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 .
Detailed Office Action
1. Claims 1-13 are pending. Claims 12-13 are newly added. Claims 1 and 11 are independent.
2. The amendment to the specification, filed December 21, 2025 has been approved.
Response to Applicant’s Arguments
3. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and have been considered but are moot because of the new ground of rejection.
Applicant has amended the claims to at least further define the “light source” to include “a first illumination portion and a second illumination portion” and their irradiation directions (see claims 1 and 11). Further, Applicant has added two new dependent claims 12 and 13.
Rejections follow.
Claims 5 and 8 are labeled with “Currently Amended”, but the claim language seem original.
35 U.S.C. 103 Rejection
4. 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.
5. Claims 1, 5-7, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanaya et al. (US 2011/0176186 A1) in view of Fukutome et al. (US 2010/0208306 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kanaya et al. (hereinafter referred to as Kanaya) discloses an image reading apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising:
a conveyance member (including rollers 5a and 5b) configured to convey a sheet (medium 6) (Fig. 1, para 0024);
a transparent member (transmission surface 8a formed of glass) (para 0024);
a background member (41) disposed opposite the transparent member (8a); and
a reading unit (including light source 1 and an imaging unit 2 defined to also pick up an image of the medium 6 and the backing surface 41 irradiated with light by the light source 1; Fig. 1 and para 0028) disposed on a side (the upper side) of the transparent member (8a) opposite the background member (41), the reading unit including a light source (1) and a reading sensor (included in imaging unit 2, para 0028),
wherein the light source (1) includes a first illumination portion (1), and is configured to emit light toward a sheet (6), and the reading sensor (included in imaging unit 2 of Fig. 1) is configured to read, through the transparent member (8a), a shadow of the sheet (6) (Figs. 4 and 1, para 0021) projected onto the background member (41) and an image of the sheet (6) (Figs. 4 and 2, para 0021),
wherein, as viewed in a width direction (a direction into or out of the page, Fig. 1) perpendicular to a conveyance direction (Y1 in Fig. 1) of a sheet (6), an irradiating direction of light (L1) emitted from the first illumination portion (1) is inclined toward a downstream side in the conveyance direction (Y1) (Fig. 1, para 0028), [[[[[[[ an irradiating direction of light emitted from the second illumination portion is inclined toward an upstream side in the conveyance direction, ]]]]]]] and
wherein the background member (41) has a planar shape inclined such that, in the conveyance direction (Y1 in Fig. 1), a downstream side of the background member (41) is closer to the transparent member (8a) than an upstream side of the background member (41).
Kanaya differs from the claimed invention in that the light source (1) does not include a second illumination portion, such that an irradiating direction of light emitted from the second illumination portion is included toward an upstream side in the conveyance direction.
Fukutome et al. (hereinafter referred to as Fukutome) discloses an image reading apparatus (Fig. 9) comprising a reading portion that includes a light source (211’ and 211”) and an image sensor (205) (Fig. 9, para 18-20), the light source including a first light source (211’) and a second source (211”) that emit light through a transparent member (201) and toward a sheet (P) (Fig. 9, para 0014 the last two lines of page 1 to the last line of the para on page 2, including “the light sources 211’ and 211” are respectively disposed on the upstream side and downstream side in the transport direction Y1, taking the original reading position R1 as a reference”), the image sensor (205) is configured to read, through the transparent member (201), a shadow of the sheet (P) on a white reference plate (18) (see Na in Fig. 8A) and an image of the sheet (P).
As viewed in a width direction (a direction into or out of the page, Fig. 9) perpendicular to a conveyance direction (Y1) of a sheet (P), an irradiating direction of light (see L’) emitted from the first light source (211’) is inclined toward a downstream side in the conveyance direction (Y1), an irradiating direction of light (see L”) emitted from the second light source (211”) is inclined toward an upstream side in the conveyance direction (Y1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of Fukutome to provide Kanaya with a second light source (second illumination portion) at a position inside housing (8), such that the first and second light sources are respectively disposed on the upstream side and downstream side in the conveyance direction (Y1) of Kanaya, taking the reading position of the image sensor (2) as a reference. The providing Kanaya with the second light source at such a position as described increases the total amount of light that is irradiated on the sheet (P) to sufficiently illuminate the sheet.
