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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, 5, 11, 14 and 18-19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1:
“a sheet;” (line 3) should be --the sheet-- as a sheet is already positively recited in the preamble. Otherwise, it is unclear whether this is the same sheet.
“a second surface” (line 28) should be --the second surface-- as a second surface has already been positively recited in claim 1.
“an image” (line 30) should be --the image-- as images on both sides have already been positively recited in claim 1.
“an inclination of a leading edge” (line 31 and line 34) should be --the inclination edge of the leading edge--.
“an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 32) should be --the inclination of the trailing edge--.
Claim 4:
“an inclination of a leading edge” (line 4 and line 7) should be --the inclination edge of the leading edge--.
“an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 5) should be --the inclination of the trailing edge--.
Claim 5:
“an inclination of a leading edge” (lines 4 and 10) should be --the inclination edge of the leading edge--.
“an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 5) should be --the inclination of the trailing edge--.
“an image” (line 9) should be --the image--.
Claim 11: “an image” (line 6) should be --the image--.
Claim 14:
“an inclination of a leading edge” (line 4) should be --the inclination edge of the leading edge--.
“an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 4) should be --the inclination of the trailing edge--.
Claim 18:
“an image” (line 1) should be --the image--.
“an inclination of a leading edge” (line 3) should be --the inclination of the leading edge--.
Claim 19:
“an image” (lines 4, 8, 18, 22, and 23) should be --the image--.
“an inclination of a leading edge” (lines 25 and 28) should be --the inclination edge of the leading edge--.
“an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 26) should be --the inclination of the trailing edge--.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, it is unclear if “an image on a second surface” (line 28) or “an image” (line 30) are the positively recited “image are to be formed on both surfaces of the sheet” (lines 20-21). Further, “an inclination of a leading edge” (lines 31 and 34) and “an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 32) are also already positively recited in claim 1. It is unclear as to whether these are separate edges detected by the sensor or for different parts of the sheet.
Claims 4, 5, 14, and 15, similarly to claim 1, also introduce another “an inclination of a leading edge” and “an inclination of a trailing edge” (lines 4, 5, 7; lines 4 and 9; line 4; and line 4, respectively).
Claims 5, 11, 18, similarly to claim 1, also introduce another “an image” (lines 4, 6, 1, respectively).
Regarding claim 11, the claim requires “the second sensor is used to detect an edge portion of the sheet in the width direction” but claim 1, from which it is dependent, requires that the second sensor “used to detect an inclination of a leading edge and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet”. Claim 10, from which claim 11 depends, requires that “a third sensor configured to detect an edge portion of the sheet. Claim 11 also requires “a detection result of the edge portion of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the third sensor”. It is unclear if the second sensor, in claim 11, is also used to detect the edge portion or if the limitation in claim 11 was directed toward the third sensor and not the second sensor.
Regarding claim 19, similar to claim 1, “an image” (lines 4, 8, 18, 22, 23) are the same as the “an image” positively recited in the preamble. Further, “an inclination of a leading edge” (lines 24 and 27) and “an inclination of a trailing edge” (line 25) are also unclear whether they are the same as the positively recited “inclination of a leading edge” or “inclination of a trailing edge”.
Claims 2-18 and 20 are rejected based on their dependency to claims 1 or 19.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because “a computer-readable data carrier” is directed to non-statutory subject matter. See, e.g., Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA, Inc., 851 F.3d at 1294-95, 112 USPQ2d at 1134 (claims to a "machine-readable medium" (similarly “computer-readable data carrier”) were non-statutory, because their scope encompassed both statutory random-access memory and non-statutory carrier waves).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 14, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshida (US 2015/0205235).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshida teaches an image forming apparatus that forms images on both surfaces of a sheet [0068], the image forming apparatus comprising: a first conveyance unit 53 configured to convey a sheet [0063]; an orientation control unit 100 configured to control an orientation of the sheet conveyed by the first conveyance unit 53 [0067]; an image forming unit 42 configured to form an image on the sheet of which the orientation is controlled by the orientation control unit 100 (Fig. 3); a first sensor S1 configured to detect the sheet while the sheet is conveyed by the first conveyance unit 53, the first sensor S1 being used to detect an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet in a conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed (Fig. 2) [0069]; a second conveyance unit 424 configured to convey the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 42; a second sensor S2 configured to detect the sheet on which the image is formed while being conveyed by the second conveyance unit 424 (Fig. 4A), the second sensor S2 being used to detect an inclination of a leading edge and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet in the conveyance direction (reading trailing edge broadly as being the edge of the end of the sheet that is trailing the leading edge, see Fig. 4A); a switch-back unit 55, which is provided downstream of the second sensor S2 in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), configured to switch-back the sheet [0064-0065]; a third conveyance unit 56 configured to convey the sheet switched back by the switch-back unit 55 to the first conveyance unit 53 in a case where images are to be formed on both surfaces of the sheet (Fig. 2); and a controller 100 (while a single controller is disclosed in Yoshida, each section may be construed as a separate “unit”) configured to control duplex printing in which images are to be formed on both surfaces of the sheet [0064-0067], the controller being configured to: control the second sensor S2 to detect the sheet after the image forming unit forms an image on a first surface of the sheet [0069]; control the first sensor S1 to detect the sheet conveyed by the third conveyance unit 56 and the first conveyance unit 53 (Fig. 2); and in a case where the image forming unit 42 forms an image on a second surface of the sheet, control the orientation control unit to control the orientation of the sheet on which an image is to be formed on the second surface by the image forming unit 42, based on an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the first sensor S1 [0064-0067].
