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 .
Detailed Office Action
1. Claims 1-13 are pending. Claim 1 is independent.
Objection to Drawings
2. Fig. 17 of the drawings is objected to because of the following:
Fig. 17 shows “RIGHT LEFT” with corresponding directional arrows. Please confirm that “RIGHT LEFT” in Fig. 17 is correct (and not “LEFT RIGHT”), if it’s correct.
Please refer to the following in the specification and drawings of Publication No. 2024/0333854 for relative positions of the components of Fig. 17:
Relative positions of signal cable 1404 and motor 1504 in Figs. 15-20 where 402 is the housing of ADF 16, and the main frame unit 404 is disposed in the in housing 402 of ADF 16.
Fig. 17 showing a perspective view of the main frame unit 404 ( [0029] );
Fig. 17 showing a view illustrating the positional relationship between the main frame 404 and the discharge support surface 434 of the document discharge tray 34, and Fig. 18 showing a view illustrating a state where the main frame unit 404 is disposed in the housing 402 of the ADF 16 ( [0153], for brief description of Figs. 15-18);
414 and 434, shown in Fig. 17 ( [0157] the middle portion); also shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 9A;
414: main body tray of document feed tray 32 of ADF 16 ( [0079] )
434: discharge support surface ( [0082]-[0083] )
Objection to Specification
3. The specification is objected to because of the following:
The title of the invention is objected to because the title is not descriptive of the invention.
Paragraph [0026] ( [0029] of Publication No. US 2024/0333854), before “disposed”, linking verb -- is – is missing.
35 U.S.C. 102 Rejection
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 1-3 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hayashi et al. (US Patent No. 6108106).
Regarding claim 1, Hayashi et al. (hereinafter referred to as Hayashi) discloses
an image reading apparatus (in “the automatic feed mode” of the fourth embodiment, col. 5, lines 12-21; Figs. 20 and 22, col. 17, lines 12+) comprising:
a conveyance unit (including roller 28) configured to convey a document in a conveyance direction (the Y direction in Fig. 20) through a conveyance route (Figs. 22 and 20);
a first reading unit (image reading sensor 31) configured to read an image on the document conveyed by the conveyance unit (including roller 28) (Fig. 22, refer to col. 5, lines 12-21 for image reading sensor 31);
a cable (cable 341) (col. 18, lines 22 and 41) routed on one side (the left side as shown in Fig. 22) of the first reading unit (31) and connected to the first reading unit (31) (connected via connector 326 and connected to circuit board 46) (Fig. 22); and
a driving unit (motor 45 and gears 43 and 44) that is disposed on another side (the right side as shown in Fig. 22) of the first reading unit (31) and drives the conveyance unit (including roller 28) (Fig. 22, refer to col. 5, lines 52-53 for motor 45).
Regarding claim 2/1, the first reading unit (31 in Figs. 22 and 20) extends in a direction crossing the conveyance direction, and the cable (341) is routed on one side (the left side) in an extending direction (the left-right direction, Fig. 22) in which the first reading unit extends, and the driving unit (motor 45 and gears 43 and 44) is disposed on another side (the right side) in the extending direction (Fig. 22).
Regarding claim 3/1, a region where the cable (341) is routed and a position where the driving unit (motor 45 and gears 43 and 44) is disposed are located with the conveyance route interposed therebetween in a direction (the left-right direction) crossing the conveyance direction (the conveyance direction is a direction into or out of the page, Fig. 22).
Regarding claim 7/2, the cable (341) and the driving unit (motor 45 and gears 43 and 44) are provided to a frame (frame of roller block 320) including the conveyance unit (including roller 28) and the conveyance route (see Fig. 22), and the cable (341) is disposed at and near an end (the left end, Fig. 22) of the frame (of 320) on the one side (the left side, Fig. 22) in the extending direction (left-right direction, Fig. 22), and the driving unit (motor 45 and gears 43 and 44) is disposed at an end (the right end) of the frame on the other side (the right side) in the extending direction (Fig. 22).
Regarding claim 8/7, the cable (341) is routed on an outside of the frame (the frame of block 320) in the extending direction (the left-right direction) (cable 341 is outside of the frame of 320 while it’s outside of the frame of 320 and into the frame of block 310).
35 U.S.C. 103 Rejection
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. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hayashi et al. (US Patent No. 6108106).