Regarding claim 5/1, when viewed in the width direction (into or out of the page,
Fig. 1), an angle of the background member (backing surface 41) with respect to a
direction (direction from the surface of member 41 up to top of page showing
Fig. 1) perpendicular to the conveyance direction (Y1) and the width direction (into
or out of the page, Fig. 1) is equal to or more than 98 degrees and equal to or less than
110 degrees (the inclination angle Θ1 of the background surface 41 of Kanaya et al.
shown in Fig. 1 and described in para 0027 is defined to be an acute angle, preferably
an angle in a range of, for example, larger than 0 and equal to or less than 20
degrees, i.e., the angle Θ1 of the background surface 41 with respect to the
horizontal direction which is the document conveyance direction Y1, which means
that Θ1 with respect to the direction (from bottom to top of page showing Fig.1)
perpendicular to the document conveyance direction Y1 is within the range of larger
than 90 degrees (i.e., 0+90) and equal to or less than 110 degrees (i.e., 20+90) with
respect to the direction (bottom to top of page direction) perpendicular to the
document conveyance direction Y1, and this angle range includes the claimed angle
range of equal to or more than 98 degrees and equal to or less than 110 degrees).
Regarding claim 6/1, the claim limitations are also met by Kanaya et al. The
claimed "a surface of the background member that faces the transparent member" is met by a horizontal surface (the dotted-line, imaginary surface that together with the
background surface 41 make the angle Θ1 shown in Fig. 1 of Kanaya et al.).
The inclination angle Θ1 of the background surface 41 of Kanaya et al.
shown in Fig. 1 and described in para 0027 is defined to be an acute angle, preferably
an angle in a range of, for example, larger than 0 and equal to or less than 20
degrees, i.e., the angle Θ1 of the background surface 41 with respect to the
horizontal direction which is the document conveyance direction Y1. This range
of Θ1 (larger than 0 and equal to or less than 20 degrees with respect to the horizontal
direction) includes the claimed angle range of equal to or more than 8 degrees and
equal to or less than 20 degrees.
Regarding claim 7/1, Kanaya et al. further discloses a facing member (backing
member 4, para 0021, Fig. 1) configured to face the transparent member (8a), the facing member (4) being configured to form a conveyance path of a sheet (6) with the transparent member (8a). The background member (background surface 41) is formed on the facing member (backing member 4) (Fig. 1, para 0021).
Claim 11 recites all the limitations of rejected claim 1 and additional limitations “image forming apparatus” (in the preamble of claim 11) and “an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet based on image information read by the reading unit.”
For the limitations that are the same as those of claim 1, see the discussion of Kanaya in view of Fukutome discussed for claim 1 above and the reasons of obviousness given for claim 1 above.
The additional limitations "image forming apparatus" and "an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet based on image information read by the reading unit” are also discloses by Fukutome (see Figs. 1 and 9, para 0084 and 0095, “an image forming apparatus provided with an image reading apparatus”).
