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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/19/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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) 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0092100 to Nishikawa et al. “Nishikawa” as modified by JP 2015/217464 to Baba et al. “Baba.”
With regard to Claim 1, Nishikawa teaches a recording device (1) comprising:
a transport section (5) that transports a medium (P) in a transport direction along a transport path;
a recording section that records an image on the medium transported by the transport section [0051-0052];
a cutter unit (6) including a cutter blade (61) for processing the medium in the transport path [0045-0046]; and
a cutter carriage (62) configured to move the cutter unit (6) in a widthwise direction intersecting the transport direction [0046-0047].
Nishikawa does not teach wherein the cutter unit is attachable to and detachable from the cutter carriage and, in accordance with an attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit to the cutter carriage, the cutter unit enters an exposed state in which the cutter blade becomes exposed and, in accordance with a detachment operation of detaching the cutter unit from the cutter carriage, enters a non-exposed state in which the cutter blade is not exposed.
However, Baba teaches (fig. 2) wherein the cutter unit (B) is attachable to and detachable from the cutter carriage (19) and, in accordance with an attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit to the cutter carriage (19), the cutter unit (B) enters an exposed state in which the cutter blade (21, 22) becomes exposed and, in accordance with a detachment operation of detaching the cutter unit (B) from the cutter carriage, enters a non-exposed state in which the cutter blade (21, 22) is not exposed (see entire document). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the fling date of the claimed invention to modify Nishkawa with the teachings of Baba to improve a safety mechanism of a cutting blade that can safely attach and remove the cutting blade to / from a cutting device.
With regard to Claim 10, Nishikawa teaches (fig. 2) a cutter unit (6) attachable to and detachable from a cutter carriage (62) with respect to a recording device, the recording device (1) including a transport section (5) that transports a medium (P) in a transport direction (conveyance direction) along a transport path, a recording section (4) that records an image on the medium transported by the transport section [0051-0052], and the cutter carriage (62), which moves the cutter unit (6) in a widthwise direction intersecting the transport direction [0046-0047], the cutter unit (6) comprising: a cutter blade (61) for processing the medium (P) in the transport path [0045-0046].
Nishikawa does not teach wherein the cutter unit enters an exposed state in which the cutter blade becomes exposed in accordance with an attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit to the cutter carriage, and enters a non-exposed state non-exposed state in which the cutter blade is not exposed in accordance with a detachment operation of detaching the cutter unit from the cutter carriage
However, Baba teaches wherein the cutter unit (B) enters an exposed state in which the cutter blade (21, 22) becomes exposed in accordance with an attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit (B) to the cutter carriage, and enters a non-exposed state non-exposed state in which the cutter blade (21, 22) is not exposed in accordance with a detachment operation of detaching the cutter unit from the cutter carriage (19) (see entire document). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the fling date of the claimed invention to modify Nishkawa with the teachings of Baba to improve a safety mechanism of a cutting blade that can safely attach and remove the cutting blade to / from a cutting device.
Examiner Note
The examiner cites particular columns and lines numbers (or paragraphs or figures) in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. 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. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, applicant fully consider the references in their entirety 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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 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: The primary reason for the allowance of Claims 2-3 is the inclusion of the limitations the base section includes a contact section that, in accordance with an attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit to the cutter carriage. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 4 is the inclusion of the limitations a case that accommodates the base section, and a displacement section that is displaced in conjunction with the base section, in a state of being accommodated in the case. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claims 5-7 is the inclusion of the limitations the cutter carriage has an engaged section with which the engagement section is engageable, and the cutter unit is such that in accordance with the attachment operation of attaching to the cutter carriage, the engagement section engages with the engaged section, the cover is moved to the exposed position against the biasing force of the biasing section. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes these claims allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 8 is the inclusion of the limitations the cutter carriage includes an attachment operation restricting section that, when the cutter unit is not disposed in a holding region, restricts the attachment operation of attaching the cutter unit to the cutter carriage. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 9 is the inclusion of the limitations a housing and a replacement unit accommodation section provided in the housing and configured to accommodate a replacement cutter unit. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20140150619 A1 discloses a cutting apparatus includes a carriage with a cartridge holder to which a cutter cartridge is detachably attachable, a moving unit moving an object to be cut and the carriage relative to each other so that the object is cut by a cutter, and a pressing unit switchable between a fixing position where the pressing unit presses the cartridge attached to the cartridge holder to fix the cartridge and an open position where the pressing unit releases the cartridge from a fixed state. The cartridge has an abutment and the cartridge holder has an abutted portion against which the abutment abuts. At least one of the abutment and the abutted portion is tapered. The pressing unit presses the cartridge at the fixing position to fix the cartridge while the abutment is in abutment with the abutted portion, so that the cutter is held at a predetermined position.
US 2024/0092102 discloses a cutter unit 6 has a cutter carriage 61, blades 62 and 63 and a cutter supporting part 64. The cutter unit 6 is arranged on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the sheet P, with respect to the printing part 4. The cutter unit 6 is an example of a “processing unit”. The cutter carriage 61 moves reciprocally in the left-right direction by a driving force transmitted thereto from a non-illustrated cutter carriage motor. The cutter carriage 61 holds the blade 62. The blade 62 is, for example, a round blade, and is rotatably held by the cutter carriage 61. The cutter carriage 61 is arranged at a location above the conveying route 61.
CN 101292675A discloses a cutter shield of food slicer equipped around the discal rotary cutter and covering the cutter periphery of the food slicer, wherein it comprises a peripheral wall portion and a front side wall formed by bending extending from the front end of the peripheral wall portion to the centre side of the cutter; said cutter shield is rotatably mounted on the base of the food slicer; the upper portion of the cutter shield is connected on the cutter carriage by a support arm; the curter shield can be opened to open the cutter to outside by disconnecting the carriage arm and the cutter carriage and rotating the cutter shield.
Communication with the PTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON A POLK whose telephone number is (571)270-7910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7-3.
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, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached at 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SHARON A. POLK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Sharon Polk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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