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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/30/2024 is
being considered by the examiner. However, all the foreigner patent documents and some of the U.S. patent documents cited in the IDS appear to be unrelated to the present invention, which concerns a circular saw system. The cited documents relate to glass or plastic wall elements and therefore do not appear to be relevant prior art. These documents should be removed from the list of relevant references, or the Applicant should provide a statement explaining how these documents are related to the claimed invention.
Drawings
2. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the circular saw system, the circular saw, and the switches of the circular saw set forth in claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 1, 6, and 9-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: in
claim 1, “negative terminal” should be –a negative terminal” and “the neutral” should be –the neutral connection--; in claim 6, “a bench saw configuration and miter saw configuration” should be – a bench saw configuration and a miter saw configuration--; and in claims 9 and 10 “Bench saw” should be –bench saw--; and “Miter saw arm” should be –miter saw--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C.
112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, the specification does not disclose what is considered to be “a circular saw system.” The claim recites a circular saw system; however, the specification does not clearly identify components constitutes such a system. It is not clear whether the circular saw system includes a bench for the table saw, the base 510 (Fig. 12) that is connected to the bench, the bench and miter saw connector 500 (Fig. 12), the battery 600, an AC power connector 215, or an AC power supplier 210.
6. Claims 1-11 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 1, “a circular saw having connector bases having four receiving connections” is unclear. It should be noted that the circular saw has one connector base 216 which has four receiving connections 201-204 (Fig. 11). The claim inaccurately recites more than one connector base for the circular saw, and further implies that each connector base has for receiving connectors. This is confusing and inaccurate.
Regarding claim 1, “the circular saw has an attachable battery that connects a positive terminal to the Live 1 connection and negative terminal to the neutral” is unclear. It is not clear whether the positive terminal and the negative terminal belong to the battery. It appears that claim should recite that the battery has a positive terminal connectable to the Live 1 connection and a negative terminal connectable to the neutral connection.
Regarding claim 1, “switches of the circular saw” is unclear. It is not clear whether the switches intended to be ON/OFF switches or some other type of switches.
Regarding claim 2, “a battery” is unclear. It is not clear whether “a battery” refers to the attachable battery set forth in claim 1. In addition, “the connector bases” is unclear. As stated, above the circular saw has only one connector base 216 with four receiving connections (201-204). Furthermore, “the connector bases are connectable to a wall outlet or to a battery” is confusing. It should be noted that claim 1 already requires the connector base to be connected to an attachable battery. Therefore, the connector base of the circular saw cannot simultaneously be connected again to a wall outlet or to another battery. It should be noted that the connector base 216 of the circular saw can be connected to a battery 600 or, alternatively, to an Ac power connector 215 which is connected through an AC power supplier 210 a wall outlet (See Fig. 11). Therefore, if the connector base 216 is connected to a battery, it cannot be connected to wall outlet or to a second battery. In fact, the specification recites,
“[0030] Users may connect the AC power from the wall outlet to the same connector base 216 of the Handheld circular saw with the connector1 215. However, it may connect after removing the battery. Therefore, the Handheld saw can use only one power source at a time.”
Regrading claim 3, “further comprising an AC power connector able to connect to the circular saw and to a bench” is confusing. It is not clear what encompasses “a circular saw system.” It is not clear whether the bench is part of the circular saw system. In addition, it is not understood, in what way the AC power connector has to be connected to a bench. The connection could be by adhesive or tape. The claim does not recite that the AC power adapter has to be connected to a base connector of a bench.
Regarding claim 5, “battery voltage” is unclear. It is unclear whether
“battery voltage” refers to the voltage of the battery recited in claim 1 and 2, or refers to another, different battery.
Retarding claim 6, “a bench saw” is unclear. It is not clear whether the bench saw is a reference to the bench recited in claim 3. It is not clear whether the bench is the same as the bench saw. In addition, claim recites, “a bench saw configuration or miter saw configuration.” However, the claim recites a bench connector base, which apparently relates to the connector base of the bench, which is part of the bench saw. In other words, the claim does not recite features related to a miter saw configuration.
In addition, “in a bench saw configuration or miter saw configuration, the circular saw system is powered by the battery or AC power by connecting to a bench connector base” is confusing. It is not clear what components are encompassed by the circular saw system. Claim 1 recites a circular saw system that includes an attachable battery; however, claim 6 implies that the battery power operates a separate component that powers the circular saw system, creating an inconsistency. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the bench connector base is part of the circular saw system or is separate from the circular system. Moreover, it is not clear what components form “a bench saw configuration” or “a miter saw configuration,” and it is not clear whether these configurations are intended to be part of the circular saw system.
