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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of a certified copy of JP 2022-162439 filed October 7, 2022 as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Status
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Remarks and Claim Amendments filed June 4, 2026.
Claims Filing Date
June 4, 2026
Amended
1
Pending
1-7
Withdrawn
5-7
Under Examination
1-4
Applicant argues support for the claim 1 amendment at [0028] (p. 5 para. 1).
Response to Remarks filed June 4, 2026
Noguchi (US 2017/0178775) in view of Koshiba (JP 2004-156134 machine translation)
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks pp. 5-6, filed June 4, 2026, with respect to Koshiba have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of Noguchi in view of Koshiba has been withdrawn.
The applicant persuasively argues Koshiba p. 5 discloses a specific surface area of 0.30 m2/g or less (para. spanning pp. 5-6), which is not greater than 0.3 m2/g and less than or equal to 0.45 m2/g as recited in amended claim 1 (p. 6 para. 2)
Koshiba discloses setting the upper limit of the specific surface area to 0.30 m2/g obtains an approximately spherical amorphous soft magnet alloy powder that is less likely to rust, such that magnetic permeability and DC bias characteristics of a magnetic core produced using the soft magnetic alloy powder can be improved (p. 5).
New Grounds
In light of claim amendment and upon further consideration new grounds of rejection are made over Noguchi (US 2017/0178775) in view of Koshiba ‘071 (US 2005/0236071) and over Koshiba ‘071 (US 2005/0236071) in view of Noguchi (US 2017/0178775).
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noguchi (US 2017/0178775) in view of Koshiba ‘071 (US 2005/0236071).
Regarding claim 1, Noguchi discloses a soft magnetic powder ([0001], [0010]) comprising:
Fe as a main component ([0029]);
Si having a content of 2.5 mass % or more and 6.5 mass % or less (1.0 to 10.0%) ([0030]);
Cr having a content of 1.0 mass % or more and 10.0 mass % or less (1.0 to 9.0%) ([0029]);
S having a content of 0.0020 mass % or more and 0.0070 mass % or less (≤0.02%) ([0033]); and
impurities ([0033]).
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Noguchi discloses spherical powder ([0036]) with an O content of ≤ 0.3% (3,000 ppm) ([0033]) and d50 of 1 um or more and preferably 30 um or less ([0034]).
Noguchi is silent to the specific surface area of the powder.
Koshiba ‘071 discloses soft magnetic powder ([0002], [0035], [0068]) with an oxygen concentration of 3,000 ppm (0.3%) or less ([0072]), a specific surface area greater than 0.3 m2/g and less than or equal to 0.45 m2/g (0.40 m2/g or less) ([0073]) and D50 of 5 um to 30 um ([0070]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the soft magnetic powder of Noguchi to have a specific surface area of 0.40 m2/g or less to prevent increased unevenness in the powder shape, increased oxygen concentration, and difficulty in obtaining an insulating property between powders, such that the forming density of the magnetic core decreases along with magnetic permeability and direct current overlap property (Koshiba ‘071 [0073]).
Therefore, regarding a ratio A/B of 3000 or more and 8000 or less, where A [ppm] is an oxygen content in terms of mass ratio and B [m2/g] is a specific surface area, Noguchi in view of Koshiba ‘071 discloses soft magnetic powder with an oxygen content of 3,000 ppm or less (A) (Noguchi [0033]; Koshiba ‘071 [0072]) and a specific surface area of greater than 0.3 m2/g and less than or equal to 0.45 m2/g (B) (0.40 m2/mg or less (Koshiba ‘071 [0073]), such that a ratio A/B overlaps with that claimed. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 2, Noguchi in view Koshiba ‘071 discloses the oxygen content A in terms of mass ratio is 1500 ppm or more and 2400 ppm or less (≤ 0.3%, 3,000 ppm) (Noguchi [0033]; Koshiba ‘071 [0072]). In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 3, Noguchi in view of Koshiba ‘071 discloses an average particle diameter is 1.0 um or more and 20.0 um or less (d50 of 1 um or more and preferably 30 um or less) (Noguchi [0034]) (d50 of 5 um to 30 um) (Koshiba ‘071 [0070]). In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 4, Noguchi discloses the content of Si is 3.0 mass % or more and 4.5 mass % or less (1.0 to 10.0%) ([0030]), and the content of Cr is 3.0 mass % or more and 6.0 mass % or less (1.0 to 9.0%) ([0029]). In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koshiba ‘071 (US 2005/0236071) in view of Noguchi (US 2017/0178775).
