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 . Claims 1-19, 21 are pending, claim 21 is new, claims 1 and 10 are currently amended.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/01/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-19, 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1-19, 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are:
Claim 1 recites: “A saw device comprising: a saw unit, the saw unit comprising: a saw blade and a support structure… wherein the saw device is a circular table saw and has a coupling interface…”. Claim 1 fails to clearly set forth the structural relationship between the recited saw device, the recited saw unit, and the recited coupling interface. Specifically, it is unclear whether the coupling interface forms part of the saw unit that constitutes the circular table saw, part of the saw device apart from the saw unit, or another structure associated with the saw device. The claim further recites that the coupling interface is adapted to be coupled to an “identical coupling interface” yet the relationship between the recited coupling interface and the referenced identical coupling interface is not clearly set forth. The specification describes a saw unit and a cover structure attachable to the saw unit, further contributing to uncertainty as to whether the recited coupling interface forms part of the saw unit, the cover structure or another portion of the saw device. Accordingly, the metes and bounds of the claim cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown (CN101376246) in view of Ender (U.S. Publication 2020/0047265), and Dreher (U.S. Patent 7,108,131).
Brown discloses a saw device comprising: a saw unit (tool foot rest 10b; figs. 6 and 7 ), the saw unit (table saw 300) comprising: a saw blade (not shown) and a support structure (301), wherein the saw unit is positionable with an underside on a base to be put into a working orientation (e.g. per the orientation of Figure 6 or on the ground), and has a workpiece support (top surface of the table saw 300) on which a workpiece is positionable when the workpiece is being sawn with the saw unit, the workpiece support defining a support plane which is oriented perpendicular to the saw blade and which is oriented horizontally in the working orientation,
wherein the saw device is a circular table saw (300 table saw) and has having a coupling interface that is configured to couple to at least one system box as a releasable, vertically tension-proof coupling such that when the saw device is coupled with the at least one system box, the saw device and the at least one system box form a vertical stack together in such a way that the saw device is provided in a transport orientation in the vertical stack, wherein in the transport orientation, the support plane of the workpiece support and the saw blade are oriented vertically, wherein the coupling interface comprises lower coupling sections which, in the transport orientation of the saw device, are arranged on a lower end side of the saw device, and upper coupling sections which, in the transport orientation of the saw device, are arranged on an upper end side of the saw device, wherein the coupling interface is adapted to be couplable to an identical coupling interface, such that the lower coupling sections of the coupling interface are couplable to upper coupling sections of the identical coupling interface.
Brown sets forth that the table saw can possess a dustproof device 30, aka a cover, wherein multiple of the combined tools and covers can be stacked per Figure 8. Brown is silent as to a coupling interface that connects the multiple tools. Attention is directed to both the Ender and Dreher references. Ender discloses a table saw with a cover 16, the cover possessing a support coupling means 6 that provides a releasable, vertically tension proof coupling with the box shaped buddies 21, 22 in a state where the boxes form a vertical stack. Ender thereby sets forth that it is known to utilize a cover over a table saw with couplings to form a vertical stack with additional box shaped bodies. Dreher sets forth a case for a machine tool for housing planes, saber saws, circular saws, etc. The sides of the case are provided with rotary knobs 96 that connect two stackable boxes of power tools as shown in Figure 6. As established by Ender to be known to stack boxes of table saws securely with couplings and as demonstrated by Dreher to stack multiple boxes of power tools with couplings on both ends of the box, it would have been obvious to provide the cover of Brown with the releasable coupling means taught by Ender optionally arranged on opposite sides as taught by Dreher, in order to facilitate secure vertical stacking, transport, and storage of the additional tool boxes.
In regards to claim 2, the modified device of Brown discloses a cover structure (30) attachable to the saw unit (300) that is configured to put the saw device in a transport configuration (fig. 8) in which the saw device is coupleable via the coupling interface (as modified by Ender and Dreher) to the at least one system box to form the vertical stack together with the at least one system box.