Regarding claim 12/1, based on the discussion for and the reason of obviousness given for claim 1 above, with the first light source (1) and the second light source (first and second illumination portions) respectively disposed on the upstream side and downstream side in the conveyance direction (Y1) of Kanaya (Fig. 1 of Kanaya, Fig. 9 of Fukutome), taking the reading position of the image sensor (2 of Kanaya) as a reference as discussed for claim 1 above, one of ordinary skill in the art would have realized that, as viewed in a width direction (a direction into or out of the page) perpendicular to the conveyance direction (Y1) of a sheet (6) (Kanaya, Fig. 1), an incident angle Θ2 of light emitted toward the background member (41) from the first illumination portion (the first light source 1, on the left, emitting light L1 toward the downstream side) is different from an incident angle of light emitted toward the background member (41) from the second illumination portion (the second light source, on the right, emitting light toward the upstream side, of the obvious apparatus of Kanaya in view of Fukutome) (the incident angle of light emitted from the second light source toward the upstream side and onto the background member 41 is an angle between that light and the normal of the inclined surface of the background member 41, and is larger than the incident angle Θ2 of the light from the first light source on the left due to the inclined surface of the background member 41, which is realized by one of ordinary skill in the art; the normal of the surface 41 is shown by the dotted line between the left light source 1 and the sensor 2 in Fig. 1 of Kanaya).
Regarding claim 13/1, for a reason same as or similar to the that given for claim 12 above, the claimed features would have been realized by one of ordinary skill in the art because in a case where the first light source and the second light source of Kanaya in view of Fukutome have equivalent illumination intensity, with the relative positions of the two light sources with respect to the position of the sensor (2 in Fig. 1 of Kanaya) as discussed for claim 12 above, the incident angle of the light emitted from the second light source (the one on the right) is larger than the incident angle of the first light source (the one on the left), and thus the angle of reflection of the main light rays from the second light source is larger than the angle of reflection Θ3 of the main light rays from the first light source (Fig. 1 of Kanaya) (according to the Law of Reflection, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection for smooth surfaces), which means that the main light rays (flux) from the second light source (on the right) get reflected by the surface of the background member (41) in a direction pointing farther away from the incident surface of the sensor (2) as compared to the main light rays from the first light source (1, on the left). Thus, the amount of light that is emitted from the second light source (second illumination portion), reflected by the inclined background member (41 of Kanaya), and incident on the reading unit (including sensor 2 of Kanaya) is smaller than the amount of light that is emitted from the first light source (first illumination portion), reflected by the inclined background member (41), and incident on the reading unit (which includes 2), which would have been realized by one of ordinary skill in the art.
6. Claims 4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanaya et al. (US 2011/0176186 A1) in view of Fukutome et al. (US 2010/0208306 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shiraishi (US 5764382).
Regarding claim 4/1, Kanaya in view of Fukutome was discussed for claim 1 above.
None of Kanaya and Fukutome discloses the following claim 4 limitations, although Fukutome discloses that the original reading portion (200b) is disposed above and facing the original and the transparent member (319b) (Fig. 3, para 0137 end):
in a state where the background member faces the transparent member, the
background member is movable in a direction perpendicular to both the conveyance direction and the width direction,
the image reading apparatus further comprising a second urging member configured to urge the background member against the transparent member.
Shiraishi discloses an image reading apparatus (Figs. 6 and 7; col. 5, lines 10-65) comprising a reading unit (contact type image sensor 210) on an upper side of a document conveyance path and an inclined action member (221a) coated with white color on a lower side of the document conveyance path and facing the reading unit (210). The white color coated member (221a) is movable in a direction (the up-down direction) perpendicular to both the conveyance direction (the left-right direction, Fig. 6) and the width direction (the direction into or out of the page, Fig. 6).
The white color coated member (221a of restricting member 221) is urged by the spring (220) toward the platen glass (211) and urged against the platen glass (211) via projection portions (221c, 221d) (col. 5, lines 38-65, Figs. 6-7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of Shiraishi to provide in the apparatus of Kanaya in view of Fukutome with an urging member configured to urge the background member (41 in Fig. 1 of Kanaya) against the transparent member (8a in Fig. 1 of Kanaya) to restrict the movement of the background member (41 of Kanaya) in the direction (the substantially up-down direction, Fig. 1) perpendicular to both the conveyance direction (Y1) and the width direction (a direction into or out of the page).
Regarding claim 9/1, Kanaya discussed for claim 1 above does not disclose that the background member (background surface 41) has a white color.
