Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/26/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
3. Claims 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0301545 (deJong et al.) (hereinafter “deJong”) (a reference of record) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0111773 (Yokobori) (hereinafter “Yokobori”) (a reference of record).
Regarding claim 1, Figs. 1-3 of deJong show a media conveying apparatus (Figs. 1-3) comprising:
a first roller (30) and a second roller (20) spaced apart in a direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to a medium conveyance direction (Vp) in which a medium (S) is conveyed, to rotate independently to convey the medium (S);
a first sensor (40) and a second sensor (42) disposed downstream from the first roller (30) and the second roller (20) in the medium conveyance direction (Vp); and
circuitry (Fig. 2) configured to set a circumferential speed of the first roller (30) to a first speed (Vo) and a circumferential speed of the second roller (20) to a second speed (V1) higher than the first speed (Vo) to correct a skew of the medium (S) when the first sensor (40) detects the medium (S) before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S),
a position of the first sensor (40) in the direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to the medium conveyance direction (Vp) being set based on a rotational center position (Cr in Fig. 1) of the medium (S) that rotates at a speed ratio of the second speed (Vi) to the first speed (Vo),
correcting the skew of the medium (S) being started before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S). With regard to correcting the skew before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S), numbered paragraph [0040] of deJong states
[0040] Often media handling assembly, and particularly printing systems,
include more than one module or station. Accordingly, more than one
registration system 10 as disclosed herein can be included in an overall
media handling assembly. Further, it should be understood that in a
modular system or a system that includes more than one registration
system 10, in accordance with the disclosed technologies herein, could
detect sheet position and relay that information to a central processor for controlling registration, including skew in the overall media handling
assembly. Thus, if the skew or sheet position is too large for registration
system 10 to correct, then correction can be achieved with the use one
or more subsequent downstream registration systems 10, for example in
another module or station.
In other words, numbered paragraph [0040] teaches that multiple registration systems 10 can be included in the deJong apparatus, such that an upstream registration system (10) can start correcting skew before medium (S) ever reaches second sensor (42) of the registration system (10) that is located downstream of the upstream registration system (10) and relied upon in this rejection to meet the rest of the limitations in claim 1. After the medium (S) is started to be corrected by the upstream registration system (10), the medium is detected by second sensor (42) of the downstream registration system (10) and skew of the medium (S) is further corrected upon detection of medium (S) by second sensor (42). deJong teaches all of the limitations of this claim, except for correcting the skew of the medium being stopped when the second sensor detects the medium, as claimed.
Yokobori shows that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus (including 52a, 52b, 51a, 51b and 46) in a punching unit (56) where it is operated such that correcting of skew of a medium (P1) is stopped when a second sensor (51b) detects the medium (P1), for the purpose of positioning the medium (P1) at a proper stopped punching position for the medium (P1) to be punched by punching unit (56). See, e.g., numbered paragraph [0040]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize the sheet media conveying apparatus arrangement of deJong including multiple registration systems (10 and 10) in a punching unit and stop correction of skew of the medium when the second sensor of the downstream registration system (10) at the punching unit detects the medium, because Yokobori teaches that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus similar to the deJong sheet media conveying apparatus (Fig. 1) in a punching apparatus and stop the medium when the second sensor detects the medium, thereby stopping the medium at the proper punching position.
Regarding claim 2, as best understood, Fig. 1 of deJong shows that the first sensor (40) of a registration system (10) is disposed within a predetermined range from a position outside the first roller (30) in the direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to the medium conveyance direction (Vp) by a distance L calculated by L = D/(a - 1), where a represents a ratio of the second speed to the first speed and D represents a distance between the first roller and the second roller. With regard to what is actually shown in Fig. 1 of deJong, the claimed formula above L = D/(α- 1), the letter "L" is represented by "So", the letter "D" is represented by “Ns”, and the ratio “α” is represented by Vo/Vi in Fig. 1 of deJong.
