DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendments
The amendment filed on 12/3/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1-10 remain pending in the application.
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 1-2 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1/2) as being anticipated by CN# 107234596 of Tang (henceforth Tang).
Regarding claim 1, Tang teaches
A straight-handle valveless pressurized pneumatic spade (device in fig. 1), comprising
a coupling tube (3),
a handle (1) mounted to an upper portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1),
a cylinder (6) mounted to a lower portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1), and
a front member (7) mounted to a lower portion of the cylinder (see fig. 1),
wherein a hammer (5) is arranged inside the cylinder and the front member (see fig. 1),
an upper end of the hammer axially reciprocates and is hermetically inserted into the cylinder (pg. para 1, “the hammer upper end axial reciprocating movement seal is inserted in the cylinder body”),
a lower portion of the front member (7) is provided with a spade head (9) that is axially movable and inserted (pg. 14, claim 1, “the front body (7) is provided with a shovel head (9) is axially movably inserted,”),
the handle (1) is composed of a switch sleeve (14) mounted to the upper portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1) and a handle body (15) mounted to an upper portion of the switch sleeve (see fig. 1),
the handle body, the switch sleeve, the coupling tube, the cylinder, and the front member are all on a same shaft axis, so that the handle forms a straight handle (see annotated fig. 1, at least the center of all the claimed parts is along the central axis of coupling tube 3),
a connecting cavity (103) is arranged in the switch sleeve (see annotated fig. 1),
a top portion of the handle body (see annotated fig. 1) is provided with an air intake connector (16),
an air intake switch (17) is arranged in the handle body (see annotated fig. 1), and the air intake switch is configured to enable and disable communication between the air intake connector and the connecting cavity (pg. 12, para 1 “the operator opening the intake joint of the inlet switch 16is 17, then the high pressure gas input will in turn through the air inlet channel 101, air inlet chamber 103, air inlet hole 104.”).
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Regarding claim 2, as shown in claim 1, Tang teaches
wherein a horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), an inclined hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) arranged above the horizontal hole, and a vertical hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) respectively in communication with the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) and the connecting cavity (vertical hole as annotated is at least indirectly in communication with connecting cavity 103) are provided in the handle body (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), and the air intake connector is hermetically inserted into the inclined hole (inherent in order to allow pressurized gas to flow into the cavity 103) and directly brought into communication with the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1).
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Regarding claim 5, as shown in claim 1, Tang teaches
wherein
an upper portion of the cylinder is provided with an air intake seat (4) that is hermetically mounted, an upper cavity (107) is formed in the cylinder between the air intake seat and the upper end of the hammer (see fig. 2),
a lower cavity (106) is formed between an outer wall of the hammer and an inner wall of the cylinder (see fig. 2),
an air outlet cavity (110) is formed between the hammer the front member (see fig. 2),
a cylinder air channel (105) in communication with the lower cavity is provided in the cylinder (see fig. 2),
an air inlet (104) respectively in communication with an air intake cavity in the coupling tube and the cylinder air channel is provided on the air intake seat (see fig. 2),
a blind air outlet (108) in communication with the upper cavity is provided in the hammer (see fig. 2),
a side of the hammer is provided with an air outlet (109) in communication with the blind air outlet (see fig. 8),
the air outlet is brought into communication with the air outlet cavity or the lower cavity through the axial reciprocation of the hammer (see figs. 8-11), and
a side of the front member is provided with a vent hole (111) respectively in communication with the air outlet cavity and an external atmosphere (see figs. 8-11).
Regarding claim 6, as shown in claim 1, Tang teaches
wherein an interconnecting coupling sleeve (13) is arranged between the coupling tube and the cylinder (see fig. 1), and an upper end of the front member is threadedly connected to a lower end of the cylinder (pg. 9, para 4, “upper end precursor 7 directly threaded connection end in the cylinder body 6”).
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 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang in view of USP# 3,223,182 of Mikiya (henceforth Mikiya).
Regarding claims 3-4, as shown in claim 2, Tang teaches
wherein the air intake switch comprises a push rod (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) movably and hermetically arranged in the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), an outer end of the push rod is elastically pushed outward and extends out of the horizontal hole to contact a pressing handle (17, pushed put by spring as shown).
