Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/215,481

NAIL GRINDING PEN AND NAIL GRINDING HOST MACHINE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jun 28, 2023
Examiner
CONNELL, JENNIFER PETSCHE
Art Unit
3772
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Fashion Biotech Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
28%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
62%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 28% of cases
28%
Career Allow Rate
14 granted / 51 resolved
-42.5% vs TC avg
Strong +34% interview lift
Without
With
+34.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
78
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
46.8%
+6.8% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 51 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Drawings The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “16” has been used to designate both the pliable wire-surrounding member and the heat dissipation slots (in Figure 18). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Objections Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: “or the main board (50)” is duplicated in the last limitation. Appropriate correction is required. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1-4 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A). Regarding Claim 1, Lee discloses a nail grinding pen (handpiece assembly 138; described in first paragraph of “Background Art” section as being for use in fields including nail art), comprising: a nail grinding pen barrel (hand body 30), wherein the nail grinding pen barrel has a receiving space therein (interior of hand body 30 where other components are shown), and the nail grinding pen barrel has an end with an opening in communication with the receiving space (end into which work tool/bur 120 is inserted); a motor (20) provided in the receiving space (Figure 5) and having a rotating shaft (10) to be driven to rotate by electricity (translation page 6 eighth paragraph); and an inner body connected to the rotating shaft (spindle 50 with chuck 100 and other parts linearly connecting rotary shaft 10 to working tool 120), wherein the inner body has an end facing the opening (opening on chuck 100 where working tool 120 is inserted) and provided with a gripper (chuck 100), and the gripper is configured to secure (Figure 5; translation page 6 seventh paragraph) a grinding head (work tool/bur 120) so that the motor is able to drive the grinding head into rotation by rotating the gripper (translation page 6 eighth paragraph). Regarding Claim 2, Lee further discloses wherein the nail grinding pen barrel is provided with a rotary switch (ball guider 80) coupled to the gripper (via intermediate parts, as seen in Figure 5), and the rotary switch is configured to be rotated in order to switch the gripper between an opened state and a closed state (translation bottom half of page 5), the gripper is restricted between a front position and a rear position and is movable forward and rearward in order to be switched between the opened state and the closed state (translation bottom half of page 5 and bottom half of page 6; Figures 9 and 10). Regarding Claim 3, Lee further discloses wherein the nail grinding pen barrel is provided with a rotary switch (ball guider 80) coupled to the gripper (via intermediate parts, as seen in Figure 5), and the rotary switch is configured to be rotated in order to switch the gripper between an opened state and a closed state (translation bottom half of page 5), and the inner body comprises: a pushing post (spindle 50); the gripper, which is provided at a front end of the pushing post (chuck 100); a position-limiting barrel surrounding the gripper (guide busing 119); and a shaft sleeve provided at a rear end of the pushing post (see annotated Figure 5) and attached to the rotating shaft so that the motor is able to drive the pushing post and the gripper into rotation (translation page 6 eighth paragraph). PNG media_image1.png 439 746 media_image1.png Greyscale Annotated Figure 5 of Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) Regarding Claim 4, Lee further discloses wherein the gripper (chuck 100) comprises: a sleeve connected to the pushing post (left most part of chuck 100 in figures, where it attaches to spindle 50); an accommodating groove provided at an end of the sleeve, facing the opening, and configured to accommodate the grinding head (interior space of chuck 100 filled with work tool/bur 120); and a plurality of claw units provided along a periphery of the accommodating groove; wherein there is a gap between each two adjacent said claw units so that the claw units are able to constrict radially to grip the grinding head or are able to expand radially to release the grinding head, and the gripper comprises three said claw units (Figures 2a and 2b show 3 claw units gripping the work tool 120; though the Figures are described as being prior art in the reference, this portion of the art is maintained and additions are made to handle foreign debris; function of gripper is described on the bottom half of translation pages 5 and 6). Regarding Claim 8, Lee further discloses wherein a bearing is provided between an end of the position-limiting barrel and a wall of the receiving space, and another bearing is provided between an opposite end of the position-limiting barrel and the wall of the receiving space (see annotated Figure 5) . Regarding Claim 9, Lee further discloses wherein