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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to Applicant’s initial application filed 15 May 2023.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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 1-10 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the component adjacent thereto radially to the inside" in lines 13-14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the groove" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1 and 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Röhm (DE 202 20 597 U1).
Regarding claim 1, Röhm discloses a drill chuck 1 (figure 7) comprising: a chuck body 2 connectable to a drill spindle; clamping jaws 6 are arranged in guide receptacles 8 of the chuck body, the clamping jaws running at an incline to the chuck axis and, for the purpose of opening and closing, are adjustable by a threaded ring 10 arranged so as to be rotatable and axially immovable with respect to the chuck body; a locking device 21/22 comprising a coaxial circle of locking recesses 22 and of at least one locking member 21, which is adapted to engage the locking recesses under a force of a locking spring 35; an adjusting sleeve 18 rotatable to a limited extent between end stops 20 and whose rotation allows the locking member to be adjusted; a latching device 32 forming two latching positions 33 in a circumferential direction; and a dampener 39 arranged between the adjusting sleeve and the component adjacent thereto radially to the inside (“In addition, the ring disk, which is usually made of plastic, can have a damping characteristic”).
Regarding claim 3, Röhm discloses wherein the dampener 39 is arranged between the adjusting sleeve 18 and the chuck body 2 (see figure 7).
Regarding claim 4, Röhm discloses wherein the dampener 39 is arranged in a groove (formed by horizontal shoulder 29 and the adjacent vertical portion of body 2, see figure 7) running in the circumferential direction of the adjusting sleeve 18 (the claim language does not require that the groove be formed in the sleeve, only that it run in the circumferential direction of the adjusting sleeve).
Regarding claim 5, Röhm discloses wherein the dampener 39 is accommodated in the groove at a distance from a base (the base of sleeve 18, see figure 7; the claim language does not require that the base be part of the groove) thereof.
Regarding claim 6, Röhm discloses wherein the dampener 39 is arranged in the region of the largest diameter of the component (the largest diameter portion of the bottom portion of body 2 below shoulder 28, see figure 7) adjacent to the adjusting sleeve 18 radially to the inside.
Regarding claim 7, Röhm discloses wherein the dampener 39 is formed by an elastic O-ring (the ring disk 39 is in the shape of an O, and has some elastic properties, “In addition, the ring disk, which is usually made of plastic, can have a damping characteristic, i.e. it can give way when the sleeve shoulder is pressed against it, in order to create a positive connection at the contact points”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 8-10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC ANDREW GATES whose telephone number is (571)272-5498. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 9-6, Alt Fr 9-5.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil Singh, can be reached on 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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/ERIC A. GATES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722 17 March 2026
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