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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 9-15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 7, “the rear side of the control panel” lacks antecedent basis.
In claim 9, line 4 “the front planes” should be changed to “the front plane”.
Claims 10-15 are objected to by way of their dependency from claim 9.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the second connection element" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the first connection element" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
These claims could not be properly examined since it is not clear what the connection elements are referencing, or how the connection elements are related to the other structure that is claimed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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, 2 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by EP 3279742 A1 to Koyanagi et al.
Koyanagi et al. discloses, with regards to claim:
1. A media processing device (fig. 1) comprising:
a housing (100) having a front portion, rear portion, and a side portion, the front portion of the housing defining a plane;
a control panel (4) disposed on the front portion of the housing;
the control panel comprising a fastener (fig. 8, screw) disposed on a rear side of the control panel, the fastener connecting the control panel to the housing and having a long axis parallel to the plane of the front portion of the housing (figs. 1 and 8).
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2. The media processing device of claim 1, further comprising a processor, wherein the front control panel is connected to the processor (a processor is inherently required to provide control signals to the display).
5. The media processing device of claim 1, wherein the long axis is perpendicular to the side portion of the housing (compare figs. 1 and 8).
6. The media processing device of claim 1, wherein the long axis is parallel to the front portion of the housing within a range of 5-10 degrees (compare figs. 1 and 8).
7. The media processing device of claim 1, further comprising a bracket protruding from the rear side of the control panel (screw connects to a bracket in the rear of the control panel 4), the bracket having a channel disposed within the bracket wherein the channel is aligned along the long axis (the screw is threaded into a channel of the bracket).
8. The media processing device of claim 7, wherein the bracket is adjacent to a tab of the housing (the housing side ~10 has a tab that the screw is threaded into to connect 4 to 10), wherein the fastener passes through a hole of the tab before being received by the channel (the fastener passes through the housing tab, then into the channel of the bracket on the rear of the control panel).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-15 would be allowed if rewritten to overcome the claim objection above.
Claims 16-18 are allowed.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art of record does not disclose or suggest, as claimed in the combination, the bracket, latch, channel, and fastener.
There is no motivation to include a latch in Koyanagi et al., nor is it clear how a latch could be incorporated into the control panel mount of Koyanagi et al.
U.S. 8,020,901 B2 to Watanabe discloses a control panel that is assembled from two halves, 16 and 12, that are latched together. The latch in Watanabe does not mount the control panel to the housing.
JP 2010134356 A to Asaoka discloses an attachment method for a display/control panel using screws and a mounting bracket.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Julian D Huffman whose telephone number is (571)272-2147. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Group Director Andrea Wellington can be reached at (571)272-4483. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JULIAN D. HUFFMAN
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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