Regarding claim 4, Figs. 1-3 of deJong disclose a media conveyance method comprising:
conveying a medium (S) with a first roller (30) and a second roller (20) spaced apart in a direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to a medium conveyance direction (Vp), in which the medium (S) is conveyed, to rotate independently to convey the medium (S); and
setting a circumferential speed of the first roller (30) to a first speed (Vo) and a circumferential speed of the second roller (20) to a second speed (Vi) higher than the first speed (Vo) to correct a skew of the medium (S) when a first sensor (40) detects the medium (S) before a second sensor (42) detects the medium (S),
the first sensor (40) and the second sensor (42) being disposed downstream from the first roller (30) and the second roller (20) in the medium conveyance direction (Vp),
a position of the first sensor (40) in the direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to the medium conveyance direction (Vp) being set based on a rotational center position (Cr in Fig. 1) of the medium (S) that rotates at a speed ratio of the second speed (Vi) to the first speed (Vo),
correcting the skew of the medium (S) being started before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S). With regard to correcting the skew before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S), as mentioned above in the rejection of claim 1, numbered paragraph [0040] teaches that multiple registration systems 10 can be included in the deJong apparatus, such that an upstream registration system (10) can start correcting skew before the medium (S) ever reaches second sensor (42) of the registration system (10) that is located downstream of the upstream registration system (10) and relied upon in this rejection to meet the rest of the limitations in claim 4. After the medium (S) is started to be corrected by the upstream registration system (10), the medium is detected by second sensor (42) of the downstream registration system (10) and skew of the medium (S) is further corrected upon detection of medium (S) by second sensor (42). deJong teaches all of the limitations of this claim, except for correcting the skew of the medium being stopped when the second sensor detects the medium, as claimed.
Yokobori shows that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus (including 52a, 52b, 51a, 51b and 46) in a punching unit (56) where it is operated such that correcting of skew of a medium (P1) is stopped when a second sensor (51b) detects the medium (P1), for the purpose of positioning the medium (P1) at a proper stopped punching position for the medium (P1) to be punched by punching unit (56). See, e.g., numbered paragraph [0040]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize the sheet media conveying apparatus arrangement of deJong including multiple registration systems (10 and 10) in a punching unit and stop correction of skew of the medium when the second sensor of the downstream registration system (10) at the punching unit detects the medium, because Yokobori teaches that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus similar to the deJong sheet media conveying apparatus (Fig. 1) in a punching apparatus and stop the medium when the second sensor detects the medium, thereby stopping the medium at the proper punching position.
Regarding claim 5, Figs. 1-3 of deJong teach a non-transitory recording medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors (e.g., 60), causes the one or more processors (e.g., 60) to perform a method for controlling a media conveying apparatus (Figs. 1-3), the method comprising:
setting a circumferential speed of a first roller (30) to a first speed (Vo) and a circumferential speed of a second roller (20) to a second speed (Vi) higher than the first speed (Vo) to correct a skew of a medium (S) when a first sensor (40) detects the medium (S) before a second sensor (42) detects the medium (S),
the first roller (30) and the second roller (20) being spaced apart in the media conveying apparatus (Figs. 1-3) in a direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to a medium conveyance direction (Vp) in which the medium (S) is conveyed, to rotate independently to convey the medium (S),
the first sensor (40) and the second sensor (42) being disposed downstream from the first roller (30) and the second roller (20) in the medium conveyance direction (Vp) in the media conveying apparatus (Figs. 1-3),
a position of the first sensor (40) in the direction (Y-axis) orthogonal to the medium conveyance direction (Vp) being set based on a rotational center position (Cr in Fig. 1) of the medium (S) that rotates at a speed ratio of the second speed (Vi) to the first speed (Vo),
correcting the skew of the medium (S) being started before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S). With regard to correcting the skew before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S), as mentioned above in the rejections of claims 1 and 4, numbered paragraph [0040] teaches that multiple registration systems 10 can be included in the deJong apparatus, such that an upstream registration system (10) can start correcting skew before the medium (S) ever reaches second sensor (42) of the registration system (10) that is located downstream of the upstream registration system (10) and relied upon in this rejection to meet the rest of the limitations in claim 5. After the medium (S) is started to be corrected by the upstream registration system (10), the medium is detected by second sensor (42) of the downstream registration system (10) and skew of the medium (S) is further corrected upon detection of medium (S) by second sensor (42). deJong teaches all of the limitations of this claim, except for correcting the skew of the medium being stopped when the second sensor detects the medium, as claimed.