the rotating shaft (10) has a circular, cross-shaped (cross section of rotary shaft 10 shown in Figure 5 has a cross-shaped section at end of rotary shaft near inner body), D-shaped, or polygonal cross section, or an additional sleeve is attached to the rotating shaft, and/or the rotating shaft protrudes from the motor housing by a length less than 15 mm, the motor is a brushless motor or a brushed motor, and/or the motor has electrical connection ports configured as a plurality of electrical sockets, a plurality of terminals, or a plurality of soldered wires. Regarding Claim 10, Lee further discloses wherein a rear side of the nail grinding pen barrel is provided with an electrical wire having a protective sleeve which is configured to prevent a power cord passing through the protective sleeve from damage by being bent (Figures 1, 4, and 5 show a wire with a protective sleeve). Regarding Claim 11 (third of the claimed options), Lee further discloses the nail grinding pen barrel (hand body 30) has a rear end with a rear opening (right hand side of the pen shown in Figure 5 is the rear end and that end has an opening through which the wire and its protective sleeve extend), the rear opening is provided with a position-limiting portion (see annotated Figure 5 right hand side below; the position limiting portion interacts with the ledge of the pliable wire-surrounding member), and the position-limiting portion is located on an outer side of a pliable wire-surrounding member with respect to the rear opening so as to prevent the pliable wire-surrounding member from leaving the rear opening from inside the receiving space (the position-limiting portion is located more to the right than the ledge of the wire-surrounding member therefore it is located on an outer side of that portion of the pliable wire-surrounding member; the arrangement of the position-limiting portion, which being held in the rear end by other components in the rear end of the pen such as the cover, interacting with the ledge of the wire-surrounding member keeps the wire-surrounding member from leaving the rear opening), wherein the pliable wire-surrounding member closes the receiving space by closing the rear opening (the wire-surrounding member fills the rear opening). PNG media_image2.png 377 546 media_image2.png Greyscale Annotated right side of Figure 5 of Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) 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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A). Regarding Claim 5, Lee discloses the nail grinding pen of claim 4, as presented above, but fails to explicitly disclose the size of the gap or the depth of the accommodating groove. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding pen of Lee to have an gap size in the closed position smaller than 0.7 mm and an accommodating groove depth ranging from 20 to 38 mm since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). See MPEP 2144.01(IV)(A). In the instant case, the grinding pen of Lee would not operate differently with the claimed gap size or accommodating groove depth. Further, it appears that applicant places no criticality on the range claimed, indicating dimensions are “in one embodiment”, “such as but not limited to” and “the invention has no limitation in this regard” (instant application specification ¶ 68). Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Lee (KR 2010-0102268), hereinafter Lee-2010. Regarding Claim 6, Lee further discloses wherein the rotary switch comprises: a rotating ring (ball guider 80); a position-limiting track disposed on the nail grinding pen barrel and surrounded by the rotating ring (cam diagram member 60); a connecting ring provided on an inner side of the position-limiting track (pressing portion 40); and a rolling ball (rolling ball 70) provided on the connecting ring and confined in the position-limiting track (translation page 2 second paragraph from bottom of page; though the description is of prior art in the reference, this portion of the art is maintained and additions are made to handle foreign debris), wherein the connecting ring (40) has an outer periphery provided with an annular track for interfering with the rolling ball (cam groove diagram 40a), and by rotating the rotating ring (80), the rolling ball is movable in and along the position-limiting track between a first axial position and a second axial position such that the connecting ring is moved in an axial direction due to interference and limitation by the position-limiting track and thereby pushes the gripper forward or rearward (translation bottom of page 6; Figures 7a-7c show example tracks), the rolling ball is able to be locked at a first end or a second end of the position-limiting track (Figures 7a-7c show example tracks which have first and second ends shaped to lock the ball in those areas), and the rotating ring (ball guider 80) has an inner side provided with a confining track, and the confining track extends in the axial direction (sliding groove 80a, seen in Figure 3 to extend axially along ball guider 80). Lee does not explicitly teach a spring on a side of the connecting ring. However, Lee-2010, in the same field of endeavor of handpieces for use on nails (translation first paragraph of “Background Art” section) teaches a spring (elastic member 5) is provided on a side of the connecting ring (pressing member 6) to apply an elastic force to the connecting ring in the axial direction (Figure 1; translation page 4 seventh through ninth paragraph), thereby applying an auxiliary force to the connecting ring to secure the rolling ball in a first position-limiting groove at the first end of the position-limiting track (translation page 4 seventh through ninth paragraph). Lee-2010 teaches the inclusion of the spring to act as a breaking device maintaining the balls and guide members pressed out in a longitudinal direction and therefore pressed into the end portions of the guiding track (translation page 4 third and seventh through ninth paragraph). