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 .
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(s) 1-5, 6, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) in view of VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157).
Regarding claim 1, Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) discloses a pipe preparation tool comprising:
a rotatable blade holder (body/housing 10) (“The raised portions facilitate ease of gripping for manual rotation of the tool in deburring contact with a workpiece.”) [Zahuranec; col. 4, lines 53-55]; and
a blade (blade members 66, 68, 70, 72) attached to the blade holder (body/housing 10) (Figs. 1 and 2);
wherein a pipe (B, C) can engage the blade (blade members 66, 68, 70, 72) in a first orientation and a second orientation opposite to the first orientation (see Fig. 1) (“More particularly, and with reference to FIG. 1, pipe or tube-like workpiece B is deburred along an outer diameter end portion 92 through working engagement with cutting surfaces 74 of the blade assembly. The housing extends around and receives a portion of workpiece B therein. Similarly, workpiece C is received within the second open end 14 of the housing for allowing an inner diameter portion 94 to be engaged by the cutting surfaces 76.”) [Zahuranec; col. 4, lines 55-63].
Zahuranec fails to disclose:
a housing;
a motor mounted within the housing;
a head mechanism disposed on the housing;
the rotatable blade holder (body/housing 10) disposed within the head mechanism.
However, VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157) teaches
a housing (housing 14);
a motor (motor 22) mounted within the housing (housing 14) (Figs. 1 and 3); and
a head mechanism (holder 30) disposed on the housing (14) (Figs. 1 and 2).
Since Zahuranec discloses both a need and a mechanism to facilitate rotation of the rotatable blade holder (10) (“The raised portions facilitate ease of gripping for manual rotation of the tool in deburring contact with a workpiece.”) [Zahuranec; col. 4, lines 53-55], it therefore would’ve been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to automate rotation with a tool as shown by VanDaalwyk in order to rotate the tool with respect to the pipe (“Pipe threaders include a die holder to hold a die that cuts threads on a pipe. A motor transmits torque to the die holder to rotate the die with respect to the pipe.”) [Vandaalwyk; paragraph 0003] by modifying the gripping portion (“raised portions [that] facilitate ease of gripping” for rotation) [Zahuranec; col. 4, lines 53-55] of Zahuranec to fit with the head mechanism of VanDaalwyk in order to automatically rotate the deburring tool of Zahuranec [Vandaalwyk; paragraph 0003] [Zahuranec; col. 4, lines 64-65].
Regarding claim 2, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 1, further comprising a power tool battery pack (battery 38 of VanDaalwyk) attached to the housing and electrically connected to the motor (“The motor 22 is powered by a battery 38 that is selectively coupled to the housing 14. In some embodiments, the battery 38 is a nickel-cadmium battery. In some embodiments, the battery 38 is a lithium ion battery.”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0053].
Regarding claim 3, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 2, further comprising a switch (trigger 50 of VanDaalwyk) electrically connected to at least one of the motor and the power tool battery pack (“The pipe threader 10 includes a trigger 50 on the operating handle 42 for activating the motor 22”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0055].
Regarding claim 4, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 3, further comprising a trigger (trigger 50 of VanDaalwyk) disposed on the housing (Fig. 2 of VanDaalwyk), wherein the trigger activates and/or deactivates the switch (“The pipe threader 10 includes a trigger 50 on the operating handle 42 for activating the motor 22”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0055].
Regarding claim 6, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 3, further comprising:
a controller (controller 346) electrically connected to the at least one of the motor and the power tool battery pack (“The controller 346 is electrically connected with the motor 22 and the sensor 350.”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0073]; and
a speed selector (speed shift knob 54) disposed on the housing for selecting a motor speed (“a speed shift knob 54 allowing an operator to switch the die holder 30 (and thus the die 34) between a high rotational speed and a low rotational speed”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0055].
Regarding claim 9, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 1, further comprising a transmission (gearcase 16) driven by the motor (“The first and second driving gears 74, 78 are coupled for rotation with a first stage gear shaft 82, which receives torque from the electric motor 22.”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0056] and driving the blade holder (“The fourth stage gear shaft 98 receives torque from the first stage gear 66 and then transmits the torque downstream to the output gear 58, the die holder 30, and the die 34.”) [VanDaalwyk; paragraph 0056].
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) in view of VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157), and further in view of Fukinuki (US-5,638,945).
Regarding claim 5, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 4, but fails to disclose further comprising a switch lock movably connected to the trigger to prevent the trigger from activating the motor.
However, Fukinuki (US-5,638,945) teaches a trigger (32) with a switch lock (34) to prevent the trigger (32) from activating a motor (“trigger mechanism 30 further includes a lock button 34 mounted relative to housing 12 and shiftable transversely between a Button-off position (as more fully discussed below in association with FIG. 3) and a Button-on position (as more fully discussed below in association with FIGS. 4-7)”) [Fukinuki; col. 4, lines 54-59]. Since Fukinuki teaches a switch lock as an improvement for a trigger on a power tool, it therefore would’ve been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the trigger of VanDaalwyk with a switch lock as taught by Fukinuki in order to prevent inadvertent powering on of the device (“As shown in FIG. 3, in the Locked-off state, lock button 34 prevents the operator from being able to squeeze or depress trigger 32 into the Trigger-on position.”) [Fukinuki; col. 5, lines 59-61].
