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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richardson et al. (5,111,216) in view of Ford et al. (2010/0119281).
With respect to claim 1, Richardson et al. teaches a cartridge (13) to be installed in a tape printing device (10) including a cartridge installation part (surface 18) for installing the cartridge (13) the cartridge (13) comprising: a cartridge case (38) having a tape ejection port (52) that ejects a printing tape (33), an ink ribbon accommodation part (30) that accommodates an ink ribbon (20) for performing printing on the printing tape (33), a tape introduction port (defined by a spring member 45; Fig. 3) into which the printing tape (33) is introduced from an outside (as case 38 houses the tape 22 outside the pocket 30 and the tape is introduced from the outside of the pocket 30), a tape path (defined by 36) connects the tape introduction port (defined by spring 45) and the tape ejection port (52), the cartridge case (38) has a first peripheral wall part (35); and a second peripheral wall part (as labeled below).
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second peripheral wall)]
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Richardson et al. remains silent regarding a contact terminal part that is provided in the cartridge installation part and that comes in contact with an electrode part of a circuit substrate provided on a peripheral wall part of the cartridge and is elastically displaceable when the cartridge is installed in the cartridge installation part, the second peripheral wall bent with an internal angle thereof exceeding 180º with respect to the first peripheral wall part when seen from an installation direction of the cartridge, and the circuit substrate is provided on the first peripheral wall part or the second peripheral wall part.
Ford et al. teaches a similar cartridge (18) that includes a contact terminal part (conductive surfaces; [0039]) that is provided in a cartridge installation part (22) and that comes into contact with an electrode part (i.e. electrical pathways; [0039]) of a circuit substrate (60) provided on a peripheral wall part (i.e. the location of the identification plate circuit 60 seen in Fig. 2) of the cartridge (18) and is elastically displaceable (as insofar as how “elastically displaceable” is structurally defined, when contact between the two surfaces occur, the elements change shape under pressure and return to their original form when the pressure is removed, thereby reading on the claim language) when the cartridge (18) is installed in the cartridge installation part (60) and the circuit substrate (60) is provided on a peripheral wall part (as seen in Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the instant invention to modify the second peripheral wall of Richardson et al. to include the circuit substrate and electrode parts of Ford et al. because Ford et al. teaches such a modification allows different electrical pathways for characterizing different features of the installed cartridge [0039], thereby resulting in a more configurable printer.
Richardson et al. as modified remains silent regarding the second peripheral wall bent with an internal angle thereof exceeding 180º with respect to the first peripheral wall part when seen from an installation direction of the cartridge.
However, it would have been an obvious design choice to modify the walls of Richardson et al. such that the second peripheral wall bent with an internal angle thereof exceeding 180º with respect to the first peripheral wall part when seen from an installation direction of the cartridge, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966)
Such a modification ensures the cartridge fits within an intended printer, thereby improving the overall operations between the cartridge and the printer.
With respect to claim 2, Richardson et al. as modified teaches the cartridge (13), wherein the tape introduction port (52) is provided between the ink ribbon accommodation part (30) and the circuit substrate (60 of Ford et al. as modified to be on the second peripheral wall of Richardson et al).
With respect to claim 3, Richardson et al. as modified teaches the cartridge (13) wherein a ribbon-side path lateral wall part (i.e. a wall part defined by the ribbon cartridge seen in Fig. 6 extending in the same direction as the travel path of the tape), provided on the ink ribbon accommodation part-side (as seen in Fig. 6 of Richardson et al.) and forming the tape path (as seen in Fig. 6), when seen from a front side (i.e. the point of view seen in Fig. 6) in an installation direction of the cartridge (13), a path angle (as the depicted path angle defined by the path of the tape relative to the ribbon-side path lateral wall) that is an angle based on the ribbon-side path lateral wall part (defined in Fig. 6) with respect to a direction (i.e. downward direction) in which the electrode part (of 60) receives a force from the contact terminal is less than 45º (as the angle between the path lateral wall part is 0º).
With respect to claim 4, Richardson et al. as modified teaches the cartridge (13) wherein the electrode part (as modified by Ford et al.) is constituted by a plurality of electrodes [0039] of Ford et al. that come in contact with a plurality of the contact terminal parts (i.e. electrical pathways), and the plurality of electrodes [0039] is formed to extend to a back side (i.e. an upward direction) in the installation direction (which is downward).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richardson et al. (5,111,216) in view of Ford et al. (2010/0119281), as applied to claim 4, further in view of Ozawa et al. (4,901,090).
With respect to claim 5, Richardson et al. as modified teaches all that is claimed in the above rejection of claim 4 but remains silent regarding wherein the electrode part includes a GND electrode, and the GND electrode further extends to a back side in the installation direction than the other electrodes.
Ozawa et al. teaches a similar cartridge having an electrode part that includes a GND electrode (Fig. 11a-b), and the GND electrode further extends to a back side in the installation direction than the other electrodes (as the GND electrodes extend in towards the back side relative to the installation direction of the cartridge).
Because both Ford et al. and Ozawa et al. teach electrode part, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to substitute the electrodes of Ford et al. with the electrodes of Ozawa et al. to achieve the predictable result of detecting characteristics of the installed cartridge. Further, by grounding all electrodes, the modification ensures there are no floating potentials, picking up stray electromagnetic interference or radio frequency noise, which can cause false triggers or errors in the system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Van Britsom et al. (2012/0057917) which teaches a cassette having a housing and at least one switch.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW G MARINI whose telephone number is (571)272-2676. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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/MATTHEW G MARINI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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