DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
2. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show element 346 as described in the specification {see para. [0033]}. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
Examiner acknowledges that the above objection may be more easily remedied by a change to the specification as described below.
Specification
3. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Para. [0006] has punction typo(s).
Para. [0022] describes a power source as element 232, whereas paras. [0019] describes recess of a housing as element 232 and [0021] describe a power source as element 353. It appears Applicant intended to describe a power source as element 252, and a recess as element 232, which would be consistent with the remainder of the specification.
Para. [0033] describes a levelling device as element 346. However, element 346 is absent from Fig. 6, and para. [0034] describes a levelling devices as element 306 (which is present in Fig. 6). It appears Applicant intended to describe a levelling device as element 306.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
4. Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 of claim 20 should read: "…configured to be detachably received…”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
5. Claims 16- rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "housing" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears Applicant is intending to refer to a housing of either the power tool or the detachable level, and for the purposes of examination Examiner will interpret “housing” as such.
Claims 17-19 are dependent upon claim 16 and therefore inherit the same deficiencies.
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.
6. Claims 1-7, 10-11, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Long (US 20070101594 A1, Long, C. et al.; hereinafter "Long").
In regard to claim 1, Long discloses a power tool system [modular tool assembly 10] comprising: a power tool [tool base - which has a powered vacuum generating mechanism (abstract)] having a receptacle [guide member, shown at least in Fig. 1]; and a detachable level configured {at least Figs. 1 & 4a show a modular tool attachment having a laser level, self-levelling laser generators described in paras. [0087]-[0100]} to be detachably received in the receptacle [shown in Fig. 1], the detachable level including a leveling device [abstract].
In regard to claim 2, Long discloses the detachable level further comprising a housing [tool housing] in which the leveling device is arranged [shown in Fig. 12], the housing being configured to interact with the receptacle to retain the detachable level in the receptacle [shown at least in Fig. 1].
In regard to claim 3, Long discloses that the leveling device comprises at least one laser line generator [shown throughout, laser diode 1130 of Fig. 22 being one such example] configured to emit at least one laser line [shown throughout, shown at least in Figs. 1 and 15] through a window [lens, shown at least in Figs. 1 and 15] of the housing.
In regard to claim 4, Long discloses that the detachable level further comprises a power source configured to supply electrical power to the at least one laser line generator {para. [0056] describes an embodiment in which the modular tool attachment and tool base both have power sources}.
In regard to claim 5, Long discloses that the power tool further comprises a battery {para. [0056] describes power source 64 as a rechargeable battery} operably connected to the power source of the detachable level and configured to supply electrical energy to charge the power source {paras. [0017] and [0056] describe the tool base and the tool attachment having a laser level having their own power source, and that the laser level is operatively connected to the power source of the base - thus it would be obvious that two batteries operatively electrically connected would charge one another}.
In regard to claim 6, Long discloses that the detachable level further comprising a pendulum unit on which the leveling device is arranged, the pendulum unit being pivotably arranged in the housing in such a way that the at least one laser line emitted by the at least one laser line generator is level {para. [0090] describes using a pendulum as a part of the self-levelling mechanism to emit a level laser line}.
In regard to claim 10, Long discloses that the receptacle includes a locking arrangement having at least one locking member that engages with the pendulum unit and disables movement of the pendulum unit relative to the housing when the detachable level is received in the receptacle {paras. [0094]-[0095] describe the use of a switch to lock the self-levelling mechanism; Fig. 18 shows that the switch is present when the laser level is attached to the base, thus the pendulum movement can be disabled when the housing is received in the receptacle}.
In regard to claim 11, Long discloses that the detachable level further comprises at least one bubble or spirit level {at least para. [0012] describes using one or more bubble levels}, and the laser device is fixedly connected to and supported by the housing {fixed attachment shown at least in Figs. 17-21}.
In regard to claim 14, Long discloses a power tool system [modular tool assembly 10] comprising: a power tool [tool base - which has a powered vacuum generating mechanism (abstract)] having a receptacle [guide member, shown at least in Fig. 1]; and a detachable level [modular tool attachment] configured to be detachably received in the receptacle [at least Figs. 1 & 4a show a modular tool attachment having a laser level, with the modular tool attachment being received in the tool base], the detachable level including a self-leveling laser line generator configured to generate at least one level laser line {self-levelling laser generators described in paras. [0087]-[0100]}, the detachable level further comprising at least one power source [power source] that is operably connected to the laser line generator and is configured to receive electrical energy from the power tool {para. [0056] describes an embodiment in which the modular tool attachment and tool base both have power sources}.
