DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato (JP 2016-121005).
Regarding Claim 1, Sato discloses
A paper feed device including a device body (10) and a paper feed cassette (20) that is inserted into the device body along an insertion direction (A2, Fig. 1), the paper feed device comprising:
a lock lever (45) mounted to the paper feed cassette via a lever shaft (42);
a spring (44) that applies a rotational force that rotates the lock lever in an engagement direction (i.e. toward 51 in Fig. 7A); and
a lock member (51) provided at the device body,
wherein:
the lock lever has a projection portion (45a) provided at a tip end (i.e. the end of 45 opposite to 42) extending from the lever shaft toward a downstream side in the insertion direction (Fig. 2),
the lock member has an inclined area, a parallel area, and an engagement area (i.e. see Fig. 6 mark-up below for these three areas) in this stated order from upstream to downstream in the insertion direction (i.e. right to left in Fig. 6), and the projection portion contacts the lock member in the stated order of the inclined area, the parallel area, and the engagement area when the paper cassette is stored in the device body,
the parallel area has a plane parallel to the insertion direction (Fig. 3, Fig. 6),
the inclined area has an inclined surface, on a side surface of the lock member, on a side of a pull-out direction (i.e. on the right side in Fig. 6), the pull-out direction being a direction, in which the paper cassette is pulled out of the device body (i.e. pulled out to the right in Fig. 6), that guides the projection portion into the parallel area, and
the projection portion contacts the parallel area at a diagonal angle seen from above (i.e. when the cassette is inserted from the right to left direction in Fig 6 and is at a position where 45a contacts the parallel area, it can be seen that the arm of 45 would be inclined downwards to the left/at a diagonal angle. This would furthermore be visible from a point just above 45. It is noted the claim does not require the projection portion to contact the parallel area from above or to contact its uppermost surface).
Regarding Claim 2, Sato discloses
the lever shaft (42) is provided lower, in position, than the parallel area (see Fig. 6 mark-up below).
Regarding Claim 3, Sato discloses
a handle (25) provided at the paper feed cassette so as to move the paper feed cassette back and forth, and is gripped by a user when pulling out the paper feed cassette, wherein
the lock lever is rotated in an opposite direction of the engagement direction via the lever shaft by the user pulling the handle (see Fig. 7A to 7B).
Regarding Claim 6, Sato discloses
An image forming apparatus (1) comprising the paper feed device according to claim 1.
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Response to Arguments
In response to Applicant’s argument that “Specifically, as clearly shown in FIG. 6a of Sato (an annotated version of which is reproduced above for better clarity), a tip end 45a contacts a parallel area from below in a vertical direction. That is, in Sato, the tip end 45a does NOT contact the parallel area at a diagonal angle seen from above.“, it is noted that the tip end 45a contacts the parallel area at a diagonal angle seen from above, as per the Claim 1 rejection above. However, it is noted that the claim does not require it to contact the parallel area from above or to contact its uppermost surface, merely to contact the parallel area at an angle, that can be seen from above.
Applicant's arguments filed 1/16/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/PRASAD V GOKHALE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 February 10, 2026