DETAILED ACTION
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Specification
The disclosure stands objected to because the amendment to the specification (Table 2 content) as submitted on December 30, 2025 is poorly legible. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1-4, 6 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated
by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over FUJITA (US-
2022/0392676).
Claim 1: Fujita teaches a coated soft magnetic powder comprising
a soft magnetic powder; and an insulating coating film covering the particle surface of
the soft magnetic powder (abstract); the insulating coating compound having a
hydrophobic functional group derived from a coupling agent (para. 0037-0039), wherein
the soft magnetic powder has an average particle size (D50) of about 3 µm (Page 11,
Table 1-1, Example 1), which is well within the claimed range from 2.0 µm to 25.0 µm,
the soft magnetic powder has a specific surface area of 0.46 m²/g (Page 8, Example 1,
para. 0099,) which is well within the claimed range of 0.05 m²/g to 0.60 m²/g. With
regards to the ratio of the specific area and the oxygen content, A/S, Fujita does not
measure the oxygen content, but the coating compound is a coupling agent (silane) that
is same silane coupling agent of the claimed invention, forms a coating thickness of 5
nm (Example 1) and a coverage ratio of 87 (Page 11, Table 1-1, Example 1) which is
well within the coverage ratio (85%-110%) of the claimed invention (instant
specification, page 42); therefore, the oxygen content is such that the ratio A/S is
necessarily within the claimed range of 3000 to 20000. With regards to the water content, as stated in the description at page 36, paragraphs 0175-0176 and shown at Table 2 (page 42), when an insulating coating film comprising a hydrophobic-functionalized coupling agent, i.e. silane coupling agents, is formed over the soft magnetic powder with a coverage ratio of 65% or higher, the water content falls within the claimed range of 30 ppm to 500 ppm. Here, Fujita teaches forming an insulating coating film of silane coupling agent (Fujita, para. 0029) over the magnetic powder as discussed immediately above, with a coverage ratio of at least 70% (Fujita, paragraph 0041), it is expected that the insulator-coated soft magnetic powder comprises a water content of 30-500 ppm as claimed. Furthermore, Fujita teaches filtering the slurry containing the coated soft magnetic powder and drying the coated soft magnetic powder at 100oC for 10 hours (Fujita, para. 0106); therefore, the water content is expected to be within the claimed range of from 30 ppm to 500 ppm.
Claim 2: Fujita does not measure the oxygen content, but the coating
compound is a coupling agent (silane) that that is same silane coupling agent of the
claimed invention (see claim 3 below), forms a coating thickness of 5 nm (Example 1)
and a coverage ratio of 87 (Page 11, Table 1-1, Example 1) which is well within the
coverage ratio (85%-110%) of the claimed invention (instant specification, page 42);;
therefore, the oxygen content is expected to be from 200 ppm to 5000 ppm.
Claims 3-4. The coating compound comprises a hydrophobic functional group
which is a is a linear alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbons (Fujita, para. 0039)
Claim 6: The insulating coating film has a coverage ratio of 87-98% (Page 11,
Table 1-1, Examples 1-3) which is well within the claimed range of 20% to 120%.
Claims 9-11: Fujita teaches using the insulating coated magnetic powder as
magnetic core in an electronic device as in the art (Fujita, para. 0001).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujita as
applied to claims 1-4 and 6 above, and further in view of Wakabayashi (us-
2022/0250145).
Fujita teaches the claimed insulating coated soft magnetic powder as discussed
above, wherein the insulating coating compound comprises a short chain silane.
Wakabayashi teaches silanes comprising an alkyl linear groups or a cyclic group are
functionally equivalent as the insulating coating compounds for metal powder
(Wakabayashi, para. 0085-0087 and 0092-0104). Therefore, it would have been
obvious to expand the coating compound taught by Fujita to include silane having cyclic
group as taught by Wakabayashi.
Claims 7 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujita as applied to claims 1-4 and 6 above, and further in view of IKUO (JP-2019-016806).
Claim 7: Fujita teaches the insulator-coated soft magnetic powder as discussed
above and the use of such powder as magnetic core by molding. However, Fujita does
not give details of the process steps of molding. Ikuo teaches a forming magnetic core
from insulating coated soft magnetic powder by compression molding with an epoxy
resin in the amount of 1 to 5% by mass (translation copy, page 5, 5th paragraph) which
overlaps the claimed range of about 2 mass%, at a pressure between 200-500 MPa,
which is well within the claimed range of 294MPa the powder to form the magnetic core
(translation copy page 6, 2ⁿᵈ paragraph). Ikuo then teaches heating the molded body at
170°C for 45 to 80 minutes (translation copy, page 6, 3ʳᵈ paragraph) which is slightly
higher than the claimed temperature of 150C and claimed duration of 30 minutes.
However, the heating temperature and duration are dependent on the softening
temperature of the epoxy resin. Therefore, it would have been obvious to arrive at
lower heating temperature and shorter duration by selecting epoxy with lower softening
temperature. Such selection is not unobvious to the POSITA as they do yield expected
results, i.e. lower softening temperature epoxy requires lower curing temperature and
shorter duration for the curing process. Figures 6 & 7 of IKuo show a crushing strength
of over 100 which is deemed equivalent to a radial crushing strength of 10 MPa or
higher.
Claims 9-11: Ikuo teaches forming magnetic powder core comprising molding an
insulator-coated soft magnetic powder (abstract and claims); therefore, it would have
been obvious that the insulating coated magnetic powder of Fujita is suitable for making
the magnetic powder core for an electronic device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues that Fujita fails to “teach, suggest or render obvious” the water content of 30 ppm to 5000 ppm as required in the instant claims. However, Applicant does not dispute that the method hydrophobic coating and drying as taught by Fujita would not have resulted in the water content within the claimed range. Not to report the water content does not mean the water content as claimed is not met. The burden is on Applicant to show that the water content as claimed would not be obtained by the method taught by Fujita.
Applicant further argues that the instant disclosure identifies the criticality of the water content within the claimed range, namely, flowability. Here, Fujita reports a flow rate of the coated magnetic powder being at 90% (Fujita, para. 0088); therefore, contrary to Applicant’s allegation, flowability of the coated magnetic powder is achieved by Fujita method.
Applicant's arguments filed December 30, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the reasons discussed above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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examiner should be directed to HOA (Holly) LE whose telephone number is (571)272-
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's
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the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
/HOA (Holly) LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788