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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 11/15/2023 has been considered.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakazawa et al. (hereinafter Nakazawa), Japanese Patent JP2018152383A.
Regarding Claim 1, Nakazawa teaches, a magnetic base body (“powdered magnetic core” [0020]) comprising:
a plurality of soft magnetic metal particles (“a metallic magnetic material” [0020], “in the form of particles” [0021]) each containing Fe (“Fe-based magnetic particles include pure iron, Fe-based alloys, Fe-Si alloys, Fe-Al alloys, Fe-Ni alloys, Fe-Si-Al alloys, Fe-Co alloys, Fe-based amorphous alloys, Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys, etc., with pure iron or Fe-Si alloys being more preferable” [0023]); and
a plurality of insulation films (“the metallic magnetic material is covered with an insulating coating, which consists of amorphous portions located near the metallic magnetic material and crystalline portions in contact with the amorphous portions” [0027], and “"coated" includes both the case in which the insulating film is directly formed on the surface of the metallic magnetic material, and the case in which the insulating film is formed via another layer formed on the surface of the metallic magnetic material…”, comprises a plurality of insulation films) that cover respective surfaces of the plurality of soft magnetic metal particles (id.),
wherein
the plurality of soft magnetic metal particles include a first soft magnetic metal particle (not labeled, id.),
the plurality of insulation films include a first insulation film (not labeled, “the metallic magnetic material is covered with an insulating coating” [0027]) that covers a surface (id.) of the first soft magnetic metal particle, and
the first insulation film is disposed between the first soft magnetic metal particle (id.) and a soft second magnetic metal particle (not labeled) that is adjacent to the first soft magnetic metal particle, (id.) and
the first insulation film includes
a first oxide region (“"coated" includes both the case in which the insulating film is directly formed on the surface of the metallic magnetic material, and the case in which the insulating film is formed via another layer formed on the surface of the metallic magnetic material…”, “the insulating coating may continuously or intermittently cover the surface of the particles” [0029], “the metallic magnetic material is covered with an insulating coating, which consists of amorphous portions located near the metallic magnetic material and crystalline portions in contact with the amorphous portions” [0027], comprises the claimed first and second oxide region) that is composed of mainly an amorphous Al oxide (“[p]referred amorphous materials include materials containing Si (silicon) and O (oxygen), such as B<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, Al<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, B<sub>２< /sub>O<sub>３</sub>−Al<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, etc.” [0038], “to form amorphous regions composed of Al<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>” [0063]) and
a second oxide region “([f]ormation of crystalline regions) (Samples 2-16, 25-41) Mg(NO<sub>３</sub>)<sub>２</sub>”, “to obtain a metallic magnetic material having an insulating coating containing both crystalline and amorphous regions” [0067], comprises an oxide of an element A (i.e. Magnesium)) that covers a portion (““the insulating coating may continuously or intermittently cover the surface of the particles” [0029]”, “which consists of amorphous portions located near the metallic magnetic material and crystalline portions in contact with the amorphous portions” [0027, comprises the claimed second oxide region]) of the surface of the first soft magnetic metal particle and that is composed of mainly an oxide of an element A (id.). (Nakazawa: para. [0020], [0021], [0023], [0027], [0029], [0038], [0063], [0067]).
Regarding Claim 2, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein the first oxide region covers a first surface region that is a portion of the surface of the first soft magnetic metal particle, and the second oxide region covers a second surface region that is a portion, of the first soft magnetic metal particle, different from the first surface region (“the insulating coating may continuously or intermittently cover the surface of the particles” [0029] ,“the metallic magnetic material is covered with an insulating coating, which consists of amorphous portions located near the metallic magnetic material and crystalline portions in contact with the amorphous portions” [0027]). (Nakazawa: para. [0027], [0029]).
Regarding Claim 3, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein the plurality of soft magnetic metal particles further include a third soft magnetic metal particle (“a metallic magnetic material” [0020], “in the form of particles” [0021]) that is adjacent to the first soft magnetic metal particle and a fourth soft magnetic metal particle (id.) that is adjacent to the second soft magnetic metal particle and the third soft magnetic metal particle, and
the first oxide region is disposed between the first soft magnetic metal particle and the second soft magnetic metal particle (“the insulating coating may continuously or intermittently cover the surface of the particles” [0029], “the metallic magnetic material is covered with an insulating coating, which consists of amorphous portions located near the metallic magnetic material and crystalline portions in contact with the amorphous portions” [0027]) and between the third soft magnetic metal particle and the fourth soft magnetic metal particle (id.). (Nakazawa: para. [0027], [0029]).
Regarding Claim 4, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein, in a cross section of the magnetic base body taken along a plane passing through the first soft magnetic metal particle, an area of the first oxide region occupies 2% or less of a total area of the cross section (“it is permissible for the metal surface to be exposed over an area of 10% or less of the total surface area of the metallic magnetic material” [0047]). (Nakazawa: para. [0047]).
Regarding Claim 5 and similarly claim 6, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein the first oxide region further contains at least one oxide selected from a group consisting of an amorphous Si oxide, an amorphous Ca oxide, and an amorphous Mg oxide (“[p]referred amorphous materials include materials containing Si (silicon) and O (oxygen), such as B<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, Al<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, B<sub>２< /sub>O<sub>３</sub>−Al<sub>２</sub>O<sub>３</sub>, etc.” [0038]]). (Nakazawa: para. [0038]).
Regarding Claim 7, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein the first insulation film further includes a fourth oxide region that contains FeCr2O4 (“it may be formed on the metallic magnetic material via an Fe-based oxide film” [0045]). (Nakazawa: para. [0045]).
Regarding Claim 8, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein a content ratio of Fe in each of the plurality of soft magnetic metal particles is 95 wt% or higher (“[i]n Fe-Si alloys, which are preferred metallic magnetic materials, the total content of Fe and Si is 80% by weight or more. Furthermore, there are no particular restrictions on the ratio of Fe to Si, but a weight ratio of Si/Fe = 0/100 to 10/90 is preferable because it results in a higher saturation magnetic charge” [0024]). (Nakazawa: para. [0024]).
Regarding Claim 9, Nakazawa further teaches, wherein the element A (magnesium) is more susceptible to oxidation than Fe “([f]ormation of crystalline regions) (Samples 2-16, 25-41) Mg(NO<sub>３</sub>)<sub>２</sub>”, “to obtain a metallic magnetic material having an insulating coating containing both crystalline and amorphous regions” [0067]). (Nakazawa: para. [0067]).
Regarding Claim 10, Nakazawa further teaches, a coil component comprising: the magnetic base body according to claim 1 (id.); and a coil conductor (“a wire” [0021]) provided to the magnetic base body (“it may be a coil-type electronic component in which an air-core coil with a wire wound around it is embedded inside a powdered magnetic core of a predetermined shape” [0021]). (Nakazawa: para. [0021]).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Marusawa (US 20220020515) and Mitani et al. (JP2009010180A).
Conclusion
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/MALCOLM BARNES/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
9/17/2026
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