Appeal No. 1998-0200
Application No. 08/698,193
The invention is directed to the thin film structure of a magnetic head. Claim 12 is reproduced
below.
12. A thin film magnetic head comprising a thin film structure on a substrate, one end of the
substrate and the thin film structure defining a head face, the thin film structure comprising at least one
flux guiding element of a magnetically permeable material having a relatively high magnetic permeability
on said substrate, a magnetoresistive element on the flux guiding element, a peripheral area of the1
magnetoresistive element overlying an edge of the flux-guiding element, and an intermediate layer of an
electrical insulating material separating the magnetoresistive element and the flux guiding element,
characterized in that at least the portion of the intermediate layer which is between the peripheral area
of the magnetoresistive element and the flux guiding element is magnetically permeable and has a relative
magnetic permeability in the range of about 1.1 to 25, thereby increasing the magnetic flux between the
magnetoresistive element and the flux-guiding element, and improving the efficiency of the magnetic
head.
The examiner relies on the following reference:
Jeffers 4,754,354 Jun. 28, 1988
Claims 2-6 and 9-12 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph as being
indefinite.
Claims 2-6, 9-12, and 15-17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable
over Jeffers.
We refer to the Final Rejection (Paper No. 21) and the Examiner's Answer (Paper No. 26) for
a statement of the examiner's position and to the Brief (Paper No. 25) for appellants’ position.
1In the Appendix of claims submitted with the Brief, Claim 12 is incorrectly reproduced as reading
“above” the flux guiding element. The word was changed to “an” by the preliminary amendment filed
September 18, 1995 (Paper No. 20), which directed entry of a previously proposed amendment to the claim.
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