Employing a white color as a background color in an image reading apparatus for image reading is taught by Shiraishi as discussed for claim 4 above.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of Shiraishi to have white color as the color of the background member (background surface 41) of Kanaya in view of Fukutome to provide good contrast and allow accurate document shadow detection or analysis since a shadow image of a document edge is usually darker than white.
7. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanaya et
al. (US 2011/0176186 A1) in view of Fukutome et al. (US 2010/0208306 A1) as applied to claim 7/1 above, and further in view of Sato et al. (US 2007/0285741 A1).
Regarding claim 8/7, Kanaya in view of Fukutome is discussed for claims 1 and 7 above.
Kanaya does not disclose an attached sheet material attached to the facing member (4). The background surface (41) of Kanaya is white or has a white color.
Sato et al. teaches attaching a white sheet (22) to a backing plate (22a) of an
image reading recording apparatus, the white sheet (22) serving as a background for
the original in original image reading.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of Sato et al. by including a
sheet material in the background member of Kanaya in view of Fukutome and attaching sheet material to the facing member (4 of Kanaya) for easy application of the sheet material onto the facing surface .
8. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanaya et al. (US 2011/0176186 A1) in view Maki (US 2011/0194160 A1).
Regarding claim 10/1, Kanaya in view of Fukutome is discussed for claim 1 above.
Kanaya discloses a case where the medium (6) is skewed but does not
disclose a control unit configured to correct a skew of the image of the sheet having
been read by the reading unit based on the shadow of the sheet detected by the
reading unit.
However, such a feature is taught by Maki (para 0044, Figs. 6, 7A and 7B). Maki
discloses (Fig. 6 flowchart) accurate determination as to whether the original sheet is
tilted, and execution of an appropriate process in accordance with the skew angle. In
addition, in the case where the skew angle is determined to be within the permissible
range at the step S114, the relevant image data stored in the image memory (48) may
be corrected so as to offset the skew angle. This skew correction of the image data
stored in the image memory (48) is based on the shadow detected by the image sensor
(34) of the image reading apparatus, copy machine, or multifunctional printer (para
0044, Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of Maki to provide in the apparatus of Kanaya in view of Fukutome with a feature of correcting, by a control unit, a skew of the image of the sheet having been read by the reading unit (including 1 and 2) based on the shadow of the sheet detected by the reding unit (including 1 and 2), in order to produce an image of the sheet free of skew.
Allowable Subject Matter
9. Claims 2-3 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.
Claim 2 would be allowable because none of the prior art references, including Kanaya and Fukutome applied in the rejections above, teaches a combination of the claim 2 limitations in combination with all the limitations of claim 1.
Claim 2 requires the following:
“wherein in a state where the background member faces the transparent member, the background member is movable in a direction perpendicular to both the conveyance direction and the width direction,” and
“the image reading apparatus further comprising a first urging member configured to urge the background member in the conveyance direction, against a guide member that guides the background member.”
Claim 3 depends on claim 2.
Office Action Made Final
10. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Pertinent Prior Art
11. The prior art or art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nishida et al. (US 2016/0295061 A1), see Figs. 3, 4, and 6A-9, inclined backing plate disposed above reading surface 1 (glass, para 0057) shown in Fig. 3, but the inclined backing plate is closer to the reading surface (1) at the upstream side than at the downstream side along the document conveyance direction (from left to right, Figs. 3, 4, 8, and 9).
Shimizu (US 8867107), Figs. 6 and 7, reflecting member 137, which is an example of a background member, is inclined with respect to the document passing through the reading position SP (col. 8, line 64 – col. 9, line 2).
Nakamura et al. (US 2024/0267475 A1), Fig. 5, para 0050 and 0052, platen member 306 having an uneven surface portion 320, two illumination portions 41 and 42
Ikeda (US 2024/0267474 A1)
Conclusion
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHEUKFAN LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7407. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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/CHEUKFAN LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682