Regarding claim 3, Yoshida teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit includes a photosensitive member 413, a charging device 414 configured to charge the photosensitive member 413, an exposure device 411 configured to expose the photosensitive member 413 charged by the charging device 414, to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 413, and a developing device 415 configured to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 413 using toner (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 4, Yoshida teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the orientation control unit to control the orientation of the sheet on which an image is to be formed on the second surface by the image forming unit, based on a difference (Δ) between an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the first sensor S1 [0075-0078].
Regarding claim 5, Yoshida teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller determines a target inclination (m) for a leading edge of the sheet on which an image is to be formed on the second surface by the image forming unit 42 [0077], based on an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and wherein the controller controls the orientation control unit to control the orientation of the sheet on which an image is to be formed on the second surface by the image forming unit 42, based on the target inclination (m) and an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface [0075-0081].
Regarding claim 6, Yoshida teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing unit 60 configured to fix the image to the sheet [0058] upstream of the switch-back unit 55 in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2), wherein the second sensor S2 is provided between the image forming unit 42 and the fixing unit 60 in the conveyance direction (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 14, Yoshida teaches the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second sensor S2 is a line sensor configured to read the sheet while the sheet is conveyed by the second conveyance unit [0070], and wherein an inclination of a leading edge and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet in the conveyance direction are detected based on a read image of the sheet read by the line sensor [0071].
Regarding claim 19, Yoshida teaches a method for controlling the orientation of a sheet on which an image is to be formed by an image forming apparatus, the method comprising: conveying the sheet via a first conveyancing unit 53 [0063]; forming an image on the sheet conveyed by the first conveyancing unit 53 [0042]; detecting the sheet while the sheet is conveyed by the first conveyance unit 53 via a first sensor S1 [0071], the first sensor S1 detecting an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet in a conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed [0076]; conveying the sheet on which an image is formed via a second conveyance unit 424; detecting the sheet on which the image is formed while being conveyed by the second conveyance unit via a second sensor S2 [0072], the second sensor S2 being used to detect an inclination of a leading edge and an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet in the conveyance direction [0077]; switching-back the sheet 55, wherein the sheet is switched-back downstream of the second sensor S2 in the conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed [0064-0065]; conveying the switched back sheet via a third conveyance unit 56, the third conveyance unit 56 conveying the switched back sheet to the first conveyance unit 53 in a case where images are to be formed on both surfaces of the sheet [0066]; controlling the second sensor S2 to detect the sheet after an image is formed on a first surface of the sheet [0090]; controlling the first sensor S1 to detect the sheet conveyed by the third conveyance unit 56 and the first conveyance unit 53 [0090]; and in a case where an image is to be formed on a second surface of the sheet, controlling the orientation of the sheet on which an image is to be formed on the second surface, based on an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, an inclination of a trailing edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the second sensor S2, and an inclination of a leading edge of the sheet that has the image formed on the first surface and is detected by the first sensor S1 [0064-0067].
Regarding claim 20, Yoshida teaches a computer-readable data carrier having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by an image forming apparatus, cause the image forming apparatus to carry out the method of claim 19 [0034].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW V DO whose telephone number is (571)270-3420. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter L Lindsay can be reached at 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/A.V.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2852