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 .
Response to Amendment
This is a Non-Final Detailed Action in response to amendment filed on 27 October 2025. The present application claims 1, 4-6, 9-19 & 21-23, submitted on 27 October 2025 are pending. Applicants’ cancelation of claims 2, 3 & 8, indicated on 27 October 2025 has been acknowledged.
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 3-6, 15-19 and 21-23 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Koeder (U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0162188) and Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564). Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 1, 4-6, and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamiya (U.S. Patent No. 12,097,604) in view of Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564).
Regarding claim 1, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) a power tool (1A) comprising: a housing (2); a drive mechanism (8; 10) supported within the housing (2) and include a shiftable gear (16); a spindle (6) operatively coupled to an output of the drive mechanism (8; 10) such that torque from the drive mechanism (8; 10) rotates the spindle about an axis (see Column 6, line 21-24); and an accessory (100A-100I) removably coupled to the housing (1A), wherein the shiftable gear (16) is shiftable from a first position to a second position in response to the accessory (100A-100I) being coupled to the housing (see Column 5, line 04-14 – Column 7, line 15-26 – Column 17, line 18-41), wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply up to a first maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the accessory (100A-100I) is removed from the housing (2), and wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply up to a second maximum torque to the spindle greater than the first maximum torque when the accessory (100A-100I) is coupled to the housing (see Column 14, line 63-67 – Column 15, line 01-04).
Kamiya discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the explicit disclosure of an auxiliary handle configured to be adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length.
Van Bergen discloses (see Figure 1, Figure 3 and Figure 4) a power tool (10) comprising: a housing (12); a drive mechanism (14) supported within the housing (12); an accessory (34) removably coupled to the housing (12), wherein the accessory (34) is an auxiliary handle (42) configured to be grasped during operation of the power tool (see Paragraph 0022) and adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length (see Figure 3 and Figure 4; see Paragraphs 0024 – 0025).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Kamiya to incorporate the disclosure of Van Bergen to configure an auxiliary handle to be adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length. Doing so would provide a variety of handle length to provide sufficient leverage during a variety of drilling operations.
Regarding claim 4, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 22) wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply the second maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to the shortened length (see Column 27, line 44-55), and wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply up to a third maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to the extended length (see Column 27, line 44-55).
Regarding claim 5, Van Bergen discloses (see Figure 3 and Figure 4) wherein the auxiliary handle (42) is adjustable to an intermediate length between the retracted length and the extended length (see Paragraph 0025).
Regarding claim 6, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 22) wherein the third maximum torque is greater than the second maximum torque (see Column 27, line 44-55).
Regarding claim 9, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) a sensor (70) and a controller (13) in communication with the sensor (70), wherein the controller (13) operates the drive mechanism (8; 10) to supply the first maximum torque or the second maximum torque based on feedback from the sensor (see Column 14, line 55-62).
Regarding claim 10, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the sensor (70) includes an actuator (2210) disposed on the accessory (100A-100I), and wherein the controller (13) is configured to operate the drive mechanism (8; 10) to supply the second maximum output torque in response to actuation of the actuator (see Column 36, line 38-50).
Regarding claim 11, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the sensor (70) includes a capacitive sensor (260) disposed on the accessory (see Column 37, line 26-34), and wherein the controller (13) is configured to operate the drive mechanism (8; 10) to supply the second maximum output torque in response to a change in capacitance detected by the capacitive sensor (260) indicating user presence (see Column 37, line 40-50).
Regarding claim 12, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the sensor (70) includes a magnetic sensor, and wherein the accessory includes a magnet (117) configured to be detected by the magnetic sensor when the accessory is coupled to the housing (see Column 14, line 38-47).
Regarding claim 13, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the sensor (70) is a user presence sensor, and wherein the controller (13) is configured to prevent operation of the drive mechanism (8; 10) if the user presence is not detected by the sensor (see Column 37, line 40-50).
