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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the seal locked to the opening (claim 10) and the step within the attachment (claim 11) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-15 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim cannot depend from any other multiple dependent claim. See MPEP § 608.01(n). For example, claim 4 depends from claim 1 or 3, and claim 3 is a multiple dependent claim. Accordingly, the claims have not been further treated on the merits.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 2 depends from claim 1, yet the first four lines of claim 2 appear to unnecessarily repeat the same limitations from claim 1. Either those lines should be removed, or the recitations of “a housing”, “a percussion piston”, “a supply line”, and “an operating medium” should be amended to use the word “the” instead of “a” (or “an”) for clarity purposes (otherwise, it is unclear if the same limitations from claim 1 are being referred to, or if they are actually new structural limitations). Appropriate correction is required. It is noted that claims 14 and 15, having not been treated on the merits, also have the same objection as claim 2.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by US 4609052 to Lewin.
Regarding claims 1-2, Lewin discloses an earth drilling device (10) having a housing (17) and a percussion piston (24) which can be moved back and forth in the housing and a supply line (38) for an operating medium for moving the percussion piston, wherein the end (26) of the housing tapers backwards in the longitudinal direction, in particular conically, in the region of the supply line and an element (40) of a connection pair is provided on the outside of the end, wherein the connection pair has the element and a counter element (20), and the element is designed for an optional connection through an opening to interact with the counter element (figs. 1-2; wherein the opening is a radially accessible threaded hole for the screw 40).
Regarding claim 3, the earth drilling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the end (26) of the housing tapers conically backwards in the longitudinal direction in the region of the supply line (figs. 1-2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 6142244 (from IDS) discloses an earth drilling device (10) having a housing (1), a percussion piston (3) which can be moved back and forth in the housing and a supply line (9/12) for an operating medium for moving the percussion piston, wherein the supply line (9/12) is arranged at the end of the housing, and the end (13) of the housing tapers backwards in the longitudinal direction, in particular conically, in the region of the supply line and a connection "possibility" is provided at the end with the supply line by means of an opening (10) formed at the end, which is at least partially radially accessible (fig. 1).
US 4834193 teaches an earth drilling device (17) having a housing (71), a percussion piston (53) which can be moved back and forth in the housing and a supply line (15) for an operating medium for moving the percussion piston (figs. 5-9B).
US 3865200 teaches an earth drilling device having a housing (1), a percussion piston (16) which can be moved back and forth in the housing and a supply line (38) connected to the housing with connectors 44-47 (fig. 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHANE BOMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-7026. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-3:30pm EST M-Th.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at 571-272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHANE BOMAR/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3674