DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakagawa et al. (2005/0198920) in view of Kato et al. (2008/0232886).
Regarding claims 1 and 6, Nakagawa teaches a printing device and control method comprising:
a shaft (fig. 5a, item 303) inserted in a cylindrical body (fig. 5a, item 101) of a medium roll (fig. 5a, item 100) in which a medium is wound around the cylindrical body that has a wireless tag (fig. 5a, item 110), and rotatably supporting the cylindrical body (see fig. 5a, [0114], note that either of the support shaft 301 or the rotator 303 can be fixed, and the other can be the rotating part. For purposed of examination, 303 is being taken not to rotate);
an antenna (fig. 5a, item 302) provided on the shaft configured to perform data communication with the wireless tag ([0114]);
a driver (se fig. 9, note that a driver is necessarily present) configured to rotate the cylindrical body having the wireless tag around the shaft (fig. 9); and
a controller (fig. 7, item 1) configured to control the driver such that the cylindrical body having the wireless tag rotates around the shaft by a predetermined angle (Note that it is assumed all rotations of the medium are done in predetermined amounts, and thus the rotations are by angle or length of medium, this is disclosed in figs. 8, 9).
Nakagawa does not teach wherein the wireless tag rotates around the shaft by an angle until data stored in the wireless tag is acquired via the antenna. Kato teaches wherein a wireless tag is transported by a transport unit until data stored by the wireless tag is acquired by an antenna (Kato, fig. 14, S101/102, [0149]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the communication position obtaining technique disclosed by Kato to the device disclosed by Nakagawa because doing so would allow for proper communication between the tag and antenna upon initiation of a processing while also allowing for proper alignment of the medium in the transport direction.
Upon combination of Kato with Nakagawa, the resultant device would have the cylindrical body rotating around the shaft by an angle until communication between the wireless tag and the antenna was obtained.
Regarding claim 2, Nakagawa in view of Kato teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to repeat the rotation of the cylindrical body by the predetermined angle a plurality of times (Note that, upon application of the technique of Kato to Nakagawa, a motor rotating the cylindrical body necessarily corresponds each motor pulse with a specific angle, and thus any number of motor pulses would correspond to a multiple of a predetermined angle).
Regarding claim 3, Nakagawa in view of Kato teaches the device according to claim 2, further comprising:
a data communicator (Nakagawa, fig. 7, item 302/110) configured to perform data communication with the wireless tag via the antenna (Nakagawa, [0114]), wherein the controller configured to:
control the data communicator to perform the data communication with the wireless tag while the cylindrical body is not rotating (Nakagawa, [0114]), and control, when data recorded on the wireless tag is acquired by the data communicator, the driver configured to rotate the cylindrical body in an opposite direction by an amount by which the cylindrical body is rotated until then (Note that no “forward direction” has been defined, and thus the claimed “opposite direction” could be either direction. Here, it is being taken to be the normal rotation direction).
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
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEJANDRO VALENCIA whose telephone number is (571)270-5473. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/ALEJANDRO VALENCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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