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 .
Amendment received 5/6/26 was entered into the record.
Election/Restrictions
Newly submitted claims 16 and 17 are directed to an invention that is independent or distinct from the invention originally claimed for the following reasons:
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-15 and 18, drawn to an opening/closing member holding device, classified in B65H 2405/115.
II. Claims 16 and 17, drawn to a medium conveyance device, classified in B65H 3/06.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions II and I are related as combination and subcombination. Inventions in this relationship are distinct if it can be shown that (1) the combination as claimed does not require the particulars of the subcombination as claimed for patentability, and (2) that the subcombination has utility by itself or in other combinations (MPEP § 806.05(c)). In the instant case, the combination as claimed does not require the particulars of the subcombination as claimed because the combination does not require the holding member to not hold the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is in the first open state. The subcombination has separate utility such as for a device without a supplying roller.
The examiner has required restriction between combination and subcombination inventions. Applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Since applicant has received an action on the merits for the originally presented invention, this invention has been constructively elected by original presentation for prosecution on the merits. Accordingly, claims 16 and 17 are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention. See 37 CFR 1.142(b) and MPEP § 821.03.
To preserve a right to petition, the reply to this action must distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement. Otherwise, the election shall be treated as a final election without traverse. Traversal must be timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are subsequently added, applicant must indicate which of the subsequently added claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: an opening/closing member first appearing in claim 1 identified as element 17 in the disclosure, a holding member first appearing in claim 1 identified as element 75 in the disclosure, and a plurality of medium detection units first appearing in claim 12 identified as elements 80, 85 in the disclosure.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-10, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kamichi US 12,421,060 (“Kamichi”).
Regarding claim 1, Kamichi disclosed an opening/closing member holding device comprising:
a body part (Figure 1);
a cover (71) configured to be set to an attached state of covering at least a part of the body part when a fastening part (71A) is fastened to the body part, the cover being detachable from the body part when the fastening part is detached;
an opening/closing member (72) configured to be switchable to a closed state of covering the fastening part fastened to the body part, and a first open state of exposing the fastening part fastened to the body part; and
a holding member (81) configured to be attachable to and detachable from the body part (including 2C), wherein the holding member is configured to hold the opening/closing member when attached in the state where the opening/closing member is in a second open state (Figure 9) where the opening/closing member is further opened than in the first open state (Figure 8), and
the holding member does not hold the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is in the first open state (Figure 8 and col. 10, first full paragraph).
Regarding claim 2, Kamichi disclosed the holding member is a wire-shaped member including a first engaging portion (82) configured to be engageable with the opening/closing member on one end side, and a second engaging portion (84) configured to be engageable with the body part on the other end side.
Regarding claim 3, Kamichi disclosed the holding member restricts a movement of the cover in a detaching direction of the cover when the cover is in the attached state (Figure 9).
Regarding claim 6, Kamichi disclosed both ends of the wire-shaped member making up the holding member are bent (see at least Figure 8).
Regarding claim 7, Kamichi disclosed an arm (73) configured to hold the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is in the first open state.
Regarding claim 8, Kamichi disclosed a medium conveyance device comprising:
a device body including a medium conveyance path configured to convey a medium (Figure 1), and the opening/closing member holding device according to claim 2 as mentioned above, wherein the body part is provided at a side surface of the device body and configured to open and close such that the body part forms a part of the medium conveyance path when the body part closes and forms a part of the medium conveyance path when the body part opens, and the opening/closing member is a support tray configured to support the medium that is supplied (see at least Figure 1).
Regarding claim 9, Kamichi disclosed a medium conveyance device comprising:
a device body including a medium conveyance path configured to convey a medium (Figure 1), and the opening/closing member holding device according to claim 3 as listed above, wherein the body part is provided at a side surface of the device body and configured to open and close, the opening/closing member is a support tray (72) configured to support the medium that is supplied, the device body includes a medium storage unit configured to store the medium (Figure 1),when a side surface where the medium storage unit is provided in the device body is set to a front surface of the device body, the body part is provided at a right side surface or a left side surface of the device body, and the holding member restricts a movement of the cover in the detaching direction of the cover on a device front surface side of the cover with the body part in the closed state (see at least Figures 1 and 14).
Regarding claim 10, Kamichi disclosed a supplying roller (67A) configured to supply the medium from the support tray; and a rotation shaft of the supplying roller (Figure 1), wherein the second engaging portion is engageable, (that is, capable of being engaged) with the rotation shaft of the supplying roller.
Regarding claim 13, Kamichi disclosed a recording device comprising: a recording unit (Figure 1) configured to perform recording on a medium; and the medium conveyance device according to claim 8 as mentioned above.
Regarding claim 14, Kamichi disclosed an arm (73) configured to hold the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is in the first open state.
Regarding claim 15, Kamichi disclosed the holding member does not hold the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is in the closed state (see at least Figure 14).
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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamichi. Kamichi disclosed the subject matter of claim 8 as listed above but did not specify using a plurality of medium detection units. Use of medium detection units within a medium conveyance device is entirely well known and obvious to use in order to ensure proper timing and feeding of media. Moreover, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a plurality of medium detection units configured to detect the medium which would be provided in the conveyance path of the medium. To do so would ensure the plurality of the medium detection units are accessible following a certain amount of disassembly including when the cover is detached from the body part.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 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.
Claim 18 is allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because of the new ground of rejection necessitated by the amendment.
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 HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571) 272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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