10966413 (B.P.A.I. Aug. 23, 2012)

Ex Parte Vysma et al

Board of Patent Appeals and InterferencesAug 23, 2012

10966413 (B.P.A.I. Aug. 23, 2012)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 10/966,413 10/15/2004 Ron Vysma 53105/MEG/A484 7982 23363 7590 08/24/2012 CHRISTIE, PARKER & HALE, LLP PO BOX 29001 Glendale, CA 91209-9001 EXAMINER SHAPIRO, JEFFREY ALAN ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3653 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 08/24/2012 PAPER Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES ____________________ Ex parte RON VYSMA and DONALD V. EASON ____________________ Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 Technology Center 3600 ____________________ Before: JENNIFER D. BAHR, CHARLES N. GREENHUT, and JAMES P. CALVE, Administrative Patent Judges. BAHR, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Ron Vysma and Donald V. Eason (Appellants) appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1-16 as unpatentable over Cole (US 6,019,207, iss. Feb. 1, 2000) and Gromatzky (US 5,996,888, iss. Dec. 7, 1999). We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE. The Claimed Subject Matter Claims 1 and 6, reproduced below, are illustrative of the claimed subject matter. 1. A drop safe comprising: a housing; a safe door mounted to the housing to close an opening of the housing, the safe door having a slot to accept deposits; a bill acceptor located in the housing to accept deposits through the slot; a cash cassette located inside the housing to store cash received by the bill acceptor, the cash cassette coupled to the safe door and configured to move with movement of the safe door, and wherein as the safe door moves from a closed position to an open position, the cash cassette moves relative to the safe door and through the opening of the housing from a position inside the housing toward a position outside the housing. 6. A drop safe comprising: a housing; a safe door mounted to the housing to close an opening of the housing, the safe door having a slot to accept deposits; a bill acceptor located in the housing to accept deposits through the slot; a cash cassette located in the housing to store cash received by the bill acceptor, the cash cassette coupled to the Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 3 safe door and configured to move with movement of the safe door, a carriage assembly housing the cash cassette; and a gas spring mounted between the carriage assembly and the housing; wherein as the safe door moves from a closed position to an open position, the carriage assembly moves relative to the safe door from a position inside the housing toward a position outside the housing; and wherein a side of the cash cassette faces the opening in the closed position of the door and wherein the side of the cash cassette faces the opening as the carriage assembly is moved relative to the safe door and toward the opening of the housing. OPINION Each of Appellants’ independent claims 1, 6, and 13 requires a cash cassette coupled to the safe door, wherein the cash cassette is moved from a position inside the housing toward a position outside the housing as the safe door moves from a closed position to an open position. The Examiner found that Cole does not disclose movement of the cassette with the movement of the door 11. Ans. 4. The Examiner determined it would have been obvious “to have caused movement of Cole’s cassette along with movement of the door, as taught by Gromatzky, for the purpose of using the mechanical advantage of the door to also pull out the cassette into a proper position for servicing.” Id. According to the Examiner, the rejection incorporates from Gromatzky into Cole “only the teaching of using a linkage attached between the housing door and the validator for the purpose of using the mechanical advantage of the door to also pull out the cassette.” Ans. 8. Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 4 Appellants argue that the modification proposed by the Examiner would not have been obvious because it is contrary to the objective of Cole. App. Br. 9; Reply Br. 4. Accordingly, an issue presented in this appeal is whether it would have been obvious to modify Cole’s currency handling machine by attaching a linkage between the door 11 and the rotating frame 2 that supports the currency acceptor 6 so that the door pulls out the rotating frame 2 as it opens. Cole’s objective is to cushion the rotary motion of the currency acceptor to protect the delicate electronics of the currency acceptor. Col. 1, l. 64 – col. 2, l. 3. Cole achieves this objective by providing special damping and positioning means that control the speed of rotation of the rotating frame and limit the positions in which the rotating frame may be rotated. Col. 2, ll. 43-46. Cole’s device comprises an outer frame 1 rigidly mounted to a vending machine cabinet (shown in fig. 3, but not shown in figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5) and a rotating frame 2 mounted for rotation about pivots on the outer frame 1. Col. 3, ll. 12-16. Three detents in the form of slots 3 are formed in a wall of the rotating frame 2 for receiving a boss located on an activation arm 4. Col. 3, ll. 17-20. The currency acceptor 6 is mounted on the rotating frame 2. Col. 3, ll. 16-17; col. 4, ll. 19-20. Cole’s detents 3 provide for three positions A, B, and C of the rotating frame 2 and currency acceptor 6, reflecting the operating, currency clearing, and currency cassette removal positions, respectively. Col. 3, ll. 6-7, 36-37; figs. 1, 4, and 5. After opening the access door 11 (fig. 3), the service person can rotate the rotating frame 2 and currency acceptor 6 into the appropriate rotary position by grasping the rotating frame 2 and rotating it Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 5 while pulling the activation arm 4 with the other hand to dislodge the boss from the detent in which it is seated. Col. 3, ll. 20-23; col. 4, l. 17. The service person must rotate Cole’s rotating frame 2 in a first direction (i.e., clockwise in figs. 1, 4, and 5) from the operating position (detent position A; fig. 1) to position the currency acceptor 6 in the currency clearing position (detent position B, fig. 4), and must rotate it in the opposite direction (i.e., counter-clockwise in figs. 1, 4, and 5) to position the currency acceptor in the currency cassette removal position (detent position C; fig. 5; col. 3, ll. 6- 7). In this respect, Cole’s device differs from that of Gromatzky, in which the cash acceptor assumes only two positions of significance, namely, the raised and forwardly oriented operating position shown in fig. 2A and the lowered and rearwardly oriented cash cassette removal and cash acceptor service position shown in fig. 2D. Gromatzky, col. 3, ll. 35-41; col. 4, ll. 46- 50, 60-65; col. 5, ll. 7-14; col. 6, ll. 37-50. Consequently, if Cole’s rotating frame 2 were coupled to the door 11 via a linkage to rotate clockwise from the operating position as the door moves to the open position, a service person desiring to remove the currency cassette would have to rotate the rotating frame 2 in the counter-clockwise direction to position the currency acceptor 6 in the currency cassette removal position. On the other hand, if Cole’s rotating frame 2 were coupled to the door 11 via a linkage to rotate counter-clockwise from the operating position as the door moves to the open position, a service person desiring to clear currency would have to rotate the rotating frame 2 in the clockwise direction to position the currency acceptor 6 in the currency clearing position. Thus, coupling the rotating frame 2 to the door 11 via a linkage so that the rotating frame 2 rotates as the door 11 moves from a closed position to an open Appeal 2010-006071 Application 10/966,413 6 position would seemingly necessitate superfluous rotation of the rotating frame 2, and hence superfluous motion of the delicate electronics of the currency acceptor 6, in many situations, depending on the purpose for which the access door 11 is being opened. Such superfluous rotation seemingly would be incongruous with Cole’s objective of protecting the delicate electronics of the currency acceptor and with the three-position selective positioning arrangement employed as part of the means to afford such protection. We therefore agree with Appellants that it would not have been obvious to modify Cole’s currency handling machine by attaching a linkage between the door 11 and the rotating frame 2 that supports the currency acceptor 6 so that the door pulls out the rotating frame 2 as it opens, as proposed by the Examiner. Accordingly, we do not sustain the Examiner’s rejection of independent claims 1, 6, and 13 and of their dependent claims 2- 5, 7-12, and 14-16. DECISION The Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1-16 is reversed. REVERSED Klh