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 3/5/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ukai et al. (US 2024/0010013 A1) in view of Steger (US 4272201).
Regarding claim 1:
Ukai et al. disclose a cassette comprising:
a lower case (second frame part 33 + second frame cover 34) having a box-like shape (Figs. 2-3);
a ribbon roll (auxiliary tape roll 14) accommodated in the lower case (Fig. 3), the ribbon roll being a roll of an ink ribbon (14A), the ribbon roll being rotatable about a first axis extending in an up-down direction (paragraph 66 & Fig. 3); and
a take-up spool (16) accommodated in the lower case (Fig. 3), the take-up spool being configured to take up the ink ribbon from the ribbon roll (paragraph 67),
wherein the lower case comprises:
a front wall (wall 33A) extending in both the up-down direction and a left-right direction orthogonal to the up-down direction (Fig. 3), the front wall having a right edge (Fig. 3);
a rear wall (see Drawing A below) extending in both the up-down direction and the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the front wall and the rear wall being arranged in a front-rear direction orthogonal to both the up-down direction and the left-right direction (Fig. 3);
a left wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction (Fig. 3);
a right wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction (Fig. 3), the left wall and the right wall being arranged in the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the right wall having a front edge (Fig. 3);
a first inner wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the first inner wall being positioned between the front wall and the rear wall (Fig. 3), the first inner wall having a left edge and a right edge (Fig. 3);
a second inner wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the second inner wall being positioned between the front wall and the rear wall (Fig. 3) and positioned further rearward relative to the first inner wall in the front-rear direction (Fig. 3), the second inner wall having a left edge and a right edge (Fig. 3);
a third inner wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction (Fig. 3), the third inner wall being positioned between the left wall and the right wall (Fig. 3), the third inner wall having a front edge connected to the left edge of the first inner wall and a rear edge connected to the left edge of the second inner wall (Fig. 3); and
a fourth inner wall (see Drawing A) extending in both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction (Fig. 3), the fourth inner wall being positioned between the left wall and the right wall (Fig. 3) and positioned further rightward relative to the third inner wall in the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the fourth inner wall having a front edge (Fig. 3) and a rear edge connected to the right edge of the second inner wall (Fig. 3),
wherein the lower case has an exposed area (head opening 33B: paragraph 103) in which the ink ribbon is exposed (paragraph 67 & Fig. 6), the exposed area extending from a portion between the right edge of the front wall and the right edge of the first inner wall to a portion between the front edge of the fourth inner wall and the front edge of the right wall (Figs. 3, 6), and
wherein the lower case defines a conveying path along which the ink ribbon is conveyed in a conveying direction when the take-up spool takes up the ink ribbon from the ribbon roll (Fig. 6), the conveying path including a first part, a second part, the exposed area, and a third part (Fig. 6 & Drawing A) from an upstream side in the conveying direction (Fig. 6), the first part passing between the left wall and the third inner wall (Fig. 6), the second part passing between the front wall and the first inner wall (Fig. 6), the third part passing between the fourth inner wall and the right wall (Fig. 6).
PNG
media_image1.png
700
900
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Drawing A: Taken from Fig. 6 of Ukai et al. and edited to identify how Ukai et al.’s cassette comprises the various walls required by claim 1.
Ukai et al. do not expressly disclose that the cassette further comprises a protrusion protruding rightward from a portion of the fourth inner wall other than the front edge and the rear edge of the fourth inner wall.
However, Steger discloses a cassette comprising a protrusion (rib portion 35) that protrudes from a portion of a fourth inner wall (base portion 31) other than a front edge and a rear edge of the fourth inner wall (Figs. 3-5), the protrusion being configured to contact a widthwise center portion of the ink ribbon to cause the ink ribbon to be curved along a width of the ink ribbon so that the widthwise center portion of the ink ribbon protrudes rightward (col. 3, lines 13-23, 38-45, 56-65 & Figs. 3-5). Steger teaches that such a configuration prevents folding or lapping of the ink ribbon during take-up (col. 3, lines 35-38).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ukai et al.’s fourth inner wall to take on the configuration taught by Steger, so as to prevent folding or lapping of the ink ribbon.
