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 1-8 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-5 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 the limitation "the cover insulating film" in lines 8-9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kawaguchi et al. US 2019/0088413.
As per claims 1 and 6, Kawaguchi et al. discloses in Fig. 2 a coil component (e.g. coil component 1) and a method of manufacturing a coil component, the method comprising:
as per claim 1, a magnetic element body (e.g. magnetic resin layer 7) having a mounting surface (e.g. principal surface 7a which mounts layer 30 thereon); a coil pattern (e.g. coil part 20) embedded in the magnetic element body; a conductor post (e.g. conductor post 19a) embedded in the magnetic element body, the conductor post having a first end (e.g. bottom end of post 19a) connected to the coil pattern (The bottom end of post 19a is connected to second winding section 231 of coil part 20) and a second end (e.g. top end of conductor post 19a); and a terminal electrode (e.g. external terminal 40a) connected to the second end of the conductor post through an opening (e.g. through-hole 31a) formed in a cover insulating film (e.g. cover insulating layer 30), wherein the second end of the conductor post is flush with a surface of the cover insulating film (The top end of conductor post 19a is flush with a bottom surface of the cover insulating layer 30 as shown in Fig. 2.); and
as per claim 6, embedding, in a magnetic element body (e.g. magnetic resin layer 7), a coil pattern (e.g. coil part 20) and a conductor post (e.g. conductor post 19a) having a first end (e.g. bottom end of post 19a) connected to the coil pattern (The bottom end of post 19a is connected to second winding section 231 of coil part 20) and a second end (e.g. top end of conductor post 19a) exposed from a mounting surface (e.g. principal surface 7a) of the magnetic element body; forming a cover insulating film (e.g. cover insulating layer 30) on the second end of the conductor post and the mounting surface of the magnetic element body and making the second end of the conductor post protrude from the mounting surface of the magnetic element body; polishing a surface of the cover insulating film to such a degree that the second end of the conductor post is exposed and that the cover insulating film covering the mounting surface is left (Paragraphs 71-72; Surface 7a is formed by polishing the resin layer 72 and a flatness of the surface can be improved. The surface is polished such that the top end of the post 19a is exposed and protrudes to terminal 40a.); and forming a terminal electrode (e.g. terminal electrode 40a) on the second end of the conductor post.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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.
Claims 7-8 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAKESH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-0961. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Lindgren-Baltzell can be reached at 571-272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAKESH B PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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