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 .
The information disclosure statement filed 12/20/2024. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
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.
Claim 1-2, 5-7 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono et al. (Ono et al. - JP 2014/021705 to Toppan Forms Co LTD; herein after referred to as “Ono” – cited by applicant) in view of Yamamoto et al. (Yamamoto et al. – WO2019239824 A1 to Aichi Steel Corp.; herein after referred to as “Yamamoto”)
Regarding claims 1 and 5-7, Ono discloses "a contactless communication medium 10 comprising an IC chip 21, a first conductor 22 connected to the IC chip 21, and a plurality of second conductors 31, 32 that are close to and electromagnetically coupled to the first conductor 22, wherein the second conductors 31, 32 are bent or curved in the thickness direction with respect to a surface formed by the first conductor 22". In paragraph 0016, Ono indicates that the second conductors 31, 32 have a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape. Paragraph 0030 indicates that "according to the contactless communication medium 10 of the present embodiment, the second conductors 31, 32 are bent in the thickness direction of the first conductor 22 with respect to the surface formed by the first conductor 22, the cross-sectional shape of the first conductor 22 in the thickness direction is substantially U-shaped, the second conductor 31 is discontinuous (the open part of the substantially U-shape) on the side surface 33e side of the second substrate 33, and the second conductor 32 is discontinuous (the open part of the substantially U-shape) on the side surface 33c side of the second substrate 33, and thus communication can be performed from the side surface 33c side and the side surface 33e side of the second substrate 33. That is, since the second conductor 31 and the second conductor 32 are bent in different directions, the range of the communication region can be further widened by the second conductor 31 and the second conductor 32, and communication can be performed from completely different directions. In addition, by changing the size (length, width) of the second conductors 31, 32, the resonance frequency and the communication distance of the contactless communication medium 10 of the present embodiment can be adjusted. In addition, the inductance (L) of the second conductors 31, 32 can be adjusted by changing the length of the second conductors 31, 32, and the capacitance (C) of the second conductors 31, 32 can be adjusted by changing the width of the second conductors 31, 32, and thus the inductance and the capacitance can be separately and easily adjusted. In addition, since the first conductor 22 and the second conductors 31, 32 are electromagnetically coupled to each other on the surfaces thereof, the efficiency in input from the second conductors 31, 32 to the first conductor 22 can be improved. In addition, if the inlet is provided with the first conductor and the second conductors, which serves as booster antennas, the size of the inlet would increase, and the cost would increase accordingly. In the contactless communication medium 10 of the present embodiment, the IC chip 21 and the first conductor 22 are provided on the first substrate 23, and the first substrate 23 is integrated with the second substrate 33 on which the second conductors 31, 32 are formed, thereby the configuration in which the second conductors 31, 32 are provided on the bent (rectangular parallelepiped) second substrate 33 and the configuration in which the IC chip 21 is connected to the first conductor 22 on the planar first substrate 23 are separately provided, so that the connection between the IC chip 21 and the first conductor 22 can be further simplified, and the connection between the IC chip 21 and the first conductor 22 can be made stronger.
Ono fails to implement a magnetic marker containing a contactless communication medium 10 comprising an IC chip 21, a first conductor 22 connected to the IC chip 21, and a plurality of second conductors 31, 32 are bent or curved in the thickness direction with respect to a surface formed by the first conductor 22.
Yamamoto discloses the magnetic marker 1 (Yamamoto; Fig. 1-2, 6, 11 and 12) having a RFID tag 2 that has an antenna for transmitting radio waves that is held by a magnet 10 serving as a source of magnetism in a magnetic marker.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the RF communication as disclosed in Ono to a magnetic marker as disclosed in Yamamoto, and thereby arrive at the configuration of the present invention. The modification is well within skill levels and expectations of an ordinary skilled in the art.
Regarding claim 2, see the discussions to claim 1 in view of Ono/Yamamoto. . (Original) The columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 1, wherein an antenna end portion of the antenna end portions is formed at the one end portion so as to include an attachment area of the wireless tag (Ono; Fig. 1, 2, 5; par. 0016, 0030).
Regarding claim 16, see the discussions to claim 1 in view of Ono/Yamamoto. Further, Ono1. (New) The columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 2, wherein the antenna is formed of a layer or foil made of a conductive material (Ono; Fig. 1, 2, 5; par. 0016, 0030).
Regarding claim 17, see the discussions to claim 1 in view of Ono/Yamamoto. Further, Ono and Yamamoto disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 4, wherein the antenna is formed of a layer or foil made of a conductive material (Ono; Fig. 1, 2, 5; par. 0016, 0030; Yamamoto – Fig.12).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 8-15, and 18-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
i. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar shaped magnetic marker as recited in claim 1, further comprising a groove wherein the groove is provided at the one end portion for accommodating the wireless tag and having the features as recited in claim 3 (claim 4 depends on claim 3).
ii. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 1 and wherein a magnetic marker is a permanent magnet making of the base material as recited in claim 8 (claims 18-19 recite similar limitations to claim 8).
iii. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 5, and having a band-shaped flat surface over an entire area in the axial direction of the magnetic marker as recited in claim 9.
iv. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 2, wherein the magnetic marker forms a cylindrical shape, and having the features arrangements as recited in claim 10 (claim 13 depend on claim 10).
v. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 3, wherein the magnetic marker forms a cylindrical shape, and having the features as recited in claim 11 (claim 14 depends on claim 11).
vi. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 4, wherein the magnetic marker forms a cylindrical shape, and having the features as recited in claim 12 (claim 15 depends on claim 12).
vii. The prior art fails to disclose the columnar-shaped magnetic marker in claim 6 having a band-shaped flat surface and the features as recited in claim 20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN MINH LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2396. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-5:00 PM M-Th..
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/THIEN M LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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