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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species A (Figures 1-10) in the reply filed on 3/3/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 7-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claims 1-6 and 12-20 are drawn to the elected Species and examined below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/5/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, 12, and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
-Claim 1, lines 4, 6 and 9 (three instances), “including” would be better recited as “including:”.
-Claim 1, line 10, “having” should instead be “having:”.
-Claim 1, line 17, “connected to the first edge” would be better recited as “connected to the respective first edge”.
-Claim 1, line 18, “connected to the second edge” would be better recited as “connected to the respective second edge”.
-Claim 4, line 2, “connected to the second edge” would be better recited as “connected to the respective second edge”.
-Claim 12, lines 4, 6 and 9 (three instances), “including” would be better recited as “including:”.
-Claim 13, line 2, “has” should instead be “has:”
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.
Claims 12-16 are 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.
Regarding Claim 12, lines 18-20 recite “wherein the anvil is a first anvil including the intermediate portion in a first shape or a second anvil including the intermediate portion in a second shape, and the anvil bearing supports the first anvil to be replaceable with the second anvil”. This limitation renders the claim indefinite as it is unclear as to whether or not the Applicant is attempting to claim two different anvils being encompassed by the tool or just one “first anvil” and further it is unclear as to what further structural limitation to the anvil bearing that the phrase “first anvil to be replaceable with the second anvil” is attempting to encompass.
Claims 13-16 depend from Claim 12 and therefore are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite as the claims include the limitations outlined above.
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.
(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 1-6 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Tamura (US PGUB 2020/0215667-cited in IDS).
Regarding Claim 1, Tamura discloses an impact wrench (1; Figure 1), comprising:
a motor (2; Figure 2) including a rotor (21, 22) rotatable about a rotation axis (“A”) extending in a front-rear direction (along axis “A” as shown in Figure 2);
a spindle (41) rotatable with a rotational force from the rotor (21, 22; Para. 0044-0045, 0079);
an anvil (5; Figure 3) located frontward from at least a part of the spindle (41), the anvil (5) including:
an anvil shaft (of 5; see Figure 3-4) extending in an axial direction (along “A”) parallel to the rotation axis (“A”), the anvil shaft including:
a first shaft (51; Figure 3) having a circular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A” as clearly shown; Para. 0062),
a second shaft (tip end portion 80) located frontward from the first shaft (51) and having a rectangular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0062), the second shaft (80) including:
four flat portions (81) each having:
a first edge (of 83; see “Annotated View of Figure 3” below) at an end of the flat portion (81) in a first circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and
a second edge (of 83; see “Annotated View of Figure 3” below) at an end of the flat portion (81) in a second circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and
four flat portion connectors (corner portions 83), and
an intermediate portion (connecting portion 90; Para. 0054) between the first shaft (51) and the second shaft (80; Para. 0054), the intermediate portion (90) including support portions (92) each connected to the first edge (of 83), the intermediate portion (90) being connected to the second edge (of 83) of each of the four flat portions (81) at positions rearward from the support portions (92), and
an anvil projection (52) protruding outward from the anvil shaft (51) in a radial direction of the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0056); and
a hammer (46; Figure 2) supported by the spindle (41; Para. 0053), the hammer (46) including a hammer projection (46B) configured to strike the anvil projection (52) in a rotation direction (Para. 0080).
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Annotated View of Figure 3
Regarding Claim 2, Tamura discloses the second shaft (80) receives a socket (100; Figure 9), and the socket (100) comes in contact with the support portions (92) being four support portions (92 at each corner portion 83; Para. 0065).
Regarding Claim 3, Tamura discloses the anvil (5) is rotated in the first circumferential direction when a bolt received in the socket (100) is tightened (Paras. 0079-0081 outline a fastening operation via rotation of the motor).
Regarding Claim 4, Tamura discloses the intermediate portion (90) includes joints (see “Annotated View of Figure 3” above as the areas labeled “intermediate portion” can be viewed as the “joint” areas or alternatively, curved surface portions 94 can also be viewed as joint as claimed) each connected to the second edge (as shown), the joints are located rearward from the support portions (92 as shown), and the socket (100) comes in contact with the four support portions (92) and is out of contact with the joints being four joints (portions of 94 or intermediate portion defined by edges of 94).