Claims 15, 16 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koeder (U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0162188) in view of Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564).
Regarding claim 15, Koeder discloses (see Figure 5) a power tool (1) comprising: a housing (2); a drive mechanism (3) supported within the housing (2); a spindle (4) operatively coupled to an output of the drive mechanism (3) such that torque from the drive mechanism (3) rotates the spindle (4) about an axis (5); an auxiliary handle (7) removably coupled to the housing (2); a sensor (11) supported by the auxiliary handle (7); and a controller (10) in communication with the sensor (11), the controller (10) configured to determine if a user is grasping the accessory auxiliary handle (7) or if the user is not grasping the auxiliary handle (7) based on feedback from the sensor (see Paragraph 0021), wherein the controller (10) is configured to control the drive mechanism (3) to supply up to a first maximum torque when the controller (10) determines the user is not grasping the accessory auxiliary handle (7) and to supply up to a second maximum torque greater than the first maximum torque when the controller (10) determines the user is grasping the accessory auxiliary handle (see Paragraph 0017 and Paragraph 0022).
Koeder discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the explicit disclosure of an auxiliary handle configured to be adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length.
Van Bergen discloses (see Figure 1, Figure 3 and Figure 4) a power tool (10) comprising: a housing (12); a drive mechanism (14) supported within the housing (12); an accessory (34) removably coupled to the housing (12), wherein the accessory (34) is an auxiliary handle (42) configured to be grasped during operation of the power tool (see Paragraph 0022) and adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length (see Figure 3 and Figure 4; see Paragraphs 0024 – 0025).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Kamiya to incorporate the disclosure of Van Bergen to configure an auxiliary handle to be adjustable between a retracted length and an extended length. Doing so would provide a variety of handle length to provide sufficient leverage during a variety of drilling operations.
Regarding claim 16, Koeder discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the sensor (11) is a capacitive sensor (see Paragraph 0004 and Paragraph 0009)
Regarding claim 21, Koeder discloses (see Figure 22) wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply the second maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to the shortened length (see Column 27, line 44-55), and wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply up to a third maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to the extended length (see Column 27, line 44-55).
Claims 18, 19, 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamiya (U.S. Patent No. 12,097,604) in view of over Koeder (U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0162188)
Regarding claim 18, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) a power tool (1A) comprising: a housing (2); a drive mechanism (8; 10) supported within the housing (2); a spindle (6) operatively coupled to an output of the drive mechanism (8; 10) such that torque from the drive mechanism (8; 10) rotates the spindle about an axis (see Column 6, line 21-24); an auxiliary handle (100A-100I) removably coupled to the housing (2) and including a tag (117); a sensor (70) supported by the housing (2) to communicate with the tag (117); and a controller (13) in communication with the sensor (70), the controller (113) configured to determine if the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is coupled to the housing (2) or if the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is not coupled to the housing (2) based on feedback from the sensor (70; see Column 15, line 07-12), wherein the controller (13) is configured to control the drive mechanism (8; 10) to supply up to a first maximum torque when the controller (13) determines the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is not coupled to the housing (2) and to supply up to a second maximum torque greater than the first maximum torque when the controller (13) determines the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is coupled to the housing (see Column 15, line 12-22).
Kamiya discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the explicit disclosure of sensor and reader that is configured to wirelessly communicate with a tag.
Koeder discloses (see Figure 5) a power tool (1) comprising: a housing (2); a drive mechanism (3) supported within the housing (2); an auxiliary handle (7) removably coupled to the housing (2) and including a tag (11); a sensor (8) supported by the housing (2) and includes a reader a configured to wirelessly communicate with the tag (11; see Paragraph 0020).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Kamiya to incorporate the disclosure of Koeder to include a sensor that includes reader that is configured to wirelessly communicate with a tag. Doing so would enable a more ergonomic design that contains less wiring for communication between sensors and controllers.
