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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention II, claims 2-7 in the reply filed on 8 June 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the claims are incorrectly grouped. While it is agreed that claim 1 would be examined with claims 2-7, claim 10 would still be subject to restriction. However, in light of the allowability of independent claim 1, claim 10 has been examined and the requirement for restriction withdrawn.
Drawings
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 guide bush of claims 1 and 10, the collet chuck holder of claim 1, the device communicating with the bottom of the blind hole of claims 1 and 10, the marking of claims 2-3 and 6, and the wear-prone electrical component of claims 4-6 and 10 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 6 and 10 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.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the wear-prone electrical component" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the electrical component" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2-7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claims 2-7 fail to include all the limitations of the claim upon which they depend. Specifically, claims 2-7 fail to include the guide bush in the preamble of claim 1.
Claim 10 fails to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Specifically, claim 10 fails to include the collet chuck in the preamble of claim 1.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 is allowed. Claim 1 is the independent claim.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art of record is WO 2019/179546 to Jess, which discloses a guide bush 10 with a collet chuck 30, which is mounted axially displaceably in a collet chuck holder 20, having a plurality of jaws (not disclosed but inherent for a collet chuck) which are radially movable with respect to one another and which, with their clamping faces, form a common receptacle (see figure 1) for guiding a rod that is to be machined in a lathe (see description), comprising: a device 50 being designed to output an alarm signaling upon detection of a predetermined position and/or a predetermined radial extent and/or a predetermined pressure exceeding or falling below value output an alarm.
Suffice it to say, the patent to Jess does not disclose a blind hole which is routed in at least one jaw from the outer face, opposite the clamping face of the jaw, in the direction of the clamping face, with a blind-hole bottom which is delimited on the one hand by the clamping face and on the other hand by the blind hole and which, through wear of the clamping face, is configured to effect the formation of a through-hole indicating the wear of the collet chuck, or wherein the device communicates with the bottom of the blind hole, or wherein the alarm signaling the wear of the collet chuck when a through-hole is formed due to wear of the bottom of the blind hole, wherein the device is designed for applying compressed air to the blind hole, for detecting the air pressure in the blind hole and, in the event of a drop in air pressure detected due to the formation of the through-hole, for outputting the alarm signalling the wear of the collet chuck as claimed in independent claim 1, and as such does not anticipate the instant invention as disclosed in independent claim 1.
Furthermore, there is no combinable teaching in the prior art of record that would reasonably motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to so modify the teachings of Jess, and thus, for at least the foregoing reasoning, the prior art of record does not render obvious the present invention as set forth in independent claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
EP 3412387 is directed to a collet and guide bush.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC ANDREW GATES whose telephone number is (571)272-5498. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 9-6, Alt Fr 9-5.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil Singh, can be reached on 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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/ERIC A. GATES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722 16 July 2026
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