Yokobori shows that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus (including 52a, 52b, 51a, 51b and 46) in a punching unit (56) where it is operated such that correcting of skew of a medium (P1) is stopped when a second sensor (51b) detects the medium (P1), for the purpose of positioning the medium (P1) at a proper stopped punching position for the medium (P1) to be punched by punching unit (56). See, e.g., numbered paragraph [0040]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize the sheet media conveying apparatus arrangement of deJong including multiple registration systems (10 and 10) in a punching unit and stop correction of skew of the medium when the second sensor of the downstream registration system (10) at the punching unit detects the medium, because Yokobori teaches that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus similar to the deJong sheet media conveying apparatus (Fig. 1) in a punching apparatus and stop the medium when the second sensor detects the medium, thereby stopping the medium at the proper punching position.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant's arguments filed 5/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With regard to deJong, applicant argues
In deJong, it is not described that the skew correction is started before both the sensor 40 and 42 detect the leading edge of the sheet S, and stopped when the sensor that has not detected the leading edge of the sheet S of the sensor 40 and 42 detects the leading edge of the sheet S.
Therefore, deJong does not disclose or suggest "correcting the skew of the medium being started before the second sensor detects the medium, and stopped when the second sensor detects the medium", as recited in amended claims 1, 4 and 5.”
With regard to Yokobori, applicant argues
In other words, in Yokobori, correction of the position of a sheet cannot be started before both the leading edge detection sensors 51a and 51b have detected the sheet P, since both time t1 and time t2 have not been measured and the amount of skewing of a sheet S1 has not been measured at the timing. Further, in Yokobori, correction of the position of a sheet cannot be stopped when the leading edge detection sensor that has not detected the sheet P of the leading edge detection sensors 51 a and 51 b detects the sheet P, since correction of position of a sheet has not started at the timing.
Therefore, Yokobori does not disclose or suggest setting "correcting the skew of the medium being started before the second sensor detects the medium, and stopped when the second sensor detects the medium", as recited in amended claims 1, 4 and 5.
The examiner disagrees with these arguments. With regard to correcting the skew of the medium being started before the second sensor detects the medium, and stopped when the second sensor detects the medium, deJong teaches correcting the skew of the medium (S) being started before the second sensor (42) detects the medium (S). In particular, numbered paragraph [0040] of deJong states
[0040] Often media handling assembly, and particularly printing systems,
include more than one module or station. Accordingly, more than one
registration system 10 as disclosed herein can be included in an overall
media handling assembly. Further, it should be understood that in a
modular system or a system that includes more than one registration
system 10, in accordance with the disclosed technologies herein, could
detect sheet position and relay that information to a central processor for controlling registration, including skew in the overall media handling
assembly. Thus, if the skew or sheet position is too large for registration
system 10 to correct, then correction can be achieved with the use one
or more subsequent downstream registration systems 10, for example in
another module or station.
In other words, numbered paragraph [0040] teaches that multiple registration systems 10 can be included in the deJong apparatus, such that an upstream registration system (10) can start correcting skew before medium (S) ever reaches second sensor (42) of the registration system (10) that is located downstream of the upstream registration system (10) and relied upon in the rejection to meet the rest of the limitations in claims 1, 4 and 5. After the medium (S) is started to be corrected by the upstream registration system (10), the medium is detected by second sensor (42) of the downstream registration system (10) and skew of the medium (S) is further corrected upon detection of medium (S) by second sensor (42). deJong teaches all of the limitations of this claim, except for correcting the skew of the medium being stopped when the second sensor detects the medium, as claimed.
Yokobori shows that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus (including 52a, 52b, 51a, 51b and 46) in a punching unit (56) where it is operated such that correcting of skew of a medium (P1) is stopped when a second sensor (51b) detects the medium (P1), for the purpose of positioning the medium (P1) at a proper stopped punching position for the medium (P1) to be punched by punching unit (56). See, e.g., numbered paragraph [0040]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to utilize the sheet media conveying apparatus arrangement of deJong including multiple registration systems (10 and 10) in a punching unit and stop correction of skew of the medium when the second sensor of the downstream registration system (10) at the punching unit detects the medium, because Yokobori teaches that it is common in the art to utilize a sheet media conveying apparatus similar to the deJong sheet media conveying apparatus (Fig. 1) in a punching apparatus and stop the medium when the second sensor detects the medium, thereby stopping the medium at the proper punching position. All of the limitations of independent claims 1, 4 and 5 are met by deJong in view of Yokobori.
The rejection of dependent claim 2 is also outlined above.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claim 3 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.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS A MORRISON whose telephone number is (571)272-7221. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am - 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mike 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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/THOMAS A MORRISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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