Regarding claim 10/2, Hayashi is discussed for claim 2 above. Hayashi does not disclose or show the positional relationship between a center of the conveyance route in the extending direction (the X or longitudinal direction of the reading sensor 31) and a center position of the image reading apparatus as claimed (Hayashi, Figs. 22 and 20).
With the configuration of the document/image reader shown in Fig. 22, the cable (341) having the upper end connected to the reading sensor (31) and lower end connected to the circuit board (46) is moveably accommodated in the space in the left portion of the housing (320) as shown in Fig. 22.
Increasing the space that accommodates the cable (341) to allow the cable (341) to move more freely, such that a center of the conveyance route in the extending direction (the X-direction in Figs. 22 and 20) is located closer to the other side (the right side where motor 45 is disposed as Fig. 22 is viewed) than a center position of the image reading apparatus (the reader), would have been an obvious design choice.
The rejections in sections 8-10 below are formulated for the purpose of rejecting claims 4-9.
35 U.S.C. 102 Rejection
8. Claims 1-5 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mayu Uno (Japanese Publication No. 2013-115689 A). See attached machine translation along with the publication in Japanese language.
Regarding claim 1, Uno discloses an image reading apparatus (1 in Figs. 1-4; Figs. 5-7, note that “L” and “R” used together with numerals in the figures mean left side/end and right side/end, respectively, in reference to directions of the apparatus 1 defined in [0022] ) comprising:
a conveyance unit (transport unit 70, including supply roller 71, separation pad 79, transport roller 72, and discharge roller 73) configured to convey a document in a conveyance direction (D1) through a conveyance route (conveyance path P1) (Fig. 5, [0047]; Figs. 3 and 5, [0049]);
a first reading unit (100, the upper one of the two reading units 100 and 200) configured to read an image on the document conveyed by the conveyance unit (70) (Figs. 4 and 5, [0038], [0054]-[0055], upper cover 93 to which the first reading unit 100 is assembled, and lower chute 60 to which the second reading unit 200 is assembled);
a cable (first wiring cable 110, which is a flexible flat cable to connect to substrate 5, [0066]) routed on one side (the right side) of the first reading unit (100) (see Fig. 7, the right side being the side at or near the right end 100R of first reading unit 100; note that R in 100R means “right” and L in 100L means “left” in the figures) and connected to the first reading unit (100) (Fig. 5-9, [0066] ); and
a driving unit (drive unit 30, including a plurality of gears and a not-shown motor), ( [0038], [0046] “an electric motor (not shown)” in the last sentence, and Fig. 6) that is disposed on another side (the left side) of the first reading unit (100) and drives the conveyance unit (70) (note that, in Fig. 6, “L” in “97L”, for example, means the left side or part; and note that, in Figs. 6 and 5, discharge roller 73 is at or near the front side of the apparatus 1; in Fig. 6, the drive unit 30 is at the left side, and the cable 110 comes at the right side, bends and then extends to connect to substrate 5 described in [0020] the middle portion; Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 2/1, the first reading unit (100) extends in a direction (the left-right direction of the apparatus 1 as defined in [0022] ) crossing the conveyance direction (D1 in Figs. 4 and 5, [0029] ), and the cable (110) is routed on one side (the right side near 100R) in an extending direction (the left-right direction as defined in [0022] ) in which the first reading unit (100) extends (Figs. 7 and 8), and the driving unit (30) is disposed on another side (the left side) in the extending direction (the left-right direction as defined in [0022] ) (Fig. 6, the drive unit 30 is at the left side, and the cable 110 comes at the right side, bends and then extends to connect to substrate 5 described in [0020] the middle portion) (also see Figs. 6-10, [0066]-[0072], note [0066] and [0070] ).
