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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 15, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 2 and 4-9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 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 of this title, 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 1, 2 and 4-9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Imine US 2009/0232521 A1 (Imine) and Suzuki et al. US 2005/0168521 A1 (Suzuki).
Regarding claim 1, Imine teaches an image forming apparatus comprising:
an image former (10, 20) that forms an image on a sheet;
a conveyance path (933 to 936 and 938) in which the sheet is conveyed to the image former;
a sheet detector (CPU 1201) that is provided in the conveyance path and that detects a type of the sheet conveyed on the conveyance path (¶0088, ¶0064, ¶0098); and
Imine differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: a cleaner that operates under control of the controller to clean the conveyance path, wherein the controller performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with the cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector. However, this technique is known. Suzuki teaches a controller (34/37) that performs control related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0041-¶0050), a cleaner (12-15) that operates under control of the controller to clean the conveyance path/belt (¶0049), wherein the controller performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with the cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0050-¶0054). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the cleaning unit and commands for the cleaning unit taught by Suzuki with the device taught by Imine, since Suzuki teaches the cleaning unit offers the advantage of cleaning the conveyance path/belt efficiently to attain satisfactory images and reduce the cost of treating liquid waste (¶0003-¶0008).
Regarding claim 2, Imine and Suzuki teach the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Furthermore Imine teaches wherein the controller (301) counts a number of passed sheets conveyed on the conveyance path (¶0114), and performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of sheet and the number of passed sheets detected by the sheet detector (¶0083-¶0088).
Regarding claim 4, Imine and Suzuki teach the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Furthermore Imine teaches:
a display (2301) that displays information,
wherein the controller displays, on the display, a message prompting maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector, and performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path (FIG. 6).
Regarding claim 5, Imine and Suzuki teach the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Furthermore Imine teaches a communicator (1270, 1250, 1251, 1210, 1100) configured to perform communication,
wherein the controller transmits e-mail prompting the maintenance of the conveyance path by the communicator based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector, and performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path (¶0047, ¶0048).
Regarding claim 6, Imine and Suzuki teach the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Furthermore Imine teaches the controller (30) changes a frequency of performing control related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0064-¶0088).
Regarding claim 7, Imine teaches an image forming system comprising:
an image forming apparatus (FIG. 1), wherein the image forming apparatus includes,
an image former that forms an image on a sheet;
a conveyance path (933 to 936 and 938) in which the sheet is conveyed to the image former;
a sheet detector (¶0088) that is provided in the conveyance path and that detects a type of the sheet conveyed on the conveyance path.
Imine differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: a cleaner that operates under control of the controller to clean the conveyance path, wherein the controller performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with the cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector. However, this technique is known. Suzuki teaches a controller (34/37) that performs control related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0041-¶0050), a cleaner (12-15) that operates under control of the controller to clean the conveyance path/belt (¶0049), wherein the controller performs control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with the cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0050-¶0054). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the cleaning unit and commands for the cleaning unit taught by Suzuki with the device taught by Imine, since Suzuki teaches the cleaning unit offers the advantage of cleaning the conveyance path/belt efficiently to attain satisfactory images and reduce the cost of treating liquid waste (¶0003-¶0008).
Regarding claim 8, Imine teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (FIG. 3) storing a program to be executed by a controller of an image forming apparatus including an image former that forms an image on a sheet, and a conveyance path in which the sheet is conveyed to the image former, the program that causes the controller to execute:
detecting, by a sheet detector provided in the conveyance path, a type of the sheet conveyed on the conveyance path, and acquiring the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0088).
Imine differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: performing control related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector, wherein the program further causes the controller to perform control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with a cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector. However, this technique is known. Suzuki teaches performing control (34/37) related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0041-¶0050), wherein the program further causes the controller to perform control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with a cleaner (12-15) based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0049-¶0054). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the cleaning unit and commands for the cleaning unit taught by Suzuki with the device taught by Imine, since Suzuki teaches the cleaning unit offers the advantage of cleaning the conveyance path/belt efficiently to attain satisfactory images and reduce the cost of treating liquid waste (¶0003-¶0008).
Regarding claim 9, Imine teaches a method of controlling an image forming apparatus including an image former that forms an image on a sheet, and a conveyance path in which the sheet is conveyed to the image former, the method comprising:
detecting, by a sheet detector provided in the conveyance path, a type of the sheet conveyed on the conveyance path, and acquiring the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0088, ¶0064); and
Imine differs from the instant claimed invention by not explicitly disclosing: performing control related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector, wherein the program further causes the controller to perform control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with a cleaner based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector. However, this technique is known. Suzuki teaches performing control (34/37) related to maintenance of the conveyance path based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0041-¶0050), wherein the program further causes the controller to perform control related to the maintenance of the conveyance path by cleaning the conveyance path with a cleaner (12-15) based on the type of the sheet detected by the sheet detector (¶0049-¶0054). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the cleaning unit and commands for the cleaning unit taught by Suzuki with the device taught by Imine, since Suzuki teaches the cleaning unit offers the advantage of cleaning the conveyance path/belt efficiently to attain satisfactory images and reduce the cost of treating liquid waste (¶0003-¶0008).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA L ELEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9793. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM CST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Jr. Lindsay can be reached on (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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/JESSICA L ELEY/
Examiner, Art Unit 2852