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 without traverse of claims 1, 3, and 6 in the reply filed on 3/30/26 is acknowledged.
Drawings
Figure 14 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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 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.
Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Krenzer et al. (US 2020/0030893 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Krenzer discloses a drill (1; Fig. 1) comprising a first and a second cutting edge (3/1, 3/2) formed symmetrically with respect to a rotation axis; a first and a second relief surface (5/1, 5/2) formed symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis on back surfaces of the first and the second cutting edge (3/1, 3/2), respectively; one chip-discharging groove (23/1) formed from one of the first and the second cutting edge (3/1, 3/2) toward an outer peripheral side; and one or more arc-shaped grooves (29) formed from another of the first and the second cutting edge (3/1, 3/2) toward the outer peripheral side.
Claim(s) 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vamamoto et al. (US 20200282472 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Vamamoto discloses a drill comprising a first and a second cutting edge (5; Fig. 1) formed symmetrically with respect to a rotation axis; a first and a second relief surface (6) formed symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis on back surfaces of the first and the second cutting edge (5), respectively; one chip-discharging groove (4) formed from one of the first and the second cutting edge (5) toward an outer peripheral side; and one or more arc-shaped grooves (8) formed from another of the first and the second cutting edge (5) toward the outer peripheral side.
Regarding claim 3, Vamamoto discloses wherein two or more of the arc-shaped grooves (8) are formed to be adjacent to each other, one of the two or more arc-shaped grooves (8) and the first relief surface (6) are partially adjacent to each other, and another one of the two or more arc-shaped grooves (8) and the second relief surface (6) are adjacent to each other.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references listed on the attached PTO-892 are cited to show drills some of the features related to the elected claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERMIE E COZART whose telephone number is (571)272-4528. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am - 7:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil Singh can be reached at 571-272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JERMIE E COZART/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
May 29, 2026
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