Regarding claim 1, Koshiba ‘071 discloses a soft magnetic powder ([0160]) comprising:
Fe as a main component (Fe73Cr2B15Si10) (Table 1 No. 4);
Si having a content of 2.5 mass % or more and 6.5 mass % or less (6.1 mass% Si; Fe73Cr2B15Si10) (Table 1 No. 4);
Cr having a content of 1.0 mass % or more and 10.0 mass % or less (2.2 mass% Cr; Fe73Cr2B15Si10) (Table 1 No. 4); and
impurities (Fe73Cr2B15Si10) (Table 1 No. 4), wherein
a ratio A/B is 3000 or more and 8000 or less (4,333; 1300/0.30), where A [ppm] is an oxygen content in terms of mass ratio (0.13 wt%, 1,300 ppm) ([0072], Table 2 No. 4) and B [m2/g] is a specific surface area of the soft magnet powder (0.30 m2/g) (Table 2 No. 4), and
the specific surface area B is greater than 0.3 m2/g and less than or equal to 0.45 m2/g (0.30 m2/g) (Table 2 No. 4).
With respect to the specific surface area B, a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are close. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Koshiba ‘071 is silent to S having a content of 0.0020 mass% or more and 0.0070 mass% or less.
Noguchi discloses a soft magnet powder ([0001], [0010]) comprising S having a content of 0.0020 mass% or more than 0.0070 mass% or less (S ≤ 0.02 mass%) ([0033]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in the soft magnetic powder of Koshiba ‘071 to include S ≤ 0.02 mass% to limit the content of sulfur as an inevitable impurity (Noguchi [0033]). In case the where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 2, Koshiba ‘071 discloses an oxygen content of 1,300 ppm (0.13 wt%) (Table 2 No. 4).
Koshiba ‘071 discloses a most preferred oxygen content of 2,000 ppm or less ([0072]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the oxygen content of Example No. 4 in Koshiba ‘071 to most preferably have an oxygen content of 2,000 ppm or less to minimize the easy generation of rust at the surface due to corrosion, which deteriorates magnetic characteristics of the powder, such as increasing the loss of the magnetic core and decreasing the magnetic permeability ([0072]). In case the where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 3, Koshiba ‘071 discloses an average particle diameter is 1.0 um or more and 20.0 um or less (d50 of 8.51 um) (Koshiba ‘071 Table 2 No. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Koshiba ‘071 discloses 6.1 mass% Si and 2.2 mass% Cr (Fe73Cr2B15Si10) (Table 1 No. 4).
Koshiba ‘071 discloses 0.5 at% or more Si ([0058]-[0060]) and 8 at% or less Cr ([0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in Example No. 4 of Koshiba ‘071 to vary the Si content from 0.5 at% or more to improve thermal stabilization and prevent the amorphous powder from corroding while the molten alloy is quenched by water atomization ([0058]-[0060]) and to vary the Cr content to be 8 at% or less to improve corrosion resistance without deteriorating magnetic characteristics, such as saturated magnetization ([0053]). In case the where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. MPEP 2144.05(I).
Related Art
Watanabe (JP 2009-088502 machine translation)
Watanabe discloses oxide coated soft magnetic powder ([0001], [0007], [0014]) with 2 to 10 wt% Si ([0012], [0039]-[0040]), 1 to 13wt% Cr ([0013], [0042]-[0043]), and Fe as the main component ([0018]). In Watanabe the primary particles have an oxygen content of about 1000-8000 ppm ([0026]) and a particle size preferably of about 5 to 30 um ([0045]-[0046]).
Yamamoto (JP 2002-060914 machine translation)
Yamamoto discloses a soft magnetic alloy powder containing 0.001 to 0.05 wt% S with a remainder of Fe, Cr, Si, B, and C as defined by a formula with atomic ratios ([0006]-[0007], [0012]-[0013]), where the S reduces particle (powder) size making it possible to obtain spherical particles ([0010]-[0011]).
Matsuki (WO 2022/009502 with citations from US 2023/0191481)
Matsuki discloses a metal powder ([0001], [0019], [0021]) including 1.0 to 15.0% Si ([0031]-[0033]), 1.0 to 13.0% Cr ([0034]), 100 to 10000 ppm (0.01 to 1%) S ([0036]), and 0.2 to 7.0% O ([0040]) with a remainder of Fe ([0041]). The metal powder of Matsuki has an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 2.0 um ([0044]).
Zhao (CN 112885551 machine translation)
Zhao discloses FeSiCr soft magnetic powder ([n0001], [n0005]) with 89-92% Fe, 5.0-6.0% Si, 3.0-4.0% Cr, and up to 0.005% S ([n0006]-[n0014], [n0033]-[n0039]) with a D50 of 7.90-8.40 um ([n0015]-[n0016], [n0040]-[n0041]).
Tanada (US 2015/0083960)
Tanada discloses magnetic grains (powder) ([0026], Fig. 1) comprising Fe ([0027]), 1.5 to 7.5% Si ([0028]), 2.0 to 8.0% M as Cr ([0029]), 0.004 to 0.012% S to achieve high levels of insulation property and magnetic permeability simultaneously, and oxygen atoms present in an oxide film ([0030]). Tanada discloses a grain size of 4 to 30 um (Table 1).
Conclusion
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.
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/STEPHANI HILL/Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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