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) in view of VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157), and further in view of Brooks (US-4,955,165).
Regarding claim 7, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 6, but fails to disclose wherein the speed selector has first, second and third positions for selecting corresponding first, second and third motor speeds.
However, Brooks (US-4,955,165) teaches that it is known to change rpms depending on the size of the pipe (“The end of the pipe 10 is placed within the outwardly opening enclosure as the motor 20 is brought up to speed, thereby rotating the pipe tapering tool 18 of the present invention at any desired rpms depending upon the size of the pipe and the capability of the motor 20 and the operator. The rpm, for example only, can be as low as 200 for some size pipe and as much as 1800 for other size pipe.”) [Brooks; col. 4, lines 36-43]. It therefore would have been an obvious design choice to modify the speed selector (speed shift knob 54 of VanDaalwyk) to operate at desired RPM’s for use with different pipes, as taught by Brooks, up to and including 3 different speeds requiring three different positions.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) in view of VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157), and further in view of Brooks (US-4,955,165) and Bowles (US-2011/0045746).
Regarding claim 8, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 7, but fails to disclose wherein the first, second and third motor speeds (relative to the blade) are 80, 100, and 150 RPM, respectively.
As for the specific RPM, Bowles (US-2011/0045746) teaches a range of RPM from “a very low speed, such as less than about 10 RPM” [Bowles; paragraph 0079] and up to 50 RPM [Bowles; paragraph 0080]. Since Bowles teaches very low speeds can be used, lower than the range, and higher speeds, as taught by Brooks (“The end of the pipe 10 is placed within the outwardly opening enclosure as the motor 20 is brought up to speed, thereby rotating the pipe tapering tool 18 of the present invention at any desired rpms depending upon the size of the pipe and the capability of the motor 20 and the operator. The rpm, for example only, can be as low as 200 for some size pipe and as much as 1800 for other size pipe.”) [Brooks; col. 4, lines 36-43], based on the type of pipe, it therefore would’ve been obvious an obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the claimed rotational speeds based on the need according to the type of pipe, as taught by Brookes [Brooks; col. 4, lines 36-43].
Claim(s) 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zahuranec (US-4,678,380) in view of VanDaalwyk (US-2019/0283157), and further in view of Ceroll (US-20200189017).
Regarding claim 10, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 9, wherein the transmission (gearcase 16) comprises a planetary gearbox (58 works as a planetary gear for die holder 30 with teeth 186) (Fig. 18) connected to the motor, but fails to disclose a bevel gear connected to the planetary gearbox and drivingly connected to the blade holder.
However, Ceroll (US-20200189017) teaches a bevel gear (bevel gear 340) connected to a planetary gear box (Fig. 8a) (“The exemplary transmission 300 shown in FIGS. 8A-3C is a parallel axis transmission, for purposes of discussion and illustration. In some implementations, other arrangement(s) of transmission components such as, for example, a planetary transmission design, may transfer force, i.e., rotational force, from the motor 135 to the operating head 150.”) [Ceroll; paragraph 0055] and drivingly connected to the cutting die (150). Ceroll states that this is an obvious modification in order to change the operating speed relative to the motor [Ceroll; paragraph 0054] and, therefore, would have made it obvious to modify VanDaalwyk’s transmission with a bevel gear as taught by Ceroll in order to add a reduction gear that helps to controller operating speed of the motor [Ceroll; paragraph 0054].
Regarding claim 11, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 10, wherein the blade holder (10 of Zahuranec) is symmetrical about a rotational axis (longitudinal axis 1) (Figs. 1, 2, 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12, and those claims depending therefrom including claims 13-15, 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 12, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 10, but fails to disclose wherein the blade holder (10 of Zahuranec) has a plurality of ribs converging into a semi-cone.
The prior art does not anticipate or render obvious, in combination with all other claim limitations, “a plurality of ribs converging into a semi-cone.”
Regarding claim 13, Zahuranec, as modified by VanDaalwyk, discloses the tool of Claim 12, wherein the blade is disposed on one of the plurality of ribs.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US-20220362869, US-6698048, US-20220193804 are pertinent to the head mechanism of claim 1. US-1852776, US-5269104 are pertinent to the motor and rotatable blade holder of claim 1. US-3232145, US-2242821, US-4678380, and US-20210213583 are pertinent to the rotatable blade holder of claim 1. Robeson (US-9,498,825) [Robeson; col. 2, lines 47-49] is pertinent to claim 15.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOEL DILLON CRANDALL whose telephone number is (571)270-5947. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30 - 5:30.
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, Monica Carter can be reached at 571-270-5947. 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.
/JOEL D CRANDALL/Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights