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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/20/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bauman (US 20080226407).
Regarding claim 1, Bauman discloses a tool shank holder 9500 for connecting a tool to a chuck of an impact driver. The tool shank holder comprises a body comprising a shank-receiving end and a bit-receiving end. The shank-receiving end 9518 is configured to operably receive a shank of a tool 36 and the bit-receiving end 9502 is configured to operably receive a driver bit 9400. A first connector comprising a ball 9904 and a spring band 9912 (Fig. 93) that extends around the body, the spring band is recessed into the body within an opening/recess between opposite sides of the spring band (see annotated Figure below) and is configured to apply a biasing force through the body and against a ball located in the bit-receiving end to bias the ball against the driver bit located in the bit-receiving end.
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A second connector is provided at the shank-receiving end and is configured to directly connect the shank-receiving end to the shank of the tool. The second connector is configured as a set screw 76 which engages the shank of the tool inserted therein, through the body in other embodiments (e.g. see Fig. 6) and is disclosed as being suitable/useful for various other configurations of adapters (Paragraph [0160]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide a set screw to the shank-receiving end 9518 as taught earlier in Bauman, in order to provide a way to secure the tool into the shank-receiving end.
Regarding claim 2, Bauman discloses a tool comprising a shank received within the shank-receiving end, the second connector directly contacting the shank-receiving end to the shank of the tool (Paragraph [0195]).
Regarding claim 5, Bauman discloses the body comprising a flip socket portion comprising the bit-receiving end and a tool holder portion comprising the shank-receiving end.
Regarding claim 6, Bauman discloses the flip socket portion and the tool holder portion being formed as a single, monolithic piece of material.
Regarding claim 7, Bauman does not explicitly disclose the flip socket portion and tool holder portion being formed separately and permanently connected together. However, Bauman discloses the invention having all of the structural limitations set forth above with respect to claim 7, and specifically discloses a device whose component members could have been made by two separate pieces formed separately and permanently connected together. However, if Applicant does not agree that Bauman anticipates the process of how the device’s members were made, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to make the device using any known manufacturing process, such as welding the flip socket portion to the tool holder portion, to create a tool shank holder out of two specific components instead of machining both ends of a tool shank holder. Furthermore, “formed separately and permanently connected together” is considered a Product-by-Process limitation. See MPEP 2113, Paragraphs 17-18 of the Non-Final Rejection of 06/02/2025 as well as Paragraph 14 of the Final Rejection of 10/20/2025.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bauman (US 20080226407) in view of Bilz (US 4041729).
Regarding claim 3, Bauman discloses various tools in the shank-receiving end, but does not explicitly disclose a tap.
Bilz discloses a similar tool shank holder, wherein the tool used in the holder is a tap 11 comprising a shank and a tapping head comprising cutting threads that are configured to form a thread pattern in an opening during a tapping operation.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to replace the tool of Bauman with a tap, as taught by Bilz, depending on the operation that is desired.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Bauman does not disclose the now-claimed limitation(s) regarding the spring band recess and second connector. These arguments are respectfully traversed.
As outlined above, Bauman does disclose an opening/reduced diameter portion in the body, in which the spring band is disposed. The opening is between opposite sides of the spring band. Additionally, as discussed above, a second connector (set screw) passing through the body and engaging the shank of the tool is disclosed in Bauman and would have been an obvious modification one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have made to the embodiment of Bauman relied upon for the rejection. Accordingly, the rejection(s) are maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Huang (GB 2268105) discloses a similar tool shank holder, wherein a spring band C is recessed into an opening (see Fig. 7).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alan Snyder whose telephone number is (571)272-4603. The examiner can normally be reached M-R 7:00a - 5:00p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil K Singh can be reached at 571-272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Alan Snyder/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722