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 of Group I in the reply filed on 4/27/26 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/27/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites FeaGb. The letter G in this formula is not customary and it is not clear from this language what the scope of this compound is intended to be. Based on the specification and claim 2, G is interpreted as if it is limited to the elements recited at p. 3, lines 17-21 of the specification.
Claim 1 also recites “applying an extrusion force to the stacked” metal sheets. It is not clear, however, how an extrusion process is performed. Extrusion is a process wherein a force is applied to press a material through a die to achieve a desired shape. While such a process can be performed on certain metals, it is not customarily performed on iron alloy sheets coated with rare earth metal alloys. Additionally, nothing in the specification indicates that a die is used.
Prior Art
Di et al. (US 2023/0070437) teaches a process of forming a neodymium iron boron magnet (Abst.), comprising the steps of: preparing blank magnet sheets, coating the sheets with a rare earth material and performing a grain boundary diffusion on the coated sheets (Abst.; ¶¶ 0057-0062). Di does not teach the claimed FeaGb sheets, the claimed RexMyBz material as the rare earth coating or applying an extrusion force to the stack.
Komura et al. (US 2015/0041022) teaches a process of forming NdFeB magnets (Abst.) comprising the steps of: providing a base material, coating the base material with a rare earth alloy and diffusing the rare earth alloy into the base material (¶¶ 0014-0022, 0035, 0048). Komura fails to teach the claimed FeaGb sheets or applying an extrusion force to the stack.
Bai et al. (US 2021/0050150) is also cited for teaching NdFeB magnets formed using a variety of different rare earth compounds (Abst., e.g.).
None of the prior art on record, taken individually or in combination, fairly teaches or suggests all the limitations of claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert A Vetere whose telephone number is (571)270-1864. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00 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 http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Cleveland can be reached at (571) 270-1034. 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.
/ROBERT A VETERE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
Prosecution Insights