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 .
Double Patenting
2. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-10 and 12-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,296,752. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,296,752 discloses all the limitations of claims 1-10 and 12-20.
With respect to claim 1, note claim 1 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 1
A compact printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing having a top surface member connected to two side members forming an interior housing channel, a printer sliding tray designed to retain a mini portable printer, and a vehicle mounting bracket wherein:
a. the top surface member having attachment means for attaching a mobile computer that allows the mobile computer to be situated above the top surface member in a secured fashion without requiring the housing to have a lid or side walls to be situated above the top surface member;
b. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray;
c. each of the two side members of the housing includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray to slide in and out of the interior housing channel;
d. the vehicle mounting bracket is in communication with the housing;
e. the vehicle mounting bracket includes vehicle attachment features for attachment to a vehicle's interior;
f. the printer sliding tray having a printer retaining feature designed to assist the printer sliding tray in retaining the mini portable printer by attaching the mini portable printer to a front portion of the printer sliding tray;
g. the printer sliding tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the mini portable printer;
h. the printer roll holding feature is located behind and below the printer retaining feature; and
i. the interior housing channel and the printer sliding tray form a compact space that retains the mini portable printer and the printer paper roll between the interior housing channel and the printer sliding tray.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 1
A printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing having a top surface member connected to two side members forming an interior housing channel, a printer sliding tray, and a vehicle mounting bracket wherein:
a. the top surface member having attachment means for attaching a mobile computer thereby allowing the mobile computer to be situated above the top surface member;
b. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray
c. each of the two side members of the housing includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray to slide in and out of the interior housing channel;
d. the vehicle mounting bracket is in communication with the housing;
e. the vehicle mounting bracket includes vehicle attachment features for attachment to a vehicle's interior;
f. the printer tray having a printer retaining feature designed to contain a printer; and
g. the printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer.
With respect to claim 2, note claim 2 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 2
The printer station of claim 1 wherein both the housing and the vehicle mounting bracket include attachment features and the housing and vehicle mounting bracket are attached to each other via the attachment features and fasteners.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 2
The printer station of claim 1 wherein both the housing and the vehicle mounting bracket include attachment features and the housing and vehicle mounting bracket are attached to each other via the attachment features and fasteners.
With respect to claim 3, note claim 3 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 3
The printer station of claim 2 wherein the fasteners are nuts and bolts and the attachment features are apertures for use with the nuts and the bolts.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 3
The printer station of claim 2 wherein the fasteners are nuts and bolts and the attachment features are apertures for use with the nuts and the bolts.
With respect to claim 4, note claim 4 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 4
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the slide feature is an extended member of the side member.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 4
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the slide feature is an extended member of the side member.
With respect to claim 5, note claim 5 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 5
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the slide feature is a linear slide rail.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 5
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the slide feature is a linear slide rail.
With respect to claim 6, note claim 7 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 7
The printer station of claim 6 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is an open structural channel member.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 6
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is an open structural channel member.
With respect to claim 7, note claim 6 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 6
The printer station of claim 5 wherein the open structural channel member is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 7
The printer station of claim 5 wherein the open structural channel member is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray.
With respect to claim 8, note claim 8 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 8
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer retaining feature is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 8
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer retaining feature is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray.
With respect to claim 9, note claim 9 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 9
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is integral part of the printer sliding tray and includes two supporting members each having a recess feature and a spindle having two ends, wherein the spindle is designed to extend through center of the printer paper roll; and
the spindle is supported by the two supporting member by having the two ends inserted into the recess features.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 9
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is integral part of the printer sliding tray and includes two supporting members each having a recess feature and a spindle having two ends, wherein a. the spindle is designed to extend through center of the printer paper roll; and
b. the spindle is supported by the two supporting member by having the two ends inserted into the recess features.
With respect to claim 10, note claim 10 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 10
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is integral part of the printer sliding tray and includes two supporting members each having an extended member designed to extend into an end of center of the printer paper roll.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 10
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the printer paper roll holding feature is integral part of the printer sliding tray and includes two supporting members each having an extended member designed to extend into an end of center of the printer paper roll.
