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 .
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 1-11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda et al. (US PG Pub 2007/0228640).
For claim 1: Ikeda teaches a device comprising: a flag 52D, 61; a transfer device 53 to transfer rotational motion of the flag to linear motion of a moveable indicator 52B, 52C; and a scanner device 54, 55 to capture an image of a current location of the moveable indicator 52B, 52C on a scanner surface (see paragraph 14, front of the scanning element 54, 55).
For claim 2: Ikeda teaches the device of claim 1 wherein the current location of the moveable indicator corresponds to a quantity of print medium Sa interacting with the flag 61, 52D.
For claim 3: Ikeda teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the flag 61, 52D includes a first side that is a convex shape (see Fig. 8, exterior surface of element 52D, 61) and a second side that is a concave shape (see Fig. 8, interior of elbow from 52D, 61) and wherein the first side (see Fig. 8, particularly bottom surface of 61) is arranged to interact with print media Sa to move the flag in a direction of the second side (see Fig. 8, Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, the element 61 shifting upward).
For claim 4: Ikeda teaches the device of claim 3, wherein the first side 61 includes a raised point (see Fig. 8, raised at the joint near 52D) that is tapered to lower points toward the edges of the flag 61 in a plurality of directions from the raised point (see Fig. 8, the remainder of portion 61 is lower than the bowed point near 52D).
For claim 5: Ikeda teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the flag 61, 52D Includes an increasing size from a tip of the flag (see Fig. 6, end portion of 61 is the thinnest) toward a connection point with the transfer device (see Fig. 6, the joint between 52D, 61 is thicker than the tip of 61 and the portion 52D is thicker yet).
For claim 6: Ikeda et teaches the device of claim 5, wherein the increasing size includes an increasing distance between edges of the flag (see Fig. 6, the increasing distance between the first lower side and the second upper side)
For claim 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the moveable indicator 52B, 52C is a scannable device arranged to move along the scanner surface of the scanner device 54, 55 in response to movement of the flag (see Fig. 6, see paragraph 14, the element moves along the scanning surface of the scanner device 54, 55 which is a sensor).
For claim 8. Ikeda teaches a printing device (see Fig. 1), comprising: a media tray (see Fig. 1, see Fig. 6, which depicts a tray below element 21) to receive print media Sa; a media width adjustor positioned on a first edge of the media tray; a media flag 52D, 61 positioned on a second edge of the media tray, wherein the media flag 52D, 61 includes a first side (see Fig. 6, bottom side, which is an exterior of an elbow and thus convex) that is a convex shape to interact with print media Sa positioned within the media tray (see Fig. 6, bottom side of 61 contacting sheets Sa, more clearly seen in Figs. 8 and 9) and a second side (see Figs. 6 and 8, interior elbow) that is a concave shape (see Fig. 6, the interior elbow being concave in shape); and a scanner device 54, 55 to scan an image of a current location of a moveable indicator 52B, 52C that moves along a scanner surface (see Fig. 9, surface of sensors 54, 55) of the scanner device in response to movement of the media flag (see Figs. 8 and 9, movement of media flag due to the surface of the substrate Sa moving the element 52B, 52C) from interacting with print media Sa positioned within the media tray.
For claim 9: Ikeda teaches the printing device of claim 8, wherein the first side of the media flag 61 is arranged to receive a force from print media Sa while the print media is moved from the first edge of the media tray to the second edge of the media tray (see Fig. 9, if the substrate is loaded, a media surface moves from the bottom of the tray towards the top of the tray).
For claim 10: Ikeda teaches the printing device of claim 9, wherein the print media moves the media flag in a direction of the second side of the media flag (see Fig. 9, moving the surface 61 vertically).
For claim 11: Ikeda teaches the he printing device of claim 8, wherein the media flag includes a first width at a first portion of the media flag (see Fig. 8, first width at portion 61) and a second width at a second portion of the media flag (see Fig.8, second width at portion 52D).
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 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda et al. (US PG Pub 2007/0228640) in view of Tao et al. (US PG Pub 2015/0029563).
For claim 12: Ikeda teaches a system comprising: a media tray to receive print media see Fig. 1, see Fig. 6, which depicts a tray below element 21; a moveable indicator positioned on the scan surface; a media flag 52D, 61 within the media tray to move a moveable indicator 52B, 53C along the surface in response to a force received while interacting with print media Sa within the media tray (see Figs. 8 and 9), wherein the media flag includes a convex side to interact with the print media (see Fig. 8, lower and outer surface of element 52D, 61 being an exterior elbow and thus convex, contacting the media Sa); and a processor to: sensor to sense the moveable indicator and determine a quantity of print media within the media tray based on the location of the movable indicator (see paragraph 72). Ikeda does not teach a scanner device with a scan surface to capture images of objects on the scan surface, the movable indicator position on the scan surface and the processor to instruct the scanner device to scan an image location of the moveable indicator on the scan surface. However, Tao et al. teaches a scanner device (See paragraph 24, image scanner) with a scan surface 60 to capture images of objects on the scan surface and capturing the movable indicator position on the scan surface and the processor configured to instruct the scanner device to scan an image location of the moveable indicator on the scan surface (see paragraph 47, provision of a single scanning module to scan the object and the flag, the controller may position the scanning module to scan the flag). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Ikeda to provide the sensor device for scanning the flag as scanning module for a scanner component of a system as taught by Tao et al. for the purpose of utilizing the single element for both scanning and determining the flag position.
For claim 13: The combination of Ikeda and Tao et al. teaches the system of claim 12 and Tao et al. teaches that rotational motion of the media flag is transferred to linear motion of the moveable indicator (see Fig. 5A, 5B, the flag motion transfers to vertical motion of the element 32).
For claim 14: The combination of Ikeda and Tao et al. teaches the system of claim 12, and Tao et al .teaches that the location of the moveable indicator corresponds to a distance between a first location and a second location on the scan surface (see Figs. 5A, 5B and paragraph 47, the movement of the indicator 32 is captured by the scanner module 60 at its first and second locations).
For claim 15: The combination Ikeda and Tao et al. teaches all of the limitations of claim 16 except that wherein the first location is a position of the moveable indicator while the media tray is empty and the second location is a position of the moveable indicator while the media tray is full of print media. However, this distinction from the prior art can be overcome through a rearrangement of the known parts In the instant case, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify the invention to set the first location at an empty state of the tray and the second location at the full state of the tray to convey information over the entire usage range of the tray.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID H BANH whose telephone number is (571)270-3851. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12-8PM.
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/DAVID H BANH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853