Tang does not explicitly teach
an inner end of the push rod (21) is provided with a valve pad (211), the pressing handle (22) presses the push rod (21) to move inward and drives the valve pad (211) to open the horizontal hole (15), or the push rod (21) is elastically pushed to move outward to its original position, and therefore drives the valve pad (211) to close the horizontal hole (15); wherein an inner shoulder (153) is arranged in a middle portion of the horizontal hole (15), the horizontal hole (15) is divided into a left hole (151) and a right hole (152) by the inner shoulder, the push rod (21) is movably and hermetically arranged in the left hole (151), an inner end of the push rod (21) extends into the right hole (152) and is provided with the valve pad (211), a valve spring (23) that elastically pushes the push rod (21) outward is arranged in the right hole (152), and the push rod (21) moves axially inward and outward and drives the valve pad (211) to be disengaged from the inner shoulder (153) to open the horizontal hole (15) or to contact the inner shoulder (153) to close the horizontal hole (15).
Mikiya teaches
A straight-handle pressurized pneumatic tool (device in fig. 1), comprising
a coupling tube (1),
a handle (7) mounted to an upper portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1),
a cylinder (3) mounted to a lower portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1), and
a front member (45) mounted to a lower portion of the cylinder (see fig. 1),
wherein a hammer (22) is arranged inside the cylinder and the front member (see fig. 1),
an upper end of the hammer axially reciprocates and is hermetically inserted into the cylinder (see figs. 1-2),
the handle (1) is composed of a switch sleeve (threaded portion of 7) mounted to the upper portion of the coupling tube (see fig. 1) and a handle body (enlarged portion of 7) mounted to an upper portion of the switch sleeve (see fig. 1),
the handle body, the switch sleeve, the coupling tube, the cylinder, and the front member are all on a same shaft axis, so that the handle forms a straight handle (see fig. 1),
a connecting cavity (21) is arranged in the switch sleeve (see fig. 1),
a top portion of the handle body (see fig. 1) is provided with an air intake connector (11),
an air intake switch (9) is arranged in the handle body (see fig. 1), and the air intake switch is configured to enable and disable communication between the air intake connector and the connecting cavity (c. 3, l. 55-71);
wherein a horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), an intake hole () and a vertical hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) respectively in communication with the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) and the connecting cavity (vertical hole as annotated is in communication with connecting cavity 21 through 30) are provided in the handle body (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), and the air intake connector is hermetically inserted into the intake hole and directly brought into communication with the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1).
wherein the air intake switch comprises a push rod (8) movably and hermetically arranged in the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), an outer end of the push rod is elastically pushed outward and extends out of the horizontal hole to contact a pressing handle (9); an inner end of the push rod is provided with a valve pad (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), the pressing handle presses the push rod to move inward and drives the valve pad to open the horizontal hole (see figs. 1-2), or the push rod is elastically pushed to move outward to its original position (see figs. 1-2), and therefore drives the valve pad to close the horizontal hole (c. 3, l. 55-71);
wherein an inner shoulder (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) is arranged in a middle portion of the horizontal hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), the horizontal hole is divided into a left hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) and a right hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) by the inner shoulder, the push rod is movably and hermetically arranged in the left hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), an inner end of the push rod extends into the right hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1) and is provided with the valve pad (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), a valve spring (13) that elastically pushes the push rod outward is arranged in the right hole (see annotated and zoomed fig. 1), and the push rod moves axially inward and outward and drives the valve pad to be disengaged from the inner shoulder to open the horizontal hole or to contact the inner shoulder to close the horizontal hole (see figs. 1-2 and c. 3, l. 55-71).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the intake switch of Tang the additional of valve pad that seals the horizontal hole as taught by Mikiya in order to provide automatic closing of the intake switch once operator stops depressing the pressing handle. This makes the device easier and safer to use since it automatically stops the flow of pressurized gas (and thus stops tool operation) once the operator intentionally or unintentionally lets go of the pressing handle.
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Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang in view of USP# 4,434,859 of Rump et al. (henceforth Rump).
Regarding claims 7-8, as shown in claim 1, Tang teaches
wherein
an axial pass-through mounting hole (71) is provided in the front member (see fig. 7),
a side of the front member is provided with a side hole (72) in communication with the mounting hole,
a ball (11) is arranged in the side hole, the lower portion of the front member is provided with an end sleeve (8) that is movably sleeved,
an inner wall of the end sleeve is provided with a protrusion (81) and a recess (82),
the end sleeve moves upward to drive the recess to exactly face the ball (pg. 11, para 1-2), the ball-headed pin roller retracts into the side hole (pg. 11, para 1-2),
an upper end of the spade head (upper end of 9) is inserted into the mounting hole or disengaged from the mounting hole (pg. 11, para 1-2),
the end sleeve moves downward to drive the protrusion to push the ball, and the ball protrudes out of the side hole to lock the upper end of the spade head (pg. 11, para 1-2).
