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
This office action is in response to Applicant’s initial application filed 24 September 2024.
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 of this title, 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 1-3 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kühnhold (DE 198 16 733 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kühnhold discloses a guide device 10 (figures 5-8) for a drilling tool including: a main body 10 including a first side (top in figure 6), a second side (bottom in figure 6), and at least one guide hole 12 extending through the first side and the second side, the second side including at least one attachment portion (bottom surface of body 10), the at least one guide hole including at least one inclined surface (countersink, see figure 6); and at least one adhesive member disposed on the at least one attachment portion (see figure 6). Kühnhold does not distinctly disclose that the adhesive member is configured to be reusably adhered to a workpiece. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art of double-sided adhesive tape to remove the tape from one surface and reuse the tape on another surface for the purpose of being able to get repeated uses from the tape.
Regarding claim 2, Kühnhold discloses wherein the first side (top side of body 10) and the second side (bottom side of figure 10 ) are located on opposite sides of the main body (see figure 6), and the at least one adhesive member 16 is protrusive beyond the second side (see figure 6).
Regarding claim 3, Kühnhold discloses wherein each of the at least one guide hole 12 defines a central axis (see figure 6) extending axially and defines an extension line passing through the at least one inclined surface and extending along the at least one inclined surface (lines drawn for angle 14, see figure 6), the at least one inclined surface extends around the central axis, an included angle (half of angle 14) is defined between the central axis and the extension line, and the angle ranges from 30.00 degrees to 65.00 degrees (disclosed as half of 112 degrees, or 56 degrees).
Regarding claim 7, Kühnhold discloses wherein the first side includes a plurality of reference marks (see figure 7) extending linearly thereon, each of the plurality of reference marks extends radially outward from the at least one guide hole 12, and at least two of the plurality of reference marks are transverse to each other (see figure 7).
Regarding claim 8, Kühnhold discloses the invention substantially as claimed, except Kühnhold does not distinctly disclose wherein each of the at least one adhesive member is a washable and reusable adhesive. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art of gel-based double-sided adhesive tape to remove the tape from one surface, wash it, and reuse the tape on another surface for the purpose of being able to get repeated uses from the tape.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kühnhold (DE 198 16 733 A1) in view of Harnett (US 2023/0330756 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Kühnhold discloses the invention substantially as claimed, except Kühnhold does not disclose wherein the at least one guide hole is teardrop-shaped. Harnett teaches the use of a guide device 10 for a drilling tool that comprises a guide hole 26 that is tear drop shaped for the purpose of being able to use the guide device with a core drill. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the guide hole of Kühnhold to be tear drop shaped as taught by Harnett in order to be able to use the guide device with core drills and hole saws.
Claims 1-2 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DiGiulio (US 4,269,550) in view of West (US 3,851,990).
Regarding claim 1, DiGiulio discloses a guide device 10 (figures 1-4) for a drilling tool including: a main body 10 including a first side 12, a second side 14 and at least one guide hole 16 extending through the first side and the second side, the second side including at least one attachment portion (the bottom surface 14 may be used for attachment to a workpiece or other object), the at least one guide hole including at least one inclined surface 18/20. DiGiulio does not disclose at least one adhesive member disposed on the at least one attachment portion and configured to be reusably adhered to a workpiece. West teaches the use of a guide device 10 for a drilling tool comprising an attachment portion (bottom surface in figure 4) and an adhesive member 18 disposed on the attachment portion, the adhesive member being in the form of a pressure sensitive adhesive for the purpose of being able to removably attach the guide device to a workpiece for drilling a hole. Furthermore, while West teaches that the guide device may be discarded after a single use, the Examiner takes Official Notice that it is well known in the art of pressure sensitive adhesives to reuse the adhesive for more than one application. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the guide device of DiGiulio to include a reusable adhesive member as taught by West in order to be able to firmly attach the guide device to a workpiece prior to drilling, and to be able to reuse the guide device on other workpieces.
Regarding claim 2, the modified invention of DiGiulio discloses wherein the first side 12 and the second side 14 are located on opposite sides of the main body 10, and the at least one adhesive member is protrusive beyond the second side (as modified by West).
Regarding claim 4, the modified invention of DiGiulio discloses wherein the at least one guide hole 16 defines a central axis extending axially (see figure 4), each of the at least one guide hole includes a plurality of inclined surfaces 18/20, each of the plurality of inclined surfaces includes a first inclined surface 18 and a second inclined surface 20, the at least one guide hole has a first hole section (at 18) and a second hole section (at 20) located on opposite sides along the axial direction, the first hole section includes a first hole and the first inclined surface surrounding the first hole open towards the first side (see figure 4), and the second hole section including a second hole and the second inclined surface surrounding the second hole open towards the second side (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 5, the modified invention of DiGiulio discloses wherein the first inclined surface 18 and the second inclined surface 20 extend around the central axis (see figure 4), and the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface expand axially in opposite directions (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 6, the modified invention of DiGiulio discloses the invention substantially as claimed, except DiGiulio does not disclose wherein the at least one adhesive member includes a plurality of adhesive members spaced apart from one another, the at least one attachment portion includes a plurality of attachment portions, the plurality of adhesive members are disposed on the plurality of attachment portions respectively, and the at least one guide hole are located between the plurality of attachment portions. However, West discloses that a plurality of guide devices may be used (see figure 1), each having its own attachment portion and adhesive member, with a guide hole of a central guide device located between the plurality of attachment portions of the outer guide devices (as seen in figure 1), all for the purpose of having a plurality of guide holes available to drill on a single workpiece. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the guide device of DiGiulio to include multiple guide devices with their own adhesive members as taught by West in order to be able to drill multiple holes in a single workpiece that are accurately spaced as desired.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ERIC A. GATES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3722 4 June 2026
Prosecution Insights