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 .
Detailed Office Action
1. Claims 1-7 are pending. Claim 1 is pending.
Objection to Specification
2. In the specification (see para 0023 of Publication US 2025/0047796 A1), “a delivery device 3” should read – delivery device 30 --.
Claim Rejection – 35 U.S.C. §102
4. 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.
5. Claims 1, 4-5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyazawa (US 2010/0327519 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Miyazawa discloses a transport apparatus (skew feeding correction device 55 including a movable type guide 30 having “an abutment reference member 31”, and conveying roller device 50 in Figs. 1 and 2 and para 0035) (Figs. 1, 2, 9A, and 9B; para 0035) comprising:
a transport device (including guides 33 and 30, and conveying roller device 50 which includes a plurality pairs of conveying rollers 34 in Fig. 2 and para 0036; Figs. 9A, and 9B and para 0043-0044) that transports a sheet (sheet S) in a first direction (the conveying direction from right to left as shown in Figs. 6, 3A, and 3B), corresponding to a sheet transport direction (“conveying direction”);
an abutment member (“an abutment reference member 31 onto which the sheet S obliquely conveyed by the pairs of oblique feed rollers 32a to 32c is abutted” in para 0035, Figs. 2, 6, 9A, and 9B) located on one side of the transport device (the left side as Figs. 2, 9A and 9B are viewed), in a second direction (the right-left direction as Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B are viewed) intersecting the first direction (the conveying direction, which is the bottom-to-top direction as Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B are viewed), to be abutted against an edge (the left edge of sheet S as Fig. 9A is viewed) of the sheet (S) on the one side (the left side) in the second direction (the right-left direction as Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B are viewed); and
a displacement device (including rollers 32a, 32b, and 32c in Figs. 9A, 9B, and 2) that displaces the sheet (S) toward the one side (the left side) in the second direction (the right-left direction as Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B are viewed), in contact with the sheet (Figs. 2, 9A, and 9B, para 0035, 0043, and 0044).
Regarding claim 4/1, Miyazawa further disclose a control device (controller 600 having CPU 601 in Fig. 10, para 0047) that controls the transport device (see the conveying roller device 50 that includes a plurality pairs of conveying rollers 34 each including a conveying roller 13 and a driven roller 14, in Figs. 3A and 3B and para 0047; Fig. 2 and para 0036; Figs. 9A, and 9B and para 0043-0044) and the displacement device (including 32a, 32b, 32c in Figs. 2, 3A, 3B, para 0047). The control device causes the displacement device to start to move the sheet (S), after causing the transport device to stop transporting the sheet, by locating the sheet at a predetermined position in the sheet transport direction (note para 0047 “The controller 600 previously predicts the time at which the pair of first oblique feed rollers 32a nip the sheet from the detection timing of the pre-registration sensor P, the distance between the pre-registration sensor P and the pair of first oblique feed roller 32a, and the sheet conveying speed of the conveying roller device 50 by calculation. When the pair of first oblique feed rollers 32a nip the sheet, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the driven rollers 14 are separated from the conveying rollers 13 to release the nip of the trailing end of the sheet. Thereafter, the skew feeding correction of the sheet S is started.” The starting to move the sheet by the displacement device considered to be after the nipping of the sheet S by the first oblique feed roller 32a shown in Fig. 3B, and therefore the claim limitations are met by Miyazawa).
Regarding claim 5/4, the transport device of Miyazawa discussed for claim 4 above includes a transport roller (conveying roller pairs 34 each having a driving roller 13 and a driven roller 14, Fig. 3A and para 0039; also Figs. 2, 6, 9A, and 9B) that moves the sheet in contact therewith, the displacement device includes a displacement roller (32a, 32b, 32c in Figs. 2, 3A, 3B, 6, 9A, and 9B) that moves the sheet (S) in contact therewith, and the control device (600 in Fig. 10) is configured to:
move the transport roller (driven roller 14 in Fig. 3B, para 0047) away from the sheet (S), when the displacement device moves the sheet (the rollers 32a, 32b, and 32c move the sheet S after nipping the sheet S and sheet detection by the sensor P in Figs. 3A and 3B and para 0047); and
move the displacement roller (32a, 32b, or 32c in Fig. 3A) away from the sheet (S), when the transport device transports the sheet (Fig. 3A) (the rollers 32a, 32b and 32c in Fig. 3A are moved away from the sheet S in terms of the rollers 32a, 32b, and 32c not in contact with the sheet S when the sheet S is being conveyed by the conveying roller pairs 34 as shown in Fig. 3A).
