CTNF 18/894,188 CTNF 89575 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 2. This office action is responsive to the application Nº 18/894,188 filed on September 24 th , 2024 in which claims 1-7 are pending and ready for examination. Information Disclosure Statement 3. Acknowledgment is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. These IDS have been considered. Priority 02-26 AIA 4. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Drawings 5. The examiner contends that the drawings submitted on 09/24/2024 are acceptable for examination proceedings. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA 6. Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: On line 2, it appears Applicant intended “cause the belt to protrude inward of an common external tangent …” to read “cause the belt to protrude inward of a common external tangent …” . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 7. 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 8. 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 of this title, 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. 07-21-aia AIA 9. Claim s 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maida et al. (JP 2020-090344), in view of Imanaga et al. (JP 2020-015291) . 10. Regarding independent claim 1: Maida et al. disclosed a sheet conveyance apparatus configured to convey a sheet ([0158], lines 1-8; also see Fig. 12, reference 212), comprising: a belt having an endless shape configured to rotate ([0159], line 5; also see Fig. 12, reference 110) and convey a sheet (Fig. 2, reference P); a first roller configured to stretch the belt on a downstream side of a sheet conveyance surface of the belt conveying the sheet in a direction of rotation of the belt ([0159], lines 2-3; also see Fig. 12, reference 232); a second roller configured to stretch the belt on an upstream side of the sheet conveyance surface in the direction of rotation ([0159], lines 2-3; also see Fig. 12, reference 114); a third roller configured to stretch the belt at a position upstream of the second roller in the direction of rotation ([0159], line 7; also see Fig. 12, reference 222); a steering roller disposed between the first roller and the third roller in the direction of rotation and configured to tilt and move the belt in a width direction intersecting the direction of rotation ([0115], lines 1-5; also see Fig. 12, reference 130); wherein at least one of the second roller and the third roller is a heating roller configured to heat the belt ([0128], lines 1-2; also see Fig. 12, reference 164 is a heating unit for heating at least the second roller 114). Maida et al. are silent about a tension roller configured to apply a tension to the belt, wherein the tension roller is configured to press a stretched portion of the belt that is stretched by the second roller and the third roller from an outer side toward an inner side to apply the tension to the belt. Imanaga et al. disclosed an endless belt (Fig. 8, reference 612) configured to convey a sheet (Fig. 8, reference P), comprising a first roller that stretches the endless belt on a downstream end of the conveyance surface (Fig. 8, reference 621B), a second roller that stretches the endless belt on an upstream end of the conveyance surface (Fig. 8, reference 654B) and a third roller disposed upstream of the second roller in the rotation direction (Fig. 8, reference 622B), and further comprising a tension roller configured to apply a tension to the belt ([0039], lines 1-2; also see Fig. 8, reference 623B), wherein the tension roller is configured to press a stretched portion of the belt that is stretched by the second roller and the third roller from an outer side toward an inner side to apply the tension to the belt (see Fig. 8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Imanaga et al. with those of Maida et al. by adding a tension roller to the endless belt of Maida et al. in order to maintain the endless belt taut and prevent deformation of the conveyed sheet as disclosed by Imanaga et al. in paragraph [0057]. 11. Regarding claim 2: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 1. The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. is silent about wherein both the second roller and the third roller are the heating roller configured to heat the belt. However, in the embodiment of Fig. 2, Maida et al. disclosed that more than one of the rollers stretching the endless belt is a heating roller ([0128], lines 1-2; also see Fig. 12, references 162 and 164). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the embodiment of Fig. 2 of Maida et al. with those of the combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. by providing a heating unit in a number of the rollers of the endless belt in order to prevent the occurrence of waving of the belt due to temperature unevenness in the circumferential direction of the endless belt as disclosed by Maida et al. in paragraph [0033]. 12. Regarding claim 3: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second roller is the heating roller configured to heat the belt (Maida et al. [0128], lines 1-2; also see Fig. 12, reference 164 is a heating unit for heating at least the second roller 114). 13. Regarding claim 4: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension roller is configured to cause the belt to protrude inward of an common external tangent on an inner side of the belt among the common external tangents of the second roller and the third roller (Imanaga et al. see Fig. 8). 14. Regarding claim 5: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the tension roller is configured to press the belt such that a winding angle of the belt on the heating roller is 135° or greater (Imanaga et al. Fig. 8, the winding angle of the belt 612 on roller 624B is 135° or greater). 15. Regarding claim 6: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension roller is configured to move to a direction intersecting a straight line connecting a center of rotation of the second roller and a center of rotation of the third roller (Imanaga et al. Fig. 8, the tension roller 623B moves to a direction intersecting a straight line connecting a center of rotation of the second roller 654B and a center of rotation of the third roller 622B). 16. Regarding claim 7: The combination of Maida et al. and Imanaga et al. disclosed an image forming apparatus (Maida et al. [0164], line 1; also see Fig. 1, reference 1A) comprising: the sheet conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 (see the rejection of claim 1); and an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet (Maida et al. [0053], lines 1-7; also see Fig. 1, reference 44). Conclusion 17. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YAOVI M. AMEH whose telephone number is (571)272-4578. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. 18. 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. 19. 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. 20. 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. /YAOVI M AMEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/894,188 Page 2 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/894,188 Page 3 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/894,188 Page 4 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/894,188 Page 5 Art Unit: 2853 Application/Control Number: 18/894,188 Page 6 Art Unit: 2853
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