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 based on Application TW112204770 dated 05/15/2023 and applicant has filed a certified copy of this application on 06/18/2015.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (DE 202012100524 U1) in view of Rhinevault (US 2162359 A).
Regarding claim 1, Cheng teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. below) a tool shaft combination structure of power tool (see power tool in Fig. 6), used for being inserted to a screwdriver bit (see screw driver bit in Fig. 6) whose outer surface comprises a groove, comprising: an adaptor head (chuck 50), comprising a seat, a connecting sleeve extended from the seat, an inserting hole and a rolling ball trench (opening 25), the inserting hole being disposed in the connecting sleeve and extended into the seat, and the rolling ball trench being disposed an outer surface of the seat and communicating with the inserting hole; multiple rolling balls, movably (radially moveable) accommodated in the rolling ball trench, (ring 54), movably covered outside the seat (compare Figs. 7, 8), comprising a blocking block (57) and a buffering trench (trench where spring 35 is inserted into), moving relative to the seat (compare Figs. 7, 8) to make the (ring 53), flexibly pressing the rear rolling ball.
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Rhinevault teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. below) a tool shaft combination that can be used in a power tool, comprising: a ball trench, a lower rolling ball and a front upper rolling ball and a rear upper rolling ball.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to use ball locking mechanism of Rhinevault in tool of Cheng to make it capable of connecting separate pieces by two adjacent ball detent sections.
Regarding claim 8, Cheng teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. above) an outer sleeve placed around the sleeve.
Regarding claim 10, Cheng teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. above) the flexible ring is multiple in number, and the multiple flexible rings connectively press the rear rolling ball.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7, 9 and 11 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHDI H NEJAD whose telephone number is (571)270-0464. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-4pm EST.
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MAHDI H. NEJAD
Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/MAHDI H NEJAD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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