DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/521,760, filed on 28 November, 2023, were presented for Examination. In the response filed 18 November, 2025, claims 6-20 were canceled and new claims 21-33 were added. Claims 1-5 and 21-33 are currently pending in the application.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, in the reply filed on 18 November, 2025, is acknowledged. Applicant canceled claims of non-elected Groups/Inventions II and III. Newly added claims 21-33 are being examined herein as part of elected Invention I. Thus, no claims are removed from consideration.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 28 November, 2023, 2 October, 2024, 13 March, 2025, and 18 November, 2025, were filed before the mailing date of this Office action. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "354" and "356" have both been used to designate the cam carrier bearing and the same reference characters “354” and “356” have both been used to designate the front motor bearing. In simpler terms, fig. 3B has the front motor bearing labeled as 354 when elsewhere (fig. 3A and the written description) it is designated 356, and fig. 3B further has the cam carrier bearing labeled as 356 when elsewhere (fig. 3A and the written description) it is designated 354. Fig. 3B should be replaced with a new drawing sheet for Fig. 3B that has the reference numbers switched to the way they appear in fig. 3A.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 11 of the claim, the limitation “on radial projection” should be changed to “on a radial projection…”
Claim 26 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 11 of the claim, the limitation “on radial projection” should be changed to “on a radial projection…”
Appropriate correction is required.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 24-27 and 29-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Marten (US 2024/0316732 A1).
With respect to claim 24, Marten teaches a power tool [impact wrench 10], comprising:
a housing [14] having a rear end portion [combined motor housing portion 18 and end cap 30] and a front end portion [front housing portion 22] opposite the rear end portion [18/30], the front end portion [22] corresponding to a working end (labeled by the Examiner in the annotated excerpt of fig. 2 attached below) of the power tool [10] (see ¶ 0030);
a motor assembly [electric motor 42] received in the housing [14], the motor assembly [42] (see ¶ 0031) including:
a rotor that rotates about a central axis [54] of the power tool [10] (see ¶ 0031 which recites “and a rotor with an output shaft 50 that is supported by front and rear rotor bearings 52, 53 for rotation about an axis 54 relative to the stator 46…” – the Examiner has used this limitation to locate and label the rotor in the fig. 2 excerpt);
a stator assembly [stator 46] operably coupled to the rotor; and
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a rotor shaft [output shaft 50] coupled to the rotor and extending along the central axis [54] and rotatably driven by the rotor (see again the cited recitation from ¶ 0031)
a transmission assembly [combined gear assembly 66 which includes planet gears 86 and drive assembly 70, which includes camshaft 94] coupled to the rotor shaft [50] that transmits a torque (via planet gears 86) generated by the motor assembly [42] to an output spindle [shaft portion 136] (see ¶ 0036 which establishes that 136 co-rotates with 148 and ¶ 0044 which establishes that 148 is rotatably driven when the camshaft 94 rotates, and that the camshaft 94 and gear assembly 66 are driven by the motor), the transmission assembly [66/70] including a plate (labeled in the fig. 2 excerpt above and basically the left-hand-side of a planet carrier integral with the camshaft 94) that includes an annular projection (also labeled)
a first bearing [rotor bearing 52] that supports the rotor shaft [50] (see ¶ 0031); and
a second bearing [camshaft bearing 100] that is radially aligned with at least a portion of the first bearing [52] (see again the fig. 2 excerpt above wherein the Examiner has drawn a radial line to show how 52 and 100 both lie along it, thus the respective portions of them radially align with each other);
wherein the first bearing and the second bearing are on opposing sides (the first bearing is on the inner side and the second bearing is on the outer side) of the annular projection and rotationally support the plate (see ¶ 0035 which describes how they support the camshaft 94, but 94 is integral with the planet carrier whose left-hand-side is the plate).
With respect to claim 25/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] and the second bearing [100] are at least partially received within a motor envelope (envelope and planes drawn and labeled by the Examiner in the fig. 2 excerpt attached below) defined by a first plane corresponding to a rearmost portion (the rear end of the shaft) of the motor assembly [42] and a second plane corresponding to a frontmost portion (the front end of the shaft) of the motor assembly [42].
