DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (device), drawn to claims 1-4, in the reply filed on 04/03/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 5 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention (method), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/03/2026.
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(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ota (US 2015/0187381) in view of Ricoh (JP H04221065A) and Bourez et al (US 8,919,279).
Regarding claim 1:
Ota teaches a film forming device (carbon film forming apparatus, 10) [fig 1 & 0040], comprising: a film forming chamber (film forming chamber, 101) [fig 1 & 0040]; a holder (holder, 102) configured to hold a substrate (substrate, D) in the film forming chamber (101) [fig 1 & 0040]; an inlet pipe (introduction pipe, 103) configured to introduce a gas of a raw material containing carbon (raw material gas G including carbon) into the film forming chamber (101) [fig 1 & 0040]; a cathode electrode (104a) that is filamentous (filament-shaped) [fig 1 & 0043]; a first power source (first power supply, 106) configured to heat the cathode electrode by energization (supplies power to 104a) [fig 1 & 0042]; an anode electrode (anode electrode, 104b) provided around the cathode electrode (104a) fig 1 & 0043]; a second power source (second power supply, 107) configured to generate a discharge between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode (generates a discharge between 104a and 104b) [fig 1 & 0042]; a third power source (third power supply, 108) configured to generate a potential difference between the cathode electrode or the anode electrode and the substrate (provides a potential difference between 104a or 104b and D) [fig 1 & 0042]; an ionization area (area within 104b) configured to ionize the gas to generate an ionized gas by the discharge [fig 1 & 0043]; and an acceleration area (area between 104b and 102) in which the ionized gas is accelerated by the potential difference [fig 1 & 0042].
Ota does not particularly teach a magnetic cylinder is provided around the acceleration area.
Ricoh teaches a magnetic cylinder (magnet 19 is cylindrical) is provided around the acceleration area (surrounds a space between 4 and 12) [fig 1 & 0011].
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to modify the film forming device of Ota to comprise a magnetic cylinder around the acceleration area, as in Ricoh, to control the plasma by changing the intensity of the magnetic field within a limited space [Ricoh – 0016].
Ota modified by Ricoh does not specifically disclose the magnetic cylinder being a soft-magnetic cylinder.
Bourez teaches a soft-magnetic cylinder (210 may be formed from a soft magnetic material) [fig 3 & col 5, lines 8-20].
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to modify the magnetic cylinder of modified Ota to be formed from a soft magnetic material, as in Bourez, since it has been held that selecting a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use involves only routine skill in the art [MPEP 2144.07].
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ota (US 2015/0187381) in view of Ricoh (JP H04221065A) and Bourez et al (US 8,919,279) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Vanderberg et al (US 2006/0017010).
The limitations of claim 1 have been set forth above.
Regarding claim 2:
Modified Ota does not specifically disclose the soft-magnetic cylinder has a saturation magnetic-flux density of 0.5 T or more.
Vanderberg teaches a soft-magnetic material (amorphous metal material) has a saturation magnetic-flux density of 0.5 T or more (greater than 1.5 Tesla) [0029].
In a case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1946) [MPEP 2144.05].
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to modify the soft-magnetic cylinder of modified Ota to be a soft-magnetic material having a saturation magnetic-flux density of 0.5 T or more, as in Vanderberg, to maintain sufficiently high magnetic flux saturation density.
Regarding claims 3-4:
Modified Ota does not specifically teach the soft-magnetic cylinder is made of an amorphous metal containing one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Co, Fe, and Ni.
Vanderberg teaches a soft-magnetic material is made of an amorphous metal containing one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Co, Fe, and Ni (amorphous metal alloy is typically formed from metals comprising cobalt, iron, and nickel) [0029].
Furthermore, although Vanderberg does not specifically disclose “wherein the soft-magnetic cylinder has a coercivity of 0.5 A/m or less”, Vanderberg teaches alloys of identical elements [0026]. Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990) [MPEP 2112.01(I)].
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to modify the soft-magnetic cylinder of modified Ota to be the soft-magnetic material of Vanderberg to reduce power consumption and cooling requirements [Vanderberg – 0029].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Watanabe et al (JP 2014025116A), Ota (US 2015/0170698) and Tanuma et al (US 2023/0133485) teach a cylinder provided around the acceleration area [fig 1 of each]. Ota (US 2010/0028563), Ota (US 2012/0128895) and Nakajima et al (US 2013/0008776) teach a film forming device [fig 1 of each].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN R KENDALL whose telephone number is (571)272-5081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thurs 9-5 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, William F Kraig can be reached at (571)272-8660. 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.
/Benjamin Kendall/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
Prosecution Insights