Regarding claim 3/1, a region where the cable (110 connected to 100) is routed and a position where the driving unit (30) is disposed are located with the conveyance route interposed therebetween in a direction crossing the conveyance direction (D1 in Figs. 4 and 5) (see Figs. 6-10, note in Fig. 6 the discharge roller 73 is at or near the front side of the apparatus, the drive unit 30 is at the left side of the apparatus, the cable 110 is at or from the right side, and the conveyance route is between the region where the cable 110 is routed and the position where the drive unit (30) is disposed in the left-right direction crossing the conveyance direction D1 in Figs. 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 4/2, a connecting portion (105) of the first reading unit (100) to be connected to the cable (110) and a communication portion of the first reading unit (100) into which the cable (110) is insertable and which communicates with a side where a member (power supply unit 3 in Fig. 5, [0041]) to be connected to the first reading unit (100) by the cable (110) is present, are disposed on the one side in the extending direction (the left-right direction of the apparatus as defined in [0022] ) ( the image reading apparatus 1 includes the power supply unit 3 and the control substrate 5 inside the housing 8 of the apparatus 1, see Fig. 5 and [0038]-[0039]; the side where the power supply unit 3 is present is the side where the substrate 5 is present as shown in Fig. 5, the power supply unit 3 supplies power to substrate 5, see [0039], and the substrate 5 is connected to the first reading unit 100 by the flexible flat cable 110, see Figs. 5-7 and [0042], thus power supply unit 3 as a member at a side is connected to the first reading unit 100 via the cable 110 and the substrate 5, and thus, the claimed member is met by the power supply unit 3 described in [0038]-[0039]; further, although not clearly seen in the drawings, a communication portion, such as the portion clearly shown but not labeled in Fig. 10 through which the flexible flat cable 210 is inserted to connect to the substrate 5 via connection portion 525 as shown in Fig. 10, is included as a communication portion of the first reading unit 100 into which the flexible flat cable 110 is insertable and which communicates with the side where the power supply unit 3 as the member is present).
Regarding claim 5/4, the member is a power supply (power supply unit 3) that supplies motive power to the first reading unit (100), as discussed for claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 7/2, the cable (flexible flat cable 101 connected to the first reading unit 100) and the driving unit (30) are provided to a frame (the housing of lower chute 60) including the conveyance unit (including rollers 71, 72, and 73) and the conveyance route (Figs. 5 and 6, [0048], [0050] ) and the cable (110) is disposed at and near an end of the frame on the one side (the right side with letter R) in the extending direction (the left-right direction of the apparatus 1 as defined in [0022], where roller 73 shown in Fig. 6 is at or near the front side of the apparatus 1, Fig. 6 ), and the driving unit (30) is disposed at an end of the frame (frame of lower chute 60) on the other
side (the left side with letter L) in the extending direction (note that the cable 110 to connect to the first reading unit 100 is also provided to the frame as shown in Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 8/7, the cable (110 to connect to the first reading unit 100) is considered to be routed on an outside of the frame in the extending direction (the left-right direction of the apparatus 1 as defined in [0022] ) since the cable (110) shown in Fig. 6 is not inside of the frame (of the lower chute).
Regarding claim 9/1, Uno further discloses a connection portion (first terminal portion 105 in Figs. 12(a), 11(b), 5, and 8) of the first reading unit (100) to be connected to the cable (110). The connection portion (105) (Fig. 12(a)) of the first reading unit (100) to be connected to the cable (110) is disposed on one side (the downstream side) in the conveyance direction (D1 in Figs. 5, 4, 12(a)), and the driving unit (30) is disposed on another side (the upstream side; at least partially disposed on the upstream side) in the conveyance direction (D1) (Figs. 6-7, 5, 4, 12(a)).
35 U.S.C. 103 Rejection
9. 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.
10. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uno (Mayu Uno) (Japanese Publication No. 2013-115689 A). See attached machine translation along with the publication in Japanese language.
Regarding claim 6/4, the image reading apparatus of Mayu Uno is discussed for claim 4/2/1 above.
Uno does not disclose that the cable (110 connecting first reading unit 100) is routed straight between the connecting portion and the communication portion as claimed.
As discussed for claim 4 above with respect to the connection portion and the communication portion of Uno, the connecting portion (105) of the first reading unit (100) is to be connected to the cable (110), and, although not clearly seen in the drawings, the communication portion, such as the portion clearly shown but not labeled in Fig. 10 through which the flexible flat cable 210 is inserted to connect to the substrate 5 via connection portion 525 as shown in Fig. 10, is included as a communication portion of the first reading unit 100 into which the flexible flat cable 110 is insertable and which communicates with the side where the power supply unit 3 as the member is present.
Routing the cable (110) straight between the connection portion (105) and the communication portion would have been an obvious design choice to simply stabilize that portion of the cable (110) between the connection portion (105) of the first reading unit (100) and the communication portion.
The rejections below in sections 11-12 are formulated for the purpose of rejecting claims 11-13.
