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 3/24/26 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.
Claims 1, 2, and 5 are 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.
Claims 1 and 2 both recite the limitation "the receiver." There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Claim 5 recites “another contact-separation mechanism” apparently referencing a previously recited contact-separation mechanism. However, the previously recited contact-separation mechanism was previously cancelled.
The remaining claims are rejected by virtue of their dependencies.
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.
As best understood, claim(s) 1, 5, 8-13, 16, 17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee US 9,731,918 (“Lee”).
Regarding claim 1, Lee disclosed a sheet feeding device comprising:
a body (1);
a sheet tray (2) insertable to and removable from the body to store a sheet, the sheet tray including a contacted portion (labeled 2-1 in the Specification and shown as 2-2 in Figures 19 and 20);
a conveyance roller pair (110) to convey the sheet on a downward side of the sheet tray, the conveyance roller pair including one roller (111) and another roller (112); and an actuator to bring into contact or separate said another roller to and from the one roller, the actuator including:
a contact portion (145) to contact the contacted portion when the sheet tray is inserted (Figure 19), wherein the actuator (see 140a) moves upward after the contact portion contacts the contacted portion, and moves downward in response to removal of the sheet tray (Figure 20); and
a movable portion (including 112-1 and 113) to move said another roller into contact with the one roller in response to upward movement of the actuator, and to separate said another roller from the one roller in response to downward movement of the actuator,
wherein said another roller and the one roller are brought into contact with each other or separated from each other in a direction parallel to or a same direction as a direction of an insertion or a removal of the sheet tray (see Figures 19 and 20).
Regarding claim 5, Lee disclosed another contact-separation mechanism disposed at one end of the sheet feeding device in an axial direction of said another roller (see Figure 3); and another contacted portion of the sheet tray disposed at one end of the sheet tray in the axial direction (see at least Figure 3), wherein: the contact-separation mechanism is disposed at another end of the sheet feeding device in the axial direction, and the contacted portion of the sheet tray is disposed at another end of the sheet tray in the axial direction (see at least Figure 3).
Regarding claim 8, Lee disclosed a driver to rotate the one roller, wherein said another roller is rotated by a rotation of the one roller (see at least col. 7, lines 34-53).
Regarding claim 9, Lee disclosed an image forming apparatus (Figure 1) comprising the sheet feeding device according to claim 1 as listed above.
Regarding claim 10, Lee disclosed the conveyance roller pair conveys the sheet in the sheet tray to the conveyance passage in the body in a conveyance direction (Figure 1), and the image forming apparatus further comprises: an insertion and removement direction of the sheet tray is in the conveyance direction, and the conveyance roller pair is downstream from the sheet tray in the conveyance direction (see at least Figure 1).
Regarding claim 11, Lee disclosed the actuator further includes: a spring (113) to push the movable portion (112-1) in a first direction; and an elongated guide (143) disposed in the movable portion to change a position of said another roller in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction, with respect to the one roller, according to an upward or downward movement of the actuator, wherein the upward movement is the second direction and is against a force of the spring, and the downward movement is the first direction and is by the force of the spring (see at least Figures 19 and 20).
Regarding claim 12, Lee disclosed the contact portion is disposed below the movable portion, and the movable portion is disposed above the actuator (Figures 19 and 20).
Regarding claim 13, Lee disclosed each of the contact portion and the contacted portion has an inclination face (see Figures 19 and 20).
Regarding claim 16, Lee disclosed the conveyance roller pair conveys the sheet upward (Figure 19).
Regarding claim 17, Lee disclosed said another roller is disposed downstream from the one roller in an insertion direction of the sheet tray (see Figures 19 and 20).
Regarding claim 19, Lee disclosed a pickup roller (21) to contact an uppermost sheet in the sheet tray and feed at least the uppermost sheet; and a feed roller and a separation roller disposed downstream of the pickup roller (see at least 4 in Figure 1), the feed roller and the separation roller may separate and convey the uppermost sheet fed by the pickup roller, wherein the conveyance roller pair including the one roller and said another roller is disposed downstream of the feed roller and the separation roller (as seen in Figure 1 with an origination of the multipurpose tray 4).
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.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Kuwata et al. US 9,440,809 (“Kuwata”). Lee disclosed the limitations of claim 1 as listed above but did not teach the contacted portion includes a roller. Kuwata teaches a similar contacted portion that includes a roller (78U) contacting a contact portion (Figure 9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the teachings of Kuwata within Lee in order to reduce friction and smoothly draw one contact surface past the other as taught by Kuwata.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 14 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
Claim 6 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.
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
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