3Notice 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 .
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 08/01/25.
Claims 1-15 and 18-26 are pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/12/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 10-11 and 14, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi et al. (2013/0255982).
Regarding claims 10 and 14, Takahashi discloses an impact tool, comprising: a tool housing (21) including an inner surface with a rear motor bearing pocket formed in the inner surface (at the vicinity of 40a); a frameless motor (30) disposed in the tool housing and including a motor shaft (30a) with front and rear portions; a front motor bearing (40b) disposed on the front portion; and a rear motor bearing (40a) disposed on the rear portion, wherein the rear motor bearing is disposed in the rear motor bearing pocket (Fig. 1); and a nose housing (33) coupled to the tool housing, wherein the inner surface of the tool housing includes an inwardly protruding nose housing rib that abuts and supports an exterior surface of the nose housing (as shown in annotated Fig. 2 below).
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Regarding claim 11, Takahashi discloses motor control electronics (not shown numerically) coupled to a rear of the motor (Fig. 1).
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) 13, 15, 21-24 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi et al. (2013/0255982) in view of Nakashima (11,073,203).
Regarding claims 13 and 21, Takahashi discloses the invention substantially as claimed, comprising a tool housing, but does not specifically disclose wherein the inner surface of the tool housing includes an inwardly protruding rib that abuts and supports an exterior surface of the motor. Nakashima discloses an impact tool comprising a tool housing with an inner surface including inwardly protruding rib (69) that abuts and supports an exterior surface of a motor (8) for the purposes of supporting the motor. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art to have provided Takahashi’s tool housing with a rib as taught by Nakashima in order to efficiently support and protect the motor inside the housing.
Regarding claim 15, Nakashima also discloses wherein the tool housing includes first and second housing portions (7a, 7b) that are coupled together to cooperatively form the tool housing.
Regarding claims 22 and 24, it is deemed that Nakashima’s motor rib restrict radial and axial movement of the motor.
Regarding claim 23, Nakashima discloses wherein the inner surface of the tool housing further includes a recess formed by opposing side surfaces, and a flange of the stator (62) is disposed in the recess (Fig. 8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 are allowed.
Claims 12, 18-20 and 25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not disclose or make obvious the claimed combination including the following features:
Regarding claim 1, a ring gear having opposing first and second ring gear ends, a ring gear bearing recess disposed proximal to the first ring gear end and that is adapted to receive the ring gear bearing, wherein the second ring gear end is disposed in and supported by the nose housing, and the front motor bearing and the ring gear bearing radially overlap.
The combinations of the claimed limitations are novel and found to be allowable over prior art. The cited references taken singly or in combination do not anticipate or make obvious the Applicant’s claimed invention.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 08/01/25, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 10 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rudolph 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 Takahashi et al.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4464. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached at (571) 270 - 1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHELLE LOPEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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