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 .
Drawings
Figures 6, 7A, 7B and 7C should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ichikawa (US 2010/0189485).
Ichikawa (…485) discloses a transport device comprising: a transport roll (28) that rotates and transports a recording medium by pinching the recording medium in a transport region from one end to the other end in an axial direction ([0029]; and figures 1 and 2); and a guide member (100) that guides a leading end of the recording medium to the transport roll by coming into contact with the recording medium while bending the recording medium ([0029]; [0040]-[0042]; and figures 1 and 2) and that is recessed such that a facing edge (111B) facing the transport region, among edges on a transport roll side, is separated from the transport roll compared to the side edges (111A) arranged respectively on both sides of the facing edge ([0046]-[0047]; and figures 3A and 3B) [see Applicant’s claim 1]. The facing edge extends linearly along the axial direction (figures 3A and 3B) [see Applicant’s claim 2]. A connecting edge connects the facing edge and the side edges to each other among the edges, is inclined with respect to a transport direction of the recording medium by making an opening width of a recessed portion formed by separating the facing edge from the transport roll compared to the side edges wider than the facing edge in the axial direction (figures 3A and 3B) [see Applicant’s claim 3]. A separation distance between one side edge and the other side edge is shorter than a width of a recording medium having a minimum size ([0046]) [see Applicant’s claim 4]. An image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising: the transport device that transports a recording medium ([0028] - [0029]; and figure 1); and an image forming unit (30) that forms an image on the recording medium transported by the transport device ([0027] - [0037]; and figure 1) [see Applicant’s claims 6-9].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichikawa (US 2010/0189485) in view of Nakamura et al. (US 2017/0135490).
Ichikawa (…485) discloses the features mentioned previously. Ichikawa (…485) also discloses the guide member has a guide surface that guides the recording medium, and that has a bent shape ([0029]; [0040]-[0042]; and figures 1 and 2) [see Applicant’s claim 5]. An image forming apparatus (figure 1) comprising: the transport device that transports a recording medium ([0028] - [0029]; and figure 1); and an image forming unit (30) that forms an image on the recording medium transported by the transport device ([0027] - [0037]; and figure 1) [see Applicant’s claim 10]. However, Ichikawa (…485) does not disclose the claimed ribs. Nakamura et al. (…490) disclose a transport device including a guide member (51), where the guide member has a plurality of ribs (511D) that protrude from the guide surface to extend in a transport direction of a recording medium and that are provided at an interval in the axial direction (figure 3), and some of the ribs are formed in a range where a side edge at a portion through which the recording medium having a minimum size passes is arranged in the axial direction ([0040]-[0042]; and figure 3) [see Applicant’s claim 5]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the claimed ribs, since as disclosed by Nakamura et al. (…490), such ribs on a guide surface provide good conveyability of recording medium.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANDRA BRASE whose telephone number is (571)272-2131. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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, Walter Lindsay can be reached at 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SANDRA BRASE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 September 3, 2026
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