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
1. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Interpretation
2. 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.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
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.
3. The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
4. This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step” but are nonetheless not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure, materials, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “stapling means” in claim 1, for the reason that the “stapling means is further structurally limited by a “sheet-insertion recessed portion” (see also ¶0033 of the Specification).
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are not being interpreted to cover only the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant intends 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 remove the structure, materials, or acts that performs the claimed function; or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) does/do not recite sufficient structure, materials, or acts to perform the claimed function.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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.
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.
7. Claims 1,3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Awano et al. USP 8,087,654.
Awano discloses, regarding claim 1, A sheet postprocessing device comprising:
a stapling means (76) having a sheet-insertion recessed portion (recessed portion adjacent elements 41a and 41b, as seen in at least fig.5) into which a bundle of sheets obtained by execution of stacking process with plural sheets is to be inserted, the stapling means being for driving stapler's staples into the bundle of sheets inserted into the sheet-insertion recessed portion (see fig.5);
a moving plate (71) which is moved integrally with the stapling means in a sheet widthwise direction perpendicular to a sheet insertion direction in which the bundle of sheets is inserted into the sheet-insertion recessed portion;
a base member (61) for supporting the moving plate movably; and
a movement driving means (MA8) for moving the moving plate in the sheet widthwise direction (-X,+X) (see at least C11/L16-39), wherein
the sheet postprocessing device makes the stapling means moved via the moving plate by the movement driving means so as to drive the stapler's staples (77) into the bundle of sheets, thus fulfilling stapling process (see at least C12/L13-19), and
a center of gravity of the stapling means is positioned apart in the sheet insertion direction from a support point of the base member for the moving plate (a support point is a point where roller 72 contacts base member 61, which is far apart in the Y-direction of the center of gravity of the stapling means 76).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the center of gravity of the stapling means is positioned on a vertically lower side lower than the lower end of the sheet-insertion recessed portion (due to the near symmetrical structure of the stapling means 76, and the position of the sheet-insertion recessed portion relative to the stapling means due to the angled position of each, the center of gravity of the stapling means is positioned on a vertically lower side lower than the lower end of the sheet-insertion recessed portion).
8. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuo USP 8,474,808.
Matsuo discloses, regarding claim 1, A sheet postprocessing device comprising:
a stapling means (31) having a sheet-insertion recessed portion (331) into which a bundle of sheets (T) obtained by execution of stacking process with plural sheets is to be inserted, the stapling means being for driving stapler's staples (SP) into the bundle of sheets inserted into the sheet-insertion recessed portion (see fig.5);
a moving plate (32) which is moved integrally with the stapling means in a sheet widthwise direction perpendicular to a sheet insertion direction in which the bundle of sheets is inserted into the sheet-insertion recessed portion;
a base member (33) for supporting the moving plate movably; and
a movement driving means (361) for moving the moving plate in the sheet widthwise direction (D21,D22) (see at least fig.4D), wherein
the sheet postprocessing device makes the stapling means moved via the moving plate by the movement driving means (see at least C12/L45-50) so as to drive the stapler's staples into the bundle of sheets, thus fulfilling stapling process (see at least C7/L10-13), and
a center of gravity of the stapling means is positioned apart in the sheet insertion direction (D11) from a support point (point at which roller 327 contacts base member 33; see fig.5) of the base member for the moving plate.
Regarding claim 2, wherein the center of gravity of the stapling means (31) is positioned between a first virtual line, which extends in a sheet thicknesswise direction passing through a lower end of the sheet-insertion recessed portion and perpendicular to the sheet insertion direction and the sheet widthwise direction, and a second virtual line, which extends in a vertical direction through the support point (fig.5).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the center of gravity of the stapling means is positioned on a vertically lower side lower than the lower end of the sheet-insertion recessed portion (313) (fig.5).
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukada (USP 8,977,186) discloses a sheet postprocessing device comprising a stapling means (66), a moving plate (68,69), a base member (61), a movement driving means (74), and support points which support the moving plate on the base member (see points where rollers 71 contact base member 61 in at least fig.5).
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LESLIE A. NICHOLSON III whose telephone number is (571)272-5487. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael C McCullough can be reached at 571-272-7805. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LESLIE A NICHOLSON III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 6/2/2026
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