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 .
Amendment received 2/27/26 was entered into the record.
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.
Claim 4 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 4 recites the limitation "the accommodation hold." There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-3, 5-8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 102008044111 (“DE ‘111”).
Regarding claim 1, DE ‘111 disclosed a sheet feeding apparatus comprising:
a stacking unit configured to be stacked with a paper stack including a plurality of sheets (1);
a feeding unit (6.2) configured to come into contact with a surface of the uppermost sheet of the paper stack and feed the uppermost sheet in a feeding direction; and
a sheet separating mechanism configured to separate the uppermost sheet of the paper stack from the remaining sheets, wherein the sheet separating mechanism comprises
a suction unit (6.1) configured to suck and pull the uppermost sheet of the paper stack upward in upstream in the feeding direction, and
an injection mechanism (7, 8) configured to separate the uppermost sheet from the remaining sheets by a first injection unit configured to inject air so as to change a first injection direction oriented to a predetermined region including an end face in upstream in the feeding direction of the paper stack including the uppermost sheet of the paper stack (see Figures 4 and 5), the first injection direction being periodically changed along a circumferential direction (see the arrow in Figure 5) around a fixed horizontally extending axis (central to bearing 84) intersecting the height direction of the paper stack and intersecting the feed direction (see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 2, DE ‘111 disclosed the first injection unit comprises a nozzle portion (82.1) that is formed in a cylindrical shape and the nozzle is extending along a fixed horizontally extending axis (central to bearing 84) intersecting the height direction of the paper stack and intersecting the feed direction (Figures 4 and 5), and having a closed tip (at face of those figures and/or at its top end) and has an injection hole (82.2), for injecting air toward the predetermined region, formed in a side face of the nozzle portion (Figures 4 and 5); and a rotary portion (including 84) configured to rotate the nozzle portion in a predetermined direction about the horizontally extending axis (Figure 5), an injection direction for injecting air being periodically changed along a circumferential direction around the horizontally extending axis (see Figure 5),wherein air injected from the injection hole is supplied to an internal space of the nozzle portion (see 15 in Figure 5).
Regarding claim 3, DE ‘111 disclosed the nozzle portion injects air from the injection hole within an injection region of an angle less than or equal to 180 degrees on the end face side of the paper stack in a circumferential direction about the axis (see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 5, DE ‘111 disclosed the rotary portion generates driving force for rotation about the axis by externally supplied air (seen in at least Figure 5 and described in the disclosure).
Regarding claim 6, DE ‘111 disclosed the sheet separating mechanism has a second injection unit (3) configured to fix a second injection direction oriented to the predetermined region and inject air.
Regarding claim 7, DE ‘111 disclosed a sheet separating apparatus configured to inject air toward a predetermined region of an end face of a paper stack including a plurality of sheets (1) to separate the sheets from each other, the sheet separating apparatus comprising:
a nozzle portion (82.1) that is formed in a cylindrical shape and the nozzle is extending along a fixed horizontally extending axis (central to bearing 84) intersecting the height direction of the paper stack and intersecting the feed direction (Figures 4 and 5), and having a closed tip (at face of those figures and/or at its top end) and has an injection hole (82.2), for injecting air toward the predetermined region, formed in a side face of the nozzle portion (Figures 4 and 5); and a rotary portion (including 84) configured to rotate the nozzle portion in a predetermined direction about the horizontally extending axis (Figure 5), an injection direction for injecting air being periodically changed along a circumferential direction around the horizontally extending axis (see Figure 5),wherein air injected from the injection hole is supplied to an internal space of the nozzle portion (see 15 in Figure 5).
Regarding claim 8, DE ‘111 disclosed the nozzle portion injects the air from the injection hole within an injection region of an angle less than or equal to 180 degrees on the end face side of the paper stack in the circumferential direction (see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 10, DE ‘111 disclosed the rotary portion generates driving force for rotation about the axis by externally supplied air (seen in at least Figure 5 and described in the disclosure).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 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.
Claim 4 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by the amendment.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael McCullough can be reached at (571) 272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653