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding pen as disclosed by Lee to also include the spring applying force to the connecting ring as taught by Lee-2010 in order to provide a breaking device for the rotary switch mechanism (Lee-2010 translation page 4 third and seventh through ninth paragraph). Regarding Claim 7, Lee further discloses wherein the gripper comprises a constricting unit (elastic member 90), and the constricting unit is provided inside the position-limiting barrel (Figure 5), is mounted around the sleeve (Figure 5; Figures 9 and 10), and constricts the claw units in normal circumstances (compressed state, which translation page 5 bottom half of page describes as being the state the elastic member 90 moves out of to move into the released state such that the chuck 100 is able to open); and wherein the position-limiting barrel has an inner side provided with an inner wall facing an end of the constricting unit (see annotated Figure 9 below), and the pushing post is provided with a front wall facing an opposite end of the constricting unit (see annotated Figure 9 below) so that when the connecting ring pushes the gripper via the pushing post, the constricting unit is compressed in two opposing directions and therefore expands radially to reduce a constricting force of the claw units, thereby allowing replacement of the grinding head (Figures 9 and 10, bottom half of translation page 6 provides description; translation page 5 bottom half of page). PNG media_image3.png 441 782 media_image3.png Greyscale Annotated Figure 9 of Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cha (KR 200422004 Y1). Regarding Claim 12, Lee further discloses wherein the nail grinding pen barrel is provided with a grip portion (hand cap 118). Lee is silent as to the material of the grip portion. However, Cha, in the same field of endeavor of nail grinding tools (title), teaches a grip portion (11) provided with a cushioning material (described as soft rubber grip portion 11, a soft rubber structure is cushioning) corresponding to an outer side of the nail grinding device (Figure 1 shows grip portion 11 on outside of main body 10 of the device). Cha teaches a soft rubber grip portion to prevent slipping (translation page 3 third paragraph). A soft surface would also be more comfortable to hold over a long use. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the grip portion of the nail grinding pen barrel taught by Lee to be made of a cushioning material such as the soft rubber taught by Cha. Cha teaches that such a grip portion will help prevent slipping (translation page 3 third paragraph). Furthermore, this is the use of a known material for a known purpose (soft rubber for a grip portion of a nail care tool). The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945). See also In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). See MPEP 2144.07. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wen et al. (GB 2198334 A). Regarding Claim 13, Lee discloses the nail grinding pen of claim 1 as presented above. Lee does not disclose the material out of which the nail grinding pen barrel is made. However, Wen, in the related field of endeavor of motorized instruments of nail care (abstract), teaches fabricating the device out of plastic and preferably an acetone-resistant plastic (page 3, third paragraph; Claim 5). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the nail grinding pen barrel taught by Lee to out of the acetone-resistant plastic taught by Wen. This is the use of a known material suitable for use on nail care tools. Also, acetone is commonly used for removing nail polish, which is part of the nail care process, so the use of a material that is resistant to acetone for fabricating devices would help protect the devices in case of an acetone spill or other encounter with acetone, as the device is likely to be used near acetone. The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945). See also In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). See MPEP 2144.07. Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Park (KR 200454848 Y1). Regarding Claim 14, Lee discloses the nail grinding pen of claim 1 as presented above. Lee does not disclose the nail grinding pen barrel further including an auxiliary light. However, Park, in the same field of endeavor of nail grinding devices (abstract), teaches wherein the nail grinding pen barrel (cylindrical housing forming a handle 10) is provided with an auxiliary light (lamp 80), and the auxiliary light is a LED (option given for lamp 80 in translation page 3 fifth paragraph), an annular light, a homogeneous light, or an optical fiber. Park teaches the device having a light to enable its use even at night (translation page 3 fifth paragraph). