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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/1/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-3, 5-6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 3715797 B2 to Koichi as modified by JP 3638197 B2 to Tetsuya.
With regard to Claim 1, Koichi teaches (fig. 1) an image forming apparatus (1), comprising:
a belt (15) configured to convey a sheet (P);
a plurality of rollers (16, 17 and 12) over which the belt is stretched, the plurality of rollers including a drive roller (16) to which a drive force is to be applied [0039];
a support portion (37) configured to support at least one of the plurality of rollers in a manner that allows the at least one of the plurality of rollers to rotate (fig. 2);
an ejection portion (5) configured to eject ink onto the sheet (P) conveyed by the belt (15);
a movable member (18) placed in a movable manner on an inner circumferential surface side of the belt (15) in order to adjust a distance between the ejection portion and an outer circumferential surface of the belt (15) at a position opposed to the ejection portion (5).
Koichi does not teach a cam configured to displace a position of the movable member in relation to the plurality of rollers; and a control portion configured to rotate, in order to adjust the distance, the cam by an amount depending on a basis weight of the sheet.
However, Tetsuya teaches a cam (47) configured to displace a position of the movable member (8); and a control portion (40) configured to rotate, in order to adjust the distance, the cam by an amount depending on a basis weight of the sheet [0075, 0079 and 0084-0086]. The Examiner notes that Tetsuya teaches thickness of paper. However, the examiner finds that the correlation between paper thickness and weight is generally interchangeable. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Koichi with the teachings of Tetsuya to ensure the desired gap between the print head and the printing medium regardless of the position of the printing medium, and provide high-quality printing [0027].
With regard to Claim 2, Koichi teaches (fig. 1) further comprising a suction unit configured to stick the sheet by suction to the belt, wherein the belt is configured to convey the sheet stuck by suction to the belt [0009 and 0032].
With regard to Claim 3, Koichi teaches wherein the movable member further includes a suction unit for sticking the sheet by suction to the belt, and wherein the belt is configured to convey the sheet stuck by suction to the belt [0012].
With regard to Claim 5, Koichi teaches wherein the belt has an endless shape [0057].
With regard to Claim 6, Koichi teaches further comprising a frame (47) configured to support the plurality of rollers, wherein the ejection portion is attached to the frame.
With regard to Claim 9, Koichi teaches the claimed invention except for wherein the cam is an eccentric cam.
However, Tetsuya teaches wherein the cam is an eccentric cam (47). It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Koichi with the teachings of Tetsuya to improve the measurement accuracy of the sheet thickness [0088].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 3715797 B2 to Koichi as modified by JP 3638197 B2 to Tetsuya as applied to claim 1 and further in view of US 2009/0278906 to Yajima et al. “Yajima.”
With regard to Claim 4, Koichi as modified by Tetsuya teach the claimed invention except for wherein the suction unit includes a pressure chamber configured to generate a negative pressure therein, wherein the pressure chamber has a hole that communicates with an outside, and wherein the suction unit is configured to suction the sheet through the hole under a state in which a pressure inside the pressure chamber is a negative pressure [0036]. It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Koichi as modified by Tetsuya with the teachings of Yajima to suppress the wrinkles or cockles from being fixed to the recording sheet by applying the restraining force [0014].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 3715797 B2 to Koichi as modified by JP 3638197 B2 to Tetsuya as applied to claim 1 and further in view of US 2015/0203307 to Tanaka et al. “Tanaka.”
With regard to Claim 10, Koichi as modified by Tetsuya teach the claimed invention except for further comprising: a drive axis for transmitting a drive force to the cam; and a one-way clutch which is provided on the drive axis, and which is configured to restrict rotation of the cam to one direction.
However, Tanaka teaches (fig. 5) further comprising: a drive axis (the axis of (31), not labeled) for transmitting a drive force to the cam (64); and a one-way clutch which is provided on the drive axis, and which is configured to restrict rotation of the cam to one direction [0042]. It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Koichi as modified by Tetsuya with the teachings of Tanaka to prevent creases from being formed in the sheet [0053].
Examiner Note
The examiner cites particular columns and lines numbers (or paragraphs or figures) in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. The specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim. Other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 7 is the inclusion of the limitations in a case where the basis weight of the sheet conveyed by the belt is a second basis weight lighter than the first basis weight, the movable member so that the height of the movable member in relation to the plurality of rollers is a second height higher than the first height. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of Claim 8 is the inclusion of the limitations wherein the control portion is configured to control the position of the movable member in relation to the plurality of rollers based on information stored in the memory. It is these features found in the claim(s) which have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes this claim allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CN 100425454 C discloses a recording device, the recording device is small even when it contains mechanism for adjusting the head gap. the recording device comprises device for detachably retaining sliding box, used for supporting one surface of the recording medium pressing part, and a conveying roller and a discharge roller for conveying the recording medium. the paper pressing member is configured to be discharge roller shaft as the rotating centre to rotate, and can be switched between at least two positions.
JP 3565335 B2 discloses a recording apparatus includes a platen gap adjusting unit that can adjust a platen gap between a recording head and a platen that guides the recording sheet in accordance with the thickness of the recording sheet used for printing. Have been. Most of the platen gap adjusting means are configured such that, when operated, the position of the recording head is changed with respect to the platen arranged at a fixed position.
Communication with the PTO
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON A POLK whose telephone number is (571)270-7910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7-3.
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, Douglas Rodriguez can be reached at 571-431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SHARON A. POLK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Sharon Polk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853