With respect to claim 12, note claim 11 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 11
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the vehicle bracket mount is an integral part of the housing.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 12
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the vehicle bracket mount is an integral part of the housing.
With respect to claim 13, note claim 12 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 12
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of steel.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 13
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of steel.
With respect to claim 14, note claim 13 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 13
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of aluminum.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 14
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of aluminum.
With respect to claim 15, note claim 14 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 14
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of plastic.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 15
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the housing is constructed of plastic.
With respect to claim 16, note claim 15 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 15
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the attachment means are Velcro for attaching the mobile computer to the top surface member of the housing.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 16
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the attachment means are Velcro for attaching the mobile computer to the top surface member of the housing.
With respect to claim 17, note claim 16 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 16
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the attachment means are apertures for used with fasteners and the fasteners includes at least one bracket, nuts and bolts.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 17
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the attachment means are apertures for used with fasteners and the fasteners includes at least one bracket, nuts and bolts.
With respect to claim 18, note claim 17 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 17
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the mobile computer is attached to a computer tray and the computer tray is attached to the top surface member of the housing.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 18
The printer station of claim 1 wherein the mobile computer is attached to a computer tray and the computer tray is attached to the top surface member of the housing.
With respect to claim 19, note claim 18 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 18
The printer station of claim 17 wherein the computer tray is designed to extend in its length and width in order to accommodate and to secure any sizing of the mobile computer.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 19
The printer station of claim 18 wherein the computer tray is designed to extend in its length and width in order to accommodate and to secure any sizing of the mobile computer.
With respect to claim 20, note claim 19 of US Patent No. 12,296,752.
US Patent No. 12,296,752
Claim 19
A compact printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing having a top surface member connected to two side members forming an interior housing channel, a printer sliding tray designed to retain a mini portable printer, and a vehicle mounting bracket wherein:
a. the top surface member having attachment means for attaching a computer tray;
b. the computer tray having attachment means for attaching a mobile computer that allows the mobile computer to be situated above both the computer tray and the top surface member in a secured fashion without requiring the housing to have a lid or side walls to be situated above the top surface member;
c. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray
d. each of the two side members of the housing includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray to slide in and out of the interior housing channel;
e. the vehicle mounting bracket is in communication with the housing;
f. the vehicle mounting bracket includes vehicle attachment features for attachment to a vehicle's interior;
g. the printer sliding tray having a printer retaining feature designed to assists the printer sliding tray in retaining the mini portable printer by clamping the mini portable printer to a front portion of the printer sliding tray;
h. the printer sliding tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the mini portable printer; and
i. the printer roll holding feature is located behind and below the printer retaining feature.
US Patent Application 19/063,814
Claim 20
A printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing having a top surface member connected to two side members forming an interior housing channel, a printer sliding tray, and
a vehicle mounting bracket wherein:
a. the top surface member having attachment means for attaching a computer tray;
b. the computer tray having attachment means for attaching a mobile computer thereby allowing the mobile computer to be situated above both the computer tray and the top surface member;
c. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray
d. each of the two side members of the housing includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray to slide in and out of the interior housing channel;
e. the vehicle mounting bracket is in communication with the housing;
f. the vehicle mounting bracket includes vehicle attachment features for attachment to a vehicle's interior;
g. the printer tray having a printer retaining feature designed to contain a printer; and
h. the printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
Claims 1-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Horton (US Patent 6,400,561) in view of Chen (CN207724317).
With respect to claim 1, Horton teaches a printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing (200, 206) having a top surface member (424) connected to two side members (406, 412) forming an interior housing channel (note: the area inside the sidewalls form a channel), a printer sliding tray (426), and a vehicle mounting bracket (204, Abstract, Column 2, Lines 2-6, Lines 33-39, Column 5, Lines 39-54, Column 6, Lines 24-37) wherein:
a. the top surface member (424) having attachment means for attaching a mobile computer (202) thereby allowing the mobile computer (202) to be situated above the top surface member (Column 23, Lines 34-56, Figures 4a, 4b, Figures 19a-c);
b. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray (426, Figures 4a, 4b)
c. each of the two side members (406, 412) of the housing (200, 206) includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray (426) to slide in and out of the interior housing channel (Column 24, Lines 30-44, Column 24, Lines 1-5);
d. the vehicle mounting bracket (204) is in communication with the housing (Column 6, Lines 51-64, Column 7, Lines 5-20);
e. the vehicle mounting bracket (204) includes vehicle attachment features (314, 316,318) for attachment to a vehicle's interior (Abstract, Column 5, Lines 39-61, Column 6, Line 37-Column 7, Line 20);
f. the printer tray (426) having a printer retaining feature (1914, 1918) designed to contain a printer (Column 2, Lines 55-60, Column 10, Lines 24-27, Figure 4a).
However, Horton does not explicitly disclose g. the printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer. Chen teaches printer tray (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action) having a printer paper roll holding feature (10, 12) designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer (Abstract).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the present invention was made to modify the printer housing as taught by Horton since it would require obvious substitution of a known printer tray with a printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer as taught by Chen for the purpose of ensuring a medium can be stably mounted inside the printer.
With respect to claim 2, Horton teaches both the housing (200, 206) and the vehicle mounting bracket (204) include attachment features (314, 316, 318) and the housing (200, 206) and vehicle mounting bracket (204) are attached to each other via the attachment features and fasteners (Abstract, Column 5, Lines 39-61, Column 6, Line 37-Column 7, Line 20).
With respect to claim 3, Horton teaches the fasteners are nuts and bolts and the attachment features are apertures for use with the nuts and the bolts (Column 5, Lines 39-61, Column 6, Lines 46-50, 61-64).
With respect to claim 4, Horton teaches the slide feature is an extended member of the side member (Column 24, Lines 30-44, Column 25, Lines 1-5).
With respect to claim 5, Horton teaches the claimed invention including a slide with the exception of a slide feature is a linear slide rail. Chen teaches the slide feature is a linear slide rail (6, Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the present invention was made to modify the printer housing taught by Horton to provide a linear slide rail as taught by Chen for the purpose of ensuring a tray, drawer, etc can easily insert and withdraw in a stable, sturdy manner.
With respect to claim 6, Chen teaches the printer paper roll holding feature (10, 12) an open structural channel member (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action).
With respect to claim 7, Chen teaches the open structural channel member (10) is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action).
With respect to claim 8, Chen teaches the printer retaining feature (10) is a separate physical component of the printer sliding tray (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action).
With respect to claim 9, Chen teaches the printer paper roll holding feature (12) is integral part of the printer sliding tray and includes two supporting members each having a recess feature (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action) and a spindle (10) having two ends, wherein a. the spindle (10) is designed to extend through center of the printer paper roll (Figure 3); and b. the spindle (10) is supported by the two supporting member by having the two ends inserted into the recess features (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action).
With respect to claim 10, Chen teaches the printer paper roll holding feature (12) is integral part of the printer sliding tray (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action) and includes two supporting members each having an extended member designed to extend into an end of center of the printer paper roll.
With respect to claim 11, the limitation “the printer is a Brother PocketJet and the printer paper roll is designed to feed into the Brother PocketJet for printing”, please note the presence of a trademark or trade name in a claim is not, per se, improper under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. However, a trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. If the trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of the 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. See MPEP §2173.05(u).
With respect to claim 12, Horton teaches the vehicle bracket mount (204) is an integral part of the housing (200, 206, Figure 2).
With respect to claim 13, Horton teaches the housing is constructed of steel (Column 6, Lines 29-30, Column 7, Lines 48-50, Column 7, Line 64- Column 8, Line 1, Column 8, Lines 34-36, Column 9, Lines 54-56, Column 11, Lines 43-46, Column 13, Lines 39-41 and Column 14, Lines 64-65).