Regarding claim 7, “the bench connector base” lacks antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 7, “when the battery is attached, the positive terminal connects to a bench power connector Live 2 connection, and a negative terminal connects to a bench power connector neutral on the bench connecter base” is confusing. It is not clear how the battery --which has already its positive terminal connected to the Live 1connection of the circular saw connector base and its negative terminal connected to the neutral connection of the circular saw connector base—can also have its terminals also are connected to a bench power connector Live 2 connection and a bench power connector on the bench connector base. The battery con only be connected to the connector base of the circular saw or to be connected to the connector base of the bench at one time, not both simultaneously.
Regarding claim 8, “the bench power connector ground connection” lacks antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 9, “wherein in the Bench saw configuration or the Miter saw configuration a connector that connects to the circular saw, wherein a bench power connector Live 1 connection connects to the Live 1 connection, wherein there is no power to the bench power connector Live 1 connection” is confusing, as it is not clear what is being claimed or how the connector that connects to the circular saw is related to the bench power connector Live 1 connection. In addition, the claim includes the miter saw configuration; however, it is not clear how the bench power connector Live 1 connection relates to the miter saw, because it appears that the bench power connector Live 1 connection only relates to the bench saw.
Regarding claim 10, “wherein in the Bench saw configuration or the Miter saw configuration, the neutral connection connects to the bench power connector neutral connection, and the ground connection connects to the bench power connector ground connection, and the Live 2 connection connects to the bench power connector Live 2 connection” is unclear. It is not clear how the bench power connector neutral connection, the bench power connector ground connection, and the bench power connector Live 2 connection are related to the miter saw configuration, because all the connections appear to relate only to the bench of the bench saw.
Regarding claim 11, “wherein the circular saw system can power ON or OFF only through a switch on a bench and the switch transfers power from Live1 to Live 2” is unclear. First, it appears that in the circular saw system the power can also be turned ON and OFF through the switches on the circular saw. This is apparent in claim 1. Second, “Live 1” and “Live 2” are unclear since it is not clear whether they are intended to refer to the live 1 connection and Live 2 connection of the connector base recited in claim 1, or to the bench power connector Live 1 connection and the bench power connector Live 2 connection. Third, “the switch transfers power from Live 1 to Live 2” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-5, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhagwat et al. (4,835,410), hereinafter Bhagwat, in view of DiSaverio et al. (6,151,776), hereinafter DiSaverio. It should be noted that Bhagwat was submitted in the IDS filed on 05/13/2025 and DiSaverio was submitted in the IDS filed on 04/30/2024. Regarding claim 1, as best understood, Bhagwat discloses a circular saw system, comprising: a circular saw (as the corded/cordless system which can be a circular saw; col. 13, lines 17-24) having connector bases having receiving connections (located within the chamber 32) including a Live 1 connection (one of the receiving connections 46, 48 in the chamber 32 is inherently Live/positive connection and another is a neutral input terminal; see Fig. 5) and a neutral connection (46 or 48), wherein the circular saw has an attachable battery 28 (Fig. 4) that connects a positive terminal to the Live 1 connection and negative terminal to the neutral, wherein the Live 1 connection passes through switches of the circular saw. It should be noted that the battery 28 inherently has positive and negative terminals connected to the Live 1 connection and also neutral connection. It should also be noted that terminal 42 passes through switch 24 (Fig. 1) of the circular saw.
Bhagwat also teaches that the connector in the chamber 32 of the tool has terminals corresponding to a connector of a battery 28 as well as the corded AC power source (see container 72, cord 74, and power cord 76; Fig. 4). Bhagwat does not explicitly teach that the base connector includes two additional connections, as Live 2 connection and a ground connection. However, DiSaverio discloses a power cable 310 including four wires (connected to four pins): a live 1 wire (corresponding to the BLK colored electrical connector 522a), live 2 wire (corresponding to the red colored electrical connector 522b), a neutral wire (corresponding to the BLU colored electrical connector 522c), and a ground wire (corresponding to the GRN colored 522d electrical connector). DiSaverio further discloses that the power cable 310 is connected to a connector base 514 of an interface box 414. Connector base 514 has four receiving connections corresponding to the four pins (518a-518d) of the wires (522a-522d; Fig. 5) of the cable. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide Bhagwat’s connector base to include two additional receiving connections namely a Live 2 connection and a ground connection, as taught by DiSaverio, in order to facilitate the connection of the power cord to the power tool.
Regarding claim 2, as best understood, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including that the connector bases are connectable to a wall outlet (Fig. 4 in Bhagwat) or to a battery 28 (Fig. 1 in Bhagwat).
