized coil, i.e. space vertically versus horizontally. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL R PELTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm. 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, Julian Huffman can be reached at 571-272-2147. 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. /NATHANIEL R PELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 2 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 3 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 4 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 5 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 6 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/478,929 Page 7 Art Unit: 2859
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103, §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+19.0%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 746 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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