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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US Publication No: 2016/0229039).
In reference to claim 1, Lee discloses a wrench comprising of a main body (Lee Figure 5, 10) that is connected to the head portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5). The head portion includes a jaw which includes two side walls (see annotated Lee Figure 1, 11) and a bottom wall (see annotated Lee Figure 1) connected between the two side walls. Lee’s wrench includes a concave portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5) between each of the two side walls and the bottom wall. The driving head is rotatably connected to the head portion with a pin (see annotated Lee Figures 1 and 5, 60) that enables the driving head to pivot. Within a slot of the head portion, the axis of rotation of the driving head extends toward the two side walls (see annotated Lee Figure 1).
PNG
media_image1.png
884
750
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
1004
818
media_image2.png
Greyscale
In reference to claim 2, Lee’s head portion includes two arms (see annotated Lee Figure 1) and each of the two arms includes one of the two side walls (Lee Figure 1, 11) and is tapered in a direction away from the body portion (Lee Figure 1, 10).
In reference to claim 4, Lee discloses that each of the two sides of the head portion transverse to the axis of rotation includes a first plane (see annotation on Lee Figure 5).
In reference to claim 5, Lee discloses a bevel in between the first plane and an end of the head portion that is remote from the body portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5).
In reference to claim 6, Lee discloses a first chamfer on a perimeter of the first plane (see annotated Lee Figure 5)
In reference to claim 7, Lee discloses that each of the two sides of the driving head transverse to the axis of rotation includes a second plane (see annotated Lee Figure 5) corresponding to one of the two side walls.
In reference to claim 8, Lee discloses a second chamfer (see annotated Lee Figure 5) that is disposed on a perimeter of the second plane (see blue annotation Lee Figure 5).
In reference to claim 9, Lee discloses a pivot portion (Lee Paragraph 25 and see annotated Lee Figure 5) and a working portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5). As viewed in the rotation axis the pivot portion has a diametric dimension larger than a diametric dimension of the working portion (see Lee Figure 5).
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.
Claims 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US Publication No: 2016/0229039) in view of Arnold (US Patent No: 5,199,335).
In reference to claim 3, Lee discloses the wrench having through holes on the arms (Lee Paragraph 24 and Lee Figure 1, 112) and a pin which is a shaft (Lee Figure 1, 60) disposed through the holes and driving head, but fails to specifically state or show a threaded hole. However, Arnold discloses a wrench providing the known teaching in the art of the use of a threaded hole in one of the arms (Arnold Col. 5, lines 1-4, see annotation on Arnold Figure 2) to secure a shaft (Arnold Figure 2, 40) that is disposed through the through hole and driving head (Arnold Figure 2, 10) and screwed through the threaded hole. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the wrench of Lee with the known technique of having one hole on one of the arms as a through hole to enable a shaft or fastener such as a screw to be inserted and use a threaded hole on the opposite arm, as taught by Arnold, to secure the end of the screw.
PNG
media_image3.png
966
604
media_image3.png
Greyscale
In reference to claim 10 which refers to elements also disclosed in claims 4-9, Lee discloses that each of the two sides of the head portion transverse to the axis of rotation includes a first plane (see annotation on Lee Figure 5); a bevel in between the first plane and an end of the head portion that is remote from the body portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5); a first chamfer on a perimeter of the first plane (see annotated Lee Figure 5); each of the two sides of the driving head transverse to the axis of rotation includes a second plane (see annotated Lee Figure 5) corresponding to one of the two side walls; a second chamfer (see annotated Lee Figure 5) that is disposed on a perimeter of the second plane (see blue annotation Lee Figure 5); and a pivot portion (Lee Paragraph 25 and see annotated Lee Figure 5) and a working portion (see annotated Lee Figure 5). As viewed in the rotation axis, the pivot portion has a diametric dimension larger than a diametric dimension of the working portion (see Lee Figure 5). In reference to the elements of claim 10 which were not included in claims 4-9, Lee discloses the driving head further includes a connection section (see annotated Lee Figure 1) as viewed in the axis of rotation (see annotated Lee Figure 1) that the pivot portion is major arced (see annotated Lee Figure 1) and the connection section (see annotated Lee Figure 1, 200) has a diametric dimension smaller than the diametric dimension of the pivot portion and larger than the diametric dimension of the working portion (see annotated Lee Figure 1). As seen on the annotations on Lee’s Figure 1, the working portion is quadrangular. Lee discloses all of the elements in claim 10 except for the blocking portion that is located in the through hole. However, Arnold teaches that it is old and well known in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a compression washer (Arnold Figure 2, 37) in the through hole to prevent the shaft from being inserted all the way through. The washer interposed between the driving head and through hole provides a more stable pivoting action (Arnold Col. 4, lines 64-68). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the wrench of Lee with the known technique of using a compression washer as a blocking portion, as taught by Arnold, in order to axially block the large diameter section of the shaft (see annotated Arnold Figure 2) and secure the shaft within the hole.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRISHA JOY U FRANCISCO whose telephone number is (571) 272-1224. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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, Monica Carter can be reached at (571)-272-4475. 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.
/TRISHA JOY U FRANCISCO/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723