Tang uses a ball (11) instead of ball-headed pin roller and therefore does not teach
a ball-headed pin roller as the spade locking mechanism and wherein a plurality of evenly distributed circumferential slots (91) are provided on an outer circumferential surface of the upper end of the spade head (9), and the ball-headed pin roller (73) protrudes out of the side hole (72) to be fitted into each of the slots (91) to lock the upper end of the spade head (9).
Rump teaches
a similar locking mechanism (fig. 1) comprising
a front member (9, 10).
wherein an axial pass-through mounting hole (hole for 6a) is provided in the front member,
a side of the front member is provided with a side hole (hole for ball-headed pin rollers 7) in communication with the mounting hole,
a ball-headed pin roller (7) is arranged in the side hole,
the lower portion of the front member is provided with an end sleeve (10) that is movably sleeved,
an inner wall of the end sleeve is provided with a protrusion (see annotated fig. 3) and a recess (see annotated fig. 3), the end sleeve moves upward to drive the recess to exactly face the ball-headed pin roller (c.4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12), the ball-headed pin roller retracts into the side hole (c.4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12), an upper end of a tool (6) is inserted into the mounting hole (c.4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12) or disengaged from the mounting hole (c.4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12),
the end sleeve moves downward to drive the protrusion to push the ball-headed pin roller (c.4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12), and the ball-headed pin roller protrudes out of the side hole to lock the upper end of the spade head (c. 4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12);
wherein a plurality of evenly distributed circumferential slots (6b) are provided on an outer circumferential surface of the upper end of the tool (see fig. 3), and the ball-headed pin roller protrudes out of the side hole to be fitted into each of the slots to lock the upper end of the spade head (see fig. 3 and c. 4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the locking balls of Tang with ball-headed pin rollers as taught by Rump in order to reduce surface pressure between the tool and the end sleeve while providing effective transmission of energy (Rump: c. 3, l. 57-59). Reduced surface pressure can lead to increase spade life and less wear on the tool.
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Regarding claim 9, as shown in claim 8, the combination of Tang and Rump teaches
wherein the slots are waist-shaped slots extending in an axial direction (Rump: see fig. 3), a length dimension of each of the slots needs to be greater than a diameter of the side hole (Rump: see fig. 3), and the ball-headed pin roller needs to have a stroke for axially reciprocally moving up and down in the slot (Rump: see fig. 3, c. 4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12).
Regarding claim 10, as shown in claim 9, the combination of Tang and Rump teaches
wherein the lower portion of the front member is provided with an end sleeve compression spring (Tang: 12, Rump: 12) that is sleeved, the end sleeve compression spring elastically pushes the end sleeve downward and then drives the protrusion to push the ball-headed pin roller (Tang: pg. 11, para 1-2, Rump: c. 4, l. 43-49, c. 5, l. 5-12), and a shaft retaining ring (Tang: 10, Rump: 11) for fixing a lower end position of the end sleeve is arranged on the front member (Tang: see fig. 9, Rump: see fig. 3).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 12/3/2025 have been fully considered:
Applicant’s arguments regarding claim 1, have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant contends that Tang does not “a straight-handle valveless pressurized pneumatic spade” and “the handle body, the switch sleeve, the coupling tube, the cylinder, and the front member are all on a same shaft axis, so that the handle forms a straight handle”. Specifically, Applicant states that the handle is a T handle and the handle body does not lie on the same axis as the switch sleeve, the coupling tube, the cylinder, and the front member.
However, as shown in fig. 1 of Tang, the handle body 1 is a straight handle (i.e. it does not bend or curve). Additionally, part of the handle body (i.e. the central portion) lies on the same axis as the switch sleeve (14), the coupling tube (3), the cylinder (6), and the front member (7) are all on a same shaft axis (central axis passing through coupling tube 3). Therefore, the claims as recited are anticipated.
Please note that the following prior art made of record on PTO-892 also teaches straight handle pneumatic devices.
CN 2650950 Y of Song
US 5163519 A of Mead et al.
US 4632190 A of Mikiya
US 3223182 A of Mikiya
US 0662993 A of Waugh
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOBEEN AHMED whose telephone number is (571) 272-0356. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am to 5 pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached on 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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/M.A./
Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ANNA K KINSAUL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3731