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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/26/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gilbert et al. (US 2013/0226632) in view of Shirakata et al. (US 2007/0009283).
With respect to claims 19-20, Gilbert et al. disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except for the at least one air filtration unit. Gilbert et al. disclose a portable printing cabinet, comprising:
a cabinet housing having a side wall and a top, said cabinet housing having a substantially enclosed interior (as shown in Fig. 7) and an outside as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 1 of Gilbert et al.:
[AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (top)]
[AltContent: textbox (side wall)][AltContent: ]
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a surface within the cabinet housing configured to receive a discrete printing device 120 having a printer housing and a dispensing end from which paper is dispensed as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 7 of Gilbert et al.:
[AltContent: textbox (paper dispensing slot)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (dispensing end)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (printer housing)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (surface)][AltContent: ]
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and
a paper dispensing slot (indicated above) formed in the side wall of said cabinet housing configured to dispense paper.
Shirakata et al. teach a printing cabinet including at least one air filtration unit 165, 170, 171 such that the air filtration unit blows air out of the cabinet 180 through the air filtration unit 165, 170, 171 thereby filtering particles from passing from the interior the cabinet housing 180 to the outside (Shirakata et al., paragraph [0049]; Fig. 4J).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Shirakata et al. with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al. for the advantage of reintroducing clean air into the environment in which the cabinet is located.
With respect to claim 21, Gilbert et al. disclose a paper tray 14 located at the outside of the cabinet housing (as shown in Fig. 1 of Gilbert et al.).
With respect to claim 22, Gilbert et al. disclose that said dispensing slot is configured to align with the discrete printing device 120 and the paper tray 14 to pass printed paper from the discrete printing device at the interior of the cabinet housing to the paper tray 14 at the outside of the cabinet housing (Gilbert et al., paragraph [0156]; Figs. 1-2).
With respect to claim 23, the air filtration unit of each of Shirakata et al. would inherently establish a negative pressure within the enclosed interior of the cabinet housing relative to the outside of the cabinet housing since they are each blowing air out of the cabinet (Shirakata et al., paragraph [0049]; Fig. 4).
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gilbert et al. (US 2013/0226632) in view of Shirakata et al. (US 2007/0009283), as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of JP 4125861.
With respect to claim 24, Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except that they are silent on the filtration rate of the at least one air filtration unit. However, JP 4125861 teach an air filter with a filtration rate of at least 99.9997% for particles of 0.1 um particles (JP 4125861, paragraph [0032]).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of JP 4125861 with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. for the advantage of filtering almost all particles emitted by the printer into the ambient air.
Claim 25-26 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gilbert et al. (US 2013/0226632) in view of Shirakata et al. (US 2007/0009283), as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Carlson (US 3,476,210).
With respect to claim 25, Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except that they are silent on whether the surface includes one or more vents. Gilbert et al. disclose that the surface separates the enclosed interior into a first portion and a second portion as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 7 of Gilbert et al.:
[AltContent: textbox (surface)][AltContent: textbox (second portion)][AltContent: textbox (first portion)][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: ]
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Carlson teaches a similar printing cabinet including a surface 35 wherein the surface 35 includes one or more vents 38 configured to permit equalization of pressure within the enclosed interior of the cabinet housing 20 (as shown in Fig.3 of Carlson).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Carlson with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. for the advantage of exhausting the entire enclosure of the cabinet in particular exhausting any excess heat or printer particles that may have fallen into the second portion
With respect to claim 26, Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except for the power outlet within the enclosed interior, the power outlet configured to receive a power cable of the discrete printing device. Gilbert et al. disclose an outlet 34 for a cable but does not specify if the cable is a power cable or not.
Carlson teaches a similar printing cabinet including a power outlet (at end of line 49) within the enclosed interior, the power outlet configured to receive a power cable 49 of the discrete printing device P (as shown in Fig. 3 of Carlson).
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Carlson with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al .in view of Shirakata et al. for the advantage of providing a conveniently accessible location and mechanism on the outside of the cabinet in which to provide power to the devices within the cabinet.
With respect to claim 28, while not explicitly described, it appears from Fig. 4 of Carlson that a second power outlet is located on the outside of the cabinet housing, wherein the second power outlet is configured to supply power received at the second power outlet to the power outlet, as shown below in the image taken from Fig. 4 of Carlson:
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With respect to claim 29, Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except that they are silent on the inclusion of a first data port located within the enclosed interior of the cabinet and a second data port located on the outside of the cabinet housing, wherein the first data port is communicatively coupled to the second data port.
However, Carlson teaches a similar portable printing cabinet including a first data port (end of line 50) located within the enclosed interior of the cabinet housing, as shown in Figs. 3-4 and mentioned in col. 3, lines 23-26 of Carlson. While not explicitly described, it appears from Fig. 4 of Carlson that a second data port is located on the outside of the cabinet housing, wherein the first data port is communicatively coupled to the second data port, as shown in the above image. However, the specification is not clear if this is actually what the above structure is. Regardless, line 50 of Carlson teaches connecting “the printer P toa... . line (not shown by which a telegraphic signal is received,” (Carlson, col. 3, lines 23-26). Thus, some kind of second data port is inherently required to connect an outside signal line to the first data port.
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Carlson with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al. in view of Shirakata et al. for the advantage of providing a convenient location and mechanism in which to connect the printer inside the cabinet to an outside signal from an information source such as the internet or a database.
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gilbert et al. (US 2013/0226632) in view of Shirakata et al. (US 2007/0009283) and Carlson (US , as applied to claim 26 above, and further in view of Sheldon (US 6,112,989).
With respect to claim 27, Gilbert et al., as modified, disclose the claimed portable printing cabinet except for the battery located within the housing and being electrically connected to the power outlet. However, Sheldon discloses a portable printing cabinet 18 including a battery 74 electrically connected to a power supply 72’ as shown in Fig. 12 of Sheldon. In the combination of Gilbert et al., Shirakata et al., Carlson and Sheldon, the power supply 72’ of Sheldon would be connected to the power outlet (end of line 49) as disclosed by Carlson.
It 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, with a reasonable expectation of success, to combine the teaching of Sheldon with the portable printing cabinet disclosed by Gilbert et al, as modified, for the advantage of providing a means to power the printer without requiring the cabinet to be plugged into an outlet.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 19-29 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
The reference to Gilbert et al. (first cited in the non-final rejection of 8/29/2024) teaches the amended language of claim 1 in which the cabinet includes a side wall that forms a paper dispensing slot as outlined above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J COLILLA whose telephone number is (571)272-2157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amy Weisberg can be reached at 571-270-5500. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Daniel J Colilla/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612