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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Application No. 18557692, filed on 10/27/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/04/2024 was filed after the filing date of the application on 10/27/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 2-14, “The power tool” should be “the Handheld power tool” to keep terms consistent.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tasaki (US 5212886) in view of Wolf (US 20190255727 A1) and Kachi (US 20170259359 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tasaki teaches a handheld power tool (see Figure 1) comprising a tool (6 and 5) and an engine (7) configured to power the tool, wherein the power tool comprises a handle portion (the assembly 1 and 15 in Figure 2) comprising a handle (16 and 15) and an engine portion (1) comprising the engine,
wherein the engine portion is resiliently suspended to the handle portion via a number of resilient members (20),
wherein the power tool has a horizontal centre plane being parallel to a flat horizontal support surface when the power tool is positioned in a usual upright parking position thereon (see annotated Figure 1),
the power tool further having a vertical centre plane being perpendicular to the horizontal centre plane (see annotated Figure 1), and
a void space (at least when 14 is removed) between the handle portion and the engine portion extending along a separation plane (see annotated Figure 1), wherein the separation plane is transversal to the horizontal centre plane and to the vertical centre plane (see annotated Figure 1).
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Tasaki fails to teach wherein the power tool comprises a control device accommodating an electronic control unit configured to control operation of at least one electronic component of the power tool, the control device comprising two larger sides having larger dimensions than other sides of the control device, and wherein the control device is mounted to the handheld power tool such that an angle between the separation plane and one of the two larger sides is less than 35 degrees.
Wolf teaches a chain saw (see Figure 1) comprises a control device (29) accommodating an electronic control unit configured to control operation of at least one electronic component of the power tool (see Figure 12), the control device comprising two larger sides having larger dimensions than other sides of the control device (width and height in Figure 12), and wherein the control device is mounted to the handheld power tool (see Figure 2 and 12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of Tasaki to add the control system, as taught by Wolf, in order to better control the power tool (abstract of Wolf).
Kachi teaches a chain saw with a control device (27), the control device comprising two larger sides having larger dimensions than other sides of the control device (width and depth in Figure 3).
Both Wolf and Kachi teaches a control unit with different mounting positions in the engine portion of the chain saw (see Figure 3 of Kachi and Figure 2 of Wolf), Examiner notes that both Wolf and Kachi have the larger side oriented differently with each other, as one of ordinary skill in the art understand the control unit can be mount any orientation and location depended on the space with in the power tool. Therefore, it would have been obvious to mount the control unit any where in the device including “the control device is mounted to the handheld power tool such that an angle between the separation plane and one of the two larger sides is less than 35 degrees”. Since the court have held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. MEPE 2144.04 VI. C.
Regarding claim 2, modified Tasaki further teaches the control device is mounted adjacent to the void space (as modified by claim 1, obvious to mounted the control at any desired location).
Regarding claim 3, modified Tasaki further teaches the control device is mounted in the engine portion (as modified by claim 1, obvious to mounted the control at any desired location, Wolf and Kachi both should example of control mounted to the engine portion).
Regarding claim 4, modified Tasaki further teaches the control device is mounted in the handle portion (as modified by claim 1, obvious to mounted the control at any desired location, Wolf and Kachi both should example of control mounted to the engine portion of the handle portion).
Regarding claim 5, modified Tasaki further teaches the power tool comprises a fuel tank arranged in the handle portion (17 of Tasaki, see Figure 1 of Tasaki)
Regarding claim 6, modified Tasaki further teaches an outer surface of the fuel tank faces the void space (see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki).
Regarding claim 7, modified Tasaki further teaches an angle between the separation plane and the horizontal centre plane of the power tool is within the range of unknow angle (see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki).
Modified Tasaki fails to teach 10 — 70 degrees.
Furthermore, with respect to the specific angle of 10-70 degrees, the courts have held that where the general conditions of the invention are met, a change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art., In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). MPEP 2144.04 IV. A. Therefore, it would have been obvious to further modify the housing size of modified Tasaki to have the specific angle required base on the desires shape and size for the housing wanted by the end user.
Regarding claim 8, modified Tasaki further teaches the engine is a two stroke engine comprising: - a cylinder (7), - a piston arranged to reciprocate in the cylinder between a bottom dead centre and a top dead centre (with in 7, see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki), - a crankcase (14, see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki), - an air inlet connected to the crankcase (9, see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki), and configured to conduct air along a first direction to the cylinder (see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki), and wherein an angle between the separation plane and the first direction at an unknown degrees (see annotated Figure 1 of Tasaki).
Modified Tasaki fails to teach - a stratified scavenging intake channel configured to conduct air along a first direction to the cylinder, wherein an angle between the separation plane and the first direction at the angle is less than 35 degrees.
Wolf further teaches a engine with a stratified scavenging intake channel next a intake (paragraph 0045 of Wolf and Figure 3) and a fuel injector (44, paragraph 0046-0048).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of Tasaki to add change the engine into scavenging action engine with fuel injector and the scavenging intake next to the intake, as taught by Wolf, in order to better operate the engine (paragraph 0045 of Wolf).
Furthermore, with respect to the specific angle is less than 35 degrees, the courts have held that where the general conditions of the invention are met, a change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art., In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). MPEP 2144.04 IV. A. Therefore, it would have been obvious to further modify the mounting orientation of the engine of modified Tasaki to have the specific angle required base on the desires layout for the inter spacing of the power tool wanted by the user.
Regarding claim 9, modified Tasaki further teaches the control device is mounted to the handheld power tool such that the angle between the first direction and one of the two larger sides is less than unknown degrees (as modified in claim 1, see annotated Figure 1 Tasaki).
Modified Tasaki fails to teach the angle is less than 25 degrees.
Furthermore, with respect to the specific angle is less than 25 degrees, the courts have held that where the general conditions of the invention are met, a change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art., In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). MPEP 2144.04 IV. A. Therefore, it would have been obvious to further modify the mounting orientation engine and the control unit of modified Tasaki to have the specific angle required base on the desires layout for the inter spacing of the power tool wanted by the user.
Regarding claim 10, modified Tasaki further teaches the control device is arranged adjacent to the stratified scavenging intake channel (as modified by claim 1, wherever is required/wanted by the end user including adjacent to stratified scavenging intake channel and the modification in claim 8, see paragraph 0045 of Wolf).
Regarding claim 11, modified Tasaki further teaches the engine comprises a scavenging channel configured to conduct an air fuel mixture from the crankcase to the cylinder when the piston is in a region of the bottom dead centre, and wherein the piston comprises a mantle surface provided with an aperture arranged to superimpose the stratified scavenging intake channel and the scavenging channel when the piston is in a region of the top dead centre (as modified by claim 8, see paragraph 0045 of Wolf).
Regarding claim 12, modified Tasaki further teaches the power tool comprises a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the crankcase or into the air inlet (as modified by claim 8, 44 of Wolf, paragraph 0046 of Wolf and Figure 3 of Wolf).
Regarding claim 13, modified Tasaki further teaches the electronic control unit of the control device is configured to control operation of the fuel injector (as modified by claim 8, 44 of Wolf, paragraph 0046-0048 of Wolf and Figure 3 of Wolf).
Regarding claim 14, modified Tasaki further teaches the power tool is a chainsaw (See Figure 1 of Tasaki).
Conclusion
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/LIANG DONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 12/18/2025