DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Elections/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I and Species 1 (Claims 1-2, 4, 7-12 and 20) in the reply filed on 08/04/2026 is acknowledged. However, since applicant did not distinctly indicate whether election is with or without traverse and did not point out any supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.03(a) and 818.03(c)).
Claim Objections
Claim7-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
(a) Claim 7. line 6, typing error: “the ferrite member” should be “the magnetic member”.
(b) Claim 8. line 3, typing error: “a tubular shape” should be “the tubular shape”.
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 of this title, 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 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura (US 20230068474 A1) in view of Kim (US 20150249286 A1).
Regarding Claim 7:
Nakamura teaches that a power generation element comprising:
a magnetic member (1, Fig. 1; para 0042-0069) that produces a large Barkhausen effect (see Abstract) by a change in an external magnetic field formed by a magnetic field generation source (12, Fig. 1);
a ferrite member (3, para 0076) enclosing the magnetic member, the ferrite member having a rectangular shape; and a coil (2) wound around the ferrite member.
Nakamura teaches the claim invention except the ferrite member having a tubular shape.
However, this feature is very well known in prior art as Kim taught in para 0050 that ferrite member 330 is formed in the cylindrical shape that surrounds the coaxial cable.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have the ferrite member having a tubular shape to provide exceptional structural strength and uniform pressure distribution.
Regarding Claim 8:
As applied to claim 1, the modified Nakamura teaches that the ferrite member includes a main body (i.e. upper and lower part of 3 in Fig. 1) that encloses the magnetic member, the main body having a tubular shape (see Nakamura’ para 0050), and a first flange (right part of 3 in Fig. 1) and a second flange (left part of 3 in Fig. 1) provided at both ends of the main body in a winding axis (not labeled; i.e. axis of coil 3 in Fig. 1) direction of the coil, the first flange and the second flange having a flange shape, and the coil is located between the first flange and the second flange (construe from Fig. 1).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura in view of Koji (JP 2018-120921 A).
Regarding Claim 10:
Nakamura teaches that a power generation element comprising:
a magnetic member (1, Fig. 1; para 0042-0069) that produces a large Barkhausen effect (see Abstract) by a change in an external magnetic field formed by a magnetic field generation source (12, Fig. 1);
a coil (2) wound around the magnetic member
a ferrite member (3, para 0076) provided at an end of the magnetic member, the ferrite member being aligned with the coil along a winding axis (not labeled; i.e. axis of coil 3 in Fig. 1) direction of the coil.
Nakamura teaches the claim invention except wherein the ferrite member is a resin molded body containing at least one of a soft magnetic powder and a hard magnetic powder, and a resin.
However, Koji teaches that the ferrite member is a resin molded body containing at least one of a soft magnetic powder and a hard magnetic powder, and a resin (see claim 10).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to select Koji’s ferrite member made of soft magnetic powder, hard magnetic powder, and resin for Nakamua’s material, since this modification will provide at least low core loss, high permeability and resistance to corrosion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4, 9, 11-12 and 20
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 recites, A power generation element comprising:
a magnetic member that produces a large Barkhausen effect by a change in an external magnetic field formed by a magnetic field generation source;
a coil wound around the magnetic member; and
a ferrite member provided at an end of the magnetic member, the ferrite member
being aligned with the coil,
wherein
the ferrite member includes a main body and a protrusion protruding from the
main body,
the main body is located inside a columnar space, the columnar space being
surrounded by a virtual plane when it is assumed that an outer edge of the coil when
viewed from a winding axis direction of the coil is extended to both sides in the winding axis direction of the coil, and the columnar space being sandwiched between two virtual planes that are in contact with both ends of the magnetic member in the winding axis direction of the coil and are orthogonal to the winding axis direction of the coil, and
the protrusion is connected to the main body and located outside the columnar space.
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitations.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A list of pertinent prior art is attached in form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kazi Hossain whose telephone number is 571-272-8182. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EST).
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 https:/www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached on 571-272-3985. 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.
/KAZI HOSSAIN/
Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights