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 .
Priority
1. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Interpretation
2. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
3. This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “guiding means” in claim 15. The guiding means is further structurally limited by a first guide portion, a second guide portion, a third guide portion, and a fourth guide portion.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-4,7-11,14,15, as best understood and interpreted by the Examiner (see ¶2,3 above), are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being ancitipated by Baek et al. USP 10,059,025.
Baek discloses, regarding claim 1, A post-processing device comprising:
a unit (100) that performs post-processing;
a guide unit (fig.14) that guides the unit to a position at which the unit performs the post-processing, and has a first guide portion (401) extending in a width direction of a medium, a second guide portion (portion adjacent sidewall 601) that is disposed at an end portion of the first guide portion, is inclined with respect to the width direction of the medium, and guides the unit to a corner of the medium, a third guide portion (610; see fig.14A) that is disposed at the end portion of the first guide portion and branches off from the second guide portion to extend, and a fourth guide portion (620) that connects the second guide portion to the third guide portion; and
a branching unit (500) that is disposed at a portion at which the second guide portion and the third guide portion branch off from each other, guides the unit from the first guide portion toward the second guide portion (fig.14A), and guides the unit from the third guide portion toward the first guide portion (fig.14D).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the branching unit is movable about a support portion (530) between a first branch position (fig.14A) at which the unit is guided from the first guide portion toward the second guide portion and a second branch position (fig.14D) at which the unit is guided from the third guide portion toward the first guide portion.
Regarding claim 3, further comprising: a biasing unit (540) that biases the branching unit toward the first branch position (fig.14A; C17/L65-C18/L2).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the unit is disposed to be inclined with respect to a horizontal direction such that a self-weight of the unit acts in a direction in which the unit is pressed against the branching unit moved to the first branch position (see at least fig.1,14A).
Regarding claim 7, A post-processing device comprising:
a unit (100) that performs post-processing;
a guide unit (fig.14) that guides the unit to a position at which the unit performs the post-processing, and has a first guide portion (401) extending in a width direction of a medium, a second guide portion (portion adjacent sidewall 601) that is disposed at an end portion of the first guide portion, is inclined with respect to the width direction of the medium, and guides the unit to a corner of the medium, a third guide portion (610; see fig.14A) that is disposed at the end portion of the first guide portion and branches off from the second guide portion to extend, and a fourth guide portion (620) that connects the second guide portion to the third guide portion; and
a branching unit that is disposed at a portion at which the second guide portion (portion adjacent sidewall 601) and the third guide portion (610) branch off from each other, and is movable between a first branch position (fig.14A) at which the unit is guided from the first guide portion toward the second guide portion and a second branch position (fig.14D) at which the unit is guided from the third guide portion toward the first guide portion.
Regarding claims 8-11,14, An image forming apparatus (1; fig.1) comprising:
an image recording device that records an image on a medium (C5/L57-65); and
the post-processing device (3) according to claim 1 that performs post-processing on the medium on which the image is recorded by the image recording device.
Regarding claim 15, A post-processing device comprising:
a unit (100) that performs post-processing;
guiding means (fig.14) for guiding the unit to a position at which the unit performs the post-processing, the guiding means having a first guide portion (401) extending in a width direction of a medium, a second guide portion (portion adjacent sidewall 601) that is disposed at an end portion of the first guide portion, is inclined with respect to the width direction of the medium, and guides the unit to a corner of the medium, a third guide portion (610; see fig.14A) that is disposed at the end portion of the first guide portion and branches off from the second guide portion to extend, and a fourth guide portion (620) that connects the second guide portion to the third guide portion; and
branching means (500) for guiding the unit from the first guide portion toward the second guide portion (fig.14A), and guiding the unit from the third guide portion toward the first guide portion (fig.14D), the branching means being disposed at a portion at which the second guide portion and the third guide portion branch off from each other.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
8. Claims 5,12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek et al. USP 10,059,025 in view of Noguchi USP 10,987,964.
Baek discloses substantially all the limitations of the claims (see ¶6 above), but does not expressly disclose the limitations of claim 5.
Noguchi teaches the use of a second unit (70) that performs post-processing different from the post-processing of the unit (90), and is movable in the width direction of the medium by being guided by the first guide portion (521).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide a second unit that performs post-processing different from the post-processing of the unit, and is movable in the width direction of the medium by being guided by the first guide portion, as taught by Noguchi, in the device of Baek, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of providing an efficient binding unit that does not produce staple waste.
Regarding claim 12, Baek further discloses An image forming apparatus (1; fig.1) comprising:
an image recording device that records an image on a medium (C5/L57-65); and
the post-processing device (3) according to claim 1 that performs post-processing on the medium on which the image is recorded by the image recording device.
Allowable Subject Matter
9. Claims 6,13 are 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.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chung et al. (USP 6,164,511) discloses a post-processing apparatus comprising a unit (300) that performing post-processing, and a guide unit that guides the unit to positions to bind a stack of sheets at a corner (when in slots 114,116; fig.5,6) and positions to bind a stack of sheets at an end (when in slot 112; fig.4).
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LESLIE A. NICHOLSON III whose telephone number is (571)272-5487. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael C 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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/LESLIE A NICHOLSON III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 1/26/2026