Regarding claim 3, as best understood, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including that an AC power connector (74, Fig. 4 in Bhagwat) able to connect (or capable of being connected) to the circular saw and to a bench. It should be noted that Bhagwat’s AC power connector (74) is capable of being connected to a bench trough standard power plug on the bench. In this interpretation of the claim, as best understood, it is assumed that the bench has not being positively claimed. Therefore, the adapter has to only be capable of being connected to a bench.
Regarding claim 4, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including an AC power supplier that has a step-down transformer and rectifier. Specifically, the output of the transformer 134 is rectified by the diodes 144 and 146 and delivered through output terminals 78, 80 to the input contacts 46,48 of the drill 10. When switch 24 is closed, operating power is applied to the motor 16, thereby powering drill 10. See col. 8, lines 64-68 and col. 9, lines 3-7 in Bhagwat.
Regarding claim 5, as best understood, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including that the transformer reduces AC voltage to match battery voltage, and the rectifier converts AC to DC. During each half cycle of the square wave, the AC source and its rectified and filtered output function as the primary source for the transformer 134. As current flows in the first or changing direction through primary winding 132, a corresponding voltage is induced in secondary winding 142. The output of the transformer 134 is then rectified by the diodes 144 and 146 and applied through the output terminals 78 and 80 to input contacts 46, 48 of the drill 10. When switch 24 is closed, operating power is supplied to the motor to operate the drill. 10. See col. 8, lines 64-68 and col. 9, lines 3-7 in Bhagwat.
To the degree that it could be argued Bahgwat does not explicitly teach that the AC power connector able to connect a bench, the rejection is applied.
9. Claims 3-6, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhagwat in view of DiSaverio and in further view of Calcote (6,209,597 B1) or Keller (4,483.873), submitted with the IDS filed on 04/30/2024. Regarding claim 3, as best understood, Bhagwat teaches everything noted above including that an AC power connector (74, Fig. 4 in Bhagwat) able to connect to the circular saw. It could be argued Bahgwat does not explicitly teach that the AC power connector able to connect a bench. However, Calcote teaches a table saw 10 including a bench 14 having a base connector 56 capable of receiving an Ac power connector. See Figs. 1-3 in Calcote. Keller also teaches a table saw 10 including a bench 14 having a base connector 54 capable of receiving an Ac power connector (as receive an AC connector of a circular saw 78). See Figs. 2-4 in Keller. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide Bhagwat’s circular saw system, as modified by DiSaverio, with the bench, as taught by Calcote or Keller, in order to provide support for a workpiece during cutting and to utilize the bench’s base connector to supply power to the circular saw.
Regarding claim 4, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including an AC power supplier that has a step-down transformer and rectifier. Specifically, the output of the transformer 134 is rectified by the diodes 144 and 146 and delivered through output terminals 78, 80 to the input contacts 46,48 of the drill 10. When switch 24 is closed, operating power is applied to the motor 16, thereby powering drill 10. See col. 8, lines 64-68 and col. 9, lines 3-7 in Bhagwat.
Regarding claim 5, as best understood, Bhagwat, as modified by DiSaverio, teaches everything noted above including that the transformer reduces AC voltage to match battery voltage, and the rectifier converts AC to DC. During each half cycle of the square wave, the AC source and its rectified and filtered output function as the primary source for the transformer 134. As current flows in the first or changing direction through primary winding 132, a corresponding voltage is induced in secondary winding 142. The output of the transformer 134 is then rectified by the diodes 144 and 146 and applied through the output terminals 78 and 80 to input contacts 46, 48 of the drill 10. When switch 24 is closed, operating power is supplied to the motor to operate the drill. 10. See col. 8, lines 64-68 and col. 9, lines 3-7 in Bhagwat.
Regarding claim 6, as best understood, Bhagwat, as modified by Calcote or Keller, teaches everything noted above including that in a bench saw configuration (Fig. 3 in Calcote or Fig. 2 in Keller) or a miter saw configuration (Fig. 15 in Calcote), the circular saw system is powered by the battery or AC power by connecting to a bench connector base (56 in Fig. 3 in Calcote or 54 in Fig. 2 of Keller).
Comment
10. It is noted that claims 7-11 have not been rejected over the prior art of the record. However, in view of the issues under 35 U.S.C 112, first and second paragraphs, the allowability of the claimed subject matter cannot be determined at this time.
Conclusion
11. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Unterfranz (2,786,500) teaches a circular saw.
Langgood et al. (2010/0117453 A10 teach a connector base with receiving connections and AC power connector.
Wilker, Sr. (6,644,986 B1) and Luo (2018/0034222 A1) teach a base connector with four receiving connections.
Wu (6,659,782 B2) teaches a battery with positive and negative terminals.
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/GHASSEM ALIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
November 29, 2025check