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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the first protrusion" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 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.
Claims 1-6, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Goto et al (JP2013136219, Applicant’s IDS).
RE 1 and 9 Goto discloses a printing device (1) comprising: a printing head (31) configured to perform printing on a tape (36); a conveying unit (32/33) configured to convey the tape in a conveying direction (Fig 3); and a cutting device (50) configured to cut the tape (par 21-23), the cutting device comprising: a blade receiver (60) having a first receiving surface (67)(par 26); a cutting blade (57) movable between: a cutting position in which the cutting blade cuts, at a position between the cutting blade and the first receiving surface, a tape conveyed in a conveying direction along the first receiving surface (Fig 12); and a normal position in which the cutting blade is in separation from the first receiving surface (Fig 10); a support member (58) supporting the cutting blade so that the cutting blade is movable between the cutting position and the normal position (par 31-36); and a path-forming part (25, Fig 3 & 9) adjacent to the support member and positioned further downstream in the conveying direction relative to the support member, the path-forming part forming a conveying path of the tape (par 19), wherein the path-forming part has a first end, the first end being both an upstream end in the conveying direction of the path-forming part and an end in a first direction of the path-forming part, the first direction being a direction from the blade receiver toward the cutting blade ( left to right, Fig 9, use the shown screw as a guide), the first direction being orthogonal to the first receiving surface ( up to down, Fig 9, use the shown screw as a guide), wherein the first receiving surface has a second end, the second end being a downstream end in the conveying direction of the first receiving surface (the arrow of 66 in Fig 7), wherein the support member has a third end, the third end being an end in a second direction of the support member, the second direction being opposite the first direction (by the dotted line of ref 57), and wherein the cutting blade is positioned further upstream in the conveying direction relative to an intersection point at which a first virtual line and a second virtual line intersect when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first virtual line passing through both the first end of the path-forming part and the second end of the first receiving surface, the second virtual line being parallel to the conveying direction and passing through the third end of the support member (Fig 9).
RE 2, wherein the blade receiver (60) further has: a first side surface (62) on a downstream side in the conveying direction; and a first protrusion (65) protruding toward the downstream side in the conveying direction from the first side surface, the first protrusion constituting a part of the first receiving surface, and wherein the second end is a downstream end in the conveying direction of the first protrusion (par 26-27).
RE 3, wherein the first end is positioned further upstream in the conveying direction relative to the second end and is positioned further in the second direction relative to the second end (Fig 9).
RE 4, wherein the blade receiver further has: a first side surface (62) on a downstream side in the conveying direction; an intersecting surface connected to both the first receiving surface and the first side surface, the intersecting surface intersecting both the first receiving surface and the first side surface (Fig 8); a second receiving surface (the other of 67) rotationally symmetrical to the first receiving surface with respect to an axis of symmetry, the axis of symmetry being orthogonal to the conveying direction, the axis of symmetry being parallel to the first receiving surface, the axis of symmetry passing through a center of the intersecting surface; and a second protrusion rotationally symmetrical to the first protrusion with respect to the axis of symmetry, and wherein the blade receiver is mountable in the cutting device both in: a first posture in which the first receiving surface faces the cutting blade; and a second posture in which the second receiving surface faces the cutting blade (par 28).
RE 5, wherein the blade receiver (40) further has: a first side surface on a downstream side in the conveying direction; and an intersecting surface connected to both the first receiving surface and the first side surface, the intersecting surface intersecting both the first receiving surface and the first side surface, the intersecting surface including: a first sloped portion (sloped lips next to element 61, Fig 6) sloped in a third direction away from a center of the intersecting surface in the first direction, the third direction being a direction from the intersecting surface toward the first receiving surface, the third direction being orthogonal to the conveying direction and parallel to the first receiving surface (Fig 9 and 14).
RE 6, wherein the first sloped portion is sloped so that an amount that the first sloped portion is sloped relative to the third direction becomes greater as extending toward the downstream side in the conveying direction (fig 14).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 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: none of the cited prior art disclose, teach, suggest at least where the blade receiver includes: a third protrusion protruding from the intersecting surface in a fourth direction opposite the third direction, the third protrusion extending from an upstream end in the conveying direction of the intersecting surface to a downstream end in the conveying direction of the intersecting surface, the third protrusion including the center of the intersecting surface, the third protrusion having: a first protruding surface, the first protruding surface being a side surface in the first direction of the third protrusion, the first protruding surface being sloped in the third direction away from the center of the intersecting surface in the first direction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Christle I. Marshall whose telephone number is (571) 270-3086. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Paik can be reached on (571) 272-2404. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Christle I Marshall/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876