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With respect to claim 26/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] includes an inner race (labeled by the Examiner in the fig. 2 excerpt attached above) positioned on the rotor shaft [50] such that the inner race of the first bearing [52] rotates together with the rotor shaft [50] at a first speed; and
an outer race (also labeled by the Examiner) supported on a first side surface (also labeled) of the annular projection (first side surface labeled by the Examiner) such that the outer race of the first bearing rotates together with the plate at a second speed that is less than the first speed (¶ 0033 recites “the gear assembly 66 may be configured in any of a number of different ways to provide a speed reduction between the output shaft 50 and an input of the drive assembly 70” – if 70 rotates slower than the shaft, then so does the plate); and
the second bearing [100] includes:
an inner race (also labeled by the Examiner) positioned on a second side surface (also labeled) of the annular projection, opposite the first side surface thereof, such that the inner race of the second bearing [100] rotates together with the plate at the second speed (the speed of rotation of the camshaft and also the speed of rotation of drive assembly 70); and
an outer race (also labeled) supported on a radial projection of a ring gear mount [rear gear case cover 104] coupled to the housing [14], such that the outer race of the second bearing [100] is substantially stationary (¶ 0035 recites “a rear gear case cover 104, which is in turn coupled to the front housing 22…”).
With respect to claim 27/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches:
a third bearing [53] coupled to an end portion of the rotor shaft [50], opposite an end portion of the rotor shaft to which the first bearing [52] is coupled, and configured to support the rotor shaft [53] (see ¶ 0031), wherein the third bearing [53] is received in a bearing pocket (see the new annotated excerpt of fig. 2 attached below, wherein the Examiner has labeled the bearing pocket) defined in a corresponding portion of the housing [14]; and
a fan [58] coupled to the rotor shaft [50], positioned axially between the third bearing [53] and the motor assembly [42] (see ¶ 0031).
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With respect to claim 29/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] is mounted on the rotor shaft [50], positioned axially between the motor assembly [42] and the plate, such that an axial position of the first bearing [52] is constrained by the plate.
With respect to claim 30/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches a pinion [82] having a proximal end portion coupled to the rotor shaft [50], and a distal end portion positioned in a bearing pocket [central bore 172] defined in a cam shaft [camshaft 94] of a cam carrier of the transmission assembly [66/70] (see ¶ 0043).
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With respect to claim 31/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches wherein the second bearing [100] is positioned axially rearward (using the front-and-rear designations established in claim 24 and still referring to the fig. 2 excerpt attached above) of a gear assembly [gear assembly 66 including planet gear 86] of the transmission assembly [66/70].
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 28 and 32-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marten.
With respect to claim 28/27/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 27, and further teaches wherein a central hub portion of the fan [58] is radially aligned (see the “radial line” drawn by the Examiner in the new fig. 2 excerpt attached below) with part of the stator that appears to be stator end windings (labeled “windings” by the Examiner).
Although Marten does not explicitly recite that this part is stator end windings, Marten appears to have omitted labeling and describing certain stator parts, since they are not necessary for the understanding of Marten’s invention. However, because Marten has drawn what appears to be stator end windings coming out the end of the stator, in the place where anyone would expect the end windings to be, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the tool of Marten, while including end windings where the Examiner has labeled the part “windings”, in order to connect the winding pairs to each other at the ends of the stator, as is well known in the art.
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With respect to claim 32/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 24, and further teaches wherein the annular projection (labeled in the new fig. 2 excerpt attached below) extends from a first side (the left-hand side in fig. 2) of the plate, the transmission assembly [66/70] including what appears to be a pin (labeled by the Examiner below) that extends from a second side (the right-hand side) of the plate opposite the first side, and a planet gear [86] appears to be mounted on the pin.
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Although Marten does not explicitly recite that the element is a pin and that the planet gear is mounted on it, like the stator end windings, Marten appears to have omitted labeling and describing certain gearing parts, since they are not necessary for the understanding of Marten’s invention. However, because Marten has drawn what appears to be a pin exactly in the place where anyone would expect the axes/shafts of the planet gears to be, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the tool of Marten, while including a pin where the Examiner has labeled the part “pin”, and to mount the planet gear on it, in order to create a typical step-down planetary gearing cassette, as is well known in the art.
With respect to claim 33/32/24, Marten teaches the tool of claim 32, and further teaches
the transmission assembly [66/70] includes a ring gear mount [gear case cover 104] and a ring gear [90] (see ¶ 0034-0035 and new fig. 2 excerpt attached below) mounted thereto;
the second bearing [100] is located between the annular projection and a radial projection (both labeled in the fig. 2 excerpt) of the ring gear mount [104]; and
the planet gear [86] is in meshed engagement with the ring gear [90] (see ¶ 0034 which recites “the ring gear 90 meshed with the planet gears 86”).
