Appeal No. 1999-1488
Application 08/630,332
This rejection will likewise not be sustained
because, as applied by the examiner, the additional reference
(Okamoto) does not supply the deficiencies noted in rejection
(1), supra.
Rejection (3)
We agree with the examiner that it would have been obvious to
provide the copying machine of Okamoto with a stacker, this
being a conventional feature as shown by collection tray 63 of
Suzuki. However, we will not sustain this rejection because,
even assuming that the handhold 11 in the front of Okamoto's
hopper tray (cassette) 10 might be considered an "operator
panel" as recited in claim 8, we do not agree with the
examiner that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill "to have the photo sensor 1 of Okamoto in the form of a
button" (final rejection, page 4). Although buttons and photo
sensors may be art recognized equivalents (id.), the purpose
of Okamoto's sensor is to prevent removal of the tray when
paper is feeding by automatically locking the tray when
someone reaches in with their hand 12 and breaks the light
beam (Fig. 3; pages 6 to 7). Since a button must be
6
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