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 Chinese Application CN202311574483.1 dated 11/23/2023 and applicant has filed a certified copy of this Chinese application on 08/07/2024.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7, line 5, “the rod handle” should read --the connecting rod handle--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 2, 8 and 13-15 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 2 recites the limitation “a positioning structure configured to keep the magnet (4) at a position away from a bit is disposed between the slidable limiting tubing (2) and the connecting rod handle (6)”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 1 recites “a tool bit”. It is not clear if they are the same or different. Based on figures of the invention they appear to be the same. Therefore “a bit” is interpreted to be --the tool bit--.
Claims 8 and 13-15 are rejected due to dependency on rejected claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiang (US 7392727 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Chiang teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. below) a high-intensity magnetic bit extension rod with a telescopic unlocking function, comprising a connecting rod sleeve (tool shank 10A), a magnet (magnet or magnetic attractive member 49A), and a connecting rod handle (driving tool element 51), wherein a tool bit sleeve (socket members 20A) configured to connect a tool bit is disposed at a front end of the connecting rod sleeve, a slidable limiting tubing (tubing shaped part at the end of the connecting rod sleeve in which front end of the connecting rod handle is inserted into) is disposed at a rear end of the connecting rod sleeve, the magnet is disposed at a front end of the connecting rod handle, and a partition structure or/and a magnetic conduction structure (follower 45A) is/are further disposed between the magnet and a bottom of the tool bit sleeve; and the connecting rod sleeve and the slidable limiting tubing are synchronously axially slidable relative to the connecting rod handle and the magnet (compare Figs. 5-8).
PNG
media_image1.png
623
974
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Chiang teaches (reproduced and annotated Figs. above) a positioning structure (52B. 191) configured to keep the magnet at a position away from a bit is disposed between the slidable limiting tubing and the connecting rod handle.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiang (US 20090139378 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chiang (reproduced and annotated Figs. below) a high-intensity magnetic bit extension rod with a telescopic unlocking function, comprising a connecting rod sleeve (20), a magnet (16), and a connecting rod handle (12), wherein a tool bit sleeve (24) configured to connect a tool bit (80) is disposed at a front end of the connecting rod sleeve, a slidable limiting tubing (30, 43) is disposed at a rear end of the connecting rod sleeve, the magnet is disposed at a front end of the connecting rod handle, and a partition structure or/and a magnetic conduction structure (partition structure is interpreted to be hollow end section of the connecting rod handle in which the magnet 16 is inserted into) is/are further disposed between the magnet and a bottom of the tool bit sleeve; and the connecting rod sleeve and the slidable limiting tubing are synchronously axially slidable relative to the connecting rod handle and the magnet (compare Figs. 3-5).
PNG
media_image2.png
861
777
media_image2.png
Greyscale
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiang.
Regarding claim 11, Chiang discloses the claimed invention except for the materials claimed. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention choose proper material for the magnetic bit extension rod, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 9-12 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.
Claims 8 and 13-15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Posigian can be reached at (313) 446-6546. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
MAHDI H. NEJAD
Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/MAHDI H NEJAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights