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 .
This Office Action is in response to the applicant’s amendment filing on 09/18/2025.
Applicant’s cancelation of claims 21 and 22 is acknowledged and require no further examining. Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
Upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of reference Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272). Due to the introduction for new rejections, this action is made NON-FINAL.
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)(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 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by reference Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272).
Regarding claim 16, Schmitt et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (906) having a magnetic field and operatively associated with a lead drive shaft (900);
at least one magnet field sensor (908) disposed adjacent to the magnet (906),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (908) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet is rotated about an axis; and
a processing element (116) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (908) and configured to monitor a number of rotations of the lead drive shaft (900) based on the sensed magnetic field.
(Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 89, 90, 91)
Regarding claim 17, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is diametrically polarized. (Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
Regarding claim 18, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a radial magnet, cylindrical magnet, or a ring magnet. (Figure 14A)
Regarding claim 19, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a dipole magnet. (Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
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.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over reference Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of reference Biancuzzi et al. (2022/0173637).
Regarding claim 20, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a multi-pole magnet. (Figure 14A and Page 6 paragraph 98)
However, Schmitt et al. do not explicitly disclose the at least one magnet is a quadrupole magnet.
Biancuzzi et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (110) having a magnetic field and operatively associated with a lead derive shaft (102),
wherein the at least one magnet (110) is a dipole or a quadrupole magnet;
at least one magnetic field sensor (708) disposed adjacent to the magnet (110),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (708) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet (110) is rotated about an axis (104); and
a processing element (730) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (708) and configured to monitor rotation of the lead drive shaft (102) based on the sensed magnetic field.
(Figure 2b and Page 2 paragraph 21, Page 4 paragraph 54, 56, Page 7 paragraph 81)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have substituted the dipole magnet of Schmitt et al. with the quadrupole magnet as taught by Biancuzzi et al., since page 2 paragraph 21 of Biancuzzi et al. states a quadrupole magnet would work equally well at allowing the magnetic field sensor to sense the rotation of the magnet.
Claims 1-4 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over reference Wason (2021/0154821) in view of references Radtke et al. (2021/0328399) and Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272).
Regarding claim 1, Wason disclose a drive assembly (120) for a portable, hand-held tool (10), wherein the drive assembly (120) comprises:
a motor (124);
a gear assembly (126) coupled to the motor (124);
a lead drive shaft (130) having a distal end portion (130a) and a proximal end portion (130b); and
a jaw drive member (132) movable along the lead drive shaft (130) as the lead drive shaft (130) rotates about an axis.
(Figures 9 and Page 4 paragraph 47)
However, Wason does not disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system.
Radtke et al. disclose a portable hand-held tool (10) comprising:
a motor (12);
a jaw drive member (30) movable along the longitudinal axis of the tool (10); and
a position sensor (150) configured to determine the position of the jaw drive member (30) as the jaw drive member (30) moves along the longitudinal axis.
(Figure 1A and Page 2 paragraph 26)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the drive assembly of Wason by incorporating a position sensor as taught by Radtke et al., since page 7 paragraph 62 of Radtke et al. states such a modification would allow the tool to determine when the process is properly completed.
Schmitt et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (906) having a magnetic field and
wherein the at least one magnet (906) is coupled to a distal end potion of a lead drive shaft (900);
at least one magnet field sensor (908) disposed adjacent to the magnet (906),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (908) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet is rotated about an axis; and
a processing element (116) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (908),
wherein the processing element (116) is configured to receive at least one signal form the magnetic field sensor (908) and determine a position of a drive member (902) as the drive member (902) moves along the lead drive shaft (900).
(Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 89, 90, 91)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the drive assembly of Wason, in view of Radtke et al., by further incorporating the magnetic displacement monitoring system as taught by Schmitt et al., since page 1 paragraph 4 of Schmitt et al. states such a modification would allow compact and robust measuring of the drive member.