35 U.S.C. 102 Rejection
11. Claims 1 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takeuchi et al. (US 2011/0242621).
Regarding claim 1, Takeuchi et al. (hereinafter referred to as Takeuchi) discloses an image reading apparatus (MFP 1) (Figs. 1A-1C) comprising:
a conveyance unit (automatic document feeder ADF of scanner unit 3, para 0024 and Fig. 3 and Figs. 1A-1C ) configured to convey a document in a conveyance direction through a conveyance route (Fig. 3, para 0030-0032 );
a first reading unit (second image sensor 12, a contact image sensor CIS 12) configured to read an image (image on the back side of the document sheet) on the document conveyed by the conveyance unit (ADF) (para 0031-0032);
a cable (second flexible flat cable FFC 52) routed on one side (the lower side of CIS 12 shown in Fig. 1C) of the first reading unit (second image sensor CIS 12 in ADF of scanner 3) and connected to the first reading unit (12) (para 0036, 0039-0042, Figs. 1A-1C); and
a driving unit (driving motor 45) that is disposed on another side (the “rear” side of the MFP 1, which is the left side of Fig. 1C) of the first reading unit (12) and drives the conveyance unit (para 0035, Figs. 1A-1C).
Regarding claim 11/1, Takeuchi further discloses
a platen including a first glass (flatbed glass 17 in Fig. 2) on which a document is placeable, and a second Glass (first ADF glass 21 in Fig. 2) over which a document conveyed by the conveyance unit passes, the first glass (17) and the second glass (21) being arranged next to each other in the conveyance direction (see Fig. 2); and
a second reading unit (first image sensor 11 in Figs. 1A-1C and 2) capable of moving in the conveyance direction (left-right direction, Figs. 2 and 1A-1C) and performing first reading (in flatbed mode) and second reading (in ADF mode), the first reading being an operation (in flatbed mode) in which the second reading unit (11) reads an image on a first surface (the lower surface) of a document (document sheet) placed on the first glass (17) of the platen while moving in the conveyance direction (para 0026-0028), the first surface being in abutment with the first glass (17), the second reading being an operation (in ADF mode) in which the second reading unit (11) stays at a position corresponding to the second glass (21) of the platen and reads an image on a second surface (front side of the document sheet) of a document passed over the second glass (ADF glass 21) by the conveyance unit (Fig. 2, para 0031).
Regarding claim 12/1, Takeuchi further discloses a second conveyance unit (in main unit 2) configured to convey a print medium, and an image forming unit (in main unit 2) configured to form an image on the print medium conveyed by the second conveyance unit (para 0021, Figs. 1A-1C, the MFP 1 includes an inherent print medium conveyance unit and an image forming unit as claimed).
35 U.S.C. 103 Rejection
12. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US 2011/0242621) in view of Hishinuma (US 2017/0341886).
Regarding claim 13/12, the apparatus of Takeuchi is discussed for claims 12/1 and 1 above. Both the second conveyance unit and the image forming unit (of claim 12) are inherent in main body (2) of the MFP (1) of Takeuchi.
Takeuchi does not disclose or show relative directions of conveyance of the document and discharging of the print medium as claimed.
Hishinuma discloses an image forming apparatus (100) (Fig. 1, para 0023) comprising an apparatus body (100A) and an image reading apparatus (101) disposed on top of the apparatus body (100A) that includes an image forming unit (120) (Fig. 1, para 0023), the image reading apparatus (101) including an ADF (103) and a scanner portion (102). A conveyance unit (including rollers 19, 251, and 131) conveys a document (D) (by rollers 19 and 251) from one side to another side in a conveyance direction (conveys from an upstream side to a downstream side in the right-to-left direction as viewed in Fig. 1) and discharges the document (by discharge roller 131), after the reading, from the other side (the downstream side) to the one side (to the upstream side, and onto document discharge tray 16), and a second conveyance unit (including discharge roller 112) in the apparatus body (100A) discharges a print medium (P), after the image forming, from the other side (the above-mentioned downstream side) of the conveyance unit (including rollers 19 and 251) toward the one side (the above-mentioned upstream side).
