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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 25 August 2026 has been entered.
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 of this title, 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 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McKinley et al. (US 2021/0323080 A1) in view of Frisendahl (EP 2319645 A1).
Regarding claim 1, McKinley et al. discloses a drill body 110, comprising: a body part which extends in a rod shape from a base end part 122 (based on end 22 in figure 1) toward a leading end part 112; a fluid hole 140 for causing a fluid to flow inside the body part from a side of the base end part toward a side of the leading end part (see figures 6-9); and a mounting part 130 which is provided in the leading end part and which is for mounting a removable cutting edge member 150, wherein the mounting part has a recessed part 130 which is provided along a central axis of the body part from an end surface of the leading end part (see figure 6), the fluid hole has a bent part 180 located inside the leading end part in a side part of the recessed part (see figure 9), and a discharge port 190 in the leading end part immediately downstream of the bent part (see figures 6-9), the discharge port is arranged to oppose a cutting edge 156 of the cutting edge member (see figure 9), and an opening portion 190, of the discharge port, which discharges the fluid to a major cutting edge 156 that forms the cutting edge is a non-circular shape longer in a first direction along the major cutting edge than in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction (see figure 7).
McKinley et al. does not disclose the recessed part of the mounting part is configured to receive an approximately cylindrical mounting projected part of the cutting edge member, the discharge port is arranged to oppose a cutting edge of the cutting edge member when the mounting projected part is fitted into the recessed part in a state where a rotational phase about a central axis between the cutting edge of the cutting edge member and the discharge port is matched, so that the cutting edge and the discharge port are disposed at predetermined positions relative to each other.
Frisendahl teaches the use of a drill body 1 that comprises a mounting part 13 with a recessed part 16, wherein a cutting edge member 2 having a cutting edge 3 comprises an approximately cylindrical mounting projection 17 that is received in the recessed part in a state where a rotational phase about a central axis between the cutting edge of the cutting edge member and the discharge port is matched for the purpose of centering the cutting edge member in the mounting part. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have modified the cutting member and recessed parts of McKinley et al. with the approximately cylindrical mounting projection and recessed part of Frisendahl in order to provide a more precise centering of the cutting member with the drill body such that a rotational phase about a central axis between the cutting edge of the cutting edge member and the discharge port is matched.
Regarding claim 2, the modified invention of McKinley et al. discloses wherein a hole cross section of the fluid hole 140 has a non-circular shape in a portion 180 which passes the side part of the recessed part 130 (as seen in figure 9).
Regarding claim 3, the modified invention of McKinley et al. discloses the invention substantially as claimed, except McKinley et al. does not disclose wherein the body part is formed of a steel material, being silent as to the material of the body part. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have made the body part from steel for the purpose of using a common drill bit material to make the body part, because it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. 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)
Regarding claim 5, the modified invention of McKinley et al. discloses wherein the discharge port 190 is configured to direct supply fluid to the cutting edge 156 (see figure 9).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) 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
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 23 September 2026
