Appeal No. 2002-1252
Application No. 09/362,583
At pages 3-4 of the answer, the examiner, citing Figures 1
and 2 and column 5, lines 9 and 33 of Sato, sets forth the
elements of Sato believed to correspond to the instant claimed
elements. The examiner recognizes that Sato does not teach the
cassettes as having label sides. However, the examiner contends
that it would have been obvious to provide the cassettes with
labels, taking “Official Notice” that it was known to provide a
label to corresponding sides of tape cartridges. Noguchi is
cited for its teaching of providing a robotic mechanism with a
bar code reader.
Appellants do not take issue with the obviousness of
providing labels on storage media or the obviousness of providing
a bar code reader. Rather, appellants stress the “co-planar”
limitation of the instant claims, contending that the slots,
drive and robotic mechanism in Sato are not co-planar, in
contrast with the instant claimed invention.
The examiner cites Figure 1 of Sato, contending that “the
upper bank of slots 15, the upper media drive 18, and the robotic
mechanism 20 while moving horizontally along the upper bank of
slots, would be coplanar in that a single common horizontal plane
would pass through each of the upper bank of slots, the upper
media drive, and the robotic mechanism” (answer-page 3).
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