DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-16 are currently presented for examination.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the Abstract of 14 February 2025 with more than 150 words in length.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the shaft portion side" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner notes that line 2 recites “a shaft portion,” however the shaft portion is defined by a rotation axis such that it is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art would determine a direction which faces the shaft portion side.
Claims 2-14 each depend from claim 1, and therefore are rejected for at least the reasons presented above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 15 recites “a first portion having a first main surface and a second main surface and arranged such that the first main surfaced faces an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion” at lines 10-11. Claim 15 is understood to be directed to a sensor device “capable of” configuring a sensor unit of a rotating tool including a shaft portion. To the best of the examiner’s understanding, the sensor device of claim 15 does not positively require or include the rotating tool, such that it is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art could determine that a portion of the sensor device is defined by its orientation relative to geometry of the rotating tool. Phrased differently: If the sensor device is located on a storage shelf or in transit to an assembly location to be assembled to the rotating tool, how would one having ordinary skill in the art determine that the claimed first portion is positioned relative to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion of the rotating tool? It is unclear how the geometry or configuration of the components of the sensor device can be understood relative to a structure or device which is not positively required.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the shaft portion side" in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner notes that line 2 recites “a shaft portion,” however the shaft portion is defined by a rotation axis such that it is unclear how one having ordinary skill in the art would determine a direction which faces the shaft portion side.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the shaft region side" in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner notes that line 1 recites “a shaft region.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “the sensor unit including a sensor module, the sensor module including a battery, a first sensor that detects a first physical quantity of the shaft region, and a board electrically connected to the first sensor, the board including a first portion having a first main surface and a second main surface and arranged such that the first main surface faces an outer peripheral surface of the shaft region, and a second portion having a third main surface and a fourth main surface and arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft portion side, the second portion being electrically connector to the first portion” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim. Understood to be the closest prior art of record, United States Patent 10,828,739 to Ziegltrum et al. teaches a tool (10) having a sensor (230) connected to an electrical circuit (40). Ziegltrum teaches multiple circuits (40a, 40b, 40c) connected to the tool (10; see Fig. 7), each circuit connected in signal transferring fashion and connected electrically to a sensor (sensors 30 to 36), but does not fairly teach that the respective circuit boards are positions such that a second portion of one of the boards is arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft region side.
Regarding claim 15, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “the sensor unit including a sensor module, the sensor module including a battery, a first sensor that detects a first physical quantity of the shaft region, and a board electrically connected to the first sensor, the board including a first portion having a first main surface and a second main surface and arranged such that the first main surface faces an outer peripheral surface of the shaft region, and a second portion having a third main surface and a fourth main surface and arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft portion side, the second portion being electrically connector to the first portion” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim. United States Patent 10,828,739 to Ziegltrum et al. teaches a tool (10) having a sensor (230) connected to an electrical circuit (40). Ziegltrum teaches multiple circuits (40a, 40b, 40c) connected to the tool (10; see Fig. 7), each circuit connected in signal transferring fashion and connected electrically to a sensor (sensors 30 to 36), but does not fairly teach that the respective circuit boards are positions such that a second portion of one of the boards is arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft region side.
Regarding claim 16, the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose or fairly teach “the sensor unit including a sensor module, the sensor module including a battery, a first sensor that detects a first physical quantity of the shaft region, and a board electrically connected to the first sensor, the board including a first portion having a first main surface and a second main surface and arranged such that the first main surface faces an outer peripheral surface of the shaft region, and a second portion having a third main surface and a fourth main surface and arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft region side, the second portion being electrically connector to the first portion” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim. United States Patent 10,828,739 to Ziegltrum et al. teaches a tool (10) having a sensor (230) connected to an electrical circuit (40). Ziegltrum teaches multiple circuits (40a, 40b, 40c) connected to the tool (10; see Fig. 7), each circuit connected in signal transferring fashion and connected electrically to a sensor (sensors 30 to 36), but does not fairly teach that the respective circuit boards are positions such that a second portion of one of the boards is arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction of the shaft region such that the third main surface faces the shaft region side.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
United States Patent 10,828,739 to Ziegltrum et al. teaches a tool (10) having a sensor (230) connected to an electrical circuit (40). Ziegltrum teaches multiple circuits (40a, 40b, 40c) connected to the tool (10; see Fig. 7), each circuit connected in signal transferring fashion and connected electrically to a sensor (sensors 30 to 36).
United States Patent Application Publication 2018/0178293 to Yamamoto et al. teaches a rotating tool (1) having a sensor assembly (37) connected to a battery (35).
United States Patent Application Publication 2022/0118529 to Grosch teaches a rotating tool having a sensor (9) electrically connected to a board assembly (see Fig. 8) which may be flexible. Grosch teaches its board (13) is electrically connected to a second board (14; see Fig. 8), but does not explicitly disclose a first portion of the board being arranged on an outer periphery side of the first portion in a radial direction. It does not appear that the relative positions of the board portions can be determined from the figures of Grosch.
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/DARRELL C FORD/Examiner, Art Unit 3726
