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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
Receipt is acknowledged of an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS), filed 16 December 2025, which has been placed of record in the file. An initialed, signed, and dated copy of each PTO-1449 or PTO-SB-08 form is attached to the Office action.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2, line 3, it appears that “though” should be changed to --through--.
Claims 3-4 depend from claim 2, and are likewise objected to.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 5-6, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Eba et al. (US Patent Publ. No. 2023/0191580).
With respect to claim 1, Eba et al. disclose a power tool (fig. 1) comprising: a motor (motor 6, fig. 1); an output part that is provided forward of the motor and configured to be driven by the motor (output unit 8); a speed reducing mechanism disposed between the motor and the output part and having a gear shifting function (speed reducing mechanism 30, fig. 30); a gear case (casing 4, fig. 27) that includes: a cylindrical part having at least one through hole penetrating therethrough in a radial direction (cylindrical casing 4A with radial through hole 4H, fig. 27); and a plurality of bracket boss parts provided on an outer circumference of the cylindrical part (annotated figure 27), and that houses the speed reducing mechanism inside the cylindrical part (fig. 27); a motor bracket disposed between the motor and the speed reducing mechanism and fixed to the bracket boss parts by screws (bracket plate 4C fixed to bracket boss parts by screws 4E, fig. 27); a switching operation part configured to cause the speed reducing mechanism to change gear shifting by being moved (speed switch lever 12, fig. 27); and a switching wire that passes through the through hole of the gear case and couples the switching operation part with the speed reducing mechanism (switch wire 510), wherein the switching wire includes at least one wire portion including first to third wire segments, the first wire segment extending from the switching operation part to the cylindrical part as viewed from an axial direction (upper portion of switch wire 510 fixed to movable member 610, fig. 28, [0263]), the second wire segment extending in a circumferential direction along an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical part from an end of the first wire segment (fig. 27), and the third wire segment extending from an end of the second wire segment and being inserted into the through hole (tip portion of switch wire 510 enters through hole 4H, fig. 27, [0263]), and the bracket boss parts are provided at positions other than a first region facing the second wire segment in a radial direction, on the outer circumference of the cylindrical part (annotated figure 27). Eba et al. disclose two bracket boss parts (one hidden) that are at positions other than a first region facing the second wire segment in a radial direction.
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With respect to claim 5, Eba et al. disclose a radial distance between the second wire segment of the switching wire and an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical part in the first region is smaller than a protrusion amount of the bracket boss part with respect to the outer circumferential surface in the first region (annotated figure 27).
With respect to claim 6, Eba et al. disclose a gear housing (second casing 4B), which is provided forward of the gear case (first casing 4A) and to which a front end of the gear case is fixed (first casing 4A is fixed to rear end portion of second casing 4B, [0243], fig. 27), wherein the gear case includes a plurality of housing boss parts (annotated figure 27), which is disposed radially outside the switching wire (annotated figure 27) and is fixed to the gear housing by screws (screws 4F).
With respect to claim 11, Eba et al. disclose a power tool (fig. 1) comprising: a motor (motor 6, fig. 1); an output part that is provided forward of the motor and configured to be driven by the motor (output unit 8); a speed reducing mechanism disposed between the motor and the output part and having a gear shifting function (speed reducing mechanism 30, fig. 30); a gear case (casing 4, fig. 27) that includes a cylindrical part having at least one through hole penetrating therethrough in a radial direction and that houses the speed reducing mechanism inside the cylindrical part (cylindrical casing 4A with radial through hole 4H, fig. 27); a motor bracket disposed between the motor and the speed reducing mechanism and fixed to the gear case by screws (bracket plate 4C fixed to bracket boss parts by screws 4E, fig. 27); a switching operation part configured to cause the speed reducing mechanism to change gear shifting by being moved (speed switch lever 12, fig. 27); and a switching wire that passes through the through hole of the gear case and couples the switching operation part with the speed reducing mechanism (switch wire 510), wherein the switching wire includes a held portion held by the switching operation part (upper portion of switch wire 510 fixed to movable member 610, fig. 28, [0263]), and the gear case includes a first screw fixing part (annotated figure 27), which is provided at a position facing the held portion of the switching wire in the radial direction as viewed from an axial direction and fixes the motor bracket (annotated figure 27).
With respect to claim 12, Eba et al. disclose in the gear case, the first screw fixing part is provided at one location in a facing region facing the switching wire in the radial direction as viewed from the axial direction (annotated figure 27), and in the gear case, a plurality of second screw fixing parts, which fixes the motor bracket, is provided in a non-facing region not facing the switching wire in the radial direction as viewed from the axial direction (portions of the screw fixing parts under the wire 520, one hidden, do not face the switching wire, fig. 27).
With respect to claim 13, Eba et al. disclose the gear case and the motor bracket are fixed to each other at three locations (casing 4A and 4B are fixed to each other at at least three locations, fig. 27) arranged in a triangular shape as viewed from the axial direction, by one first screw fixing part disposed in the facing region and two second screw fixing parts disposed on one side and another side in a lateral direction with respect to a center of the gear case in the non-facing region (three of the screw fixing parts form a triangle since any three points form a triangle, annotated fig. 27).
With respect to claim 14, Eba et al. disclose the gear case (casing 4A) has a first mating surface having an annular flat shape on a rear end surface facing the motor bracket, and the motor bracket (casing 4C) has a second mating surface having an annular flat shape, which is in contact with the first mating surface, on a front surface facing the gear case (fig. 28).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 7-10, and 15-16 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:
With respect to claim 2, the prior art fails to disclose or teach the power tool according to claim 1, wherein the at least one through hole includes two through holes provided on one side and another side in a lateral direction of the gear case, the at least one wire portion includes: a first wire portion, which is provided on the one side and is inserted into the through hole provided on the one side; and a second wire portion, which is provided on the other side and is inserted into the through hole provided on the other side, and the bracket boss parts include a first boss disposed between the first wire segment of the first wire portion and the first wire segment of the second wire portion.
Claims 3-4 depend from claim 2 and would likewise be allowable.
With respect to claim 7, the prior art fails to disclose or teach the power tool according to claim 6, wherein the housing boss parts include at least one third boss disposed radially outside the second wire segment of the switching wire in the first region.
Claims 8-10 depend from claim 7, and would likewise be allowable.
With respect to claim 15, the prior art fails to disclose or teach the power tool according to claim 13, further comprising a gear housing, which is provided forward of the gear case and to which a front end of the gear case is fixed, wherein the gear case includes two third screw fixing parts disposed at a position in a circumferential direction between the first screw fixing part and a second screw fixing part disposed on the one side and a position in the circumferential direction between the first screw fixing part and a second screw fixing part disposed on the other side.
Claim 16 depends from claim 15, and would likewise be allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lee et al. (KR 2018-0074865) disclose a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 8).
Stoll (DE 2015 105333) discloses a power tool including switching wires (fig. 1).
Woecht et al. (DE 2009 060929) disclose a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 2).
Spielmann et al. (DE 2006 035386) disclose a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 3).
Eisenhardt (EP 1464427) discloses a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 6).
Spielmann et al. (DE 10222824) disclose a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 4).
Chung (US Patent No. 6,086,502) discloses a power tool including a switching wire (fig. 5).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Linda J. Hodge whose telephone number is (571)272-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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/LINDA J. HODGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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