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 species 1 (figures 1-4, claims 1-11 and 14-15) in the reply filed on 05/28/26 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a board including a circuit unit formed thereon; a first module disposed on the board; and a second module disposed on the board adjacent to the first module and configured to be electrically connected to the first module via the circuit unit, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
1 Claims 1-3, 11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakazawa et al.(US 2015/0357923) in view of Zhou et al.(US 20220172876).
Regarding claim 1, Nakazawa et al. (figures 1-14 and para 0026-0114) discloses a board (240a) including a circuit unit formed thereon (see para 0048); a first module disposed on the board(see figures 3-11); and a second module disposed on the board adjacent to the first module and configured to be electrically connected to the first module via the circuit unit (see figures 3-11), wherein the first module includes: a transformer (250) including a first core and a first coil disposed in the first core and including primary and secondary coils configured to convert power on an input side and to transmit the converted power to an output side (see figures 4-6 and para 0048-0061); and a ZVS inductor (203) disposed adjacent to the transformer (see para 0040-0045), the ZVS inductor including a second core and a second coil disposed in the second core (see figure 3) and configured to return a residual current to the input side transformer (see para 0040-0045), wherein the second module includes: an output inductor (206) including a third core and a third coil disposed in the third core and configured to remove ripple components included in a current on the output side transformer (see para 0040-0045 and figure 2); and an EMI inductor (207) disposed adjacent to the output inductor (see figures 2-5); the EMI inductor including a fourth core and a fourth coil disposed in the fourth core and configured to reduce electrical noise included in the current on the output side(see para 0040-0045 and figures 2-5); wherein the first coil and the second coil are configured to be electrically connected to each other (see figure 2); and at least partially overlap each other in a first direction from the first core toward the second core(see figure 9), wherein the third coil and the fourth coil are configured to be electrically connected to each other via the circuit unit(see figure 2), and the third core and the fourth core at least partially overlap each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction(see figures 3, 9 and 14),
Nakazawa et al. does not expressly discloses wherein the first core includes a material identical to a material of the second core, and the second core includes a material different from a material of at least one of the third core and the fourth core.
Zhou et al. (para 0042-0050/0057) discloses a teaching wherein cores can be made of different materials.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant claimed invention wherein the first core includes a material identical to a material of the second core, and the second core includes a material different from a material of at least one of the third core and the fourth core
as taught by Zhou et al. to the inductive device of Nakazawa et al so as to prevents the formation of localized eddy currents and minimizes energy losses while also generating significantly less heat during operation, improving overall efficiency and lifespan.
Regarding claim 2, Nakazawa et al. (figures 1-14 and para 0026-0114) discloses all the limitations as noted above but does not expressly disclose wherein the first and second cores include ferrite, and wherein the third and fourth cores include iron (Fe) and silicon (Si).
Zhou et al. (para 0042-0050/0057) discloses a teaching wherein cores can be made of different materials.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant claimed invention wherein the first and second cores include ferrite, and wherein the third and fourth cores include iron (Fe) and silicon (Si) as taught by Zhou et al. to the inductive device of Nakazawa et al so as to prevents the formation of localized eddy currents and minimizes energy losses while also generating significantly less heat during operation, improving overall efficiency and lifespan.
Regarding claim 3, Nakazawa et al. (figures 4-7) discloses wherein second base is configured to receive the fourth core. Also, the core structure 250 can be provided with a bobbin structure inside the core. Designing wherein a first base at least partially disposed in the third core, the first base being configured to receive the third coil would have been an obvious design consideration based on intended application/environment use. So as to optimizes magnetic coupling, stabilizes inductance, and reduces electromagnetic interference.
Regarding claim 11, designing wherein the first base and the second base are integrally formed with each other would have been an obvious design consideration based on intended application/environment use. So as to improve manufacturing efficiency and electrical performance. It also, eliminates the need for manual alignment and assembly of multiple components, reduces part counts, minimizes electromagnetic interference (EMI), and enhances structural stability against vibrations.
Regarding claim 15, Nakazawa et al. (figures 1-14 and para 0026-0114) discloses all the limitations as noted above but does not expressly disclose wherein the third core includes nickel (Ni), and wherein the fourth core further includes boron (B).
Zhou et al. (para 0042-0050/0057) discloses a teaching wherein cores can be made of different materials.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant claimed invention wherein the third core includes nickel (Ni), and wherein the fourth core further includes boron (B) as taught by Zhou et al. to the inductive device of Nakazawa et al so as to prevents the formation of localized eddy currents and minimizes energy losses while also allowing for significantly higher magnetic flux densities without saturating, allowing for smaller, lighter inductor profiles.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-10 and 14 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 RONALD HINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7915. The examiner can normally be reached M to F; 8 -5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached at 571-272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RONALD HINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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