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Regarding Claim 5, Tamura discloses the intermediate portion (90) has curved portions (93, 94) between the joints and the support portions (92), and the curved portions (93, 94) are connected to the four flat portions (via 93), and the socket (100) is out of contact with the curved portions (93, 94; note Para. 0068-0069 outline the portion 93 being recessed rearward from portion 82 and therefore based on Figure 9, when the socket is attached it will not contact the recessed portion).
Regarding Claims 6 and 17-20, Tamura discloses an anvil bearing (10; Figure 2) supporting at least a part (i.e. 51) of the first shaft (51; Para. 0055).
Claims 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Kusumoto (US PGPUB 2021/0060741).
Regarding Claim 1, Kusumoto discloses an impact wrench (1; Figure 1), comprising:
a motor (11) including a rotor (shaft 15) rotatable about a rotation axis (“A”) extending in a front-rear direction (Para. 0062);
a spindle (13) rotatable with a rotational force from the rotor (15; Para. 0062);
an anvil (4) located frontward from at least a part of the spindle (13), the anvil (4) including:
an anvil shaft (of 4; as shown in Figure 2) extending in an axial direction parallel to the rotation axis (“A”), the anvil shaft including:
a first shaft (30) having a circular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0042),
a second shaft (31) located frontward from the first shaft (30) and having a rectangular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0043), the second shaft (31) including:
four flat portions (31A-31D) each having:
a first edge (of 33A-33D; see “Annotated View of Figure 2” below) at an end of the flat portion (31A-31D) in a first circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and
a second edge (of 33A-33D) at an end of the flat portion (31A-31D) in a second circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and four flat portion connectors (33A-33D; Para. 0045), and
an intermediate portion (35A-35D and 36) between the first shaft (30) and the second shaft (31), the intermediate portion (35A-35D, 36) including support portions (36) each connected to the first edge (as shown),
the intermediate portion (35A-35D, 36) being connected to the second edge of each of the four flat portions (31A-31D via 35A-35D) at positions rearward from the support portions (36), and
an anvil projection (24) protruding outward from the anvil shaft (of 4) in a radial direction of the rotation axis (“A” as shown; Para. 0041); and
a hammer (17; Figure 1) supported by the spindle (13; Para. 0038), the hammer (17) including a hammer projection (21) configured to strike the anvil projection (24) in a rotation direction (Para. 0039, 0041).
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Annotated View of Figure 2
Regarding Claim 6, Kusumoto discloses an anvil bearing (23) supporting at least a part of the first shaft (30; Para. 0040).
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 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura (US PGUB 2020/0215667), in view of Schneider (US PGPUB 2019/0255687), and in further view of Lin (US Patent 5,992,539).
Regarding Claim 12, Tamura discloses an impact wrench (1; Figure 1), comprising:
a motor (2; Figure 2) including a rotor (22) rotatable about a rotation axis (“A”) extending in a front-rear direction (along axis “A” as shown in Figure 2);
a spindle (21) rotatable with a rotational force from the rotor (22; Para. 0044-0045);
an anvil (5; Figure 3) located frontward from at least a part of the spindle (21), the anvil (5) including:
an anvil shaft (of 5; see Figure 3-4) extending in an axial direction (along “A”) parallel to the rotation axis (“A”), the anvil shaft including:
a first shaft (51; Figure 3) having a circular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A” as clearly shown; Para. 0062),
a second shaft (tip end portion 80) located frontward from the first shaft (51) and having a rectangular cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0062), the second shaft (80) including:
four flat portions (81), and
four flat portion connectors (corner portions 83), and
an intermediate portion (connecting portion 90; Para. 0054) between the first shaft (51) and the second shaft (80; Para. 0054),
an anvil projection (52) protruding outward from the anvil shaft (51) in a radial direction of the rotation axis (“A”; Para. 0056); and
a hammer (46; Figure 2) supported by the spindle (21; Para. 0053), the hammer (46) including a hammer projection (46B) configured to strike the anvil projection (52) in a rotation direction (Para. 0080); and
an anvil bearing (10; Figure 2) supporting the anvil (5; Para. 0055).
wherein the anvil (5) is a first anvil (5) including the intermediate portion (90) in a first shape (as shown).
