DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-8 are pending in this application.
Priority
3. Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on application JP 2024-002694 filed on 01/11/2024 under 35 U.S.C 119(a)-(d).
Drawings
4. The drawing has been filed on 11/25/2024 are acceptable for examination purpose.
Information Disclosure Statement
5. The information disclosure statement filed on 11/25/2024, 05/23/2025 is in compliance with the provision of the 37 CFR 1.97 and therefore has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
7. Claims 1, 4, 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(2) as being anticipated by Yamada, US Pub 2024/0076158.
As to claim 1 [independent], Yamada teaches a method for processing a sheet at a predetermined position on the sheet in a processing part, comprising:
placing a plurality of the sheets in a placement part [fig. 2, elements 61, S; 0056 Yamada teaches that the plural sheets S are placed on supply table 61 correspond to the placement part];
reading, by a first reader disposed in the placement part, information printed in a predetermined area on the sheet [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is reading/scanning information or image data printed on sheet(s) placed on supply table 61] spaced apart from a trailing edge of the sheet by at least a first length [0052, 0058 Yamada teaches that the blower 63 blows air toward a front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S having a length (e.g., para., 0052) on the supply table 61 by a fan to separate out the uppermost sheet S from the plurality of stacked sheets S], the first length being the length in a plan view from a disposed position of a detector to a disposed position of a contact member with which leading edges of the sheets placed in the placement part come into contact [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the conveyance path 5 is further provided with detection units 301 to 305 for detecting the front/leading end edge (downstream side end edge) “Sf” or a rear end (upstream side end edge) “Sr” of the sheet S or a workpiece Q. The first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66], the detector detecting the sheet on a conveyance path for the sheet extending from the placement part to the processing part [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66]; and
processing the sheet based on the information read by the first reader [0080-0082 Yamada teaches that the processing device 7 is processing the sheet S based on the information/image data acquired by reading/scanning through the reader unit 26].
As to claim 4 [dependent from claim 1], Yamada teaches reading the information on a succeeding sheet by the first reader after the detector detects the trailing edge of the sheet [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is reading/scanning information or image data printed on one or more sheets, placed on supply table 61, one after the other].
As to claim 6 [independent], Yamada teaches a reading method for reading information printed on a sheet, comprising:
reading, by a first reader disposed in a placement part [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is reading/scanning information or image data printed on sheet(s) placed on supply table 61], the information printed in a predetermined area on the sheet spaced apart from a trailing edge of the sheet by at least a first length [0052, 0058 Yamada teaches that the blower 63 blows air toward a front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S having a length (e.g., para., 0052) on the supply table 61 by a fan to separate out the uppermost sheet S from the plurality of stacked sheets S], the first length being the length in a plan view from a disposed position of a detector detecting the sheet to a disposed position of a contact member with which leading edges of the sheets placed in the placement part come into contact [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the conveyance path 5 is further provided with detection units 301 to 305 for detecting the front/leading end edge (downstream side end edge) “Sf” or a rear end (upstream side end edge) “Sr” of the sheet S or a workpiece Q. The first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66], the detector being disposed on a conveyance path extending between a processing part that processes the sheet conveyed by a conveyance part at a predetermined position on the sheet and the placement part [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the conveyance path 5 is further provided with detection units 301 to 305 for detecting the front/leading end edge (downstream side end edge) “Sf” or a rear end (upstream side end edge) “Sr” of the sheet S or a workpiece Q. The first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66] in which a plurality of the sheets to be processed in the processing part are placed [0080-0082 Yamada teaches that the processing device 7 is processing the sheet S based on the information/image data reading/scanning by the reader unit 26].
As to claim 7 [independent], Yamada teaches an apparatus for processing sheets having a conveyance part that conveys a sheet and a processing part that processes the sheet conveyed by the conveyance part at a predetermined position on the sheet, the apparatus comprising [0080-0082 Yamada teaches that the processing device 7 is processing the sheet S based on the information/image data acquired by reading/scanning through the reader unit 26]:
a placement part in which a plurality of the sheets to be processed by the processing part are placed [fig. 2, elements 61, S; 0056 Yamada teaches that the plural sheets S are placed on supply table 61 correspond to the placement part];
a detector that detects the sheet, the detector being disposed on a conveyance path extending between the placement part and the processing part [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the conveyance path 5 is further provided with detection units 301 to 305 for detecting the front/leading end edge (downstream side end edge) “Sf” or a rear end (upstream side end edge) “Sr” of the sheet S or a workpiece Q. The first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66];
a reader disposed in the placement part to read information printed on the sheet [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is reading/scanning information or image data printed on sheet(s) placed on supply table 61]; and
a controller configured to control the processing part to process the sheet based on the information read by the reader [0080-0082 Yamada teaches that the processing device 7 is processing the sheet S based on the information/image data acquired by reading/scanning through the reader unit 26], wherein
the reader reads the information printed in a predetermined area on the sheet [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is reading/scanning information or image data printed on sheet(s) placed on supply table 61] spaced apart from a trailing edge of the sheet by at least a first length [0052, 0058 Yamada teaches that the blower 63 blows air toward a front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S having a length (e.g., para., 0052) on the supply table 61 by a fan to separate out the uppermost sheet S from the plurality of stacked sheets S] that is the length in a plan view from a disposed position of the detector to a disposed position of a contact member with which leading edges of the sheets placed in the placement part come into contact [0052, 0058, 0060-0061 Yamada teaches that the conveyance path 5 is further provided with detection units 301 to 305 for detecting the front/leading end edge (downstream side end edge) “Sf” or a rear end (upstream side end edge) “Sr” of the sheet S or a workpiece Q. The first detection unit 301 detects the front/leading end edge “Sf” of the sheet S before the sheet S sucked and conveyed by the suction conveyance unit 62 of the insertion unit 6 is gripped by the supply roller 66, or the rear end edge Sr of the sheet S gripped and conveyed by the supply roller 66].
As to claim 8 [dependent from claim 1], Yamada teaches wherein the reader is disposed in a movable manner [0063, 0168-0169 Yamada teaches that the reading unit 26 includes CCD sensor is disposed in a movable manner to read both sides of the fed sheet].
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 2-5 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.
9. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The dependent claim 2 is allowable over the prior arts of record (or cited or listed above) since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly anticipate or disclose or suggest the claim limitations recited “wherein the predetermined area is an area spaced apart from the trailing edge of the sheet by at least a second length that is the length in a plan view from the disposed position of the detector to a downstream edge of the sheet placed in the placement part”, in combination with all other limitations as claimed.
The dependent claim 3 is allowable over the prior arts of record (or cited or listed above) since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly anticipate or disclose or suggest the claim limitations recited “reading the information on the sheet by a second reader disposed downstream of the placement part; and determining a position of the sheet on the conveyance path based on the information read by the second reader to adjust a processing position on the sheet”, in combination with all other limitations as claimed.
The dependent claim 5 is allowable over the prior arts of record (or cited or listed above) since the cited references taken individually or in combination fails to particularly anticipate or disclose or suggest the claim limitations recited “wherein when the detector detects the sheet having a fourth length longer than a third length that is the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction, the sheet having the fourth length is not processed in the processing part”, in combination with all other limitations as claimed.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARIS SABAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3917. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 4:30PM. The examiner’s personal fax number is (571) 270-4917.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Benny Tieu, can be reached on (571)272-7490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARIS SABAH/ Examiner, Art Unit 2682
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