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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I and Species D, claims 1-14 and 18 in the reply filed on 04 August 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 15-17 and 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04 August 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference cited in the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 16 January 2025, has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received on 16 January 2025 are accepted.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Examiner’s Note
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 13, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishikawa et al. (US 9,079,438).
With respect to claim 1, Ishikawa discloses a printer comprising:
a roller (Fig. 1, element 22) that conveys a sheet (Fig. 1, element 10) in a conveyance direction (Fig. 2, i.e. arrow);
a print head (Fig. 1, element 21) configured to perform printing on the sheet (Column 3, lines 23-28);
a cutter (Fig. 1, elements 31, 32) that cuts the sheet that is conveyed by the roller and on which the printing is performed by the print head (Column 3, lines 29-34);
a support member (Fig. 1, element 40) that is disposed at a sheet discharge port (Fig. 1, element 46) from which the sheet cut by the cutter is discharged and supports the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port from a back side of the sheet (Column 3, lines 46-53); and
a biasing member (Fig. 1, element 50) that is disposed between the cutter and the support member in the conveyance direction and biases the sheet from a front side of the sheet Column 4, lines 40-44), wherein
the support member (Fig. 1, element 40) and the biasing member (Fig. 1, element 50) partially overlap each other (Fig. 1, i.e. shape of element 50) when viewed from the conveyance direction so that the sheet cut by the cutter is held between the support member and the biasing member (Fig. 1, i.e. length of element 10 through the printer).
The examiner notes to applicant that the limitations concerning how the support member and biasing member overlap each other are broad in scope and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of Ishikawa as applied above.
With respect to claim 13, Ishikawa discloses the support member (Fig. 1, element 40) includes a protrusion (Fig. 1, i.e. top and bottom forming element 46) extending from the sheet discharge port (Fig. 1, element 46), a distal end of the protrusion (Fig. 12, i.e. top and bottom forming element 46) overlaps the biasing member (Fig. 12, element 50) when viewed from the conveyance direction (Fig. 12, i.e. between rollers 42, 44), and the protrusion is inclined (Fig. 12, element 40, i.e. portion by rollers 43, 44) with respect to the conveyance direction.
With respect to claim 14, Ishikawa discloses a body capable of housing a roll (Column 3, lines 6-12) of the sheet (Fig. 1, element 10); and a cover that opens and closes an opening of the body (Column 1, line 9, i.e. ATM body) and to which the support member (Fig. 1, element 40) is attached, wherein a length of the protrusion and an inclination of the protrusion (Fig. 1, i.e. top and bottom forming element 46) with respect to the conveyance direction (Fig. 2, i.e. arrow) are set such that the roll of the sheet is insertable through the opening into the body when the cover is opened (Column 1, lines 21-33) until the protrusion contacts a horizontal surface (Column 1, line 9, i.e. ATM body) on which the printer is installed (Column 3, lines 6-12).
With respect to claim 18, Ishikawa discloses an upper end of the support member (Fig. 1, element 40) is located higher than a lower end of the biasing member (Fig. 1, element 50).
Allowable Subject Matter
1. Claim 2 is 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 primary reasons for allowance for claim 2 is that applicant’s claimed invention includes a printer having a roller and a biasing member, the printer further having a sensor configured to detect displacement of the biasing member and a processor configured to control the roller to stop conveying the sheet when the displacement of the biasing member is detected by the sensor. It is this limitation, expressed in the claimed combination not found, taught, or suggested in the prior art that makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
2. Claims 3-12 are objected to for being dependent upon claim 2.
Conclusion
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
The remaining references listed on forms 892 and 1449 have been reviewed by the examiner and are considered to be cumulative to or less material than the prior art references relied upon in the rejection above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geoffrey Mruk whose telephone number is (571)272-2810. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30 PM.
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, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached at (571) 272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GEOFFREY S MRUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 08/20/2026
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