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 .
Amendment received 9/1/26 was entered into the record.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyake US 6,371,481 (“Miyake”).
Regarding claim 1, Miyake disclosed a media ejecting apparatus comprising:
an ejection roller (1) to eject a medium;
a first ejection tray (seen receiving the sheet in Figure 7) located below the ejection roller;
a second ejection tray (seen containing the sheet in Figure 5) located above the ejection roller;
a guide (including 15) located in a vicinity of the ejection roller and rotatable around a rotation shaft of the ejection roller between a first position (Figure 7) to guide the medium ejected by the ejection roller toward the first ejection tray and a second position (Figure 5) to guide the medium ejected by the ejection roller toward the second ejection tray;
a driving mechanism (including 5, 10, 14) including a motor (10) to move the guide between the first position and the second position; and control circuitry configured to control the driving mechanism (see Figure 1 and column 4, lines 19-28),
wherein, when the guide is located at the second position and no medium is present between the guide and the ejection roller, a guide surface of the guide and a surface of the ejection roller define a space therebetween for the medium to pass through (Figure 5), and
wherein, when the guide is located at the second position, the guide surface guides the medium through the space to the second ejection tray (Figure 5).
Regarding claim 5, Miyake disclosed an assist roller (5) located above the ejection roller and facing the ejection roller, wherein the assist roller assists the ejection roller in ejecting the medium to the second ejection tray (Figure 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because of the new ground of rejection in response to the amendment.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
