DETAILED ACTION
The indicated allowability of claim 6 (now independent claim 1 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Yoshida US 2011/0064427 and Akiyama US 2012/0228822. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida US 2011/0064427 A1 (hereinafter “Yoshida”) in view of Akiyima US 2012/0228822 (hereinafter “Akiyama”), and further in view of Kitaoka JP 2010-085431 A (hereinafter “Kitaoka”).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshida, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, teaches a medium transport device installable at an in-body discharge portion in a recording device (FIG. 1), the recording device including a recording unit (110) configured to perform recording on a medium, the medium transport device comprising:
a transport unit (broadest reasonable interpretation includes at least entrance rollers 201) positioned, in the recording device, between a first discharge path through which the medium is discharged to the in-body discharge portion and a first processing unit (215) configured to perform first processing (binding) on the medium discharged to the in-body discharge portion, the transport unit being configured to transport the medium in medium transport direction discharged from the first discharge path to the first processing unit; and
a unit mounting portion (inner bottom portion of opening that supports 200 in FIG. 1) mounted with the first processing unit,
Yoshida teaches the claimed invention except
an operation unit configured to enable manual operation of the transport unit; and
wherein the operation unit transports the medium in reverse direction opposite to the medium transport direction when being operated,
wherein the unit mounting portion is configured to be further mounted with a second processing unit being a unit positioned downstream of the first processing unit in a transport direction of the medium, the second processing unit being configured to perform second processing on the medium received from the first processing unit,
wherein the operation unit is configured to transport the medium while the first processing unit and the second processing unit remain attached to the recording device and remain connected to each other,
wherein the first processing is processing of punching the medium, and wherein the second processing is processing of binding the medium.
Akiyama, with reference to FIG. 7 and [0036], teaches a known conventional operation unit (a jam clearing dial 50) that allows a user to manually operate feeding rollers to forcibly feed a jammed sheet upstream or downstream as an alternative to using a drive source to clear a jam.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Yoshida’s transport unit with an operation unit in order to aid a user to clearing a jammed sheet in the transport unit without any excessive load imposed on the driving motor of the transport unit or as a known alternative means of providing driving input to clear the jammed sheet.
Kitaoka, with reference to FIG. 17, teaches the known arrangement of providing a punch unit (P) upstream of a binding unit (F).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Yoshida’s medium transport device with a punch unit arranged upstream of the binding unit as taught by Kitaoka as a known alternative arrangement for sheets requiring punching and/or binding.
Regarding claim 2, Yoshida teaches wherein the transport unit includes a rotating body (201) configured to be rotated by a power of a drive source (216) to transport the medium.
While the secondary reference of Akiyama teaches the operation unit includes:
an input unit (50) configured to enable manual input of an operating force and
a switching unit (52) configured to switch between a transmission state in which the operating force is transmitted to the rotating body, and a decoupled state in which the operating force is not transmitted to the rotating body, and
when the rotating body is driven by the power of the drive source, the switching unit is in the decoupled state.
Regarding claim 4, wherein the rotating body: transports the medium downstream in a transport direction by rotating in a first rotation direction and transports the medium upstream in the transport direction by rotating in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction and the rotating body is rotatable only in the second rotation direction when the operating force is input to the input unit (the combination of references teach this)
Regarding claim 7, the combination of references teaches wherein the operation unit is attachable and detachable (capable of being detached) from the medium transport device.
Regarding claim 8, a recording system (100) comprising: the medium transport device according to claim 1; and the recording device including the recording unit (110) configured to perform recording on the medium, wherein a drive source (implicit, a motor) is provided at the recording device.
Regarding claim 9, Yoshida teaches a first path forming member (left guide member of 180 that is attached near 160) attachable to and detachable from a device main body including the first discharge path, wherein the first discharge path is formed by attaching the first path forming member to the device main body.
Regarding claim 11, Kitaoka teaches wherein the recording unit is positioned below the transport unit and the transport unit includes a holding unit (32) configured to hold foreign matter generated in a transport path through which the medium is transported.
Regarding claim 12, while Yoshida fails to explicitly teach wherein the recording unit performs recording by ejecting a liquid onto the medium, the examiner takes official notice that it is common knowledge in the paper feeding art that liquid recording by ink jet printer is a known equivalent to toner based recording for forming an image on a sheet.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 10, and 13-15 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.
Claims 16-18 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nakano US 2018/0162674 A1 is a similar reference to Kitaoka that teaches a punch unit (60) upstream of a binding unit (100).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUIS A GONZALEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3094. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5:30pm.
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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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/LUIS A GONZALEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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