With respect to claims 14 and 15, Horton teaches the claimed invention with the exception of the housing is constructed of aluminum and/or plastic.
However, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to
select a known material and shape on the basis of suitability for the intended use for the purpose of providing a low cost but sturdy material. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that providing an aluminum and/or plastic housing for the purpose of providing a low cost strong metal.
With respect to claim 17, Horton teaches the attachment means are apertures for used with fasteners and the fasteners includes at least one bracket, nuts and bolts (Column 23, Lines 34-56).
With respect to claim 18, Horton teaches the mobile computer is attached to a computer tray (422 additionally functions as a tray, 426) and the computer tray (422) is attached to the top surface member (424) of the housing (Figure 4b).
With respect to claim 19, teaches the computer tray (422, 426) is designed to extend in its length and width in order to accommodate and to secure any sizing of the mobile computer (Figures 4a, 4b).
With respect to claim 20, Horton teaches a printer station for a vehicle comprising:
a housing (200, 206) having a top surface member (424) connected to two side members (406, 412) forming an interior housing channel (note: the area inside the sidewalls form a channel), a printer sliding tray (426), and a vehicle mounting bracket (204, Abstract, Column 2, Lines 2-6, Lines 33-39, Column 5, Lines 39-54, Column 6, Lines 24-37) wherein:
a. the top surface member (424) having attachment means for attaching a computer tray (422);
b. the computer tray (422, 426) having attachment means (Column 23, Lines 34-56, Figures 4a, 4b, Figures 19a-c) for attaching a mobile computer (202) thereby allowing the mobile computer (202) to be situated above both the computer tray and the top surface member (424 and Column 23, Lines 34-56, Figures 4a, 4b, Figures 19a-c);
c. the interior housing channel is designed to contain at least a portion of the printer sliding tray (426, Figures 4a, 4b)
d. each of the two side members (406, 412) of the housing (200, 206) includes a slide feature that accepts and allows the printer sliding tray (426) to slide in and out of the interior housing channel (Column 24, Lines 30-44, Column 24, Lines 1-5);
e. the vehicle mounting bracket (204) is in communication with the housing (Column 6, Lines 51-64, Column 7, Lines 5-20);
f. the vehicle mounting bracket (204) includes vehicle attachment features (314, 316,318) for attachment to a vehicle's interior (Abstract, Column 5, Lines 39-61, Column 6, Line 37-Column 7, Line 20);
g. the printer tray (426) having a printer retaining feature (1914, 1918) designed to contain a printer (Column 2, Lines 55-60, Column 10, Lines 24-27, Figure 4a); and
However, Horton does not explicitly disclose h. the printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer. Chen teaches printer tray (refer to marked-up Figure 3 in the detailed action) having a printer paper roll holding feature (10, 12) designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the present invention was made to modify the printer housing as taught by Horton since it would require obvious substitution of a known printer tray with a printer tray having a printer paper roll holding feature designed to contain a printer paper roll that feeds into the printer as taught by Chen for the purpose of ensuring a medium can be stably mounted inside the printer.
4. Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Horton (US Patent 6,400,561) in view of Chen (CN207724317) as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Abu-Akel et al. (US Publication 2016/0015167).
With respect to claim 16, Horton, as modified, teaches the claimed invention with the exception of the attachment means are Velcro for attaching the mobile computer to the top surface member of the housing.
Abu-Akel et al. teaches a mobile computer station with attachment means are Velcro for attaching the mobile computer to the top surface member of the housing (Paragraph 0094).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the present invention was made to further modify the printer as taught by Horton, as modified, to provide Velcro to attach a mobile computer as taught by Abu-Akel et al. for the purpose of reducing or eliminating movement or vibration during transportation of the printer.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARISSA LIANA FERGUSON SAMRETH whose telephone number is (571)272-2163. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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/Marissa Ferguson-Samreth/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/CHRISTOPHER E MAHONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852