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 .
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Objections
2. Claim 1 is objected to because it appears “contract unit” should instead be –contact unit--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-6,8-13,15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Noso USP 11,279,587.
Noso discloses, regarding claim 1, A binding device comprising:
a binding unit (73) that binds a plurality of media;
a first moving unit (71) that moves along a width direction (D2) of the medium;
a second moving unit (72) that is supported by the first moving unit, supports the binding unit, and moves in an inclined direction (DR1,DR2) with respect to the width direction of the medium (see at least fig.9,10,12,13); and
a contact unit (713) that is supported by the first moving unit and comes into contact with a guide unit (74) that extends in a movement direction of the first moving unit (see at least C10/L7-13, fig.4,5),
wherein a bottom surface of the contact unit comes into contact with the guide unit, and the contact unit does not move in the inclined direction with respect to the width direction of the medium (the first moving unit, and therefore the contact unit only moves in a linear fashion, as shown in at least C10/L7-13, fig.9,10,13,14,17-19).
Regarding claim 2, wherein the second moving unit (72) is supported by the first moving unit (71) to be rotatable about a rotary shaft (see pivot point SC adjacent contact member 713 in at least fig.10), and moves in the inclined direction about the rotary shaft (see at least C10/L43-55, fig.4,5).
Regarding claim 3, further comprising:
a guided unit (77) that is disposed at a position away from the rotary shaft (see pivot point SC adjacent contact member 713 in at least fig.10) and is guided by a second guide unit (75) extending in the movement direction of the first moving unit and in a movement direction of the second moving unit,
wherein, in a case where the guided unit is guided to a portion of the second guide unit along the movement direction of the second moving unit, the guided unit moves the second moving unit about the rotary shaft (see at least fig.16-19).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the contact unit (713) is disposed at a bottom surface of the first moving unit (71) (see at least fig.5).
Regarding claim 5, wherein a portion of the contact unit (713) that comes into contact with the guide unit is made of a low friction material (bearings are inherently made of low friction material).
Regarding claim 6, further comprising:
a moving mechanism (774) that is disposed on an inner side in a medium transport direction (D1) with respect to the binding unit and moves the first moving unit (see at least C9/L21-57, fig.7).
Regarding claims 8-13, A post-processing device (5) comprising:
a loading unit (521) on which media are loaded; and
the binding device according to claims 1-6, respectively, that binds the media loaded on the loading unit (fig.1).
Regarding claims 15-19, An image forming apparatus (1) comprising:
an image recording device (4a) that records an image on a medium; and
the post-processing device according to claims 8-12, respectively, that performs post-processing on the medium on which the image is recorded by the image recording device (fig.1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claims 7,14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noso USP 11,279,587 in view of Chung et al. USP 6,164,511.
Noso discloses substantially all the limitations of the claims (see ¶5 above), and further discloses a third guide unit (7761) that guides the first moving unit (71) (see at least C9/L21-57, fig.7), but does not expressly disclose the third guide unit formed in a rod shape extending in the width direction of the medium.
Chung teaches a third guide unit (500) that is disposed on the inner side in the medium transport direction with respect to the guide unit, is formed in a rod shape extending in the width direction of the medium, and guides the first moving unit (see at least fig.2,4-6).
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the third guide unit formed in a rod shape extending in the width direction of the medium, as taught by Chung, in the device of Noso, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the purpose of providing fewer moving parts and thus resulting in lower maintenance costs.
Noso further discloses, regarding claim 14, A post-processing device (5) comprising:
a loading unit (521) on which media are loaded; and
the binding device according to claims 1-6, respectively, that binds the media loaded on the loading unit (fig.1).
Conclusion
8. 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.
9. 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 5/21/2026
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