Claims 1-5 and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marten (US 2024/0316732 A1) in view of Nakashima (US 2021/0016428 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Marten teaches a power tool [impact wrench 10], comprising:
a housing [14] having a rear end portion [combined motor housing portion 18 and end cap 30] and a front end portion [front housing portion 22] opposite the rear end portion [18/30], the front end portion [22] corresponding to a working end (labeled by the Examiner in the annotated excerpt of fig. 2 attached below) of the power tool [10] (see ¶ 0030);
a motor assembly [electric motor 42] received in the housing [14], the motor assembly [42] (see ¶ 0031) including:
a rotor configured to rotate about a central axis [54] of the power tool [10] (see ¶ 0031 which recites “and a rotor with an output shaft 50 that is supported by front and rear rotor bearings 52, 53 for rotation about an axis 54 relative to the stator 46…” – the Examiner has used this limitation to locate and label the rotor in the fig. 2 excerpt);
a stator assembly [stator 46] operably coupled to the rotor; and
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a rotor shaft [output shaft 50] extending along the central axis [54], the rotor shaft [50] being coupled to the rotor so as to be driven by the rotor (see again the cited recitation from ¶ 0031);
a transmission assembly [combined gear assembly 66 which includes planet gears 86 and drive assembly 70, which includes camshaft 94] coupled to the rotor shaft [50] and configured to transmit a torque (via planet gears 86) generated by the motor assembly [42] to an output spindle [shaft portion 136] (see ¶ 0036 which establishes that 136 co-rotates with 148 and ¶ 0044 which establishes that 148 is rotatably driven when the camshaft 94 rotates, and that the camshaft 94 and gear assembly 66 are driven by the motor);
a first bearing [rotor bearing 52] configured to support the rotor shaft [50] (see ¶ 0031); and
a second bearing [camshaft bearing 100] configured to support a component [camshaft 94] of the transmission assembly [66/70],
wherein at least a portion of the second bearing [100] is radially aligned with at least a portion of the first bearing [52] (see again the fig. 2 excerpt above wherein the Examiner has drawn a radial line to show how 52 and 100 both lie along it, thus the respective portions of them radially align with each other).
Marten omits wherein magnets are received in magnet pockets defined in the rotor.
Nakashima discloses a power tool comprising a housing [7] that receives a motor [8] comprising a rotor [23] rotating about a central axis and operably coupled to a stator [22] , a rotor shaft [30] coupled to the rotor, a transmission assembly [combined gear assembly 36/40/41 and impact mechanism 11 including camshaft ] coupled to the rotor shaft [30] to transmit torque generated by the motor to an output spindle [4], a first bearing [35] configured to support the shaft, and a second bearing [48] configured to support a component of the transmission assembly, wherein a portion of the second bearing [48] is radially aligned with a portion of the first bearing [35] (see radial line in the enlarged fig. 3 excerpt below, on the right-hand side).
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Nakashima teaches wherein magnets [32] are received in magnet pockets defined in the rotor [23] (¶ 0067 recites “permanent magnets 32, which are fixed in the interior of the rotor core 31 – by definition, the spaces filled by the magnets, which are devoid of rotor material when the magnets are not in it, are pockets).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the hand tool of Marten, while incorporating magnets in the rotor, as taught by Nakashima, in order to receive electromotive force when the stator is energized, and convert said force into a driving torque, as is well known in the art. Marten’s device could not be operated without magnets in the rotor, and Marten in fig. 2 even shows the magnets, just like Nakashima does – in the same place, going all the way across the rotor, with different cross-hatch pattern from the rotor’s. It is clear that Marten omitted mention of the magnets because all practitioners of any skill in the electric motor arts are fully aware that they are present in Marten’s disclosure, even if not mentioned, and as Nakashima’s device is nearly identical to Marten’s, said person of ordinary skill in the art would find the magnets of Nakashima satisfactory, if not ideal, for insertion into the rotor of Marten to achieve a driving force to power the tool. Marten’s omission of the magnets is simply an oversight, an oversight not committed by the authors of Nakashima.
With respect to claim 2/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] and the second bearing [100] are at least partially received within a motor envelope (envelope and planes drawn and labeled by the Examiner in the fig. 2 excerpt attached below) defined by a first plane corresponding to a rearmost portion (the rear end of the shaft) of the motor assembly [42] and a second plane corresponding to a frontmost portion (the front end of the shaft) of the motor assembly [42].
