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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of requirement for restriction in the reply filed on 12/10/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that species 9 (Figs. 11A-11B) and species 10 (Figs. 12A-13B) should be combined in a single species. Applicant makes this argument based upon a typographical error made in the specification, which Applicant has since submitted an amended specification to correct. In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner will consider Figs. 11A-13B as a single species, as any differences between the two amount to minor variations that do not affect the Examiner’s search requirements nor require additional prior art to differentiate between the figures. Having addressed the traversed portion of the election requirement and made appropriate correction, the amended requirement is deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Regarding withdrawn claims, the Examiner has noticed that the Applicant has made a typographical error in the response and the amended claims. The amended claims withdraw claims 17-18, while the remarks note that claims 18-19 are withdrawn. The Examiner has reviewed the submission and determined that claims 17-19 were intended to be withdrawn and will be treated as such. Claims 17-18 refer to an engagement portion, a feature of unelected species 11, Figs. 16-20. Claim 19 refers to a ”detent interface” which is a feature of unelected species 12, Figs. 21-24.
Claims 17-19 are hereby withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made with traverse in the reply filed on 12/10/2025, however the Examiner has since addressed the traversal in this action, negating the traversal. As such, moving forward the election will be treated as being made without traverse.
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 1-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagasaka, US 20240351181. – Examiner’s note - the Nagasaka reference contains several different embodiments, many of which could be used to reject the claims. However, in the interest of compact prosecution, subsequent to the independent claim rejections, the Examiner will focus the citations on a singular embodiment. However, it should be noted by the Applicant that the other embodiments despite lack of citation, may also read on the claim limitations.
Regarding claim 1, Nagasaka discloses: A power tool (Figs. 1-29, angle drill 1a-1f) comprising:
a housing (Figs. 1-29, handle housing part 3) enclosing a motor (motor 8 across all embodiments) and a sensor (Figs. 1-29, switch circuits 510b, 610b, 11b), wherein
the sensor (Figs. 1-29, switch circuits 510b, 610b, 11b) is configured to control operation of the motor ([0101], “The trigger lever 11A is operated by an operator to start the motor 8”);
an output device driven by the motor (Fig. 3, rotation output part 5);
a mount (Fig. 11, trigger switch 11, Fig. 20 actuating part 512, Fig. 24 actuating part 612) coupled to the sensor; and
an actuator (Fig. 11, housing part 200 and specifically coupling mechanism 210, Fig. 20 link mechanism 510c and/or pressing surface 511, Fig. 24 pressing surface 611) removably coupled to the mount (as can be seen in each of the embodiment, the actuators are engaged with the mount via friction and pressure, rather than any form of positive locking mechanism that would prevent removal. As such, they can be separated from each other (removed). More specifically to housing part 200 and coupling mechanism 210, these portions are an additional part that is mounted to the base device, and as such can be specifically removed from the device. Paragraph [0180] states “Therefore, the operability of the rechargeable angle drill 1C is improved.”, thus indicating that the device can be used with the attachment.), wherein the actuator is slidable along the mount to couple the actuator to the mount (see Figs. 11 and 12. The coupling mechanism 210 rests on top of the trigger, allowing for it to slide as needed) .
Regarding claim 2, Nagasaka further discloses: the actuator (Fig. 11, coupling mechanism 210) includes an attachment portion (Fig. 11, connection member 212) removably coupled to the mount and a paddle (Fig. 11, trigger lever 120) pivotally coupled to the attachment portion.
Regarding claim 3, Nagasaka further discloses: the paddle (Fig. 11, trigger lever 120) includes a first end (Fig. 11, trigger portion) and a second end (Fig. 11, portion coupling to coupling mechanism 210) and wherein the housing (Fig. 11, handle housing part 3) includes a receptacle (Fig. 11, opening in housing 3 in which 203 sits) configured to receive the second end.
Regarding claim 4, Nagasaka further discloses: the actuator (Fig. 11, coupling mechanism 210) includes a latch (see Examiner Illustration 1) to retain the actuator on the mount (Fig. 11, trigger face 11).
PNG
media_image1.png
370
776
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 1
Regarding claim 5, Nagasaka further discloses: the mount (Fig. 11, trigger face 11) includes a first wall (Fig. 12,switch circuit 11b) and a second wall (Fig. 12, trigger lever 11a) that define a receptacle configured to receive the actuator (Fig. 11, coupling mechanism 210) .
Regarding claim 6, Nagasaka further discloses: the first wall includes a biasing member configured to engage the actuator (as seen in Fig. 12, a biasing spring exists in the device between 11a and 11b).
Regarding claim 7, Nagasaka further discloses: the actuator (Fig. 11, coupling mechanism 210) includes a biasing member (Fig. 11, connection member 212) configured to engage the first wall.
Regarding claim 8, Nagasaka further discloses: the second wall (Fig. 12, trigger lever 11a) includes a pair of slots (see Examiner Illustration 2, showing a slot through which 212 passes. The other of the pair of slots in on the unshown opposite side. Furthermore, see Examiner Illustration 3, showing a different pair of slots in the same citation).