In regards to claim 3, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein the cover structure comprises the coupling interface (as modified by Ender and Dreher).
In regards to claim 4, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein, in the transport configuration, the cover structure (30) delimits an interior space which is closed with respect to the environment of the saw device and in which interior space the saw blade and/or the workpiece support is arranged (see Fig. 8)
In regards to claim 5, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein the cover structure (30) comprises a cover hood (30 is in the shape of a hood and cover the entire table saw).
In regards to claim 6, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein, in the transport configuration, the saw device has a cuboid outer housing partially or completely formed by the cover structure (fig. 7).
In regards to claim 7, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein, in the transport configuration, one side of the cuboid outer housing is formed by the underside of the support structure and all other sides of the outer housing are formed by the cover structure (per Figures 7 and 8, the cover 30 covers all sides of the bracket body 1b, except the bottom, which is open exposing the table saw ).
In regards to claim 8, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein the cover structure comprises a workpiece support section (on of the side surfaces of the cover 30) and the saw device is settable into a working configuration in which the workpiece support section provides an additional support, which serves to provide, together with the workpiece support, a combined workpiece support surface onto which the workpiece is positionable, while the workpiece is being sawn with the saw device (the cover can be set next to the table saw in a working configuration to provide an additional support surface for the workpiece).
In regards to claim 9, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein, in the working configuration, the saw unit (300) stands with its underside on the base (e.g. the ground) and the workpiece support section is arranged next to the saw unit so that the additional support is arranged at the same height as the workpiece support (the workpiece support can be set next to the saw unit and elevated as needed such that one of the faces is aligned with the workpiece support).
In regards to claim 10, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein the cover structure (the cover can be considered both 30 and bracket body 1b) is made in multiple parts and the workpiece support section (30) is detachable from the remaining cover structure (1b) to provide the working configuration.
In regards to claim 11, the modified device of Brown discloses wherein the cover structure (30/1b) comprises a coupling structure (tubes 44b/52b and a fixing device; not shown) arranged internally of the cover structure (30/1b) via which the saw unit is suspended from the cover structure when the saw device is in the transport orientation.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown (CN101376246) in view of Ender (U.S. Publication 2020/0047265), and Dreher (U.S. Patent 7,108,131).
In regards to claim 12, the modified device of Brown discloses, wherein the cover structure (1b/30) comprises a carrying handle (fig. 7 shows a pull handle on the right side of the base 1b) but the handle is not arranged in the area of the inner coupling structure on the outside of the cover structure. Both Ender (fig. 7) and Dreher (64a) set forth handles on the top of the cover to aid in the carrying of the tool box. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated a handle in the top of the cover structure of Brown as demonstrated by either Ender or Dreher for manipulating the table saw and cover when transporting the saw to various locations.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown (CN101376246) in view of Ender (U.S. Publication 2020/0047265), and Dreher (U.S. Patent 7,108,131). In regards to claim 21, the modified device of Brown discloses further comprising a cover hood (30 /1b) attachable to the saw unit (300) in order to put the saw device in a transport configuration in which the saw device is coupleable via the coupling interface (as modified by Ender and Dreher) to the at least one system box to form the vertical stack together with the at least one system box, wherein, in the transport configuration, the cover hood (30/1b) delimits an interior space which is closed with respect to the environment of the saw device (between the table saw and the cover 30) and in which interior space the saw blade is arranged, wherein, in the transport configuration, the saw blade is operatively attached to the support structure so that the saw blade is ready for operation. Brown does not explicitly show the blade in the transport configuration of Fig. 7, and therefore it cannot be positively stated that the blade is there in that orientation. Ender already sets forth providing a cover on top of the table saw with the blade mounted onto the table saw. As Ender demonstrates placing a table saw in a storage box with the blade still installed, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have provided space within the cover and frame 1b of Brown to have allowed the table saw and blade to be carried in the transport configuration without requiring the disassembly of the blade.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-12, 21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA M LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-8339. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a.m.- 5p.m..
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/LAURA M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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