Regarding claim 19, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) includes a magnet (117), and wherein the sensor (70) includes a Hall effect sensor (see Column 14, line 38-48).
Regarding claim 22, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the feedback from the sensor (70) includes the reader detecting or not detecting the tag (Column 15, line 12-22).
Regarding claim 23, Kamiya discloses (see Figure 5) wherein the controller (13) is configured to control the drive mechanism (8; 10) to supply up to a first maximum torque when the reader does not detect the tag (117) and to supply up to a second maximum torque greater than the first maximum torque when the reader detects the tag (see Column 15, line 12-22).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over over Kamiya (U.S. Patent No. 12,097,604) in view of Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564) further in view of Nagasaka (U.S. Patent No. 8,371,708).
Regarding claims 14, Kamiya in view of Van Bergen discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the incorporation of an indicator on the auxiliary handle configured to display an indication when a controller determines an users grasp on or off the auxiliary handle.
Nagasaka discloses (see Figure 1 and Figure 3) a power tool (10) comprising a housing (11), an auxiliary handle (20) removably coupled to the housing (11), a sensor (55) supported by the auxiliary handle (20); a controller (58) in communication with the sensor (55), and an indicator (51; 52; 53) configured display an indication (see Column 6, line 26-42).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Kamiya in view of Van Bergen to incorporate the disclosure of Nagasaka to include an indicator on the auxiliary handle configured to display an indication when a controller determines an users grasp on or off the auxiliary handle. Doing so would enable improve visibility around the tool bit and the work piece.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koeder (U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0162188) in view of Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564) further in view of Nagasaka (U.S. Patent No. 8,371,708).
Regarding claims 17, Koeder in view of Van Bergen discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the incorporation of an indicator on the auxiliary handle configured to display an indication when a controller determines an users grasp on or off the auxiliary handle.
Nagasaka discloses (see Figure 1 and Figure 3) a power tool (10) comprising a housing (11), an auxiliary handle (20) removably coupled to the housing (11), a sensor (55) supported by the auxiliary handle (20); a controller (58) in communication with the sensor (55), and an indicator (51; 52; 53) configured display an indication (see Column 6, line 26-42).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Koeder in view of Van Bergen to incorporate the disclosure of Nagasaka to include an indicator on the auxiliary handle configured to display an indication when a controller determines an users grasp on or off the auxiliary handle. Doing so would enable improve visibility around the tool bit and the work piece.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koeder (U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0162188) in view of Van Bergen (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0249564) further in view of Kamiya (U.S. Patent No. 12,097,604).
Regarding claims 17, Koeder in view of Van Bergen discloses all of the elements of the current invention as stated above except for the incorporation a drive mechanism is configured to supply a second maximum torque to a spindle when an auxiliary handle is set to a retracted length, and wherein the drive mechanism is configured to supply up to a third maximum torque to the spindle when the auxiliary handle is set to an extended length.
Kamiya discloses (see Figure 22) a drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply a second maximum torque to the spindle (6) when an auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to a shortened length (see Column 27, line 44-55), and wherein the drive mechanism (8; 10) is configured to supply up to a third maximum torque to the spindle (6) when the auxiliary handle (100A-100I) is set to an extended length (see Column 27, line 44-55).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the applicant's claimed invention, to have modified Koeder in view of Van Bergen to incorporate the disclosure of Kamiya to include a drive mechanism is configured to supply a second maximum torque to a spindle when an auxiliary handle is set to a retracted length, and wherein the drive mechanism is configured to supply up to a third maximum torque to the spindle when the auxiliary handle is set to an extended length. Doing so would improve a user receiving reaction forces acting on a power tool during operation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 4-6, 9-19 & 21-23 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 XAVIER A MADISON whose telephone number is (571)272-7786. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shelley Self can be reached at (571) 272-4524. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XAVIER A MADISON/Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/SHELLEY M SELF/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3731