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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because the specification is silent about limitation “movable lock member” recited in claims 2-3, 10, and 14. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-3, 10, and 14 are objected to because specification is silent about limitation “movable lock member.” Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 (Sugimoto et al., US Pub. App. 2013-0027490) in view of D2 (Meyer, US 4,884,424).
For claim 1, D1 discloses, in Figures 1-11, a lock apparatus comprising:
a housing (1b);
an opening and closing door (1a) that is rotatable about a support shaft of the housing;
an engaging member (74c, 74d) that is movable and provided on one of the housing and the opening and closing door;
an engaged member (75c, 75d) provided on the other of the housing and the opening and closing door;
an operation member (72) that is movable and provided on the opening and closing door; and
a lock mechanism (70) configured to restrict a movement of the engaging member,
wherein when the opening and closing door (1a) is closed, the engaging member is engaged with the engaged member to be brought into an engaged state (When 74c, 74d engaged with shafts 75c, 75d, the door 1a is in closed state. Para. [0031]),
wherein in the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, when the engaging member is moved in conjunction with a movement of the operation member (72), the engaged state is released to allow the opening and closing door to be opened (When 74c, 74d is not in engagement with shafts 75c, 75d, the door 1a is in open state. Para. [0031]), and
wherein in the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, when the lock mechanism restricts the movement of the engaging member, the movement of the operation member is restricted (Movement of operation member 72 is restricted, para. [0032].)
D1 is silent about a support shaft. D2 teaches a cover 16 attached to a base by hinge 18 (Col. 2, L 35) to facilitate pivoting of cover 16. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify D1 to have a support shaft such that the opening and closing door (1a) is rotatable about a support shaft of the housing, as taught by D2 with a reasonable expectation of success of providing a pivotable joint.
For claim 2, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lock mechanism includes: a movable lock member (832, Figure 4); and a driver (solenoid 84) configured to move the lock member, wherein the lock member is movable between a first position outside a movement locus of the engaging member and a second position within the movement locus, and wherein when the lock member is in the second position, the movement of the engaging member and the movement of the operation member are restricted (Para. [0032].)
For claim 3, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotary shaft that rotatably supports the engaging member (The pin on which 74c, 74d pivots and 71 define the rotary shaft.), wherein the lock mechanism (70) includes: a movable lock member (832, Figure 4); and a driver (solenoid 84, para. [0032]) configured to move the lock member, wherein a slot portion (711, Figure 4) is provided in the rotary shaft, wherein the lock member is movable between an entry position in which the lock member enters the slot portion (Figure 4A) and a retracted position in which the lock member is retracted from the slot portion (Figure 4B), and wherein when the lock member is in the entry position, the movement of the engaging member and the movement of the operation member are restricted (Para. [0032], Figure 4A.)
For claim 4, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the engaging member and the engaged member are provided in each position of both end portions of the opening and closing door in a direction of the support shaft (Figures 1-3.)
For claim 5, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation member (72) is a grip portion to be gripped by a user when opening and closing the opening and closing door (Para. [0032].)
For claim 6, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an opening assist member (springs) configured to assist an opening operation of the opening and closing door, wherein when the movement of the operation member is not restricted, the operation member is pushed by a user and thus moves linearly to release the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, the opening and closing door is opened by the opening assist member (Para. [0028].)
For claim 7, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an urging member (76a, 76b) configured to urge the engaging member to maintain the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member (Para. [0033].)
For claim 8, D1 discloses the lock apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotary shaft (The pin on which 74c, 74d pivots and 71 define the rotary shaft.) that rotatably supports the engaging member; and a transmission member (72b) provided on the rotary shaft, wherein when the transmission member is rotated by the movement of the operation member (72), the rotary shaft and the engaging member are rotated integrally with the transmission member to release the engaged state (Para. [0034].)
