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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II and sub-Invention IIA, in the reply filed on 8/11/26, is acknowledged.
Claims 3 and 8-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention and sub-Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/11/26.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-6 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.
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) 1-2 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ootsuka (US 20120267847 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ootsuka discloses An image forming apparatus (see fig. 1) comprising:
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet (inherent in fig. 1);
a conveyance unit configured to convey the sheet in a conveyance path (inherent in fig. 1);
a skew feed correcting portion configured to correct skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit (inherent in fig. 4A, para 63-68) and a position of the sheet in a width direction perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction (see step 11-17, fig. 4B, para 69-72);
a detection unit configured to detect the sheet before the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit has passed through the skew feed correcting portion (inherent in step 1, fig. 4A, para 64); and
a control unit configured to control the skew feed correcting portion and the image forming unit (inherent in fig. 4A),
wherein the control unit is configured to selectively execute a first mode (step 3, fig. 4A, para 64) and a second mode (step 4, fig. 4A, para 65) by switching between the first mode and the second mode (see step 2, fig. 4A, para 64-65),
wherein, in the first mode, based on skew of a leading edge of the sheet and the position of the sheet in the width direction which are detected by the detection unit,
the control unit is configured to
correct the skew of the sheet to align the leading edge of the sheet with the width direction (see fig. 4A, para 64),
correct the position of the sheet in the width direction using a first width direction position as a reference, using a second width direction position as a reference which is different from the first width direction position in the width direction, or using a third width direction position as a reference which is different from the first width direction position and the second width direction position in the width direction (see step 11-17, fig. 4B, para 69-72), and
set an image formation position for forming the image with respect to the sheet which has been corrected (para 72), and
wherein, in the second mode, based on skew of a side edge of the sheet and the position of the sheet in the width direction which are detected by the detection unit,
the control unit is configured to
correct the skew of the sheet to align the side edge of the sheet with the sheet conveyance direction (step 4, fig. 4A, para 65),
correct the position of the sheet in the width direction using the first width direction position as the reference, using the second width direction position as the reference, or using the third width direction position as the reference (see step 11-17, fig. 4B, para 69-72), and
set the image formation position with respect to the sheet which has been corrected (para 72).
Regarding claim 2, please note the rejection as set forth above with respect to claim 1. Claim 2 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 1; detailed discussion is omitted for brevity.
Regarding claim 7, Ootsuka further discloses The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit configured to receive mode information related to a mode selected between the first mode and the second mode, wherein the control unit is configured to execute one of the first mode and the second mode based on the mode information (see para 64-65).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN SEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1327. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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, Ricardo I 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.
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.
/JUSTIN SEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
September 17, 2026
Prosecution Insights