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 .
Amendment received 4/29/26 was entered into the record.
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) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aoyama et al. US 2003/0081269 (“Aoyama”).
Regarding claim 1, Aoyama disclosed a recording-material-transporting apparatus comprising:
a transport unit (Figure 1) that transports a recording material along a transport path;
a common housing (of the image reading apparatus) that supports (a) an upper image reader (20) which reads an image formed on an upper side of the recording material at an upper image reading position and (b) a lower image reader (including 10) which reads an image formed on a lower side of the recording material at the lower image reading position (Figure 1); and
a guide member (including 200) that guides the recording material being transported along the transport path,
wherein the upper image reading position at which the image on the upper side of the recording material is formed is located downstream in the transporting direction relative to the lower image reading position at which the image on the lower side of the recording material is formed (Figure 1),
wherein the guide member is provided in a region upstream in the transporting direction from the upper image reading position and vertically above the transport path (Figure 1),
wherein the guide member has one end fixed to the housing (at 21) and a handle at an other end (see the end in Figure 2 to be handled by a user), and
wherein the transport path is accessible by a user through a gap (above platen glass 2) formed by moving the handle of the guide member upward (see Figures 1 and 2), and
wherein the transport path is accessible by movement of the guide member while the upper image reader and the lower image reader are supported by the common housing.
Regarding claim 2, Aoyama disclosed the common housing supports the transport unit (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, Aoyama disclosed the at least one gap comprises two gaps and in one of the two gaps (above platen glass 2), the transport path is accessible at a location other than a location at which a rotating member (22) is installed in the other of the two gaps (below 20).
Regarding claim 4, Aoyama disclosed the transport path extends in a horizontal direction, and wherein the one of the two gaps is positioned above the transport path (see Figures 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 5, Aoyama disclosed a rotating member is provided at each of the upstream position and the downstream position (see 18 and 22), and wherein the rotating member is also supported by the common housing (Figure 5).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/29/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argued that Aoyama fails to teach the claimed gap upon which the transport path is accessible by a user.
The Examiner notes that the claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation in view of the disclosure as a whole. Figure 2 of Aoyama clearly shows the transport path rendered accessible by moving the handle of the guide member upward. A user could readily access the transport path, specifically the portion above platen 2, through the gap created by moving the handle of the guide member upward. This was explained in the Interview conducted 4/16/26. It is not clear why Applicant would categorize this interpretation as unreasonable.
The amended language reciting that the transport path is accessible by movement of the guide member while the upper image reader and the lower image reader are supported by the common housing does not distinguish the claimed invention from the applied art. As just explained, the transport path is accessible by movement of the guide member. Further, the upper image reader and the lower image reader are supported by the common housing of the image reading apparatus as clearly illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of Aoyama.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD J SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-3096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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 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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/HOWARD J SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653
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