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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: Regarding claim 12 (line 1), the phrase should recite “wherein the cutting insert.”
Claim 13 should recite “a portion of the cutting insert.” 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, 2, 10, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 7,836,808 to Szymanski.
In re claim 1, Szymanski teaches a chainsaw chain for a chainsaw, the chainsaw chain comprising:
a plurality of drive links (28a,b) configured to connect the chainsaw chain to the chainsaw, each drive link including a drive link body (as shown in at least Figure 2), a rivet hole (30a, 30b) extending through the drive link body, and a tang (29, Col. 6, lines 23-24) extending from the drive link body and configured to engage a drive element of the chainsaw;
a plurality of cutters (20) configured to cut a workpiece during a cutting operation, each cutter including a cutter body having a pair of rivet holes (30a,30b) extending therethrough and a longitudinal axis extending through the pair of rivet holes,
a cutting tooth (36) coupled to an upper portion of the cutter body,
a carbide cutting tip (18, Col. 8, lines 25-31) coupled to the cutting tooth,
a feed limiter (26) coupled to the upper portion of the cutter body and spaced from the cutting tooth, and a gullet (see Annotated Figure 1) defined between the cutting tooth and the feed limiter; and
a plurality of rivets (32e,32f) received within corresponding rivet holes of the plurality of drive links (28a,b) and the plurality of cutters (20) to couple the plurality of drive links and the plurality of cutters together,
wherein a cutting insert (18) of at least one cutter that forms the carbide cutting tip is oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis such that the cutting insert overlaps the gullet (as shown in at least Figure 11) and a longest dimension (as shown in at least Figure 11) of the cutting insert extends parallel to the longitudinal axis.
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In re claim 2, further comprising a plurality of tie straps (34c), wherein each tie strap includes a tie strap body and a rivet hole (30a,30b) extending through the tie strap body, and wherein the plurality of rivets (32e,32f) is also received within corresponding rivet holes of the plurality of tie straps (34c) to couple the plurality of drive links (28a,28b), the plurality of cutters (20), and the plurality of tie straps together (34c).
wherein the carbide cutting tip of at least one cutter has a width that is greater than a width of a corresponding cutter body (as shown in at least Figure 5).
In re claim 10, wherein each cutter also includes a top plate (38) that extends outward and perpendicular to the cutter body.
In re claim 12, wherein a cutting insert (18) of at least one cutter extends across a portion of a lead edge (see Annotated Figure 1) of the top plate.
In re claim 13, wherein a portion of a cutting insert (18) of at least one cutter overlays a portion of a corresponding gullet (as shown in at least Figure 7)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Szymanski in view of CN 114536481 to Ni et al.
In re claim 3, Zheng teaches wherein the cutter body of each cutter has a toe and a heel formed on a bottom portion of the cutter body and spaced from each other, but does wherein the toe and the heel are formed as chamfer edges.
Ni teaches a cutter body having a toe and a heel having chamfer edges (as shown in at least Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to shape the tow and heal of Szymanski to have chamfer edges as taught by Ni which is advantageous for durability and impact resistance.
Response to Arguments
The 112, second paragraph rejection in the Office Action mailed January 1, 2026 has been overcome by the amendments field April 9, 2026.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3, 9, 10, 12, and 13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JENNIFER S MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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