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.
7. Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long as applied to claims 1-7, 10-11, and 14 above, and further in view of Feifei (CN 110296696 A, Feifei J. et al.; hereinafter "Feifei").
In regard to claim 8, Long does not teach that the detachable level uses a wireless charging arrangement configured to transmit electrical power wirelessly from the housing to the pendulum unit so as to charge the power source.
However, utilizing wireless charging elements within self-levelling laser levels is well-known within the art of laser levels, as taught by Feifei. Feifei teaches a self-levelling laser level that transmits power wirelessly from the housing to the pendulum to charge a battery [page 6 paras. 6-9].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used Feifei’s method of using a wireless charger to transmit power across Long’s pendulum unit in order to better improve the accuracy of a pendulum’s level by avoiding the use of a wire, as taught be Feifei [page 6 para. 9].
In regard to claim 9, Long does not teach that the wireless charging arrangement includes a first inductive loop in the housing that is operably connected to the plurality of electrical contacts and a second inductive loop arranged on the pendulum unit that is operably connected to the power source.
However, Feifei also teaches that the self-levelling laser has a first inductive loop in the housing [wireless transmission coil 2a1] and a second inductive loop arranged on the pendulum unit [wireless receiving coil 2a2] that is operably connected to the power coil [page 6 para. 9].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used Feifei’s wireless power structure as a means for transmitting power to Long’s power source in a modular tool attachment in order to better improve the accuracy of a pendulum’s level by avoiding the use of a wire, as taught be Feifei [page 6 para. 9].
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claim 20 is allowed, (barring the claim objections described above).
In regard to claim 20, although Lane teaches a laser level [modular tool attachment having a laser level] configured to be detachably received in a receptacle [guide member] of a power tool [tool base with a powered vacuum generating mechanism], said laser level having a housing [tool housing] with at least one window [lens], at least one line generator [laser diode] configured to emit at least one laser line through the aforementioned window [shown at least in Figs. 1 and 15], a power source that supplies the laser level with electrical power [power source], with the housing containing the at least one laser line generator, power source, and a pendulum unit {described in para. [0090]} arranged such that the at least one laser line generator is self-leveling {described in para. [0090]}, and that the laser line generator is on the pendulum unit [shown in Fig. 22].
Lane is silent as to the power source being arranged on the pendulum, and that the laser level contains a switch configured to automatically activate the laser generator(s) when the level is removed from the receptacle and automatically deactivate the laser generator(s) when the detachable level is inserted into the receptacle.
Although Feifei teaches a self-leveling laser level with a battery attached to a pendulum [page 4 para. 10] for the purpose of utilizing wireless charging to promote better pendulum accuracy [page 6 paras. 6-9] – Feifei is similarly silent as to a switch configured to automatically activate the laser generator(s) when the level is removed from the receptacle and automatically deactivate the laser generator(s) when the detachable level is inserted into the receptacle.
9. Claims 12-13 and 15 are 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.
In regard to claims 12-13, Lane in view of Feifei does not teach a switch configured to automatically activate the laser generator(s) when the level is removed from the receptacle and automatically deactivate the laser generator(s) when the detachable level is inserted into the receptacle as described above for claim 20.
In regard to claim 15, Lane is silent as to the power source being arranged on the pendulum, and that the laser level contains a switch configured to automatically activate the laser generator(s) when the level is removed from the receptacle and automatically deactivate the laser generator(s) when the detachable level is inserted into the receptacle.
Although Feifei teaches a self-leveling laser level with a battery attached to a pendulum [page 4 para. 10] for the purpose of utilizing wireless charging to promote better pendulum accuracy [page 6 paras. 6-9] – Feifei is similarly silent as to a switch configured to automatically activate the laser generator(s) when the level is removed from the receptacle and automatically deactivate the laser generator(s) when the detachable level is inserted into the receptacle.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL QUINN whose telephone number is (571)272-2690. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:30 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOHN BREENE can be reached at (571)272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL M QUINN/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855