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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I (claim 2) in the reply filed on 09/17/2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(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) 1-2 and 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamane et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0159598).
Regarding claim 1: Yamane discloses a sheet conveying device comprising:
a pair of conveying members provided (Figs. 21-22; via 44 and/or 31) so as to be movable along a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a sheet and configured to nip and convey the sheet (via the shown movement arrow S of 31; further intended use limitations of the conveying members not given much patentable weight);
a sensor (via 35-37) configured to detect a position in the width direction of the sheet conveyed by the pair of conveying members (intended use limitations of the actual sensor are not given much patentable weight; Also, paragraphs 201-204 provide the intended use of sensors 35-37);
a movement control portion (Figs. 22 & 32; via the shown movement section β and/or α or Shift Controller 350, motor driver 380) configured to control movement along the width direction of the pair of conveying members which is nipping the sheet, based on an amount of shift between a detection position detected by the sensor and a reference position based on a sheet size associated with a sheet feed source of the sheet (intended use limitations of the movement control not given much patentable weight);
a detection processing portion (Fig. 23A; via 35 & 36) configured to detect a sheet size of the sheet (intended use for the detection processing portion); and
a switching processing portion (Fig. 13; via N5 or N6 based on “Position Info of Holding Roller” or Fig. 24; via 340/350 and/or 320/330); rotation motor or shift motor) configured to switch between permitting and not permitting the movement of the pair of conveying members, based on the sheet size associated with the sheet feed source of the sheet and the sheet size of the sheet detected by the detection processing portion (intended use limitations of the switching processing portion).
Regarding claim 2: wherein the switching processing portion (Fig. 13; via “Position Info. of Holding Roller” to either order N5 or N6) permits the movement of the pair of conveying members when the sheet size associated with the sheet feed source of the sheet matches the sheet size of the sheet detected by the detection processing portion and does not permit the movement of the pair of conveying members when the sheet size associated with the sheet feed source of the sheet does not match the sheet size of the sheet detected by the detection processing portion (intended use limitations of the switching processing portion).
Regarding claim 4: further comprising:
a notification processing portion (Figs. 30-31; via the CIS with “difference calculation” to “Target Number of Counts of Conveyance Encoder of Shift Motor p2” or “Target Number of Counts of Conveyance Encoder of Encoder of Rotation Motor p1”) configured to notify when the movement of the pair of conveying members is not permitted by the switching processing portion, (intended use limitations of the notification process portion).
Regarding claim 5: an image forming apparatus comprising:
the sheet conveying device (Figs. 1-2; via image forming apparatus 1 with conveying rollers 44 & 31); and
an image forming portion (via image forming part 4) configured to form an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying device (via photoconductor drum 5).
Regarding claim 6: an operation control method executed by a sheet conveying device comprising a pair of conveying members (Fig. 2; via 31 and/or 44) provided so as to be movable along a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a sheet and configured to nip and convey the sheet; a sensor (via 11 and/or 101) configured to detect a position in the width direction of the sheet conveyed by the pair of conveying members; and a movement control portion (Figs. 22 & 32; via the shown movement section β and/or α or Shift Controller 350, motor driver 380) configured to control movement along the width direction of the pair of conveying members which is nipping the sheet, based on an amount of shift between a detection position detected by the sensor and a reference position based on a sheet size associated with a sheet feed source of the sheet, the operation control method comprising:
a detection step of detecting a sheet size of the sheet (Figs. 12-13; via N1-N4; by detecting and calculating angle and lateral shift of medium is equivalent to “size” or dimensions of the medium); and
a switching step of switching between permitting and not permitting the movement of the pair of conveying members, based on the sheet size associated with the sheet feed source of the sheet and the sheet size of the sheet detected by the detection step, (Fig. 13; via N5-N6; based on the “Position info of holding roller” a selection made to switching between N5 or N6).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Alternatively: claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamane et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0159598).
Yamane may not specifically suggest the claimed detection step of detecting a sheet size of the sheet. However, Yamane clearly suggests detecting of the angles and lateral shifts of the sheets.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Yamane’s detection step of the angle and lateral shifts of the sheet, by another detection step of the dimensions of the sheet at specific location and angle instead, in order to improve the feeding process and being able to feed different sized sheets and insure applying the proper imaging at the designated sheet’s portion (paragraph 0007-0008).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH TAWFIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4470. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731