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 Group 2, claims 5-7 in the reply filed on 05/11/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wagner et al. US 4225250 A [Wagner].
Regarding claim 5, Wagner teaches A permanent magnet comprising: a magnetization target formed in a ring shape [see the ring magnet 13] and having a magnetized region and a non-magnetized region [the magnetized segments 27 are separated by essentially non-magnetized regions or segments 29]; and a base member [11] fixedly adhered to the magnetization target [fig. 1 shows 13 and 11 are fixedly adhered to each other], wherein an upper end part of the base member [11] fixedly adhered to the magnetization target [13] is a flat surface [fig. 3] not protruding to either side in a vertical direction [fig. 3].
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, 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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner et al. US 4225250 A [Wagner].
Regarding claim 7, Wagner discloses the claimed invention except for the magnetization target is fixedly adhered to the base member only by a cured thermosetting resin. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use fastening means for adherence as shown in figures 1 and 3 of Wagner, since the examiner takes Official Notice of the equivalence of The ring magnet 13 is mounted on one face of the base plate 11 and the magnetization target is fixedly adhered to the base member only by a cured thermosetting resin for their use in the mounting or assembling art and the selection of any of these known equivalents to being attached or coupled together would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art. Also, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the ring magnet 13 is mounted on one face of the base plate 11, since it was known in the art that using any of the coupling means would attach elements together to achieve the functionality of coupling.
Related references
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
JP 2021093521 A – Abstract teaches that The apparats (1) has a field magnet unit (6) which has a permanent magnet which generates a magnetic field with respect to a ring-shaped to-be-magnetized article. A heating unit (4) which heats more than the Curie point of the magnetic powder which has a heating surface facing the to-be-magnetized article in the axial direction of to-be-magnetized article. A moving unit (3) which relatively displaces the to-be-magnetized article and heating unit between a non-heated position and a heating position. A control unit (10) controls the heating unit and moving unit. The heating unit heats the to-be-magnetized article in a heating position where heating surface adjoins with respect to to-be-magnetized article in axial direction, and does not perform heating operation in a position where heating surface spaces apart the non-heated position with respect to to-be-magnetized article in axial direction.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior arts of record when considered as a whole, alone or in combination neither anticipates nor renders obvious the combination of - the base member includes a positioning hole part fitted with a positioning pin of a field magnet part, the magnetization target has a through hole penetrating the magnetization target in the vertical direction, the positioning pin can be inserted into the through hole, and a size of the through hole in a radial direction is larger than a size of the positioning hole part in the radial direction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See (PTO-892).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMAD A MUSLEH whose telephone number is ((571)272-9086. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10 am - 7 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawki S. 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.
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/Mohamad A Musleh/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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