Regarding claim 2, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is diametrically polarized. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
Regarding claim 3, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a radial magnet, cylindrical magnet, or a ring magnet. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 14A)
Regarding claim 4, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a dipole magnet. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
Regarding claim 9, Wason disclose a drive assembly (120) for a portable, hand-held tool (10), wherein the drive assembly (300) comprises:
a drive assembly housing (302);
a motor (380) housed within the drive assembly housing (302);
a gear assembly (320) housed within the drive assembly housing (302);
a lead drive shaft (370) having a distal end portion (372) and a proximal end portion (374),
wherein the distal end portion (372) being threaded;
a drive member (132) movable along the lead drive shaft (370) as the lead drive shaft (370) rotates about an axis.
(Figures 9, 11 and Page 7 paragraph 62, 63)
However, Wason does not disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system.
Radtke et al. disclose a portable hand-held tool (10) comprising:
a motor (12);
a jaw drive member (30) movable along the longitudinal axis of the tool (10); and
a position sensor (150) configured to determine the position of the jaw drive member (30) as the jaw drive member (30) moves along the longitudinal axis.
(Figure 1A and Page 2 paragraph 26)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the drive assembly of Wason by incorporating the position sensor as taught by Radtke et al., since page 7 paragraph 62 of Radtke et al. states such a modification would allow the tool to determine when the process is properly completed.
Schmitt et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (906) having a magnetic field and
wherein the at least one magnet (906) is coupled to a distal end potion of a lead drive shaft (900);
at least one magnet field sensor (908) disposed adjacent to the magnet (906),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (908) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet is rotated about an axis; and
a processing element (116) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (908),
wherein the processing element (116) is configured to receive at least one signal form the magnetic field sensor (908) and determine a position of a drive member (902) as the drive member (902) moves along the lead drive shaft (900).
(Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 89, 90, 91)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the drive assembly of Wason, in view of Radtke et al., by further incorporating the magnetic displacement monitoring system as taught by Schmitt et al., since page 1 paragraph 4 of Schmitt et al. states such a modification would allow compact and robust measuring of the drive member.
Regarding claim 10, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is diametrically polarized. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
Regarding claim 11, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a radial magnet, cylindrical magnet, or a ring magnet. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 14A)
Regarding claim 12, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a dipole magnet. (Schmitt et al. – Figure 10 and Page 5 paragraph 90)
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over reference Wason (2021/0154821) in view of references Radtke et al. (2021/0328399) and Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272) as applied to claims 1 and 9 respectively, and further in view of reference Biancuzzi et al. (2022/0173637).
Regarding claim 5, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a multi-pole magnet. (Figure 14A and Page 6 paragraph 98)
However, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. do not explicitly disclose the at least one magnet is a quadrupole magnet.
Biancuzzi et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (110) having a magnetic field and operatively associated with a lead derive shaft (102),
wherein the at least one magnet (110) is a dipole or a quadrupole magnet;
at least one magnetic field sensor (708) disposed adjacent to the magnet (110),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (708) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet (110) is rotated about an axis (104); and
a processing element (730) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (708) and configured to monitor rotation of the lead drive shaft (102) based on the sensed magnetic field.
(Figure 2b and Page 2 paragraph 21, Page 4 paragraph 54, 56, Page 7 paragraph 81)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have substituted the dipole magnet Schmitt et al., incorporated into Wason, with the quadrupole magnet as taught by Biancuzzi et al., since page 2 paragraph 21 of Biancuzzi et al. states a quadrupole magnet would work equally well at allowing the magnetic field sensor to sense the rotation of the magnet.
Regarding claim 13, Schmitt et al. disclose the at least one magnet is a multi-pole magnet. (Figure 14A and Page 6 paragraph 98)
However, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. do not explicitly disclose the at least one magnet is a quadrupole magnet.
Biancuzzi et al. disclose a magnetic displacement monitoring system comprising:
at least one magnet (110) having a magnetic field and operatively associated with a lead derive shaft (102),
wherein the at least one magnet (110) is a dipole or a quadrupole magnet;
at least one magnetic field sensor (708) disposed adjacent to the magnet (110),
wherein the magnetic field sensor (708) is configured to sense the magnetic field as the magnet (110) is rotated about an axis (104); and
a processing element (730) electrically coupled to the magnetic field sensor (708) and configured to monitor rotation of the lead drive shaft (102) based on the sensed magnetic field.
