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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 7,789,369 B2 to (Jahnz).
Regarding claim 1, (Jahnz) discloses an elongated member 10 having a first end and a second end, the elongated member defining a channel therein which is open on the first end, the channel having a size such that the channel is configured for partially containing a wrench (i.e., the channel is capable of partially containing a wrench of appropriate size), the elongated member having an opening having a size such that the opening is configured for receiving the wrench into the channel (i.e., the opening is capable of receiving a wrench of appropriate size), the opening having a first end portion, a second end portion, and a central portion (open angled slot 18), the first end portion of the opening extending from the first end of the elongated member toward the second end of the elongated member along a first side of the elongated member, the central portion 18 of the opening extending from the first end portion around the elongated member to a second side of the elongated member opposite the first side, the second end portion of the opening extending from the central portion toward the second end of the elongated member, the opening being shaped such that the opening is configured to facilitate insertion of a central section of the wrench through the central portion of the opening and thereafter facilitate insertion of opposing end sections of the wrench through respective ones of the first end portion and the second end portion of the opening (Col. 3, lines 25-54)(see annotated Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 2, in the elongated member of (Jahnz), the central portion is oriented to form an acute angle (about 35o; Col. 3, lines 31-34) with a central longitudinal axis of the elongated member.
Regarding claim 6, in the elongated member of (Jahnz), the elongated member has a tubular shape, the channel being defined by an exterior wall of the elongated member, the channel having a cylindrical shape (see annotated Fig. 1).
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Thus, although (Jahnz) does not explicitly intend for the elongated member to be used as a wrench extension, since (Jahnz)
discloses the positive structural limitations of claims 1 and 6, claims 1, 2 and 6 are anticipated by (Jahnz).
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Jahnz), as applied to claim 1 above, as being obvious in view of US 8,931,376 B2 to (Humphrey).
(Jahnz), as applied to claim 1 above, provides an elongated member according to claim 1, except for the provision of a hole through the elongated member adjacent to an end.
(Humphrey) provides a wrench extension apparatus having several embodiments and teaches, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 14, providing an opening 1480, wherein the opening 1480 may be used to hanging the apparatus for storage, among other purposes (Col. 8, lines 1-14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the elongated member of (Jahnz) by providing a mounting hole extending into the elongated member adjacent to the second end, as taught by (Humphrey), and having the predictable result of providing a means for hanging the apparatus for storage on a hook.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-14 are allowed.
Claims 3, 4, and 7-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if claims 3, 4, 7 and 9 are rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding claims 12-14, that the central portion of the opening being positioned closer to the first end of the elongated member than the second end, the second end portion of the opening being longer than the first end portion, together in combination with the rest of the limitations in claim 12, has neither been disclosed nor suggested by the prior art of record considered as a whole, alone, or in combination. Regarding claim 3, that the central portion of the opening is positioned closer to the first end of the elongated member than the second end; regarding claim 4, that the second end portion of the opening is longer than the first end portion; regarding claim 7, that the first end portion of the opening has a first bounding edge and a second bounding edge, the first bounding edge having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion, the longitudinal portion extending longitudinally with respect to the elongated member from the first end of the elongated member to the transverse portion, the transverse portion being oriented perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal portion; and, regarding claim 9, that he channel has a first section and a second section, the first section extending from the first end of the elongated member to the second section, the second section extending from the first section to the second end of the elongated member, the first section having a rectangular cuboid shape, the second section having a cylindrical shape, together in combination with the rest of the limitations in the independent claim, have neither been disclosed nor suggested by the prior art of record considered as a whole, alone, or in combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as describing a variety of extension devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David B. Thomas whose telephone number is (571) 272-4497. The examiner’s e-mail address is: dave.thomas@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 11:30-7:30.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Posigian can be reached on (. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/David B. Thomas/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DBT/