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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/27/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: detection processing portion, limitation processing portion, and determination processing section, in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. The specification indicates the detection processing portion, limitation processing portion and determination processing section are parts of the control portion. The control portion includes a CPU to function as the respective processing portions (¶ [46-48]), indicating the portions are structural elements.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kazuma Ogawa (US 20230069064 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ogawa discloses an image reading device (¶ [19]), comprising:
a document sheet placing portion on which a document sheet conveyed along a predetermined conveying path is placed (¶ [25]);
an image reading portion which reads an image of the document sheet at a predetermined reading position on the conveying path (¶ [32]);
a restriction portion which is provided in the document sheet placing portion while being movable in a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the document sheet and restricts a position of the document sheet placed on the document sheet placing portion in the width direction (¶ [38-39]);
a detection processing portion which detects a position of the restriction portion in the document sheet placing portion (¶ [40]);
a limitation processing portion which limits an image reading range of the image reading portion in the width direction to a document sheet width corresponding to a detection result obtained by the detection processing portion (¶ [70-71]);
a determination processing portion which determines a size of the document sheet based on a size of the document sheet in the conveying direction, that is detected from the document sheet conveyed toward the reading position (¶ [70]); and
an output processing portion which executes, when the image reading range is limited to a predetermined specific document sheet width by the limitation processing portion, output processing for reading an image of the document sheet that passes through the reading position using the image reading portion (¶ [73-74]), detecting a contact end portion that comes into contact with the restriction portion in the document sheet included in a read image obtained by the reading, and clipping and outputting, from the read image, a region that is determined based on the contact end portion and a determination result obtained by the determination processing portion (¶ [74] and ¶ [76-78]).
Regarding claim 2, Ogawa discloses the image reading device according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1), wherein
the output processing portion executes the output processing when the image reading range is limited to the specific document sheet width by the limitation processing portion and the determination result obtained by the determination processing portion differs from a specific size corresponding to the specific document sheet width (¶ [48] and ¶ [57-58]).
Regarding claim 3, Ogawa discloses an image forming apparatus (¶ [23]), comprising:
the image reading device according to claim 1(see rejection of claim 1); and
an image forming portion which forms an image on a sheet based on an image read by the image reading device (¶ [104]).
Regarding claim 4, Ogawa discloses an image reading method executed in an image reading device including a document sheet placing portion on which a document sheet conveyed along a predetermined conveying path is placed (see rejection of claim 1), an image reading portion which reads an image of the document sheet at a predetermined reading position on the conveying path, and a restriction portion which is provided in the document sheet placing portion while being movable in a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the document sheet and restricts a position of the document sheet placed on the document sheet placing portion in the width direction (see rejection of claim 1), the image reading method comprising:
a detection step of detecting a position of the restriction portion in the document sheet placing portion (see rejection of claim 1);
a limitation step of limiting an image reading range of the image reading portion in the width direction to a document sheet width corresponding to a detection result obtained by the detection step (see rejection of claim 1);
a determination step of determining a size of the document sheet based on a size of the document sheet in the conveying direction, that is detected from the document sheet conveyed toward the reading position (see rejection of claim 1); and
an output step of executing, when the image reading range is limited to a predetermined specific document sheet width by the limitation step, output processing for reading an image of the document sheet that passes through the reading position using the image reading portion, detecting a contact end portion that comes into contact with the restriction portion in the document sheet included in a read image obtained by the reading, and clipping and outputting, from the read image, a region that is determined based on the contact end portion and a determination result obtained by the determination step (see rejection of claim 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMARES Q WASHINGTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1585. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Akwasi M. Sarpong can be reached at (571) 270-3438. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMARES Q WASHINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2681
August 18, 2026
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