Regarding claim 2:
Ukai et al.’s modified cassette comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Ukai et al. also disclose that the lower case further comprises:
a first path-defining part provided on the rear edge of the fourth inner wall and defining the conveying path (Fig. 6), the first contact portion having a straight-line shape extending in the up-down direction when viewed in a longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon (Fig. 6); and
Steger also disclose a first path-defining part provided on a rear edge of the fourth inner wall and defining the conveying path (Fig. 2), wherein the ink ribbon is configured to contact the first path-defining part in an entirety of the width of the ribbon to have a first contact portion with the first path-defining part (col. 3, lines 35-45 & Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5:
Ukai et al.’s modified cassette comprises all the limitations of claim 1, and Ukai et al. also disclose that the lower case further comprises:
a first wall (bottom of second cover part 34) extending in both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction (Figs. 2-3);
a second wall (wall section 33D) extending in both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction (Fig. 3), the first wall and the second wall being arranged in the up-down direction (Fig. 3); and
a peripheral wall (the outer peripheral wall surface of frame part 33) extending between the first wall and the second wall (Fig. 3), the peripheral wall comprising the front wall, the rear wall, the left wall, and the right wall (Fig. 3),
wherein the second wall has an insertion opening (as shown in Fig. 9B) allowing a printing medium to be inserted into the lower case therethrough (paragraphs 140-141 & Fig. 9B),
wherein the lower case further defines a conveying path along which the printing medium is conveyed in a conveying direction (paragraphs 140-141 & Fig. 6), the conveying path of the printing medium including the insertion opening, a first part, a second part, and the exposed area from an upstream side in the conveying direction (Fig. 6), the first part of the conveying path of the printing medium passing between the left wall and the third inner wall (e.g. around guide 33G: Drawing A & Fig. 6), the second part of the conveying path of the printing medium passing between the front wall and the first inner wall (e.g. passing arm portion 33E: Drawing A & Fig. 6), and
wherein the ink ribbon and the printing medium are configured to be superimposed with each other in the exposed area (paragraph 67 & Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 6:
Ukai et al.’s modified cassette comprises all the limitations of claim 5, and Ukai et al. also disclose that the cassette further comprises:
an upper case (first cover part 31 + first frame part 32) having a box-like shape (Fig. 3), the upper case being positioned further upward relative to the lower case (Figs. 2-3), wherein the first wall is positioned further downward relative to the second wall (Fig. 3); and
a medium roll (printing tape roll 11) accommodated in the upper case (Fig. 5), the medium roll being a roll of the printing medium (paragraph 61), the medium roll being rotatable about a second axis extending in the up-down direction (Fig. 5),
wherein the printing medium is configured to be drawn off the medium roll and to be inserted into the lower case through the insertion opening (paragraphs 140-141 & Fig. 9B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
Claims 3-4 appear to contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not disclose or make obvious a cassette comprising “a protrusion protruding rightward from a portion of the fourth inner wall other than the front edge and the rear edge of the fourth inner wall” in combination with “the second contact portion and the third contact portion define a first straight line passing through the second contact portion and the third contact portion, the first straight line passing through a point positioned to a left of the first contact portion when viewed in the up-down direction.” It is this combination of limitations, in combination with other features and limitations of claim 3, that indicates allowable subject matter over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ahn (US 5026181) disclose a cassette comprising a protrusion (bulge portion 24 or guide roll 20) configured to contact a widthwise center portion of an ink ribbon to cause the ink ribbon to be curved along a width of the ink ribbon (Fig. 4).
Communication with the USPTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shelby L Fidler whose telephone number is (571)272-8455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 5pm EST.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
SHELBY L. FIDLER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/SHELBY L FIDLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Prosecution Insights