DETAILED ACTION
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 5/15/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 are objected to under 37 C.F.R. 1.75(i) because claim 1 does not separate each element or step by a line indentation. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tamura et al. (US 9,416,850 B2).
PNG
media_image1.png
600
785
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 1, Tamura et al. discloses a drive transmission device to transmit a driving force of a drive source (21) to a plurality of conveyance rollers to convey a sheet, the plurality of conveyance rollers including: a relay conveyance roller (A, annotated Figure 1) upstream from a registration roller (12b) in a sheet conveyance direction to convey at least a sheet fed from a sheet feeding cassette (16a) toward the registration roller; and a bypass relay conveyance roller (B, annotated Figure 1) in a bypass relay path (C, annotated Figure 1) to convey a sheet fed from a bypass tray (16b) to a joining point where the sheet fed from the bypass tray joins into a conveyance path (D, annotated Figure 1) on which the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette is conveyed,
the drive transmission device comprising:
a drive transmission interrupter (23 and 24) in a drive transmission path (Figures 3-6) from the drive source.
Tamura et al. further discloses the drive transmission interrupter interrupts drive transmission to rollers (12a, column 7 line 41 through column 8 line 11) but does not explicitly disclose the drive transmission interrupter in a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission in the drive transmission path, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted via the drive transmission interrupter to the bypass relay conveyance roller. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that a drive transmission interrupter in a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission in the drive transmission path, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted via the drive transmission interrupter to the bypass relay conveyance roller is old and well known in the art for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the applicant’s filing to modify Tamura et al. by utilizing drive transmission interrupter in a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission in the drive transmission path, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted via the drive transmission interrupter to the bypass relay conveyance roller, as is old and well known in the art, for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets, selectively driving rollers reduces the noise, wear on the rollers, and energy consumption compared to always driving the rollers when other parts of the machine are being driven.
Regarding claim 2, Tamura et al. discloses wherein the plurality of conveyance rollers further include a reverse conveyance roller (F, annotated Figure 1) on a reverse conveyance path (14a) through which a sheet having passed through a fixing device (13) and been switchback-conveyed and is conveyed to the registration roller again. Tamura et al. does not explicitly disclose the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the reverse conveyance roller via the drive transmission interrupter. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that transmitting a driving force to reverse conveyance rollers via the drive transmission interrupter is old and well known in the art for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the applicant’s filing to modify Tamura et al. by utilizing the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the reverse conveyance roller via the drive transmission interrupter, as is old and well known in the art, for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets, selectively driving rollers reduces the noise, wear on the rollers, and energy consumption compared to always driving the rollers when other parts of the machine are being driven.
Regarding claim 3, Tamura et al. discloses wherein the plurality of conveyance rollers further include a roller (12a at 16a) of a sheet feeder to feed a sheet from the sheet feeding cassette; a roller (12a at 16b) of a bypass sheet feeder that feeds a sheet from the bypass tray; and the registration roller (12b).
Regarding claim 4, Tamura et al. discloses a sheet conveying device, comprising:
a sheet feeder (12a at 16a) to feed a sheet from a sheet feeding cassette (16a);
a bypass sheet feeder (12a at 16b) to feed a sheet from a bypass tray (16b);
a registration roller (12b);
a relay conveyance roller (A, annotated Figure 1) upstream from the registration roller to convey at least a sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette toward the registration roller;
a bypass relay conveyance roller (B, annotated Figure 1) on a bypass relay path (C, annotated Figure 1) to convey a sheet fed from the bypass tray to a joining point (E, annotated Figure 1) where the sheet fed from the bypass tray joins into a conveyance path on which the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette is conveyed; and
a drive transmission device (21) to transmit a driving force of a drive source (21) rollers (12a), the drive transmission device including a drive transmission interrupter (23 and 24) on a drive transmission path (Figures 3-6) from the drive source to the rollers to interrupt drive transmission,
wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the rollers via the drive transmission interrupter (column 7 line 41 through column 8 line 11).
Tamura et al. does not disclose the drive transmission device to transmit the driving force of the drive source to at least the relay conveyance roller and the bypass relay conveyance roller, the drive transmission device including a drive transmission interrupter on a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the bypass relay conveyance roller via the drive transmission interrupter. However, the Examiner takes Official Notice that the drive transmission device to transmit the driving force of the drive source to at least the relay conveyance roller and the bypass relay conveyance roller, the drive transmission device including a drive transmission interrupter on a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the bypass relay conveyance roller via the drive transmission interrupter is old and well known in the art for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the applicant’s filing to modify Tamura et al. by utilizing the drive transmission device to transmit the driving force of the drive source to at least the relay conveyance roller and the bypass relay conveyance roller, the drive transmission device including a drive transmission interrupter on a drive transmission path from the drive source to the relay conveyance roller to interrupt drive transmission, wherein the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the bypass relay conveyance roller via the drive transmission interrupter, as is old and well known in the art, for the purpose of selectively driving rollers to convey sheets, selectively driving rollers reduces the noise, wear on the rollers, and energy consumption compared to always driving the rollers when other parts of the machine are being driven.
Regarding claim 5, Tamura et al. discloses an image forming device (100) to form an image on a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying device.
Regarding claim 6, Tamura et al. discloses a latent image bearer (1a-d); and a latent image writing device (5) to write a latent image on the latent image bearer, wherein the bypass relay path is directly below the latent image writing device (Figure 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-7805. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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, Joe Thomas can be reached at 571-272-8004. 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.
/MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3653