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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/29/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the previous 102 and 103 rejections have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
(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 1-8, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka, US 20140367132.
Regarding claim 1, Tanaka discloses: A hand-held power tool (Fig. 1, impact wrench 1), comprising:
a housing (Fig. 1, housing 11),
a drive motor (Fig. 1, electric motor 2),
an intermediate shaft (Fig. 1, spindle 3) configured to be driven by the drive motor,
a percussion mechanism comprising a striker (Fig. 1, hammer 4) and at least one percussion mechanism spring (Fig. 1, spring 72) including a first portion fixedly connected to the striker ([0086] “The spring 72 is installed between an annular recess 44, which is formed on the rear side of the primary hammer 4”),
wherein the percussion mechanism is configured to be driven at least in part by the intermediate shaft ([0121-0127] describe this motion), and a tool holder (Fig. 1, tool mounting part 61) configured to (i) hold an insert tool, and (i) be driven by way of
the striker and/or the intermediate shaft ([0026], “allows the primary hammer 20 to apply a rotary impact force to the anvil 22.”)
wherein the intermediate shaft comprises at least one bearing (Fig. 11, needle roller bearing 92), and
wherein the at least one percussion mechanism spring includes a second portion configured to rest against a side of the bearing in a rotatable manner (see fig. 11);
such that the second portion rotates with respect to the side of the bearing during operation of the hand-held power tool ([0087] “The primary hammer 4, the secondary hammer 5, and the spring 72 synchronously rotate about the axis of the spindle 3”; [0172] “Fixation of the two ends of the spring 72a in the shape of pitch helix to the respective annular recesses 34c and 44 causes twist since the primary hammer 4 and the spindle 3a rotate asynchronously”; [0218] “This needle roller bearing 92 can be subjected to a load in the radial direction of the secondary hammer 5d, but not to a load of the spring 72 in the axial direction thereof”).
Regarding claim 2, Tanaka further discloses: the intermediate shaft (Fig. 1, spindle 3) comprises at least one planet carrier ([0061] “The projecting part 31 formed by arranging two ring-shaped flanges with a predetermined distance is provided at the portion of the spindle 3 that is located in front of the ball bearing 13, and between the two flanges of the projecting part 31, the three planet gears 23 are rotatably supported by the supporting axes 23a, as described above.”) , and the bearing is disposed between the at least one percussion mechanism spring and the planet carrier (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka further discloses: the at least one percussion mechanism spring rests against a bearing race (Fig. 11, outer ring 92c) of the bearing.
Regarding claim 4, Tanaka further discloses: the planet carrier is at least partially formed as a bearing cover disk ([0219] “Therefore, an annular recess 58a is provided on the rear side end surface of the flange 58 of the secondary hammer 5d, and a plurality of steel balls 93 are provided between this recess 58a and the front side end surface of the spindle 3d and subjected to a load in the axial direction”).
Regarding claim 5, Tanaka further discloses: the bearing comprises an outer ring (Fig. 11, outer ring 92c) against which the at least one percussion mechanism spring rests.
Regarding claim 6, Tanaka further discloses: the striker (Fig. 1, hammer 4) comprises at least one spring receptacle ([0170] “A spring 72a is installed between the annular recess 44, which is formed on the rear side of the primary hammer 4, and an annular recess 34c in the front end part 34b of the projecting part 34 of the spindle 3a”) and the at least one percussion mechanism spring comprises at least one connecting element ([0171] “The spring 72a has a pitch helix in the shape of spreading out from the rear part to the front part thereof, and the large diameter side of the pitch helix is arranged in the annular recess 44 of the primary hammer 4 via a plurality of steel balls 76 and metal washers 77”), and the at least one spring receptacle is configured to at least receive the at least one connecting element in a form-locking manner and connect it to the striker in a rotationally fixed manner ([0172] “Fixation of the two ends of the spring 72a in the shape of pitch helix to the respective annular recesses 34c and 44”).
Regarding claim 7, Tanaka further discloses: the at least one spring receptacle ([0170]) extends along the intermediate shaft in the striker.
Regarding claim 8, Tanaka further discloses: the at least one spring receptacle ([0170]) is configured transverse to the intermediate shaft in the striker.
Regarding claim 11, Tanaka further discloses: no portion of the at least one bearing (Fig. 11, needle roller bearing 92) is rotationally fixed with respect to the striker (Fig. 1, hammer 4).
Regarding claim 12, Tanaka further discloses: no portion of the at least one bearing (Fig. 11, needle roller bearing 92) is rotationally fixed with respect to the at least one percussion mechanism spring (Fig. 1, spring 72).
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.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Tanaka in view of Kondo, US 20230043704.
Regarding claim 9, Tanaka discloses the device of clam 1.
Tanaka does not explicitly disclose: the at least one percussion mechanism spring comprises a first percussion mechanism spring and a second percussion mechanism spring.
Kondo teaches: the at least one percussion mechanism spring comprises a first percussion mechanism spring and a second percussion mechanism spring.
([0045], “first coil spring 49, the second coil spring 50, the third coil spring 51”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art at the time of
invention to utilize the multi-spring percussion mechanism as taught by Kondo in
conjunction with the device of Tanaka, thereby combining prior art elements to
achieve a predictable result. The benefit of this design is that it allows better control of
the spring compression during different stages of the hammer compression stroke. This
is described in the Kondo reference paragraph [0061], " As described above, the first
coil spring 49 constantly generates an elastic force for moving the hammer 47 forward.
The second coil spring 50 generates an elastic force for moving the hammer 47 forward
after the hammer 47 moves backward from a predetermined position. The hammer 47
moving rearward then moves forward under the elastic force from the first coil spring 49
and the second coil spring 50.”.
Regarding claim 10, the modified Tanaka further discloses: the percussion mechanism spring has a winding direction and the further percussion mechanism spring has a further winding direction and the winding direction and the further winding direction are different directions. (As seen in Kondo, Fig. 4, the winding directions of 49 and 50 are opposite to each other).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL JEREMY LEEDS whose telephone number is (571)272-2095. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs, 0730-1730.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached at 571-270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL JEREMY LEEDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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