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 statements (IDSs) submitted on 3/12/25 and 9/9/25 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, and 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2005/0095047 to Wantanabe et al. “Wantanabe”
With regard to Claim 1, Wantanabe teaches a thermal printer (10) [0047], comprising:
a housing (21) [0048];
a platen roller (31) supported on the housing (21) so as to be rotatable [0054];
a thermal head (61) housed in the housing (21) and arranged so as to be opposed to the platen roller (31) [0048-0049].; and
a paper guide (not labeled) that forms a sheet passage (conveying path) for a sheet (81) between the housing (21) and the paper guide (fig. 2), and is pivotally supported on the housing (21) so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis (22) between a guide position at which the sheet is allowed to be fed between the platen roller (31) and the thermal head (61), and an open position at which the sheet passage for the sheet is exposed (fig. 2).
With regard to Claim 3, Wantanabe teaches wherein the paper guide includes a snap-fit portion that is fixed to the housing in the guide position [0049].
With regard to Claim 4, Wantanabe teaches wherein the paper guide includes a guide roller (64) configured to feed the sheet (81) between the platen roller (31) and the thermal head (61) [0063].
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
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 reason for the allowance of Claim 2 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein the pivot axis is coaxial with a platen shaft of the platen roller. 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 8,564,633 discloses a thermal printer includes a thermal printhead, a head cover configured to partially cover the thermal printhead, a paper container configured to house a paper, and a damper disposed on a paper feeding path between the thermal printhead and the paper container and configured to press the paper fed on the paper feeding path. The damper is combined with the head cover.
US 11,964,475 discloses a thermal printer includes: a roll sheet receiving portion; and a delivery slot through which a portion of the recording sheet drawn from the roll sheet is delivered to an outside of the thermal printer; a printing unit including: a thermal head; and a platen roller configured to convey the recording sheet toward the delivery slot while sandwiching the recording sheet between the thermal head and the platen roller; a flap provided on a portion of the casing between the printing unit and the roll sheet receiving portion so as to be pivotable about a first axis, and configured to press the roll sheet in a direction of separating away from the delivery slot through abutment against an outer peripheral surface of the roll sheet; and an urging member configured to urge the flap about the first axis in the direction of separating away from the delivery slot.
US 6,222,576 discloses a guide member is disposed between a thermal head and a conveyor roller pair. The guide member projects into a conveyance passage of a recording paper when a platen roller is separated from the thermal head. In this state, the guide member abuts on the recording paper having been forwarded by the conveyor roller pair. Further, the guide member guides the recording paper to feed it between the platen roller and the thermal head. When the platen roller is pressed against the thermal head, the guide member is pushed by support plates of the platen roller. The pushed guide member is lowered so that the guide member is evacuated from the conveyance passage of the recording paper.
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
Prosecution Insights