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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the air inlets in figure 4 & 5 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsunemi et al. (US 2016/0214385).
Tsunemi et al. disclose the following claimed limitations:
* Re clm 1, an image forming apparatus (Abst., figs 1-4);
* a recording head/recording section 5, line heads 51, 51C, 51M/ that ejects droplets onto a recording medium/P/ (para 0044, fig 4);
* an endless belt/first conveyor belt 410/ that conveys the recording medium/P/ toward a position where an image is to be formed on the recording medium by the recording head/51, 51C, 51M/ (paras 0043-0045, fig 4);
* a support plate/conveyance plate 42, box member 431/ that supports the endless belt/410/;
* a suction device/432/ that is located on an opposite side of the recording head/51, 51C, 51M/ relative to the endless belt/410/ and sucks the recording medium/P/ together with air to attract the recording medium to a surface of the endless belt (para 0079, fig 4),
* the support plate/conveyance plate 42, box member 431/:
* an air inlet/through holes 422/ through which the air sucked by the suction device/432/
passes from a side of the recording head51, 51C, 51M/ toward the suction device/432/ (para 0079, fig 4)
* an air vent/duct 433, grooves 421// through which the air inside the suction device passes from the suction device toward the endless belt/first conveyor belt 410/ (paras 0077-0079, fig 4).
* Re clm 2, wherein the air vent/grooves 421/ is located ahead of the recording head/51, 51C, 51M/ in a direction of conveyance of the recording medium/P/ (see fig 4).
* Re clm 3, wherein the suction device/432/ is provided below the air inlet422/ and kept from being located below the air vent/duct, 433/ (paras 0077, 0079, fig 4).
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTAL FEGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2254. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 930-530pm.
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, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached at 571-272-5960. 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.
/KRISTAL FEGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853