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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited on a Form PTO 1449 have been considered.
Specification
The specification has been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. However, the applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 9-10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (U.S. 2003/0159603 A1).
Lee et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding independent Claim 1, a printer (§0006 and Fig. 1), comprising:
a media path along which labels are movable (§0006 and Fig. 1);
a printhead positioned along the media path;
wherein at least a part of the media path includes a side structure (e.g. 6a, §§0006-0015 and Fig. 1) defining a first side of the part of the media path and a media edge guide (e.g. 7a, §§0006-0015 and Fig. 1) for defining a second side of the part of the media path, wherein the media edge guide is movable so as to adjust a spacing between the media edge guide and the side structure for accommodating different media widths;
a guide adjustment assembly connected to the media edge guide for providing tool-free manual movement of a position of the media edge guide to adjust the spacing (e.g. 6-9, §§0006-0015 and Figs. 2-3).
Regarding Claim 2, wherein the guide adjustment assembly comprises an arrangement that converts a rotation of an adjustment component into a linear movement of the media edge guide (§§0006-0015 and Figs. 2-3).
Regarding Claim 9, wherein the guide adjustment assembly comprises a rotatable component (8, §§0007-0015 and Figs. 2-3) defining a helical drive path (8b, §§0007-0015 and Figs. 2-3), wherein the media edge guide includes an edge guide portion (7a, §§0007-0015 and Figs. 2-3) configured for guiding media and a follower portion (7b, §§0007-0015 and Figs. 2-3) engaged with the helical drive path to ride therealong during rotation of the rotatable component forcing the edge guide portion to move along a length of the rotatable component.
Regarding Claim 10, wherein the guide adjustment assembly further comprises thumbwheel (9, §§0007-0015 and Figs. 2-3) that is rotatable and operatively connected to the rotatable component such that rotation of the thumbwheel causes rotation of the rotatable component.
Regarding Claim 12, wherein the guide adjustment assembly is configured to prevent inadvertent movement of the media edge guide (§§0007-0015 and Figs. 1-3).
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) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. 2003/0159603 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Shiohara (U.S. 2022/0161579 A1).
Lee et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 13, all limitations of Claim 1 (from which this Claim depends).
Lee et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 13, wherein the printer comprises a body with a removable media cassette, wherein the side structure, the media edge guide and the guide adjustment assembly are formed on the media cassette.
Shiohara discloses the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 13, wherein the printer comprises a body with a removable media cassette (4, §0047 and Fig. 1), wherein the side structure, the media edge guide and the guide adjustment assembly (4d, 4f, §0097 and Fig. 17) are formed on the media cassette. 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 removable media cassette of Shiohara to the printer of Lee et al. to make media replacement more convenient for the user.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. 2003/0159603 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Monnier et al. (U.S. 2008/0191012 A1).
Lee et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, all limitations of Claim 1 (from which this Claim depends).
Lee et al. do not disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the printer takes the form of a scale that also includes a weigh station for receiving items to be weighed and a load cell for outputting a weight indicative signal.
Monnier et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the printer takes the form of a scale (10, §0018 and Figs. 1-2) that also includes a weigh station (12, §0018 and Figs. 1-2) for receiving items to be weighed and a load cell for outputting a weight indicative signal (§0018). 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 scale of Monnier et al. to the printer of Lee et al. to provide an integrated product, e.g. food, packaging solution.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-17 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the primary reason for allowance of claims 15-17 is the inclusion of the limitations of a printer including a media cassette removable from the printer body, the media cassette comprising: a media path along which labels are movable; wherein at least a part of the media path includes a side structure defining a first side of the part of the media path and a media edge guide for defining a second side of the part of the media path, wherein the media edge guide is movable so as to adjust a spacing between the media edge guide and the side structure for accommodating different media widths; a guide adjustment assembly connected to the media edge guide for providing tool-free manual movement of a position of the media edge guide to adjust the spacing, wherein the guide adjustment assembly comprises a rotatable spring. It is these limitations found in the claims, as they are claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Claims 3-8 and 11 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: the primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claims 3-8 is the inclusion of the limitations of a printer including wherein the guide adjustment assembly comprises a rotatable spring, wherein the media edge guide includes an edge guide portion external of the spring and configured for guiding media and a follower portion engaged with the spring to ride along a length of the spring when the spring is rotated so as to cause movement of the edge guide portion along the length of the spring. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim 11 is the inclusion of the limitations of a printer including wherein thumbwheel includes an axis of rotation offset from a rotation axis of the rotatable component, wherein the thumbwheel is operatively connected to the rotatable component by a further wheel that includes a rotation axis that is aligned with the rotation axis of the rotatable component. It is these limitations found in the claims, as it is claimed in the combination of that has not been found, taught or suggested by prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV whose telephone number is (571)270-7049. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodrigues can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER D SHENDEROV/ Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/JASON S UHLENHAKE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853