DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions. 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 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.
Application Status
This office action is in response to the claims filed 3/6/2025.
Claims 1-15 are currently pending and being examined.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4, 9-12, and 14-15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Emerick US 2022/0274231 in view of Miller US 2011/0097170.
Regarding claim 1:
Emerick teaches an adapter (100) for use in combination with an impact wrench and seized fastener (abstract), the adapter comprising:
a shaft member (22) comprising a proximate end and a distal end, the proximate end comprising a rear facing axial opening (30ee) configured to receive an anvil (300a) from the impact wrench ([0063]; 30ee is sized to fit standard anvil shafts that include those of impact wrenches);
a sleeve member (10) which encloses a first portion of the shaft member allowing the shaft member to rotate within the sleeve member ([0062], second sentence); and
a chuck assembly (22i) coupled to the distal end of the shaft member, the chuck assembly configured to rotate as the shaft member rotates, the chuck assembly further comprising
a forward end comprising an axial opening configured to receive the fastener (see open center of 22i in FIG. 1B), the chuck assembly further comprising a key member (10eg) configured to releasably engage the fastener such that when the key member is engaged with the fastener, the tool bit rotates as the chuck assembly rotates (e.g., [0069], [0074]).
Emerick does not teach the adapter configured to couple impact wrench to a splined shank of a tool bit for a rotary hammer, the key member configured to releasably engage the splined shank of the tool bit such that when the key member is engaged with the spline shank, the tool bit rotates as the chuck assembly rotates.
Emerick does however teach “given that the fingers adjust to the shape of the fastener positioned inside the socket when the socket is tightened in place, the socket could also be a simple cylinder with smooth exterior or interior walls with the plurality of fingers and this would work with any shaped fastener, so long as the fingers are wide enough to extend as far as necessary to engage all sides of the fastener” ([0074]).
With this excerpt in mind, Miller discloses related adapter (10) configured to couple an impact wrench (at 50) to a splined shank (110/100) of a tool bit (200) for a rotary hammer ([0014]), the adapter having a key member (22) configured to releasably engage the splined shank of the tool bit such that when the key member is engaged with the spline shank, the tool bit rotates as the chuck assembly rotates ([0015]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the adapter of Emerick, by providing the key member with a key specifically designed to releasably engage the splined shank of a drill bit, as taught by Miller, since this would allow the adapter to work with stuck or frozen drill bits, as shown by Miller. Examiner notes that Emerick also suggests modifications to the adapter for the purposes of fitting a variety of fastener sizes and shapes (e.g., [0074]).
Regarding claim 2:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 1 further comprising an extending handle member (Emerick, FIG. 1A: 300b) attached to the sleeve member.
Regarding claim 3:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 1 wherein the chuck assembly comprises a chuck shaft member (Emerick, FIG. 1B: 22d) attached to the distal end of the shaft member.
Regarding claim 4:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 3 wherein the chuck assembly comprises a grip member (Emerick, FIG. 1B: 22e) which encloses the chuck shaft member.
Regarding claim 9:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 1 wherein the chuck assembly comprises a pair of opposite facing key members (Emerick, e.g., see 10ec and 22ek in FIG. 1B) configured to translate radially inward to engage the splined shank, the key members configured to be releasably retained in a locked engagement with the splined shank.
Regarding claim 10:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 9 wherein the key members are retained in the locked engagement by a compression ring (Emerick, 10i) which encircles the pair of opposite facing key members ([0066]).
Regarding claim 11:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 9 wherein each of the opposite facing key members comprises a radially oriented slot (Emerick, 22j) and each of the opposite facing key members attach to the chuck assembly by a guide pin (22e) inserted through the radially oriented slot of each of the opposite facing key members ([0069]).
Regarding claim 12:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the adapter of claim 11 wherein the shaft member comprises a lower end and the chuck assembly comprises a chuck plate (Emerick, FIG. 3: 22h) which attaches to the lower end of the shaft member in a substantial facing relation, wherein the opposite facing key members are attached to the chuck plate by the guide pins (22e indirectly attaches 22h to the key members).
Regarding claim 14:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the claimed adapter, comprising a shaft member comprising a proximate end and a distal end, the proximate end comprising a rear facing axial opening configured to receive an anvil from an impact wrench, the adapter further comprising a sleeve member through which the shaft member extends and freely rotates, the adapter further comprising a chuck assembly configured to releasably attach to the spline of the rotary hammer bit (see rejection of claim 1 above). The combination of Emerick and Miller further teaches a method of removing a rotary hammer tool bit from a foundation (Miller, [0004]), the method comprising the following steps: disengaging the rotary hammer from the rotary hammer tool bit (Miller, evident from [0017] first sentence); attaching an adapter to a spline of the rotary hammer tool bit (See FIG. 6), wherein inserting the anvil of the impact wrench into the rear facing axial opening (50) of the shaft member of the adapter ([0016]); and engaging the impact wrench to apply a counter-clockwise rotation to the rotary hammer bit ([0017]).
Regarding claim 15:
The combination of Emerick and Miller teaches the method of claim 14 wherein an extending handle member is attached to the sleeve member (Emerick, FIG. 1A: 300b) and an upward force is applied to the handle member (a user may apply an upward force as a matter of intended use; Note: the attaching and upward force are not claimed as a step of the method and are interpreted to be limitations placed on the adapter).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 and 13 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 prior art does not teach or render obvious wherein the chuck assembly comprises a pair of opposite facing key members which are configured to engage the splined shank of the tool bit upon an interaction of each key member with a corresponding inwardly extending wedge disposed within the grip member (claim 5); nor wherein the chuck plate is attached to the lower end of the shaft member by a bolt (claim 13). Claims 6-8 are allowable for depending from claim 5.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARIUSH SEIF whose telephone number is (408) 918-7542. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:00 PM PST.
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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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/DARIUSH SEIF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731