Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Application No. 18/923,092

MAGNET WIRE WITH LOW-PERMITTIVITY INSULATION

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Aug 29, 2023 — provisional 63/535,305
Examiner
NGUYEN, CHAU N
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Essex Solutions Usa LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
68%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 68% — above average
68%
Career Allowance Rate
1053 granted / 1547 resolved
+8.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
51 currently pending
Career history
1600
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
51.4%
+11.4% vs TC avg
§102
23.1%
-16.9% vs TC avg
§112
19.0%
-21.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1547 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Claim Objections Claims 14 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: claim 14 is a redundant of part of claim 13 (see last paragraph of claim 13); and claim 20 is a redundant of claim 11. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 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. Claims 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Storm (4219629). Storm discloses a magnet wire (col. 8 line 26) comprising: a conductor; and at least one insulation layer formed around the conductor, the insulation layer comprising: a base polymeric material; and one or more additives incorporated into the base polymeric material, the one or more additives comprising at least one of (i) a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or (ii) a partially or fully hydrogenated compound of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (re-claim 1). Storm also discloses the one or more additives comprising terphenyl (col. 5 line 41) (re-claims 2 and 4). It is noted that since the magnet wire of Storm comprises structure and material as claimed, the one or more additives lower the permittivity of the insulation layer relative to a control insulation layer formed solely from the base polymeric material (re-claim 1); a first permittivity of the insulation layer is at least 0.3 lower than a second permittivity of the control insulation layer (re-claims 11 and 20); and a first partial discharge inception voltage of the insulation layer is at least 5.0% higher than a second partial discharge inception voltage of the control insulation layer (re-claim 12). Claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Besson et al. (2020/0312482). Besson et al. discloses a wire comprising: a conductor; and at least one insulation layer formed around the conductor, the insulation layer comprising: a base polymeric material; and one or more additives incorporated into the base polymeric material, the one or more additives comprising at least one of (i) a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or (ii) a partially or fully hydrogenated compound of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ([0090]) (re-claim 1). Besson et al. also discloses that the one or more additives comprise dibenzyltoluene ([0090]) (re-claims 3 and 4); the one or more additives comprise between 1.0% and 60.0% by weight of an insulation material used to form the insulation layer ([0090], 6 wt% of dibenzyltoluene) (re-claim 6); and the base polymeric material comprises a thermoplastic material (re-claim 9). It is noted that since the wire of Besson et al. comprises structure and material as claimed, it is a magnet wire; the one or more additives lower the permittivity of the insulation layer relative to a control insulation layer formed solely from the base polymeric material (re-claim 1); a first permittivity of the insulation layer is at least 0.3 lower than a second permittivity of the control insulation layer (re-claims 11 and 20); and a first partial discharge inception voltage of the insulation layer is at least 5.0% higher than a second partial discharge inception voltage of the control insulation layer (re-claim 12). Claims 1, 4, 7, 8, 11-15, 17, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hanson et al. (3959233). Hanson et al. discloses a magnet wire (col. 7 line 30) comprising: a conductor; and at least one insulation layer formed around the conductor, the insulation layer comprising: a base polymeric material; and one or more additives incorporated into the base polymeric material, the one or more additives comprising at least one of (i) a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or (ii) a partially or fully hydrogenated compound of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (col. 3 lines 53-54) (re-claim 1). Hanson et al. also discloses that the one or more additives comprise terphenyl or quaterphenyl (col. 3 lines 53-54) (re-claims 4, 15, and 17); and the base polymeric material comprises a thermosetting material which is polyamideimide (abstract) (re-claims 7, 8, 13, and 19). It is noted that since the magnet wire of Hanson et al. comprises structure and material as claimed, the one or more additives lower the permittivity of the insulation layer relative to a control insulation layer formed solely from the base polymeric material (re-claims 1, 13, and 14); a first permittivity of the insulation layer is at least 0.3 lower than a second permittivity of the control insulation layer (re-claims 11 and 20); and a first partial discharge inception voltage of the insulation layer is at least 5.0% higher than a second partial discharge inception voltage of the control insulation layer (re-claim 12). Claims 13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Johnson (4022751). Johnson discloses a magnet wire (col. 3 line 37, magnetic wire insulation) comprising a conductor; and at least one insulation layer formed around the conductor, the insulation layer comprising: a base thermosetting polymeric material (col. 2 lines 60-61, polyimide); and one or more additives incorporated into the base polymeric material, the one or more additives comprising at least one of (i) a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or (ii) a partially or fully hydrogenated compound of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (col. 3 line 3, polybenzyl). 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hanson et al. in view of Ando et al. (2021/0246268). Hanson et al. discloses the invention substantially as claimed except for the one or more additives comprising at least one additive having a boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure of at least 250°C. Ando et al. discloses an insulation material comprising an additive which has a boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure of at least 250°C ([0119]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to include the additive taught by Ando et al. in the base polymeric material of Hanson et al. to improve the physical property of the insulation layer. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Besson et al. Besson et al. discloses the invention substantially as claimed except for the thermoplastic material comprising a polyphenylene sulfide. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use polyphenylene sulfide as the thermoplastic material of Besson et al. to meet the specific use of the resulting wire since such material is known in the art for being used in wire insulation material (see Besson et al., [0007]). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAU N NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1980. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 7am to 5:30pm. 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 http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N Hayman can be reached at 571-270-5528. 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. /CHAU N NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
68%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+14.0%)
2y 7m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1547 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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