DETAILED ACTION
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wada et al (12,410,027).
Regarding claim 1, Wada teaches an inkjet printer, comprising:
a housing (fig. 1, item 2);
an inkjet head (fig. 2, item 13) provided in the housing and movable in a first direction (fig. 2, X direction) to discharge ink toward a roll paper;
a roll paper holder (fig. 5, item 123/124) to hold the roll paper (fig. 7, item 201);
a support holder (fig. 7, item 71-73) provided in the housing to support the roll paper holder such that the roll paper holder is detachable and rotatable (see fig. 7); and
a conveyor (fig. 2, item 9) to convey the roll paper, held by the roll paper holder, in a second direction (fig. 2, Y direction) perpendicular to the first direction as seen in a plan view;
wherein the roll paper holder includes:
a rotation shaft (fig. 6, item 122) extending in the first direction (see fig. 2);
a first flange (fig. 5, item 135) secured to an end of the rotation shaft on one of two sides in the first direction, the first flange holding an end of the roll paper on the one side in the first direction (see fig. 5);
a second flange (see fig. 5, item 131) provided at an end of the rotation shaft on the other of the two sides in the first direction, the second flange holding an end of the roll paper on the other side in the first direction (see fig. 5); and
a positioning flange (fig. 12, item 122) provided on the rotation shaft and located at a predetermined position on the one side in the first direction with respect to the first flange (see fig. 12); and
the support holder includes a position determiner (fig. 9, entire end portion including 71, hole in which 72 is formed and all other components interacting with the roll paper holder) including a recessed portion (fig. 9, entire area including 71 and hole in which 72 is formed) housing a portion of the positioning flange in a state where the roll paper holder is rotatably supported (see fig. 7B) and also including a restriction portion (fig. 9, hole in which item 72 is formed) partitioning the recessed portion (fig. 9, note that unlabeled hole “partitions” the recessed portion) and restricting the positioning flange from moving in the first direction (see figs. 7, 11, note that when item 125 is inserted in the unlabeled hole extending through the restriction portion, the positioning flange is restricted from moving),
wherein the recessed portion is an insertion hole that extends through
Regarding claim 2, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the support holder includes a support supporting the rotation shaft such that the rotation shaft is detachable and rotatable (Wada, see figs. 7/9); and when the rotation shaft is to be attached to the support, a portion of the positioning flange contacts the restriction portion before the rotation shaft contacts the support (Wada, see figs. 7/9, Note that positioning flange 122 contacts 71 before the roll is in functioning position).
Regarding claim 7, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 2, wherein the support includes a main body (fig. 7, body on which roll is mounted), a pair of rollers (fig. 85, item 123/124) provided on the main body and supporting the rotation shaft such that the rotation shaft is rotatable, and a spring pressing the rotation shaft to the pair of rollers (see figs. 5, 7, 9).
Regarding claim 8, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the first flange includes a first disc portion (fig. 11, item 131) having a disc shape; the positioning flange includes a positioning disc portion (fig. 11, note disc portion of 122) having a disc shape; and the first disc portion has a diameter greater than a diameter of the positioning disc portion (see fig. 11).
Regarding claim 9, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 8, wherein the first disc portion has a through-hole extending therethrough in the first direction, formed therein; and as seen in the first direction, the positioning disc portion and the through-hole do not overlap each other (see fig. 7, Note through-hole in first flange through which shaft extends. Note that the positioning flange is concentric with the first flange and thus does not overlap the shaft through hole in the first flange).
Regarding claim 10, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 9, wherein the through-hole has an elliptical or substantially elliptical shape extending in a circumferential direction of the first disc portion (see fig. 9, Note that a circle is “substantially elliptical”.
Regarding claim 11, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein where one of two sides in the second direction is a rear side and one of two sides in the second direction is a front side, the roll paper holder is located on the front side with respect to the inkjet head (see figs. 1, 2).
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(s) 3-6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wada in view of Philipse (11,148,893).
Regarding claim 3, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 2. Wada does not teach wherein the restriction portion includes a first side wall extending in the second direction; and a second side wall extending in the second direction, located on the one side in the first direction with respect to the first side wall, and facing the first side wall; the positioning flange is located between the first side wall and the second side wall in a state where the rotation shaft is attached to the support; the first side wall inclines such that a distance between the first side wall and the second side wall decreases as the first side wall extends from the other side toward the one side in the first direction. Philipse teaches this (Philipse, figs. 3, 4, Note restriction portion 72 that restricts first-direction position of flange 82). It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art at the time of invention to substitute the positioning recess disclosed by Philipse for that disclosed by Wada because doing so would amount to the simple substitution of one known restriction portion for another to obtain predictable results. In other words, Wada teaches a flange with two walls that sandwich the support holder to restrict a position of the flange, Philipse teaches a restriction portion with two side walls into which a positioning flange can be inserted to restrict the position of the flange. These two were obvious variants at the time of invention, and it would have been obvious to substitute one for the other. Upon such substitution a thinner flange without two side walls could be adopted by Wada, thereby reducing space required for the flange.
Regarding claim 4, Wada in view of Philipse teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 3, wherein: the second side wall inclines such that the distance between the second side wall and the first side wall decreases as the second side wall extends from the one side toward the other side in the first direction (Philipse, see fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, Wada in view of Philipse teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 3, wherein the restriction portion includes: a third side wall extending in the first direction; and a fourth side wall extending in the first direction, located on one of two sides in the second direction with respect to the third side wall, and facing the third side wall; the positioning flange is located between the third side wall and the fourth side wall in a state where the rotation shaft is attached to the support; the third side wall inclines such that a distance between the third side wall and the fourth side wall decreases as the third side wall extends from the other of the two sides toward the one side in the second direction (Philipse, fig. 3, Note all four side walls inclined toward a center of the restriction portion 72).
Regarding claim 6, Wada in view of Philipse teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 5, wherein: the fourth side wall inclines such that the distance between the fourth side wall and the third side wall decreases as the fourth side wall extends from the one side toward the 3 other side in the second direction (Philipse, fig. 3, Note all four side walls inclined toward a center of the restriction portion 72).
Regarding claim 13, Wada in view of Philipse teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the positioning flange includes a positioning disc portion having a disc shape, and the restriction portion restricts movement of the positioning flange in the first direction by contacting the positioning disc portion in the first direction (Philipse, see fig. 3, Note that, upon combination of the references, the resultant device would have a positioning flange that would fit into positioning recess 72, contacting the inclined wall portions of recess, whereby the recess would restrict the movement of the positioning flange in lateral directions).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wada in view of official notice.
Regarding claim 12, Wada teaches the inkjet printer according to claim 1. Wada does not expressly teach wherein the positioning flange and the position determiner are made of a resin material. Examiner takes official notice that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to construct these components from resin.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot in light of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