(Figure 2b and Page 2 paragraph 21, Page 4 paragraph 54, 56, Page 7 paragraph 81)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have substituted the dipole magnet Schmitt et al., incorporated into Wason, with the quadrupole magnet as taught by Biancuzzi et al., since page 2 paragraph 21 of Biancuzzi et al. states a quadrupole magnet would work equally well at allowing the magnetic field sensor to sense the rotation of the magnet.
Claims 6-8 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over reference Wason (2021/0154821) in view of references Radtke et al. (2021/0328399) and Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272) as applied to claims 1 and 9 respectively, and further in view of reference Lam et al. (11,272,670).
Regarding claim 6, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the claimed invention as stated above but to not disclose the processing element slows the motor when the jaw drive member reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft.
Lam et al. disclose a displacement monitoring system comprising: a lead drive shaft (116); a drive member (118) configured to move along the lead drive shaft (116); a position sensor (126) configured to detect the position of the drive member (118); and a processing element (controlling mechanism), wherein the processing element (controlling mechanism) is configured to either slow, stop, or reverse the lead drive shaft (116) based on sensed data from the position sensor (126). (Figures 4A, 4B and Column 4 lines 59-64, Column 5 lines 3-12, Column 6 lines 1-4, 16-20)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the system of Schmitt et al., incorporated into Wason, by further incorporating the functions of the processing element as taught by Lam et al., since column 6 lines 16-20 of Lam et al. states such a modification would allow for the desired response based on the sensed condition.
When modifying Wason in view of Schmitt et al. and Lam et al., the processing element is interpreted to slow the motor when the jaw drive member reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft.
Regarding claim 7, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. and Lam et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the processing element (Schmitt et al. – 116) stops power being supplied to the motor (Wason – 124) when the jaw drive member (Wason – 132) reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft (Wason – 130). (Lam et al. – Column 6 lines 16-20)
Regarding claim 8, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. and Lam et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the motor (Wason – 124) automatically reverses after the jaw drive member (Wason – 132) reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft (Wason – 130). (Lam et al. – Column 6 lines 16-20)
Regarding claim 14, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the claimed invention as stated above but to not disclose the processing element slows the motor when the drive member reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft.
Lam et al. disclose a displacement monitoring system comprising: a lead drive shaft (116); a drive member (118) configured to move along the lead drive shaft (116); a position sensor (126) configured to detect the position of the drive member (118); and a processing element (controlling mechanism), wherein the processing element (controlling mechanism) is configured to either slow, stop, or reverse the lead drive shaft (116) based on sensed data from the position sensor (126). (Figures 4A, 4B and Column 4 lines 59-64, Column 5 lines 3-12, Column 6 lines 1-4, 16-20)
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified the system of Schmitt et al., incorporated into Wason, by further incorporating the functions of the processing element as taught by Lam et al., since column 6 lines 16-20 of Lam et al. states such a modification would allow for the desired response based on the sensed condition.
When modifying Wason in view of Schmitt et al. and Lam et al., the processing element is interpreted to slow the motor when the drive member reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft.
Regarding claim 15, Wason modified by Schmitt et al. and Lam et al. in view of Radtke et al. disclose the processing element (Schmitt et al. – 116) stops power being supplied to the motor (Wason – 380) when the drive member (Wason – 132) reaches a predefined point along the lead drive shaft (Wason –370). (Lam et al. – Column 6 lines 16-20)
Response to Arguments
The Amendments filed on 09/18/2025 have been entered. Applicant’s cancelation of claims 21 and 22 is acknowledged and require no further examining. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application.
In response to the arguments of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), in view of the amendments to the claims, Examiner withdraws the 112(b) rejections.
In response to the arguments of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), in view of the amendments to the claims, Examiner withdraws the 102 rejections. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of reference Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272).
In response to the arguments of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 with reference Wason (2021/0154821) modified by reference Biancuzzi et al. (2022/0173637), in view of the arguments, Examiner withdraws the 103 rejections. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of reference Wason (2021/0154821) modified by reference Schmitt et al. (2024/0019272) in view of reference Radtke et al. (2021/0328399. Due to the introduction for new rejections, this action is made NON-FINAL.
Conclusion
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/PATRICK B FRY/Examiner, Art Unit 3731 December 4, 2025
/STEPHEN F. GERRITY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731 5 December 2025