However, Tamura does not readily disclose a second anvil including the intermediate portion in a second shape, and the anvil bearing supports (11) the first anvil to be replaceable with the second anvil (note 112 rejections above).
First, attention is brought to Schneider which teaches another impact tool (10; Figure 1) comprising an anvil (200; Figure 2) and an anvil bearing (222) which is capable of supporting different anvils (200, 200a; Figures 3-5B) wherein different anvils are interchangeable to utilize anvils with different lengths or head sizes as desired (Paras. 0038, 0062). Further it is noted that differing head sizes will readily lead to different shaped intermediate/transition portions.
Further, attention is brought to Lin which teaches another impact tool wherein a front housing (3; Figure 3) is mounted to a mounting housing (21) with a threaded attachment (211, 32; Figure 4; Col 5, lines 41-45) to allow access to interior parts including an output shaft (74; see Col 6, lines 35-43).
While it can be readily implied that the anvil bearing (10) of Tamura is clearly capable of supporting different anvils, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the tool of Tamura to be capable of dissembling as taught by Lin and to have utilized different shaped anvils as taught by Schneider with the tool of Tamura. By modifying Tamura in this manner, the tool components can be easily accessed and replaced when worn as taught by Lin (Col 6, lines 35-43) and further by utilizing different shaped anvils, the tool can obtain different lengths and different tool attachments can be used as taught by Schneider (Para. 0038, 0062).
Regarding Claim 13, Tamura, as modified, discloses each of the four flat portions (81) has a first edge (of 83; see “Annotated View of Figure 3” above) at an end of the flat portion (81) in a first circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and a second edge (of 83; see “Annotated View of Figure 3” above) at an end of the flat portion (81) in a second circumferential direction of the rotation axis (“A”), and the intermediate portion (connecting portion 90; Para. 0054) includes support portions (92) each connected to the first edge (of 83), and is connected to the second edge (of 83) of each of the four flat portions (81) at positions rearward from the support portions (92 as shown).
Regarding Claim 14, Tamura, as modified, discloses the intermediate portion (90) includes joints (see “Annotated View of Figure 3” above as the areas labeled “intermediate portion” can be viewed as the “joint” areas or alternatively, curved surface portions 94 can also be viewed as joint as claimed) each connected to the second edge (as shown), the joints are located rearward from the support portions (92 as shown), and the socket (100) comes in contact with the support portions (92) and is out of contact with the joints (portions of 94 or intermediate portion defined by edges of 94).
Regarding Claim 15, Tamura, as modified, discloses the anvil (5) is rotated in the first circumferential direction when a bolt received in the socket (100) is tightened (Paras. 0079-0081 outline a fastening operation via rotation of the motor).
Regarding Claim 16, Tamura, as modified, discloses the anvil (5) is rotated but does not explicitly disclose rotating the anvil in the second circumferential direction when a bolt received in the socket is loosened. However, Official Notice is taken that it is a conventional or well-known feature to reverse rotation (from that of tightening) of a power impact tool to produce a loosening effect on a bolt. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have incorporated an ability to reverse the motor’s rotation to reverse the anvils rotation and therefore perform a loosening function in Tamura.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. see “Notice of References Cited”.
- Eardley (US PGPUB 2021/0283757) discloses an anvil with support portions (78) connected to edges of the flat portions of the anvil.
-Sano (US PGPUB 2022/0111497) discloses an anvil with support portions (35, 36).
-Milbourne (US PGPUB 2005/0022637), Happ (US PGPUB 2008/0087448) also disclose anvils similar to that as claimed in Claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA G KOTIS whose telephone number is (571)270-0165. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 6am-430pm.
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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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/JOSHUA G KOTIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3731 3/31/2026
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