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding pen barrel as taught by Lee to further include an auxiliary light as taught by Park in order to enable the use of the pen in dim or dark conditions, such as at night (Park translation page 3 fifth paragraph). Claims 15-18, 20-22, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hurter (US 2020/0375336) in view of Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A). Regarding Claim 15, Hurter teaches a nail grinding host machine (Figure 1, abstract) connected to a nail grinding pen (handpiece 14) to control operating mode of the motor in the nail grinding pen (CITATION), the nail grinding host machine comprising: a host machine body (electric nail file control box 10), wherein the host machine body is provided with at least one man-machine interface (click wheel 24 and power button 26 on front of box; indicator LEDs 34 and speed display 36 on top of box; foot pedal 62); and a main board provided in the host machine body (Figure 17 is a function block diagram of the digital operational components of the device controller) and connected to the man-machine interface in order to receive instructions from (inputs 104, 110, 112) and send instructions to (communications module 118, which Figure 18 shows could include status indicators) the man-machine interface, wherein the main board comprises a power module (power supply 100) and at least one driver (motor drive 102), and the main board is connected through wires, or is coupled, to the motor of the nail grinding pen in order to transmit control instructions and driving power to the motor (connection 120; ¶ 59). Hurter teaches a generic handpiece as part of the nail grinding host machine. Lee teaches the nail grinding pen in claim 1, as presented above. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the generic nail grinding pen of Hurter with the nail grinding pen of claim 1 taught by Lee. This is a simple substitution of a generic pen for a specific version. Regarding Claim 16, Hurter further teaches wherein the man-machine interface comprises a rotating knob, a pushbutton (power button 26 and locations on click wheel; ¶ 40), a liquid crystal display screen, a touchpad, a touch-controlled button, a touch screen, LED (indicator LEDs 34a-c; speed indicator 36), LED display, slide switch, rocker switch, or a combination of the above, and/or the man-machine interface comprises a motor speed regulator, the motor speed regulator comprises a varistor or an encoder, which is used by the driver to control the rotation speed of the motor accordingly. Regarding Claim 17, Hurter further teaches wherein the host machine body is provided with a receiving mechanism for receiving the grinding head (retainer 22), wherein the receiving mechanism comprises a receiving box, a plurality of receiving blocks, or a receiving groove, and/or the receiving mechanism is provided with one or a plurality of magnetic units for magnetically attracting and thereby retaining the grinding head, and/or the receiving mechanism is provided with one or a plurality of engaging units for securing the grinding head (retainer 22 secures the grinding head by securing the nail grinding pen to the machine). Regarding Claim 18, Hurter further teaches wherein the main board comprises a replaceable battery connected to the power module; or the main board comprises a rechargeable battery connected to the power module (battery 54, described in ¶ 46 as rechargeable); or the power module supports a rapid-charging function, wherein the charging speed ranges from 0.3c to 1c. Regarding Claim 20, Hurter further teaches wherein the main board comprises a rotation speed detector for detecting a rotation speed of the motor (motor current detector 117) and providing feedback to the driver in order to modify an output of the driver (logic processor 108 receives feedback from motor current detector 117 and controls PWN 106; Figure 17; ¶ 59). Regarding Claim 21, Hurter further teaches wherein the main board detects the rotation speed of the motor via the rotation speed detector and, upon detecting that the rotation speed of the motor is reduced, increases an output of the motor to compensate for the reduced rotation speed (¶ 59). Regarding Claim 22, Hurter further teaches wherein the main board stops the motor upon detecting that a pause instruction is triggered via the man-machine interface (the machine of Hurter will stop the motor if the click wheel man-machine interface is given an instruction to set the speed to 0, which is a pause instruction; ¶ 42 further supports this: “For example, if indicator LED 34a is blinking, this means that the handpiece 14 motor is paused.”). Regarding Claim 24, the stable wattage of the motor while idling can be set or determined through routine optimization, as it will depend on the details of the motor and the power supply. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the machine such that the main board controlled the power of the motor to a stable wattage while idling and the specific selection of the wattage to less than 13W could be determined through routine optimization. Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hurter (US 2020/0375336) and Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 18 above, and in further view of Trzecieski (US 2018/0289906). Regarding Claim 19, Hurter and Lee teach the nail grinding host machine of claim 18, as presented above. Hurter teaches the power module comprising charging via 4 metal contacts (44) on the control box (10) interacting with contact pins (46) on the charging base (12). Neither Hurter nor Lee explicitly teach the charging connection of the power module comprising a USB type-C socket. However, Trzecieski, in the related field of endeavor of rechargeable devices (¶ 65), teaches that a battery in the device could be recharged via contacts (¶ 162-163), micro-USB (¶ 164) or USB-C (¶ 164). