DETAILED ACTION
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 6 and 7 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.
Claims 6 and 7 lack sufficient antecedent basis for the limitation “the second rotational shaft” in line 2. It appears the claims are referring to “the second rotation shaft” in claims 1 and 5, respectively.
Claims 6 and 7 recite “an other end portion of the biasing member is attached to the second arm section” in the last line of each claim. It is unclear which “biasing member” the claim is referring to (i.e., the first or second).
Claim 7 recites “the biasing member being a first biasing member” in line 3. However, a biasing member has not been previously claimed therefore it’s unclear what the biasing member or first biasing member are directed to.
Claim 7 also recites “the arm support shaft pressing member,” in line 8 which lacks antecedent basis.
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, 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshida (US Pat. 9,372,464).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshida teaches a printing device comprising:
a transport roller pair (3a, 3b) that sandwiches a print medium and that transports the
print medium in a transport direction;
a first side frame (45; e.g., left side in Fig. 5); and
a second side frame (45, e.g., right side in Fig. 5); wherein
the transport roller pair includes
a transport roller (3a),
a first rotation shaft (31) that is a rotation shaft of the transport roller,
a driven roller (3b) that is located at a position facing the transport roller,
a second rotation shaft (51) that is a rotation shaft of the driven roller,
an arm section (37) that rotatably holds the second rotation shaft, (Fig. 6) and
an arm support shaft (35) that extends along a direction in which the second rotation
shaft (51) extends and that supports the arm section, (Figs. 5-6)
the transport roller (3a) and the arm support shaft (35) are arranged parallel to each
other in a longitudinal direction, by the first side frame (45; left side in Fig. 5) positioning one end portion of the transport roller in the longitudinal direction and one end portion of the arm support shaft in the longitudinal direction and by the second side frame (45; right side in Fig. 5) positioning an other end portion of the transport roller in the longitudinal direction and an other end portion of the arm support shaft in the longitudinal direction, (Figs. 5-6; C5/L14-17; L23-27)
the first side frame positions the one end portion of the arm support shaft in the longitudinal direction in the transport direction (e.g., current depicted position in the transport direction in Figs. 4-6), and the second side frame positions the other end portion of the arm support shaft in the longitudinal direction in the transport direction (e.g., current depicted position in the transport direction in Figures 4-6).
Regarding claim 3, Yoshida discloses an arm support shaft pressing member (55) that causes the arm support shaft to contact the first side frame and second side frame (via biasing force); and a biasing member (53) that biases the arm support shaft toward the arm support shaft pressing member (55), (i.e., biasing them together) wherein
one end portion of the biasing member (53) is attached to the arm support shaft pressing member (55) and the other end portion of the biasing member is attached to the arm section (37).
Regarding claim 7, Yoshida discloses the driven roller (3b) being a first driven roller (e.g., left side Figs. 5-6), such that the second rotational shaft (51) is a first driven roller shaft (e.g., left side in Figs. 5-6), the arm section (37) being a first arm section (e.g., left side in Figs. 5-6), and the biasing member (55) being a first biasing member (left side in Figs. 5-6), the printing device further comprising:
a second driven roller (e.g., right side Figs. 5-6) located at a position facing the transport roller;
a second driven rotation shaft (e.g., right side Figs. 5-6) that is a rotation shaft of the second driven roller;
a second arm section (e.g., right side Figs. 5-6) that rotatably holds the second driven rotation shaft; and
a second biasing member (53 or 55 e.g., right side Figs. 5-6) that biases the arm support shaft toward the arm support shaft pressing member (5), wherein the arm support shaft supports the arm section and the second arm section, (e.g., Figs. 5-6) and
one end portion of the second biasing member (53 or 55) is attached to the arm support shaft pressing member (5) and an other end portion of the biasing member is attached to the second arm section (37). (Figs. 4-7)
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, 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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida in view of Takeshita (US Pat. 8,025,292, previously cited) .
Regarding claim 2, Yoshida does not disclose the first side frame and the second side frame contact part of a circumferential surface of the arm support shaft. However, Yoshida does disclose that the first side frame (45) and second side frame (45) rotatably support the arm support shaft (35). (C5/L25-27) One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that one way to rotatably support the arm support shaft with the frame would be to have the frame contact part of the circumferential surface of the arm support shaft. Takeshita demonstrates that this manner of mounting is well known in the art as Takeshita teaches mounting an equivalent arm support shaft (73; Fig. 6) in a pair of shaft receivers (51) formed in a main frame (50), wherein the frame contacts part of the circumferential surface of the arm support shaft. (Figs. 6-8; C7/L10-15).
In view of Takeshita’s teaching, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have mounted Yoshida’s arm support shaft to the first side frame and second side frame such that the frame contacts part of a circumferential surface of the arm support shaft as taught by Takeshita for the purpose of simplifying the assembly and disassembly of the arm support shaft for repairs and replacement of components.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 is allowed.
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 4 is 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/ERNESTO A SUAREZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3655