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 .
Status
An amendment and RCE were filed 2/2/26, and claims 1-18 are pending, of which, claims 16-18 are new and claim 18 is a new independent claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 2/2/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-15 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C 112(a) with respect to claims 1-18 and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Specifically, with regards to independent claims 1, 9 and 18, and their respective dependent claims 2-8 and 10-17, the originally filed disclosure fails to provide adequate support for the following limitations:
Claim 1, lines 16+, “wherein the battery disconnect circuit disconnects the supply of power independently of motor logic control of the control circuit”; and
lines 21+, “wherein for a given duration of time the maximum allowable current defined by the third current-time profile is less than a maximum allowable current defined by the first current-time profile”.
Claim 9, lines 21+, “disconnect the supply power from the battery pack independently of motor control logic of the control unit if the current draw from the battery pack exceeds”; and
Lines 26+, “current drawn from the battery pack exceeds a current limit defined by the second current-time profile associated with the plurality of switched”.
Claim 18, lines 11+, “disconnect power from the battery pack independently of motor control logic of the control unit when current drawn from the battery pack exceeds a current threshold for a duration of time”.
NB!: Applicant is advised that there was an amendment to the claims dated 5/27/2025 which included lang similar to that rejected supra regarding “independent of the control unit”, however, this subject was not properly supported by the original disclosure and therefore cannot provide proper support for the limitations addressed with respect to at least claims 1 and 9, supra.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), set forth in this Office action.
Claims 1-18 are allowable over the prior art because, though the prior art teaches a power tool comprising a housing, a brushless direct-current (BLDC) electric motor disposed inside the housing, a battery receptacle to receive a battery pack, the battery pack including a plurality of battery cells and a fuse, a plurality of power switches disposed between the battery receptacle and the brushless direct-current electric motor and various current profiles in connection with a control unit configured to control a switching operation of the plurality of power switches to operate the direct-current electric motor, it fails to teach or further suggest the inclusion of a battery disconnect circuit that disconnects the power/supply independently of the motor control logic of the control circuit when current drawn from the battery exceeds a current threshold for a duration of time.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW A DUNN whose telephone number is (571)272-2312. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 530a-4p.
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/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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