The apparatus (100 in Fig. 1) and the MFP (1 in Figs. 1A-1C) are both image forming apparatuses or include an image forming apparatus including a conveyance unit for conveying a document sheet in an ADF and a second conveyance unit for conveying a print/printed medium in the apparatus main body.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Takeuchi and Hishinuma to provide an apparatus in which both the document sheet and the printed sheet/medium are discharged in substantially the same direction or to the same side of the overall apparatus, providing convenience to the user of the apparatus when picking up both the discharged document sheet(s) and the discharged printed sheet(s).
Pertinent Prior Art
13. The prior art or art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Takeuchi et al. (US 2013/0335791 A1) discloses an image reading apparatus (in MFP, Fig. 1A the top view) (para 0036) comprising:
a conveyance unit (cover unit 7 in Figs. 1A, 2, and 3 and para 0022, which includes an ADF, second image sensor 12, and external covering 57 shown in Fig. 3) configured to convey a document in a conveyance direction through a conveyance route (para 0036);
a first reading unit (the second reading sensor 12 in ADF) configured to read an image on the document conveyed by the conveyance unit (para 0036);
a cable (flexible flat cable FFC 52) routed on one side (the lower side) of the first reading unit (12 in ADF) and connected to the first reading unit (12) (para 0036); and
a driving unit (driving motor 45) that is disposed on another side (the rear end side) of the first reading unit (the second sensor 12 in ADF) and drives the conveyance unit (ADF) (the driving motor 45 arranged in a rear area in ADF of scanner unit 3, see Fig. 1A showing top view, Fig. 1C showing left view, para 0036 end).
Mukai (US 2011/0235082 for claim 11: 0039 Figs. 5 and 8, contact glass 22 including a first glass 79 (an ADF platen) on the left and a second glass 80 (a flatbed platen) on the right. First reading unit 24 (an ADF CIS), second reading unit 25 (for flatbed reading mode and ADF reading mode)
Takeuchi et al. (US 2011/0242618 A1) does not show a motor or a driving source. Teft-right direction is the sub-scanning direction. Para 0041, Fig. 5A is a top view of the MFP (of ADF) with the second frame 52 being open, with the lower part of the figure being the front of the MFP (or the ADF) (see Figs. 3 and 4 for the positional relationship of ADF cover 53, second frame 52, and first frame 51), connector 54A of flexible flat cable (FFC) 54 and connector 12A of second image sensor 12 (in ADF; Fig. 3) are coupled to each other, connector 12A is provided on a lower side of second image sensor 12 (ADF CIS).
Hishinuma et al. (US 2018/0101344 A1), Fig. 9, motor M arranged in back part of ADF, left-right direction is the document conveying direction, cable guide 50 also at back part of ADF
Shiomi (US 2014/0168680 A1), Figs. 2 and 3 showing the front view and the left side view, respectively, of the MFP, para 0012, 0013, 0054, 0046, and 0056, flexible flat cable 64 (signal cable) connected to reading unit 61G (CIS in ADF 61), motor 61F serving as a second drive unit (of ADF 61) that drives a document supply roller 61B and discharge roller 61D in the ADF 61, cable 64 and motor 61F are at the same side (the rear end side) of reading unit 61G (in ADF 61) (Fig. 3). So, the reading sensor 61G extends in the front-rear direction of the MFP, the motor 61F is disposed on the rear side of the reading sensor 61G, and the signal cable 64 is routed on the rear side of the reading sensor 61G.
Shigeno (US 2017/0034373) Figs. 2 and 3, motor 4M and second reading sensor 3B in ADF 40; no description of relative position of motor 4M and cable 72 connecting second image sensor 3B in ADF 40
Shigeno (US 2016/0295047 A1), Figs. 3, 4 and 11, flat cable 72 (a signal cable) connecting second reading sensor (3B in ADF 40) and control board C1 in main device 10 through opening 20H (Fig. 3) defined in the back portion of an upper surface of reading device 20 (para 0055, 0054, 0053, 0028); document conveying motor 4B (in ADF 40)
Ito et al. (US 2011/0235140 A1), Figs. 2 and 8, reading portion 24 (Figs. 2 and 3, para 0039), drive source 99 comprised of an electric motor and gears (para 0057); control circuit board 201 (para 0038, Figs. 2, 3, and 7); Fig. 15, para 0088, flexible flat cable 7A connected to control circuit board 201
Yoshihara (US 2016/0295058 A1), Fig. 3, flexible flat cable at one end of image sensor
Conclusion
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHEUKFAN LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7407. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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/CHEUKFAN LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682