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 1/9/2025 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 1/9/2025 are acceptable for examination by the examiner.
Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 4-5, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ITO et al. (EP 2 369 416 A1).
Regarding claim 1, ITO teaches an image forming device (figures 1-3) comprising: an image reading device 11; a document feeding device 12 provided above the image reading device 11 [0049-0053]; and a cable 7A, wherein a cylindrical member 709 including a through hole is attached to the document feeding device 12, the image reading device 11 includes an insertion hole 31 extending in a vertical direction, allowing insertion of the cylindrical member, the document feeding device 12 is movable in the vertical direction relative to the image reading device 11 by the cylindrical member 709 moving in the vertical direction along the insertion hole (31B; shown in figures 9-13), a lower end portion of the insertion hole has an inclined surface (lower part of R1) downwardly increasing in distance from the cylindrical member 709, the cable 7A is wired along a bottom surface of the image reading device 11 from inside the document feeding device 12 through the through hole 31B, and when the document feeding device 12 moves upward relative to the image reading device, the cylindrical member and the cable 7A are pulled upward along the through hole, and the cable 7A moves and is wired along the inclined surface R1 (shown in figures 9 and 11-13; figures 9 and 11 and figures 12-13 show the process of opening the feeder 11. The member 709 is shown to moving from the center to the left of the opening and is also free to move up and down as the feeding device is open; [0083-0088] discusses the process).
Regarding claim 4, when the document feeding device does not move upward relative to the image reading device 11, the cable 7A and the cylindrical member 709 are not pulled upward along the through hole, and an upper end of the inclined surface is positioned at a height between an upper end of the cylindrical member and a lower end of the cylindrical member 709 in a longitudinal cross-sectional view (figures 10 and 12 show the position where the document feeding device is closed and does not move upward).
Regarding claim 5, when the document feeding device 12 does not move upward relative to the image reading device 11, the cable and the cylindrical member are not pulled upward along the through hole 31B, and a lower end of the cylindrical member 709 is positioned lower than an upper end of the inclined surface (figures 10 and 12 show the position where the document feeding device is closed and does not move upward).
Regarding claim 12, ITO teaches an image reading device (figure 3) attached to a document feeding device 12, the image reading device 11 comprising an insertion hole extending in a vertical direction, allowing insertion of a cylindrical member including a through hole, wherein the document feeding device 12 is attachable movably in the vertical direction along the insertion hole 31B, a lower end portion of the insertion hole has an inclined surface R1 downwardly increasing in distance from the cylindrical member, and when the document feeding device moves upward relative to the image reading device 11, a cable 7A wired along a bottom surface of the image reading device from inside the cylindrical member and the document feeding device through the through hole is pulled upward along the through hole and moves and is wired along the inclined surface (shown in figures 9 and 11-13; figures 9 and 11 and figures 12-13 show the process of opening the feeder 11. The member 709 is shown to moving from the center to the left of the opening and is also free to move up and down as the feeding device is open; [0083-0088] discusses the process).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 6-11 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.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. MORIMOTO et al. (JP 2003-241443A) teach a reading cable with a protective cover.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANA GRAINGER whose telephone number is (571)272-2135. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 9-5.
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/QUANA GRAINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
QG