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding host machine of Hurter to include power module comprising a USB type-C socket for recharging the battery as taught by Trzecieski. This would have been obvious to try as Trzecieski provides 3 possible charging connection types. Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hurter (US 2020/0375336) and Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) as applied to claim 15 above, and in further view of Kumar (US 2015/0201918). Regarding Claim 23, Hurter and Lee teach the nail grinding host machine of claim 15, as presented above. Hurter does not teach the additional components of the main board as recited in claim 23. However Kumar, in the related field of endeavor of motorized handheld devices with rotating working elements (¶ 2), teaches the main board (microprocessor programmed with logic controls ¶ 219) controlling the motor when an instruction is triggered (¶ 169) by an inclinometer or motion sensor (¶ 170 describes a variety of types of sensors that are possible). Kumar teaches the motorized handheld device responding to sensors in order to enable the user to control the device with hand motions or gestures while using it (¶ 8). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding machine as taught by Hurter with the nail grinding pen as taught by Lee to include the main board stopping the motor when triggered by the inclinometer or motion sensor as taught by Kumar. One would be motivated to incorporation such sensors and responses to enable easier control for the user (Kumar ¶ 8), allowing stopping of the motor without having to touch the main body. Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hurter (US 2020/0375336) in view of Lee (KR 2020-0003505 A) and in further view of Zhou (CN 112515319). Regarding Claim 25, Hurter teaches a nail grinding host machine (Figure 1, abstract) connected to a nail grinding pen (handpiece 14) to control operating mode of the motor in the nail grinding pen (CITATION), the nail grinding host machine comprising: a host machine body (electric nail file control box 10), wherein the host machine body is provided with at least one man-machine interface (click wheel 24 and power button 26 on front of box; indicator LEDs 34 and speed display 36 on top of box; foot pedal 62); and a main board provided in the host machine body (Figure 17 is a function block diagram of the digital operational components of the device controller) and connected to the man-machine interface in order to receive instructions from (inputs 104, 110, 112) and send instructions to (communications module 118, which Figure 18 shows could include status indicators) the man-machine interface, wherein the main board comprises a power module (power supply 100), the main board is connected through wires, or is coupled, to the motor of the nail grinding pen in order to transmit control instructions and driving power to the motor (connection 120; ¶ 59), the man-machine interface is connected to a driver (PWM 106 and motor drive 102) connected to the motor (connection 120), and the driver provides a voltage output for the motor (PWM provides pulses of voltage); wherein the driver comprises a converter, a switch, a metal-oxide-semiconductor device (MOSFET H-bridge of motor drive 102 in Figure 17), or a relay. Hurter teaches a generic handpiece as part of the nail grinding host machine and does not explicitly teach the motor of the handpiece being a brushed motor. Lee teaches the nail grinding pen in claim 1, as presented above. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the generic nail grinding pen of Hurter with the nail grinding pen of claim 1 taught by Lee. This is a simple substitution of a generic pen for a specific version. The motor of Lee is not specified as being brushed or brushless. Zhou, in the same field of endeavor of nail grinding pens (abstract; Figure 3), teaches that nail grinding pens may have a brushless motor, a brushed motor, or a servomotor (translation last paragraph on page 5 and first paragraph on page 6). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the nail grinding pen of Lee, to be used with the nail grinding host machine of Hurter, to include the motor being brushed as taught by Zhou. This would have been obvious to try as Zhou provides 3 possible motor types for the pen devices. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jennifer P. Connell whose telephone number is (703)756-1169. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:30 am - 3:30 pm ET. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached at (571)270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JENNIFER P CONNELL/Examiner, Art Unit 3772 /THOMAS C BARRETT/SPE, Art Unit 3799
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 28, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 14, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 03, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
28%
Grant Probability
62%
With Interview (+34.1%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 51 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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