PNG
media_image2.png
232
700
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 2
PNG
media_image3.png
386
365
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 3
Regarding claim 9, Nagasaka further discloses: the second wall (Fig. 12, trigger lever 11a) is resiliently (according to the specification, the term “resiliently” means capable of deflection ([0085]). As such, since the trigger lever 11A is capable of being deflected inwardly relative to the rest of the trigger, the claim limitation is met) coupled to the mount (Fig. 11, trigger switch 11).
Regarding claim 10, Nagasaka further discloses: the mount (Fig. 11, trigger face 11) includes a flange (the upper corner of the trigger face that mates with the above cited latch) and wherein the actuator (Fig. 11, housing part 200 and coupling mechanism 210) includes a receiving element configure to receive the flange (Fig. 11, facing member 211 directly contacts the mount; further, housing part 200 receives the entirety of the mount within, thus meeting the claim limitation).
Regarding claim 11, Nagasaka further discloses: the receiving element (Fig. 11, housing part 200 and/or facing member 211) includes a pair of parallel guide rails (Fig. 11, connection member 212).
Regarding claim 12, Nagasaka discloses: A power tool (Fig. 8, angle drill 1c) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 11, handle housing part 3) enclosing a motor (motor 8 across all embodiments) and a sensor(Figs. 1-29, switch circuits 510b, 610b, 11b) defining a sensor axis (see Examiner Illustration 4), wherein the sensor is configured to control operation of the motor;
an output device driven by the motor (Fig. 3, rotation output part 5);
a mount (Fig. 11, trigger switch 11, Fig. 20 actuating part 512, Fig. 24 actuating part 612) coupled to the sensor and configured for axial displacement along the sensor axis;
an actuator (Fig. 11, housing part 200 and specifically coupling mechanism 210, Fig. 20 link mechanism 510c and/or pressing surface 511, Fig. 24 pressing surface 611) removably coupled to the mount and configured for axial displacement along the sensor axis; and
a lockout member (Figs. 8-12, 19-20, 24-25, forward/reverse switching lever 9, {0252], “In response to the forward/reverse switching lever 9 being disposed at the intermediate position, the switch circuit 610B is switched to the locked state.”) defining a lockout axis (in Figs. 10, the lockout axis is into and out of the page, Figs. 24-25 clearly show the direction of the axis into and out of the page), the lockout member being configured to move between a first position and a second position along the lockout axis ([0252]), wherein the lockout member is proximal to the sensor axis in the second position relative to the first position (as the lockout member permeates the entirety of the housing, when pushed inward the outermost portion of the switch that is in contact with the users finger gets nearer to the sensor axis then it was previously) .
PNG
media_image4.png
436
815
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 4
Regarding claim 13, Nagasaka further discloses: the lockout axis is perpendicular to the sensor axis (see Examiner Illustration 4, further see Figs. 24-25).
Regarding claim 14, Nagasaka further discloses: in the second position, the lockout member engages the mount such that the mount is axially fixed along the sensor axis ([0252], “When the switch circuit 610B is in the locked state, the trigger lever 610A is fixed. Therefore, when the forward/reverse switching lever 9 is at the intermediate position, the trigger lever 610A does not move even if the operator performs the pulling operation.”).
Regarding claim 15, Nagasaka further discloses: the mount (Fig. 11, trigger face 11) includes a first wall (Fig. 12,switch circuit 11b) and a second wall (Fig. 12, trigger lever 11a) that define a receptacle configured to receive the actuator (Fig. 11, coupling mechanism 210) .
Regarding claim 16, Nagasaka further discloses: the second wall (Fig. 12, trigger lever 11a) includes a projection extending in a direction parallel to the sensor axis and toward the sensor (see Examiners Illustration 5A-5B), and wherein the projection intersects the lockout axis (see Examiners Illustration 5A-5B).
PNG
media_image5.png
494
453
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 5A
PNG
media_image6.png
506
661
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Examiner Illustration 5B
Regarding claim 20, Nagasaka discloses: A power tool (Fig. 8, angle drill 1c) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 11, handle housing part 3);
a motor (motor 8 across all embodiments) supported within the housing;
an output device (Fig. 3, rotation output part 5) driven by the motor;
an input device (Fig. 11, trigger switch 11) supported within the housing, the input device including a sensor (Fig. 12, trigger 11 and switch circuit 11b) configured to detect an input including a force or a displacement along a sensor axis (see Examiner Illustration 4);
a controller ([0091], controller 13) configured to control operation of the motor based on feedback from the sensor;
a mount (Fig. 11, trigger lever 11A) coupled to the sensor; and
a plurality of actuators (Figs. 1-29 show a numerosity of different actuators that can be coupled to the mount in various iterations of the device. In example, trigger switches/levers 110, 120, 0510, 610 and their various parts all meet the claim limitation) interchangeably couplable to the mount, each of the plurality of actuators having a different shape, wherein a selected actuator of the plurality of actuators is manipulable to provide the input to the input device when the selected actuator is coupled to the housing.
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.
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, 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.
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.
/DANIEL JEREMY LEEDS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731