For claim 9, D1 discloses, in Figures 1-11, an imaging forming apparatus (Para. [0045, 0063-0064, 0068-0069]) comprising:
a housing (1b);
an image forming portion provided inside the housing and configured to form an image on a recording medium (Images are formed on sheet; abstract; para. [0068-0069]);
an opening and closing door (1a) that is rotatable about a support shaft of the housing;
an engaging member (74c, 74d) that is movable and provided on one of the housing and the opening and closing door;
an engaged member (75c, 75d) provided on the other of the housing and the opening and closing door;
an operation member (72) that is movable and provided on the opening and closing door; and
a lock mechanism (70) configured to restrict a movement of the engaging member,
wherein when the opening and closing door (1a) is closed, the engaging member is engaged with the engaged member to be brought into an engaged state (When 74c, 74d engaged with shafts 75c, 75d, the door 1a is in closed state. Para. [0031]),
wherein in the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, when the engaging member is moved in conjunction with a movement of the operation member (72), the engaged state is released to allow the opening and closing door to be opened (When 74c, 74d is not in engagement with shafts 75c, 75d, the door 1a is in open state. Para. [0031]), and
wherein in the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, when the lock mechanism restricts the movement of the engaging member, the movement of the operation member is restricted (Movement of operation member 72 is restricted, para. [0032].)
D1 is silent about a support shaft. D2 teaches a cover 16 attached to a base by hinge 18 (Col. 2, L 35) to facilitate pivoting of cover 16. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify D1 to have a support shaft such that the opening and closing door (1a) is rotatable about a support shaft of the housing, as taught by D2 with a reasonable expectation of success of providing a pivotable joint.
For claim 10, D1 discloses the imaging forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the lock mechanism includes: a movable lock member (832, Figure 4); and a driver (solenoid 84) configured to move the lock member, wherein the lock member is movable between a first position outside a movement locus of the engaging member and a second position within the movement locus, and wherein when the lock member is in the second position, the movement of the engaging member and the movement of the operation member are restricted (Para. [0032].)
For claim 11, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: a link member (portion of link that carries 832 defines link member) to which the lock member is fixed; a rotary shaft (831) that rotatably supports the link member; and a support member (1a) that supports the engaged member and the rotary shaft (Figures 3-4.)
For claim 12, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the driver (84) is provided to the housing (1b, Figures 1-4.)
For claim 13, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the driver (84) is a solenoid (Para. [0031-0032].)
For claim 14, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a rotary shaft (The pin on which 74c, 74d pivots and 71 define the rotary shaft.) that rotatably supports the engaging member, wherein the lock mechanism includes: a movable lock member (plunger of 84, Figure 4) ; and a driver (solenoid 84) configured to move the lock member, wherein a slot portion (711) is provided in the rotary shaft (71), wherein the lock member is movable between an entry position in which the lock member enters the slot portion (Figure 4A) and a retracted position in which the lock member is retracted from the slot portion (Figure 4B), and wherein when the lock member is in the entry position, the movement of the engaging member and the movement of the operation member are restricted (Para. [0032].)
For claim 15, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the driver (84) is a solenoid, and wherein the lock member is a plunger of the solenoid (Figures 4A-4B. Para. [0031].)
For claim 16, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the engaging member and the engaged member are provided in each position of both end portions of the opening and closing door in a direction of the support shaft (Figures 1-3.)
For claim 17, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the operation member (72) is a grip portion to be gripped by a user when opening and closing the opening and closing door (Pars. [0032].)
For claim 18, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an opening assist member (springs) configured to assist an opening operation of the opening and closing door, wherein when the movement of the operation member is not restricted, the operation member is pushed by a user and thus moves linearly to release the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member, the opening and closing door is opened by the opening assist member (Para. [0028].)
For claim 19, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an urging member (76a, 76b) configured to urge the engaging member to maintain the engaged state between the engaging member and the engaged member (Para. [0033].)
For claim 20, D1 discloses the image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: a rotary shaft (The pin on which 74c, 74d pivots and 71 define the rotary shaft.) that rotatably supports the engaging member; and a transmission member (72b) provided on the rotary shaft, wherein when the transmission member is rotated by the movement of the operation member (72), the rotary shaft and the engaging member are rotated integrally with the transmission member to release the engaged state (Para. [0034].)
Conclusion
Prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provides examples of similar inventions. There are no suggestions in the prior art of record for combining any of the references to arrive at as claimed. A few of the prior art cited but not applied includes Funayama (US Pub. App. 2014-0167580); Taoka (US Pub. App. 2014-0042687); and Yamamoto (US Pub. App. 2012-0105524).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN CUMAR whose telephone number is (571)270-3112. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.
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/NATHAN CUMAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675