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 12/16/25 was entered into the record.
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) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Umi et al. US 9,039,010 (“Umi”) in view of JP 2017-61375 (“JP ‘375”).
Regarding claims 1-5, Umi disclosed an image reading apparatus comprising:
a reading unit (119) that reads a medium;
a medium placing portion (103) on which a medium is placed to be fed to the reading unit;
a feeding roller (111) that feeds the medium placed on the medium placing portion by coming into contact with a surface of the medium facing the medium placing portion and being rotated, the feeding roller being disposed downstream of the media placing portion (Figure 2);
a medium detecting portion (110) that is positioned in a placing region of the medium on the medium placing portion, and upstream of the feeding roller (Figure 2), the medium detecting portion being disposed upstream, distant from an upstream side of, and in an elevated position in relation to the feeding roller (as seen in Figure 2);
more precisely, Umi teaches it as a first detecting portion (110) detecting presence or absence of paper being placed on a medium placing portion (103) at a downstream end and inside a placing region of the paper by the medium placing portion on the upstream side of the feeding roller (111a, 111b),
a controller (151) that stops feeding of the medium in a case in which a moving speed causes abnormal processing (see at least S104); and
the feeding roller is arranged in a pair (111a, 111b) with a gap in the width direction (Figures 8 and 9).
Umi does not teach a medium movement detecting portion as claimed. JP ‘375 teaches a medium movement detecting portion (82 or 30) that is positioned in a placing region of a medium on a medium placing portion and is capable of detecting movement of the medium being fed by a feeding roller in a width direction intersecting a medium feeding direction. A controller (including 83) stops feeding of the medium in a case in which a physical quantity relating to the movement of the medium in the width direction based on a detected result by the medium movement detecting portion exceeds a predetermined threshold. The medium movement detecting portion is disposed between a pair of the feeding rollers in the medium feeding direction (see at least Figures 5 and 16).
Umi further disclosed a separating roller (112a, 112b), which nips the paper between the feeding roller and the separating roller and separates the paper; the separating roller is arranged in a pair with a gap in the width direction (Figures 2 and 3). A pair of transporting rollers (116, 117) is provided on the downstream side of the feeding roller and is provided on an upstream side of the reading unit (Figure 2) and transports the paper fed by the feeding roller toward the reading unit; the pair of transporting rollers is arranged in a pair with a gap in the width direction (Figure 3).
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 JP ‘375 and Umi to provide a centrally located medium movement detecting portion in the region of the medium detecting portion to transport a medium with high accuracy by detecting media that are part of a stapled bundle at the start of conveyance from the central region where a media would be detected.
Regarding claims 6-10, Umi disclosed an image reading apparatus comprising:
a reading unit (119) that reads a medium;
a medium placing portion (103) on which a medium is placed to be fed to the reading unit;
a feeding roller (111) that feeds the medium placed on the medium placing portion by coming into contact with a surface of the medium facing the medium placing portion and being rotated, the feeding roller being disposed downstream of the media placing portion (Figure 2);
a medium detecting portion (110) that is positioned in a placing region of the medium on the medium placing portion, and upstream of the feeding roller (Figure 2), the medium detecting portion being disposed upstream, distant from an upstream side of, and in an elevated position in relation to the feeding roller (as seen in Figure 2);
more precisely, Umi teaches it as a first detecting portion (110) detecting presence or absence of paper being placed on a medium placing portion (103) at a downstream end and inside a placing region of the paper by the medium placing portion on the upstream side of the feeding roller (111a, 111b),
a controller (151) that stops feeding of the medium in a case in which a moving speed causes abnormal processing (see at least S104); and
the feeding roller is arranged in a pair (111a, 111b) with a gap in the width direction (Figures 8 and 9).
Umi does not teach a medium movement detecting portion as claimed. JP ‘375 teaches a medium movement detecting portion (82 or 30) that is positioned in a placing region of a medium on a medium placing portion and is capable of detecting movement of the medium being fed by a feeding roller in a width direction intersecting a medium feeding direction. A controller (including 83) stops feeding of the medium in a case in which a physical quantity relating to the movement of the medium in the width direction based on a detected result by the medium movement detecting portion exceeds a predetermined threshold. The medium movement detecting portion in a pair with a gap in the width direction (see the first two paragraphs of the “Other Embodiments” section). The pair of the medium movement detecting portions is disposed outside the pair of the feeding rollers in the medium feeding direction (see at least the first paragraph of the “Other Embodiments” section).
Umi further disclosed a separating roller (112a, 112b), which nips the paper between the feeding roller and the separating roller and separates the paper; the separating roller is arranged in a pair with a gap in the width direction (Figures 2 and 3). A pair of transporting rollers (116, 117) is provided on the downstream side of the feeding roller and is provided on an upstream side of the reading unit (Figure 2) and transports the paper fed by the feeding roller toward the reading unit; the pair of transporting rollers is arranged in a pair with a gap in the width direction (Figure 3).
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 JP ‘375 and Umi to provide laterally located medium movement detecting portions in the region of the medium detecting portion to transport a medium with high accuracy by detecting media that are part of a stapled bundle at the start of conveyance from lateral regions where a media would be detected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/16/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive to overcome the rejections as arranged above.
Applicant alleged that Umi did not teach the medium movement detecting portion being disposed upstream, distant from an upstream side of, and in an elevated position in relation to the feeding roller.
The Examiner disagrees. Figure 2 of Umi clearly illustrates the medium movement detecting portion 110 being disposed upstream the feeding roller 111, distant from an upstream side of the feeding roller, and in an elevated position in relation to the feeding roller. Accordingly, the rejections appearing above are maintained.
Conclusion
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 HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HOWARD J SANDERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653