Regarding claim 7/1, the transport apparatus (including 50 and 55 in Figs. 1 and 2) of Miyazawa discussed for claim 1 above is employed in an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming device (513 in Fig. 1, para 0028) that forms an image on the sheet (S) (para 0028, Fig. 1)
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 2-3 and 6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
For claim 2/1, the displacement device (including rollers 32a, 32b, and 32c in Figs. 9A, 9B, and 2; para 0035, 0043, and 0044) of Miyazawa (US 2010/0327519 A1) contact the sheet (S) at a position(s) shown in Figs. 11A, 2, 9A, and 9B, but not at a first position in the first direction (the conveying direction) as defined in claim 2, i.e.,
“the first position corresponds to a center of gravity of the sheet, or a position on
an opposite side of a position where the sheet and the abutment member contact first, with respect to the center of gravity of the sheet”, although Miyazawa discloses “the center of gravity of the sheet S is Fp.” (Miyazawa Fig. 11A and para 0048 “center of gravity” of sheet S. The limitations of claim 2 in combination with the limitations of claim 1 are not taught by the prior art of record.
Claim 3/1 requires the following:
wherein the abutment member includes a recessed portion, recessed toward the
one side from the other side in the second direction, and
the abutment member contacts first a position on the sheet other than an end
portion of the edge in the first direction, or on an opposite side in the first direction, by
stopping transport of the sheet, at a position where the end portion of the edge in the first direction, or on the opposite side in the first direction, is located at the recessed portion.
Miyazawa discussed above does not disclose a recessed portion of the abutment member or the contact relationship of the abutment member with the sheet (S). The above listed limitations of claim 3 in combination with the limitations of base claim 1 are not taught by the prior art of record.
For claim 6/4/1, Miyazawa further discloses a sensor P (Figs. 3A and 3B, para 0047) but does not disclose the combination of the following limitations of claim 6 in combination with the limitations of claims 4 and 1 requires the following:
a detector that detects a posture of the sheet, wherein the control device controls the transport device, upon deciding that posture correction of the sheet is insufficient, on a basis of the posture of the sheet detected by the detector, so as to change a stop position of the sheet, from a position where the sheet was stopped in a preceding transport operation.
Pertinent Prior Art
7. The prior art or art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mikashima et al. (US 2025/0346050 A1) discloses an image forming apparatus that corrects skew of a recording sheet being transported (Figs. 1-3). Para 0083: “The skew correction mechanism 15 includes the alignment plate 151, a transport roller pair 152, 153 that makes pressure-contact with the recording sheet P, thereby feeding the recording sheet P in the transport direction A, a pressure roller pair 154, 155 that makes pressure-contact with the recording sheet P, thereby moving the recording sheet P in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction A so as to abut the side edge of the recording sheet P against the alignment plate 151, and an inclination angle adjustment mechanism 21 that enables manual adjustment of the inclination angle of the alignment plate 151 with respect to the transport direction A. Further, the skew correction mechanism 51 includes rotational drive mechanisms (the drive source inclusive) for the transport roller pair 152, 153 and the pressure roller pair 154, 155, and pressing mechanisms that bring the respectively roller pairs into contact with the recording sheet P, and move the roller pairs away therefrom.”
Takezawa et al. (US 2026/0008283 A1)
Ueno (US 2025/0250135 A1)
Matsumoto et al. (US 2015/0284204 A1), para 0068, Figs. 10A and 10B, center of gravity of sheet S
Tada et al. (US 2004/0188929 A1), Figs. 20 and 21, para 0154, side position regulating mechanism 300 comprising two position sensors 601 and 602
Kazama et al. (US 7880871), Fig. 4A, 4B, and 5, CIS sensor 7
Egawa et al. (US 2019/0161299 A1), Fig. 2, first, second, and third CIS (101-103)
Adachi (US 2013/0321885 A1), Fig. 7
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHEUKFAN LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7407. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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, BENNY TIEU can be reached at (571)272-7490. 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.
/CHEUKFAN LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2682
Prosecution Insights