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With respect to claim 3/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] includes an inner race (labeled by the Examiner in the fig. 2 excerpt attached above) positioned on the rotor shaft [50] such that the inner race of the first bearing [52] rotates together with the rotor shaft [50] at a first speed; and
an outer race (also labeled by the Examiner) supported on a first side surface (also labeled) of a cam carrier plate [labeled by the Examiner, and part of the camshaft 94] of the transmission assembly [66/70] such that the outer race of the first bearing rotates together with the cam carrier plate at a second speed that is less than the first speed (¶ 0033 recites “the gear assembly 66 may be configured in any of a number of different ways to provide a speed reduction between the output shaft 50 and an input of the drive assembly 70” – if 70 rotates slower than the shaft, then so does the cam carrier plate); and
the second bearing [100] includes:
an inner race (also labeled by the Examiner) positioned on a second side surface (also labeled) of the cam carrier plate [104], opposite the first side surface thereof, such that the inner race of the second bearing [100] rotates together with cam carrier plate at the second speed (the speed of rotation of the camshaft and also the speed of rotation of drive assembly 70); and
an outer race (also labeled) supported on a radial projection of a ring gear mount [rear gear case cover 104] coupled to the housing [14], such that the outer race of the second bearing [100] is substantially stationary (¶ 0035 recites “a rear gear case cover 104, which is in turn coupled to the front housing 22…”).
With respect to claim 4/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches:
a third bearing [53] coupled to an end portion of the rotor shaft [50], opposite an end portion of the rotor shaft to which the first bearing [52] is coupled, and configured to support the rotor shaft [53] (see ¶ 0031), wherein the third bearing [53] is received in a bearing pocket (see the new annotated excerpt of fig. 2 attached below, wherein the Examiner has labeled the bearing pocket) defined in a corresponding portion of the housing [14]; and
a fan [58] coupled to the rotor shaft [50], positioned axially between the third bearing [53] and the motor assembly [42] (see ¶ 0031).
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With respect to claim 5/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches wherein the first bearing [52] is mounted on the rotor shaft [50], positioned axially between the motor assembly [42] and a cam carrier (labeled in the fig. 2 excerpt above) of the transmission assembly [66/70], such that an axial position of the first bearing [52] is constrained by the cam carrier.
With respect to claim 21/4/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 4, Marten further teaches wherein a central hub portion of the fan [58] is radially aligned (see the “radial line” drawn by the Examiner in the new fig. 2 excerpt attached below) with part of the stator that appear to be stator end windings (labeled “windings” by the Examiner).
Although Marten does not explicitly recite that this part is stator end windings, like the magnets of the rotor, Marten appears to have omitted labeling and describing certain stator parts, since they are not necessary for the understanding of Marten’s invention. However, because Marten has drawn what appears to be stator end windings coming out the end of the stator, in the place where anyone would expect the end windings to be, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the tool of Marten in view of Nakashima, while including end windings where the Examiner has labeled the part “windings”, in order to connect the winding pairs to each other at the ends of the stator, as is well known in the art.
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With respect to claim 22/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches a pinion [82] having a proximal end portion coupled to the rotor shaft [50], and a distal end portion positioned in a bearing pocket [central bore 172] defined in a cam shaft [camshaft 94] of a cam carrier of the transmission assembly [66/70] (see ¶ 0043).
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With respect to claim 23/1, Marten in view of Nakashima teaches the tool of claim 1, Marten further teaches wherein the second bearing [100] is positioned axially rearward (using the front-and-rear designations established in claim 1 and still referring to the fig. 2 excerpt attached above) of a gear assembly [gear assembly 66 including planet gear 86] of the transmission assembly [66/70].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Figs. 4-5 of US 2021/0187707 A1 teaches a relevant motor/transmission structure for a power tool wherein the shaft bearing and the ring gear mount bearing are within the motor.
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Fig. 3 of US 2012/0000684 A1 is relevant to the claimed invention for having radially overlapping bearings in the space between the motor and transmission assembly.
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Fig. 9 of DE 102017211778 A1 is relevant to the claimed invention for having radially overlapping bearings in the space between the motor and transmission assembly.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL K SCHLAK whose telephone number is (703)756-1685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm EST.
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, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270 - 5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Daniel K Schlak/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834